12. Dear Dad

December 17, 1972 (J-313)

Written by: Larry Gelbart
Directed by: Gene Reynolds
Guest Stars: Buck Young as an MP. Lizabeth Deen as Becky. Bill Katt as the private. Gary Van Orman as the corporal.
Bill Katt would later become William Katt of The Greatest American Hero fame.
Semi-regulars: William Christopher as a pre-regular Father Mulcahy. Jamie Farr as a pre-regular Klinger. Odessa Cleveland as an irregular Nurse Ginger. Bonnie Jones as the ever-irregular Barbara.

Plot: Hawkeye writes a letter to his father about the events surrounding his Christmas in the 4077th, including getting a tree, Radar sending a jeep home bit by bit, Henry mandatorily giving a sex lecture, Trapper helping sick Koreans and delivering cows, Father Mulcahy trying to raise Yuletide cheer, Klinger getting violent towards Burns, a Burns/Hot Lips liaison (which the boys sabotage) and Hawkeye himself traveling to do front-line surgery in a Santa suit.

Great Lines: When Trapper learns that he need not be at the sex lecture, he protests, 'I got a date tonight - I wanna learn as much as I can!'
Burns: 'I'm here to relieve you.' Hawkeye: 'You do resemble an enema.'
The PA announces, 'The following men have volunteered for this afternoon's ten-mile fitness hike...' then doesn't say anything.
Bowing to Mulcahy's wish that he handle the Klinger/Burns situation himself, an MP admits, 'I'm not even Catholic.' Mulcahy offers, 'Would you like to be?'

The Klinger Collection: Actually, he's wearing his uniform, but with a red 'good luck' bandanna.

Continuity is for Wimps: Klinger and Burns actually going to fisticuffs doesn't seem very like them. In fact, the Klinger in this episode seems very different from the laconic cross-dresser we get to know and love through the rest of the series.
Hawkeye refers to home in Vermont. Later on he decides that he's from Crabapple Cove, Maine. (Well, Maine and Vermont are pretty close together. Maybe he got confused).
This is the first Christmas episode - presumably it's Christmas 1950, although it was 1951 earlier in the season.

They All Look the Same to Me: Richard Lee Sung turns up, as a fat dodgy-looking bloke, which is good, because that's what he looks like, and what he continues to play through the series.

Je ne parle Korean...do I? Trapper is unable to understand the old man who rushes in to tell him about the cow in labour (but then, with the way he was bouncing up and down and going on, I doubt the other Koreans could understand him either).

Notes: Hawkeye is better at chest wound surgery than Trapper - enough that Trapper agrees with this instantly.
Hot Lips gets very upset when she discovers that Burns has got a wife - the first time in the series that he mentions her!

Comments: The first of many 'letter home' episodes, and not really the best one. It is definitely worth it for Henry's sex lecture, though. There's also a cute moment when Klinger has the grenade - a guy walks out of a door behind him, sees the grenade, turns and walks back in, all in one movement. Later 'letter home' episodes will have more connected storylines, making them more cohesive as this mini-genre expands.

Previous episode
Next episode
Back to the Virgin's Guide to M*A*S*H main page
Back to episode listings