Plot: Happily driving to Seoul on a twenty-four hour pass, Hawkeye is attacked by a sniper. The sniper, seeing Hawkeye's medical bag, forces him to care for an injured comrade.

(The book that I'm getting the last three seasons' synopses from, unfortunately does not bother with secondary stories. I'll put in the "B" plots if I can remember them; otherwise it'll have to wait until someone sees the episode again.)

Here's plot B, again courtesy of Khaja: Potter, Charles, Margaret and B.J. get together for a bridge tournament. Tensions arise, and Father Mulcahy is the one who comes out on top.

In many ways, this is the most nerve-racking episode of the series. Hawkeye continuously seems to be in danger of being killed by the North Korean. The suspense is maintained very well.

Surely as a poker player, Klinger would know better than to give away another player's hand. Even if it's a case like revealing that B.J.'s bridge hand is a royal flush. Klinger defends himself by saying he knows nothing about bridge. How is he keeping the score? Are the players telling him what to put down?

As Hawkeye leaves the dead soldier and his North Korean friend, I see he doesn't take his medical kit with him.

Once again, Father wins the pool. He was always good at doing that.

There is a reference in this episode that I didn't understand; hopefully someone else will. Colonel Potter had become enraged at Charles' insults about Potter's (and the Missus') bridge skills. He implied that he would challenge Charles to a duel by hitting him with a glove--"Preferably Primo Carnera's!". (I think that that was the name.)

Anyone know who Primo was? I'm assuming that it was some well-known boxer or otherwise big-handed person of the time. Or was it maybe someone known for putting a horseshoe in his glove?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primo_Carnera

Wikipedia article on Primo Carnera:
"Primo Carnera (October 26, 1906 - June 29, 1967) was an Italian boxer who became the World Heavyweight champion.

Born in Sequals, near Udine, Italy, Carnera was a remarkable individual: at six feet, seven inches (2.01 m) tall and 270 pounds (122 kg) of weight. Until December 19, 2005, when the 147 kg Nikolay Valuev won the WBA title, Carnera was the biggest heavyweight champion in boxing history. He enjoyed a sizeable reach advantage over most rivals and, when seen on fight footage, he seems like a towering giant compared to many Heavyweights of his era, who were usually at least 60 pounds (27 kg) lighter and 7 inches (18 cm) smaller than he. One publicity release about him read in part: For breakfast, Primo has a quart of orange juice, two quarts of milk, nineteen pieces of toast, fourteen eggs, a loaf of bread and half a pound of Virginia ham. Because of his size, he earned the nickname The Ambling Alp."

[...] (there's a lot more in the article)

Thank you!

And Happy New Year, all!

This episode features a new recording/arrangement of "Suicide Is Painless" in the opening credits.

Is it a good idea for Hawkeye to dump the water in the helmet on the floor of the Swamp? If the floor is dirt, it'll create mud. If it's wood, wouldn't that be running the risk of creating mold? And don't the Swampmen normally throw the water outside?

When Potter announces that Mildred enclosed a diagram of her winning bridge hand, Winchester's hands are at his side. In the next shot, they're on his coffee cup.

Klinger claims to know nothing about the game, yet earlier in the ep he volunteered to play?

Is it just me, or does it seem like the bridge game is being played at night? (When Margaret and B.J. are about to leave the Officers Club, it looks black outside.) Yet, all of Hawkeye's scene, presumably taking place concurrently with the bridge game, definitely takes place during the day. (Admittedly, when the game is over and Potter and Winchester leave the Officers Club, the sky is blue, but a rather dark shade of blue. Which could indicate dusk or dawn. It does not match the color of the sky when Hawkeye and Li Han, the North Korean soldier, begin to bury the dead Korean soldier.)

I think the bit where Potter and Winchester argue over Sherman not supporting Charles' clubs is deleted from syndication. It happens just before Winchester serves Hunnicutt his breakfast.

"Beaver biscuits!"