Plot: Klinger writes to his uncle, detailing some of his experiences as new company clerk. Among his duties are being a stand-in for Col. Potter's self-portrait and being a bird dog for Charles. Other experiences include Hawkeye and B.J. arguing over a joke that B.J. stole, a priest trying to write war ditties, and a major who shoots unarmed luggage.

I was rooting for Hawkeye in this episode. Observe the sequence of events: Hawkeye tells B.J. what he thinks is a great joke. B.J. listens, deadpan, and says that he doesn't think it very funny, which leaves Hawkeye feeling let down. B.J. promptly rushes out and repeats the joke to everyone he can find, and justifies himself by saying that the joke is funnier when he tells it. Well, if he hadn't thought the joke funny in the first place, he wouldn't have thought it worth repeating. The only reason I can see for him saying it wasn't funny was so that Hawkeye would hesitate to tell anyone else, leaving B.J. free to tell it first. Everyone knows that a joke is funniest at the first telling. B.J. not only let Hawkeye down by not reacting to the joke (you all know how he felt if you've ever told a joke and had it fall flat), he also deprived Hawkeye of the joy of watching other people react to the joke. Believe me, if Hawkeye had been the one to tell it first to everyone, they would have found it just as funny, and there would have been no babbling about nuances. As far as I'm concerned, B.J. came off as a real jerk in this episode. If he's so funny, why did he find it necessary to steal someone else's material?

Actually, BJ pissed me off in this one, too. I think he acted like a total jerk, but the rest of the episode was funny, despite that part. I like the part where Margaret shot the luggage best.

I'd forgotten about the sub-plot about the "slow" soldier, whose partner and crutch was being sent home. I liked how the other wounded soldier so readily volunteered to be his new buddy.

I thought this part was really sweet. I was so sad for the kid who'd lost his buddy, b/c he'd seemed to be lost without him. I liked how the others reacted, and stepped up.

What?? I don't think BJ did anything wrong in this
episode. Come on, it was just a joke, and since
Hawkeye didn't make a big deal of it (though he did in the beginning) I don't think we should either. And it is not like BJ did it because he
wanted to hurt Hawkeye. This is utterly absurd
(Just my opinion. I don't mean to make you guys angry)!!!

Well, would you like to have someone do to you what B.J. did to Hawkeye? And I think one of the reasons he stopped making a big deal of it was because others were making him feel silly for doing so. I can tell you from experience, there is nothing more infuriating than being upset about something, and having everyone tell you that you have no right to be upset. ("Hey, it's no big deal." "You shouldn't let it bother you." "Can't you take a joke?")

You're right, B.J. wasn't deliberately trying to hurt Hawkeye. He was just being thoughtless, inconsiderate, and self-centered.

(Just my opinion.)

I agree. I think he acted like a major jerk. I thought it was a •••••• joke, but it is so obnoxious to downplay a joke like that and then turn around and tell it around camp. I thought he was a total jerk in this one.

I agree. I think he acted like a major jerk. I thought it was a •••••• joke, but it is so obnoxious to downplay a joke like that and then turn around and tell it around camp. I thought he was a total jerk in this one.

Yes, maybe BJ did something wrong, but it is hardly likely that Hawkeye thought this was a
very mean thing to do.

Even though it has nothing to do with this episode, I would like to mention a
few other things I thought was much worse:

Hawkeye kindly loaned Trap his longjohns, and what did Trapper do, he just gave them to Radar without Hawks permission. Another time, Trapper stole Hawkeye's watch.

I know it is has nothing to do with the episode,
I just wanted to say that BJ is not the only
bad guy. Lilith, I don't want to put you down or anything, because I like you, and you have the right to your own opinion, but since you don't like BJ at all, you will always be negative to his actions.

I watched this episode with two other people - none of us thought the joke was very funny. We loved the bird hunt and the 'sniper', though! ;)

I completely agree that B. J. was a jerk.

Yes, I thought BJ was totally obnoxious here, but Lurker, I agree. The rest of the episode was totally hilarious! Margaret was just a scream with that luggage! However, the best part was Klinger's explanation to Hawk and BJ--I've got a priest singing war ditties, a head nurse shooting unarmed luggage, a snooty Major paying me to be a bird dog, and a colonel dressing me in his clothes for a self portrait--or something like that anyway. LOL!!

Like he said, no wonder he can't get a Section 8! Everyone's crazy! =) I LOVED Margaret's story about her trunk throwing itself in the sniper's line of fire - I was expecting her to shoot the darn thing as soon as Klinger mentioned the rules, but I didn't expect the heroic demise! ;)

Something just struck me as odd about the "bird-dog" incident. Charles finally managed to shoot a quail. It happens to hit a land mine when it hits the ground. (BTW, if you look closely, you can see a large chunk of the fake bird bounce off to the side after the explosion. You'd think that nothing would be left to bounce.) Klinger gets up off the ground and sees the major hi-tailing it for home, and he follows after. They act as if a sniper is in the vicinity. With a land mine, you'd think that a more careful retreat would be in order.

Father Mulcahy is no great shakes as a composer, but he did pretty well with his final effort.

"There's no one singing war songs now,
as people used to do.
No 'Over There',
No 'Praise the Lord',
No 'Glory Hallelu.'

Perhaps at last we've asked ourselves
What we should have asked before.
With the pain and death this madness brings,
What were we ever singing for?"

Amen.

This is the first episode this season in which the credits do not list Gary Burghoff as a cast member. I think they finally realized that Radar has left Korea.

The beginning of this ep contains what may the series' most overt reference to the Vietnam War. In OR, Colonel Potter notes that the reason the Korean War is being fought is a bit obscure. Of course, one of the main complaints about the war in 'Nam was that no one knew why we were fighting it.

Waitaminute! The bar in the Officers Club has been moved! Normally, the bar is on the same side as the piano, that is where the camera is for the scene where Pierce tells Hunnicutt the funniest clean joke of all time. In this ep, the bar is on the same side as the door to the Club, opposite the piano. (I knew the whole scene didn't look right. It wasn't until after B.J. left the building that I saw why it didn't look right.)

I'm just a little curious here, but wouldn't the fact that Eddie was a "little slow" be grounds for Eddie to be discharged from the Army? Why would anyone help keep Eddie in the Army anyway? The last thing you'd want to do is have someone who is mentally slow to have to worry about.

Margaret storms into Klinger's office, complaining about her footlocker. In the shot showing both the Major and the Corporal, Klinger's hand is on his chin. Just as Max asks Major Houlihan if she's imagining things, the camera shot changes and Klinger's hand is no longer on his chin.

Pretty convenient that Klinger has the memo denying the request for a new footlocker on top of the stack so he can show it to Margaret, isn't it?

After being told that the Army will replace the footlocker if it's damaged in combat, Margaret asks what kind of combat the MASH sees. Well, let's see now, there's been a sniper and a shelling or two. I'm sure there's more that might not have been shown in the series. So, yeah, I can see there being some form of combat at the 4077^th.

Charles had to wait for his shotgun to arrive to go quail hunting? Is there a reason the Major just couldn't use one of the numerous rifles in the camp? And exactly how was he able to get that gun in the mail? Wouldn't the Army have been inspecting his mail and be wondering why a gun was being sent to a MASH unit?

Klinger flushes out the quail. It takes flight and moves to the right of the television screen. Yet, when Charles shoots it, it falls back to a few feet from where Max frightened it. Wouldn't the bird have fallen several yards away to the right instead?

Why is Margaret asking Max where he was? She knew the Corporal was with Major Winchester hunting. She was there when Klinger left with Charles.

"I'm so conservative, I make you look like a New Dealer."

Ok Benn back then many military personal would have a personal piece on them during combat and other times in war zones. Patton and his ivory handled revolvers being a prime example I can think of off the top of my head.

Also this was the fifties, before kennedy and all the rest of the bad times. Back then you could mail order a shotgun or rifle from Sears and the post office would cheerfully and efficiently deliver it right to your door. As for why it was being sent to a MASH unit, they are close to combat.

I take it you have never been bird hunting. (no offense) I have. The point of using a shotgun vs a rifle for bird hunting is that birds move quick and are small so you want to throw a large amount of shot up in front of the bird so that the bird and at least enough shot to bring the bird down intersect. If you use a rifle then you only have one piece of lead flying out there and had better be an excellent shot (which I somehow doubt charles was). Plus quail and pheasant hunting is traditionally done with a shotgun so charles would of course use a shotgun.

it has been too long for me since I last saw this so I couldnt help you with the rest of you questions.

There was an ep of M*A*S*H, "The Gun", about a general who had a pearl handled gun, so I can understand the owning of one's own personal weapon. But I would imagine that either the general purchased it personally at a gun shop, or being a general, he could get by with it. But then again, your comment about mail ordering guns reminded me that Lee Harvey Oswald got his Mannlicher-Cacarno via mail. So yeah. That was a common practice back then.

My question, though, is would the military allow delivery of a shotgun like Charles got? It's one thing for it to be done in civilian life. Quite another for the Army. I'm not saying it's impossible. I'm just wondering if it could happen.

For the record, I've never been hunting. So admittedly, I'm very ignorant on that subject. Thanks for the info, R.

"I'm so conservative, I make you look like a New Dealer."

As far as I know there shouldn't have been a problem with it. The military would ship a person's personal belongings to them and a sporting shotgun would most certainly be considered a personal item. If any of my family was still alive that was in the Korean I could tell you but dad and his brothers all passed on.

No problem. I grew up hunting various animals (for food not sport) and am rather decent at it. I wouldnt claim to be able to hunt a pheasant or quail with a rifle either, even in my young and glorious days. But if there is anythign else you need to know just ask. I don't claim to know everything but I might know something.

Thanks, I'll be sure to take you up on that offer, R, should the time come.

"I'm so conservative, I make you look like a New Dealer."

No problem.