Plot A: A wounded North Korean soldier is brought in. The South Korean MP sent to claim him confides in Hawkeye that the North Korean's kidneys are weak. The reason he knows this is because they are brothers. Wanting to make certain that some of the family would be on the winning side, their father sent one son South and one North. The South Korean cannot be seen talking to his brother, lest he be suspected as a spy. Hawkeye announced that the patient needed a transfusion, and found that the MP had the same blood type. He brings the two into Pre-Op, away from prying eyes, and leaves them there to talk.
Plot B: Fourth class mail is not coming through, which means no newspapers. Charles receives a week's of newspapers in a first-class package. He reluctantly agrees to share them--but only after he has savored them--one newspaper a day. This infuriates everyone else, since they are anxiously awaiting news of a marriage in Dogpatch.

Today was the first time I've seen this episode in years. I'd forgotten Charles' rage at the missing newspaper, and the way he chewed out everyone in the camp, prompting an unknown person or persons to retaliate. Charles ended up with nothing BUT his precious newspapers, plus a very scanty kimono-type robe he had bought for his sister. I loved it when Kelleye said he looked very Japanese and did he speak the language, and when he said no, bowed and said "Boy, you sure look ridiculous!" in Japanese. The best scene, of course, was when Col. Potter, who had discovered that the missing issue had never been delivered in the first place because of a truckers' strike, forced an on-air apology from Charles and then settled down to read out the wedding scene from "'Lil Abner." Suddenly, he paused, and over the air, everyone heard him say, "Major--close your robe."

I agree with you on the best scene. That was a very short kimono Charles was prancing around camp in!
Shouldn't Charles have figured out right away that he was short a paper? Seven isn't enough that you can't tell one's missing fairly easily.
The camp sure seemed greedy in this episode. Maybe they are bored and maybe things are different in a small camp like that, but the paper's are Winchester's property. The whole mob runs over to grab a piece as soon as they see he has one. Potter finally declares that Charles gets first dibs, but they automatically assume that they're entitled to read them.
And okay, Charles way over-reacted with his little diatribe over the PA system, but how do the other people know that one of them didn't take the paper? They jump to conclusions nearly as fast as Charles does.

I think that they were angry because Charles blasted everyone, and was punishing everyone for one person's alleged misdeed.

Actually, this camp thinks they're entitled to anything the surgeons get. Not only they think their entitled, they demand it. The one ep when they got the bathtub, automatically everyone assumes they can use it. With the exception of the one Chrismas episode where they gave their food to the Korean children because they didn't have any, I can't recall anyone else other than the main cast, share something of their's with the rest of the camp.

Good point. I wonder if that's a result of camp conditions? Work stress, lousy food, questionable sanitary conditions, little or no privacy...maybe that's why they get so greedy for luxuries and so selfish with what they have. There have been several episodes where Hawkeye and/or B.J. casually help themselves to another's possessions without asking.

Father Mulcahy is usually generous, but I noticed that he was willing hide the secret of the bathtub, not to mention hiding all of Charles' belongings in his tent during this episode.

Just how did Charles, dressed in his mini-robe, get that rope around the central pole of the mess tent without anyone seeing him do it?

Charles takes a lot for granted. It never occurred to him that, perchance, his FAMILY had missed packing that missing issue in the box. That would have been MY first assumption, especially since he seemed to have the papers locked away.

Does Father Mulcahy often go peeking into peoples' tents, then walking inside and grabbing things that catch his eye?

That "yesterday's paper" that was placed in the showers looked as though it had never been touched. When you visualize the entire camp passing that paper back and forth, it seems impossible that they would ever get it all back, let alone neatly folded.

>Does Father Mulcahy often go peeking into peoples' tents, then walking inside and grabbing things that catch his eye?>

Probably not, This sounds like a BJ or Hawkeye or Potter kinda prank (possibly more than one of them). The Padre went along to teach Winchester a lesson.

Does Father Mulcahy often go peeking into peoples' tents, then walking inside and grabbing things that catch his eye?

I think this was in reference to Winchester's newspaper sitting on his desk, or cot, can't remember. Then sitting outside reading it.

Let's not forget BJ's book "The Rooster Crowed At Midnight." Everyone in the camp thought they had a right to read it.

Have you noticed that Hawkeye tends to be more compassionate towards North Korean soldiers than he is towards the South Korean soldiers. Always in his eyes the South Koreans are the bad guys while the North Koreans are the good guys.

"Fourth class mail is not coming through, which means no newspapers." - D.K. Henderson

Sorry, it was the second class mail that wasn't getting through.

"Have you noticed that Hawkeye tends to be more compassionate towards North Korean soldiers than he is towards the South Korean soldiers. Always in his eyes the South Koreans are the bad guys while the North Koreans are the good guys."

Well, that certainly doesn't apply to this episode. The Korean patient was a North Korean soldier, true. But his brother was a soldier in the South Korean Army. It was the South Korean who told Hawkeye what the situation was. Hawkeye acted in the best interest of both brothers. Politics had nothing to do with it.

It's interesting to me that only one of the brothers spoke English. The South Korean spoke it very fluently. You'd think both would have learned the language.

When Charles started playing records in the middle of the night, why doesn't Potter order Winchester to stop? It often seems that Potter allows the doctors to go too far before doing anything about the situations.

It appears that Charles has no qualms about wearing his pants "commando style". When he returns from the showers after his robe had been stolen, he only puts his pants on. No underwear.

Maybe the South Korean brother learned English in the army, and studied very hard to become fluent. The North Korean brother perhaps didn't get that chance.

Quite probably, Margie. It just seems like the South Korean brother knew more English than I would have thought possible in a relatively short period of time. But I could be wrong on that point.

the question of, who has the *rights* to things at a camp like mash is something that unless your in the military, or living in those conditions - ie, everything you own is ether in a foot locker or a duffle bag- you can't understand. These people were in a strange land, starved for anything that was normal- anything to break up the monotony and give them something to do. The question of sharing was a given, because you knew that the other person would do it for you.

Just for the record, if you count how many newspapers Winchester pulls out of the package, you'll find it does indeed appear that the Major only has six papers.

You know, if Charles is so set on keeping the existence of the Boston Globe issues he has a secret, you'd think he'd take certain precautions - like hiding the papers when he leaves the Swamp for triage. Or closing the flaps of the Swamp or not facing the compound, holding the papers in his lap. Little things like that, you know.

Lessee, the Boston Globe apparently carries "Lil Abner". Charles claims to read the Globe from the first to last page. Yet, Winchester has no idea who "Fearless Fosdick" is. Obviously, he skips the funnies. (And thus does not read every page of the Globe.)

Kudos to TPTB that Father Mulcahy is reading the exact issue Winchester left on his bunk. You can tell by the headline on the paper.

It's amazing no one before Charles and Margaret saw Father Mulcahy with Winchester's Globe. While the Father and the Major are talking, we see several members of the unit walk by. At least one was looking in their direction. Yet no one reacts to the paper in the Padre's hands.

It seems the door to the showers has been moved. Normally, when one is standing in the shower stalls, the door is to your right. However, in this ep, the door is on the left.

How convenient for Charles that whoever took his robe, left at least part of a newspaper for the Major to cover his shame. I was under the impression that whatever paper Charles took with him in the shower was taken by the thief.

When Honoria sent Charles the papers, why didn't she include a note informing her brother about the truckers strike? This way, Charles would know he'd be short one paper ahead of time. (I know. It'd make the ep a whole lot shorter if she had.)

As Charles says something about the camp returning to its normal routine, the camera pans across some extras in the Mess Tent. The last one seen is a soldier with a moustache. His arms are folded across his chest. The camera shot changes and the soldier has his right arm raised. (Look for him between B.J. and Margaret.)

The North Korean soldier has alleged bleeding in his belly. Pierce, Hunnicutt and Margaret take him to O.R. along with his brother. In O.R., they fake putting a needle in the soldiers arm for an alleged transfusion. Supposedly, they're going to operate on the North Korean. Yet, none of the medics put on gowns, masks or even scrub up. Why wasn't the South Korean guard suspicious?

Charles had attached a rope to the center pole of the Mess Tent. The other end of the rope is attached to a jeep. He's stopped by Potter before he could pull the tent down on the occupants. In the ep's last tag, Klinger moves the jeep, bringing the tent down on Winchester. How come no one noticed the jeep and/or rope before this? Why didn't Potter order Winchester to undo the rope before allowing the Major to eat?

"The undrinkable chasing the inedible."

The South Korean Lieutenant looks in on the "transfusion" supposedly taking place in the O.R., but even from his point of view it can clearly be seen that no blood has entered or flowed through the translucent surgical tubing.