As I've said elsewhere, I'm not a great fan of practical jokes, but there were a heck of a lot of them in this series. I've also noticed that Hawkeye wasn't much one for doing practical jokes on his own; it always seemed to be in conjunction with Trapper, B.J, or even Charles. I don't have time to start right now, but I thought we could assemble a list of the jokes that were done, and by whom. People could also mention which ones they thought were the best, which the worst, etc.
One of the best was the fake letter to Peg in An Eye for a Tooth, for the simple reason that revenge is sweet.
FX is having a mini-marathon of all the practical joke episodes on Saturday, April 1st.
My favorite was the one where the whole camp was involved. It started out in the Mess tent where Hotlips spilled salt all over her food because some moron uncrewed the cap. Then clinger's office blew up. Margaret had taken a shower and put on her robe to find out that it had a hole in the back to show off her bum. I think Fr. Mulcahy was in on one, too, but I don't remember it. Anyhow the whole thing was a plot to get to Winchester because he made a bet with Hawkeye that Hawkeye couldn't get him in a prank because Winchester was too smart.
Of course, I also like the one where Sidney visits the camp while BJ plays tricks on everyone, including Frank.
Actually, it was a plot by B.J. to get Hawkeye, after Hawkeye had more or less sneered at the quality of B.J's practical jokes. He claimed that Trapper had been a much better joker. B.J. promised to "get" everyone within a twenty-four hour period, but all of the jokes were fakes.
Actually, a lot of the best practical jokes were never seen, only referred to: Hanging Margaret's underwear from a flagpole, attaching Frank's clothes to a kite and flying them over enemy lines, sedating Frank and putting his arms and legs in casts, then suspending him in traction over a bed (and then cutting him loose!)
Who was it in the bed that got put in the middle of the minefield?
The episode where BJ promised to get everyone within 24 ended with Hawkeye dancing on the table. But really, shouldn't BJ have been dancing? After all, he didn't get Margaret, Klinger et al. They just pretended to have been joked.
Either way, it was my favorite practical joke episode.
The way I see it he did get Klinger, Margret, etc. He was so devious that he talked them into getting themselves.
One of my faves is the one with Pat Hingle as Col. Daniel Webster Tucker. On the surface, he was spit and polish, but Potter and he set up one great joke. Also in the same ep, Margaret pulls off the covers from Hawkeye's bunk (upon seeing her own tent stripped of the canvas) and finds a skeleton there instead.