What is the difference between production order and broadcast order?
The number at the end of the closing credits is the production code, which indicates the order in which the episodes were filmed, not the way they were originally broadcast. My episode guides list the episodes in their broadcast order, the way they were shown on television in the United States from 1972-1983. In my guides, the episodes are numbered and given a “season code.” Thus, “Taking the Fifth” would be the 203rd episode of the series in broadcast order and the ninth episode of the ninth season. Cable channels and local television stations may show M*A*S*H in production order, which can lead to continuity errors. For example, the first episode of Season Four to be broadcast, “Welcome To Korea,” was actually produced after “Change of Command,” which introduced Colonel Potter, but shown first. When watching Season Four in production order, you would see Colonel Potter arrive and meet everyone and then several episodes later, you would see B.J. arrive. Additionally, during Season Ten
