Plot A: Charles has acquired a French horn, but not the talent to play it. Hawkeye and B.J. refuse to bathe until Charles quits. The stand-off continues until the whole camp decides to take a hand.
Plot B: Col. Potter must deal with a disfigured patient who wants to die.

It is, of course, a measure of Charles' arrogance that he feels that he can play the French Horn without lessons, or even a music book.

I don't imagine that washing Hawkeye and B.J. through their clothes would have been all that effective. And did you notice that they didn't get a rinse?

Where on Earth did Klinger find the fire hat?

Why didn't they restrain this patient after his first suicide attempt? At least until a psychiatrist got there.

Maybe they were on soak cycle?

The O.R. must be sound proof. Despite the fact that the banging, horn playing and other noises that Pierce, Hunnicut and Winchester are making is apparently heard throughout the compound, it isn't audible in the O.R. when Potter catches Saunders in the O.R., trying to asphyxiate himself.

When the jeep drives over Charles' French horn, the horn's bell faces one direction. After its flattened, it faces an entirely different way.

Concerning Charle's french horn it probably got spun around under the tires. I've done some thing similar once or twice with items that have wound up under my wheels. As for the OR it was that dramatic concentration every show gets when something dramatic happens. Except Star Trek when they cue the drama music, romulan music, klingon music etc...

I suppose it's possible for the horn to have spun 90°. (It started out with the body of the horn running parallel to the door of the Swamp. After being ran over it is aimed at the Swamp's door.) I had considered that possibility. Just mentioning that its position had changed.

"As for the OR it was that dramatic concentration every show gets when something dramatic happens."

Yeah, I know Lolar, but still... it's a nit ain't it?

Incidentally, did Winchester really plan on playing that almagam of horns if it had a mouthpiece? Did it not occur to him that the sound a combination French horn/trombone/trumpet/saxophone instrument would make, might be even worse than the French horn's own sound? Or was that what he had in mind; to make an obnoxious noise? He sure looked like he was ready to try playing it.

Yes its still a nit I was trying to be funny. Something I don't do very well until I have enough cola back in my system.

"...I was trying to be funny."

I figured as much, Lolar.

Wouldn't being as dirty as Hawkeye and B.J. were, be a health hazard? Surely on that basis, Colonel Potter could order Pierce and Hunnicutt to bathe.

Their retaliation against Charles' horn playing is a bit extreme. Winchester will not be playing all the time. However, the Captains would stink to the high heavens non-stop, offending more people than Winchester.

"The O.R. must be sound proof. Despite the fact that the banging, horn playing and other noises that Pierce, Hunnicut and Winchester are making is apparently heard throughout the compound, it isn't audible in the O.R. when Potter catches Saunders in the O.R., trying to asphyxiate himself."

I'm wrong on this point. Charles' French horn is faintly audible in the background. Nice touch.

Benn,

I can hear not only charles horn, but also the banging made by Hawk and BJ during the Potter-Saunders scene. It is somewhat subdued, but still audible. Maybe audio track was changed for syndication? (I see the translated, but uncut versions).

Incidentally, did Winchester really plan on playing that almagam of horns if it had a mouthpiece? Did it not occur to him that the sound a combination French horn/trombone/trumpet/saxophone instrument would make, might be even worse than the French horn's own sound? Or was that what he had in mind; to make an obnoxious noise? He sure looked like he was ready to try playing it.

I got the impression that he was trying to annoy. He talked about having culture in the camp, but for sb. who likes mozart and classic, the disharmonies of the horn must have been even worse. If he was really interested in the music, he could have found many quiet spots to practice and come back to play when he was good enough to perform and people had slept enough to appreciate it. Potter suggests not only putting charles into another tent, but also that he practices in a canyon, but charles declines.

I've only wondered why hawk doesn't simply take the horn away and destroy or hide it (there usually isn't that much regard for personal possession), and its also strange that potters orders are disobeyed by all three, but its short-show-syndrome.

During the wash-scene at the end, Hawk seems to quite enjoy the hand-rinsing part given by a nurse, as he starts to tumble and cuddle with her.

"I can hear not only charles horn, but also the banging made by Hawk and BJ during the Potter-Saunders scene." - constanze

You're right, constanze. I've seen the ep since then and did hear the Swampmen making noises in the background. I should have posted a correction already. Blame it on my bad hearing.

In the first Mess Tent scene, Hawkeye passes the pitcher of syrup to B.J. In shots focusing on Hunnicutt, the pitcher is missing. In other shots it is clearly sitting between Beej and Father Mulcahy.

To get Saunders into Post-Op, Klinger calls out to Donahue for help. Father Mulcahy tells Max, "Never mind. I'd like to do it." Donahue doesn't know this. He wasn't anywhere near the two men when the Padre volunteered. Why didn't Donahue go to help Klinger with the patient?

Where did they get the spare table to seat Pierce and Hunnicutt outside of the Mess Tent? And for that matter, if the idea is to keep the two captains from offending the camp with their odor, why are they seated so close to the entrance to the Mess Tent?

After Potter turns up the anesthesia in the tank, it looks like he reaches out to put the mask on Saunders' face. However, in the next shot, the Colonel is, instead, pointing at Saunders.

Concerning Charle's french horn it probably got spun around under the tires. - Lolar Windrunner

Watching the sequence carefully, the horn does not spin when it is run over. It stays in one place. But it definitely changes position between shots.

During the wash-scene at the end, Hawk seems to quite enjoy the hand-rinsing part given by a nurse, as he starts to tumble and cuddle with her. - constanze

That's because she's the nurse he's been trying to get a date with throughout this ep. She refused to date him because of his stink.

The character of Sang Mu, the Korean who repaired Winchester's horn, was previously mentioned in the ep, "The Merchant Of Korea". He did not, however, make a physical appearance in that ep.

"Gentlemen, please. Mozart."

Saunders mentions Norman Vincent Peale when talking to Colonel Potter in Post-Op. Peale's book, The Power of Positive Thinking was published in 1952, thus dating this ep as occuring in either 1952 or '53.

I forgot to mention, this ep is the eighth one this season to not have Radar in it. Makes you wonder they even bothered having Gary Burghoff's name in the opening credits? (In reality, Burghoff was in the process of quitting the show and had asked that his screen time be cut.)

"Gentlemen, please. Mozart."