Plot: Deciding that life is passing her by, Hot Lips dumps Frank, applies for a transfer, and gets thoroughly drunk.

I've always thought Hot Lips was at her funniest when she was drunk.

She's not so think as you drunk she is.

"Oh my god, it's an emergency! It's a good thing I'm a nurse."

This is the ep in which she states that her father is dead. This will change in later seasons. Hallelujah!

Interesting subtlety in this episode. In the beginning of the ep, Radar gives a letter to this one soldier standing in front of a trash can that has a fire in it. The soldier reappears at the end of the ep in the mess tent. (He's in the foreground playing checkers.)

When Margaret is in her tent talking with Frank, watch her carefully. Just after informing Major Burns he was issued to her with "khaki girdle", Loretta turns her head and starts to cover her mouth. Apparently she was about to crack up.

The Officer’s Latrine is no longer a two door outhouse on stilts. It’s now a tent with a single door.

Scene cuts: Hawkeye receiving medical journals from his Dad. Frank got a letter telling him some good news. Exactly what news is of yet, unspecified. Apparently, it’s good news about his stocks. Also, Radar gives Major Houlihan advice on how to receive more mail. Radar sends away for stuff.

It is in this episode that Nurse Kellye finally speaks. Before this, the role was a non-speaking part, regulated to the background. In this ep, however, the character is known as “Nurse Yamato”.

Once again we see Radar drinking and smoking even though he is not supposed to engage in such activities. Actually, this is the first time this season we see him with a drink and a cigar. Oh, while we’re at it, Major Houlihan orders Radar to put the cigar out. However, he doesn’t. He merely places it on his desk still lit.

Why is Margaret’s impending transfer announced over the P.A. system? IIRC, when she and Frank were leaving in “Major Fred C. Dobbs”, no such announcements were made. When Frank left there was no such announcement. When Radar left the P.A. was quiet. The same goes for anyone else who’s ever left the 4077th (with the possible exception of Col. Blake in “Abyssinia, Henry”). Why is Margaret’s transfer different?


General Mitchell is mentioned in this ep. Mitchell must have been General Clayton’s replacement. This makes his inability to recognize Pierce and McIntyre in “The Trial of Henry Blake” or “The Incubator” (whichever comes first) all the more mystifying.

No wonder Frank couldn’t find the love letters he’d written Margaret in “It Happened One Night”. She gave them back to him. I suppose he could have given them back, or wrote more letters…

Margaret was drinking with Hawkeye and Trapper in her tent. Next thing you know, she’s in the Swamp to return some of the things she got from Frank. What happened to Pierce and McIntyre? They’re not in the Swamp. Did Margaret leave them in her tent, or did they go elsewhere?

Funny how Margaret feels absolutely free to help herself to some gin from the still.

First time this season, someone called Frank “Ferret Face.” It was Hot Lips. Is this first time ever in the series?

Boy does the time jump in this ep. It’s clearly daylight outside when Margaret goes to Henry’s office for more booze. It does not even appear to be late afternoon either. Radar informs Henry that a company of marines has been wounded and in 45 minutes, the casualties will arrive. In the very next scene it’s nightfall.

Just making some kind of a point here, in this ep we see Frank prepping to remove a patient’s appendix, despite the fact that there’s no evidence of it endangering the patient. Frank goes so far as to say he’s doing it “while (he’s) there.” No one objects to this unnecessary surgical procedure. Yet in “Preventive Medicine”, B.J. Hunnicut raises hell over Hawkeye’s plan to remove Colonel Lacy’s appendix. Again, I’m just kind of pointing this out.

Um, hmm. Sorry. “Dear Dad…Three” was not Ginger’s last appearance in the series. This ep is. Maybe.

Just making some kind of a point here, in this ep we see Frank prepping to remove a patient's appendix, despite the fact that there's no evidence of it endangering the patient. Frank goes so far as to say he's doing it "while (he?s) there." No one objects to this unnecessary surgical procedure. Yet in "Preventive Medicine", B.J. Hunnicut raises hell over Hawkeye's plan to remove Colonel Lacy's appendix. Again, I'm just kind of pointing this out.

Actually, Benn, I think you're making two different points.

In the first instance, removing the appendix as long as you're 'there' anyway is a routine 1950's medical tenet (tonsils got treated much the same way).
In the second, there's no reason to remove Lacy's appendix because there was no reason to operate on him in the first place - therefore (especially given the conditions under which the op would take place) it's invasive, a violation of patient's rights, and BJ is entirely right to object...on those grounds, anyway.

The big problem, for me, Kerrie, is that OR is presumably packed; a heavy amount of wounded waiting to be treated and Frank wants to take time out to remove an appendix. "As long as I'm here"? Somebody, Henry, Hawkeye, Trapper, someone should have told the Major to close the patient up and get ready for the next one.