Plot: Col. Potter wants to paint a group portrait of the gang for Mildred's birthday, but it's difficult--cabin fever has set in at the Swamp, and Hawkeye elects to move out. Within twenty-four hours, Hawkeye has become lonely, B.J. is driving Charles crazy with stories of Erin's potty training, and Charles is annoying B.J. with his classical music. Potter elects to paint the group one section at a time, while Margaret, Klinger, and Father Mulcahy all scheme to get the Swampmen all back together. Unfortunately, they do not coordinate their efforts.

I realize that this was supposed to show a case of cabin fever and all that, but I think that Hawkeye had a good point at the beginning of the episode. B.J. had absolutely no business getting into Hawkeye's footlocker and taking his last pair of clean socks. What did he think Hawkeye was going to wear? True, they've shown Hawkeye and B.J. casually prying into Charles' footlocker, but that doesn't make it right. Actually, considering the way Charles has blown up when he's found them in his footlocker, he shouldn't have brushed off Hawkeye's anger the way he did. None of them should have. I know, I know, they all say, "Don't sweat the small stuff" and it's good advice, but on the other hand, there is nothing more infuriating than to have people imply that you have no RIGHT to be upset about something. It's really very insulting.

Once Hawkeye had left the Swamp, B.J. and Charles made a big show of how considerate they were of each other. Why, pray tell, didn't they think of doing that before Hawkeye left? It seems to me that Hawkeye did, in fact, get his point across, which was all he really wanted.

Hawkeye complained about the lack of privacy, but if there had been a little LESS privacy, Father Mulcahy, Margaret, and Klinger would have caught on to each other's doings, and would have then coordinated their efforts.

I never saw the three sitting models doing anything more than sitting up straight, but the finished portrait has them all touching each other.

Once again, the opening theme is actual the end theme. I just realized there's a reason for it. The opening credits are cut short. The scenes of Hawkeye and B.J. examining the wounded on the choppers are cut.

After Hawk says he won't utter another word about the socks, the camera shot changes. The positions of Charles' right hand and the direction in which B.J. and Charles are looking changes.

When Potter says he's going to paint a picture of the whole gang, he starts to lower his hands. In the next shot, the arms are still raised again and then lowered.

Okay, so Hawkeye still has his golf club. I guess that's where Charles got it to use to pick up clothes in "Pressure Points".

Hawkeye, using his golf club as a cane, sings and dances to "Me and My Shadow". At one point, he swings his arm forward. The camera zooms in on him, and the arm's a little further back than it was in the last shot.

The position of the book Hawkeye's reading (Who Killed ? is all I can make out of the title), changes from just before Hawkeye reaches for the lantern to when he picks the light up.

The position of Peg's letter to Beej (and Hunnicutt's left hand) changes from the point when Charles asks if anything's wrong to the shot when B.J. answers him.

Charles expression suddenly changes when the camera zooms in on him after B.J. requests the music be turned down.

Why would Hawkeye be so isolated in his new home? Other than the fact that he chooses to stay there all the time. You would think that if he got bored on his own, he'd go visit Potter, Klinger, Margaret or Father Mulcahy. Or even stop off at Rosie's or the Officers Club for a few drinks. Or invite a nurse over. The only reason Pierce is so alone is because he chooses to be.

"New roomie"? Charles is far from being B.J.'s new roommate. Apparently Colonel Potter mispoke. What the Colonel meant to ask is if everything was alright in the new living arrangement. Or something similar.

There seems to be several other books on Pierce's shelf. And yet Hawkeye continually picks up that one book that Charles tore apart? The one he had just recently finished reading?

The position of Hawkeye's coat changes from the long shot (where B.J. tells Pierce it was his turn to be a jerk) to the following close up.

Hawkeye is looking straight ahead when B.J. says, "Too late, Charles. We're not going anywhere." But in the close up, Pierce is looking at Hunnicutt.

B.J. starts to turn to Hawkeye when Pierce is berating Charles for mocking Erin's "medical problem". The camera angle changes and Hunnicutt is once again looking towards Potter.

In "Heroes", the portrait that Colonel Potter did of Hawkeye in "Depressing News" was in the lower right corner of the door frame. In this ep, it's on the upper right. Earlier this season it was on the upper left. I guess the Colonel just couldn't make up his mind where he wanted the painting.

I never saw the three sitting models doing anything more than sitting up straight, but the finished portrait has them all touching each other. - D.K. Henderson

Not just the sitting models. Pierce did not pose with his arms around B.J. and Charles. Hunnicutt did not have his hand on Klinger's shoulder. And Margaret was not touching Charles' hand, which rested on her shoulder.

Finally! In the tag to this ep, we see Benjamin Franklin Pierce reading another book. It's about time.

"The undrinkable chasing the inedible."