Plot: Hawkeye must wheel and deal with a long line of people in order to obtain new boots.

Let's see. Hawkeye went to Zale in Supply. Zale wants a dental bridge. The Japanophile dentist wants a pass to Tokyo from Henry. Henry wants Margaret to quit writing bad reports about him. Margaret wants a surprise party for Frank, with a cake and presents. Hawkeye and Trapper bypass the cook, since they had annoyed him by sending a sample of his cooking to the lab and finding that it had no food content, so they go to Radar, who wants a date with Murphy the Wonder Nurse. Murphy is willing to sell herself for a hair dryer. Klinger will trade his hair dryer for a Section 8 (natch!). At the party, Frank of course refuses to let a pervert out of the army, and the dominos all fall down.

Couple of points:

Hawkeye said it would be impossible to drag twenty screaming people to a party for Frank Burns. They showed him managing the cake, but not the people. On the other hand, many seasons later, they showed that the personnel would grab any excuse for a break in the monotony, so why would it be so hard to pull together a party for Frank?

What did Radar do with that cake, anyway? It's not like he could have taken the ingredients apart and put them away. Why waste it?

In a medical unit, Hawkeye couldn't find something to patch his boot with? And how did he get such a large hole in only one boot?

Another point-- one time Frank and Margaret tried to get Henry to give Klinger the Section 8. You know, the first time Sidney showed up? Anyway, if he was willing to ask Henry to sign for him to get out, why not sign himself in this episode?

If Klinger can get a hairdryer why can't nurse Murphy?

Money? Maybe she's new and hasn't be able to get to Tokyo or Seoul to pick one up. Klinger has been there awhile. And, as proven later in the series, quite the scrounger.

In this episode, it's stated that Klinger needs the signatures of four officers to get his Section 8 discharge. Is it just me, or doesn't this change later in the series? Seems like later on, only three signatures are needed.

Also, Hawkeye hints that home for him is in Vermont. This is the fourth time Hawk's made such a reference so far in the series.

As someone who has worn out many a pair of shoes, I just don’t see how Hawkeye could have put such a perfectly circular hole in the sole of his boot.

Hawkeye says he buys his shoes in Vermont. That means that either Crabapple Cove, Maine (Pierce’s hometown) does not have a shoe store, there are no towns nearby - in Maine – that sell shoes, Crabapple Cove is very close to the Vermont border or the script writer (Sheldon Keller) is unaware that Hawkeye hails from Maine and not Vermont.

There’s a guitar on Frank’s side of the tent. I didn’t know ol’ Ferret Face played the guitar. (In one ep Frank is said to play the spoons. That seems to have been his only musical talent.)

This ep marks the first appearance of Sgt. Zale.

You know, it occurs to me that instead of going through Zale to get his boots, Hawkeye would have been better off through Radar. After all, if O’Reilly can get an incubator…

Once again, General Mitchell is mentioned.

Frank will celebrate two birthdays while he’s assigned to 4077th. The other birthday is celebrated in “The Most Unforgettable Characters”.

In this ep Radar indicates his age is between 19 and 25. Seems to me that in one ep, we’re told it’s 18. In another, “As You Were”, O’Reilly says he’s 19.

While talking to Klinger about his hair dryer, Trapper stands between Hawkeye and Max. However, in the very next shot, Trapper stands at Pierce's side, slightly behind Hawkeye.

Why do they need to have Majors Burns and Houlihan sign Klinger’s Section 8 paper? They’re not the only other officers in camp. There’s Father Mulcahy (a Lieutenant), Ginger and Nurse Kellye (both Lieutenants also) the dentist Bernie Futterman (a Captain), etc., etc. Really, Klinger should’ve gotten out in the first season. I’m sure that Captains Pierce, McIntyre, Jones (Spearchucker) and Black (Ugly John) would have signed the paper in a heartbeat.

The Nurse Henry is talking with at Frank’s birthday party will take a break with Trapper in “As You Were”.

When Klinger goes to get his hair dryer, Nurse Murphy is using it. What’s Murphy using it for? Her hair looks quite dry to me.

A geography nit. Maine borders with New Hampshire, not Vermont. I have no idea where Crab Apple Cove is, but it not having a shoe store so Hawkeye drives through New Hampshire and buys his shoes in Vermont is a little weird.

As someone who has worn out many a pair of shoes, I just don't see how Hawkeye could have put such a perfectly circular hole in the sole of his boot.

I know. This is however in perfect accord with various like movie and TV scenes I've watched. (I always imagine some little production dweeb with a boot and a pair of scissors: "Gotta make it look good for the cameras!")
Besides which the awkward crack that usually appears in real life isn't nearly as conducive to the ol''stick a finger thru the hole and make a rueful face' tradition that follows.

Why do they need to have Majors Burns and Houlihan sign Klinger's Section 8 paper? They're not the only other officers in camp. There's Father Mulcahy (a Lieutenant), Ginger and Nurse Kellye (both Lieutenants also) the dentist Bernie Futterman (a Captain), etc., etc. Really, Klinger should've gotten out in the first season. I'm sure that Captains Pierce, McIntyre, Jones (Spearchucker) and Black (Ugly John) would have signed the paper in a heartbeat.

Ummmm...maybe it's a question of the four most senior officers signing? That's the only reason I can think of why they repeatedly have to go thru Frank and Margaret.

I just thought I’d mention a little bit of trivia about Hawkeye’s boots. The boots actually belonged to a soldier. Alan Alda wore those boots in every episode of M*A*S*H. He said they’re what helped him get into the character of Hawkeye Pierce.

By the way, William, you’re right. I screwed up. If I’d bother giving it any real thought, I’d’ve remembered that Maine and Vermont do not border each other.

As for where Crabapple Cove is…well, we’ll probably learn that at the same time we learn where Springfield, The Simpsons' hometown is. As far as I can tell, Crabapple Cove does not exist. We do know it has hills. In “Hawk’s Nightmares”, Pierce spoke of sledding down hills in the winter. In “Moral Victory”, he speaks of catching lobsters, so I assume Crabapple Cove is somewhere along the coast. It’s not a small town, I don’t think. In “The Incubator”, Major Morris refers to Hawkeye and Trapper as “rich city doctors.” Pierce objects to the rich label, but not the “city” tag. Plus Charles never mocked him for living in a small town. Certainly, it wasn’t a huge city, but it I think it had a hospital anyway. And it may have been near a college (Androscoggin) that has a respectable medical course. Beyond that…

NURSE: And what are you doing here?

RADAR: I'm your date!

NURSE: Only if you plug yourself in and blow on my hair!



You know, I would have taken her up on that offer . . .

Benn, six years ago:
As for where Crabapple Cove is…well, we’ll probably learn that at the same time we learn where Springfield, The Simpsons' hometown is. As far as I can tell, Crabapple Cove does not exist. We do know it has hills. In “Hawk’s Nightmares”, Pierce spoke of sledding down hills in the winter. In “Moral Victory”, he speaks of catching lobsters, so I assume Crabapple Cove is somewhere along the coast. It’s not a small town, I don’t think. In “The Incubator”, Major Morris refers to Hawkeye and Trapper as “rich city doctors.” Pierce objects to the rich label, but not the “city” tag. Plus Charles never mocked him for living in a small town. Certainly, it wasn’t a huge city, but it I think it had a hospital anyway. And it may have been near a college (Androscoggin) that has a respectable medical course. Beyond that…

Some loose thoughts:
The word 'Cove' further suggests a coastal location. However, is it possible that Crabapple Cove is not actually a town but rather a part of a town/city? Benn, you could come up with textual evidence for or against this better than I could. As a Chicagoan, I could say I'm from Lincoln Park or Lakeview, or even the North Side or the South Side (I've lived in all these).

However, in Korea--and recall that I really do live in Korea--I certainly wouldn't say, 'I'm from Lakeview, Illinois' or anything like that. And I certainly wouldn't/couldn't put it on army records.

On the other hand, it could be a small town and Hawkeye commutes.

I just looked up "Androscoggin" on Google. It is a county in Maine, located inland to the southeast corner of the state. There are a lot of lakes and ponds in the couty, so it's possible that Crabapple Cove is in Androscoggin County* and is one of the smaller towns in the area. However, again, the series never specified where Crabapple Cove was in Maine. But from what I can recall, none of the show's references indicated that it was anything but an actual town and not an area of, say Lewiston, Maine. For the record, the novels place CC near Spruce Harbor, Maine. Which is also fictitious. (Spruce Harbor was supposed to have a populaton of 30,000.)

On the other hand, googling "Crabapple Cove" got me this.

*The college, Androscoggin College, Pierce attended, on the other hand, is fictional.

"Finest Kind."