100. Lt Radar O'Reilly

October 12, 1976 (U-805)

Written by: Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell
Directed by: Alan Rafkin
Guest Stars: Sandy Kenyon, as Sergeant Woodruff.
Semi-regulars: Johnny Haymer, as Sergeant Zale. Jeff Maxwell, as Igor. Lynne Marie Stewart, as Nurse Baker. Raymond Chao, as the Korean boy.

Plot: In a poker game, Sergeant Woodruff loses an awful lot of money, and tries to give BJ or Hawkeye a not-entirely-legitimate promotion to make up for the money he hasn't got. They decide to make him promote Radar to Lieutenant. When the promotion comes through, Radar is astonished and thinks this is wonderful, but when the other enlisted men start acting huffy he gets rather miserable and decides that he's really a corporal at heart. The boys suggest changing him back to Corporal, and get Sgt Woodruff to do it.

Glitches: Lt. Baker is just about nose-to-nose with Radar in one shot, and quite far away in the other.

BIMOL: Burns and Hot Lips are very fringe this episode. Although Hot Lips's whip scenes are very funny.

Great Lines: Radar, in Colonel Potter's letter: 'Momma says don't play with ashtrays, 'cos they're furniture.'
Potter: 'A reward for heroism, like throwing himself on a live grenade.' BJ: 'I saw him throw himself on a case of rotten spam.' Hawkeye: 'Ate the whole thing.'
Klinger: 'You know me, Lieutenant, I'm GI all the way - I go by the book.' Radar: 'Wearing dresses?' Klinger: 'But always in the best taste!'

The Klinger Collection: His housecoat and beret. A blue shirt-sleeved dress to cut the colonel's hair. Then a green polka-dot dress with a matching veiled hat.

Continuity is for Wimps: Colonel Potter's granddaughter is five now. Ye gods...
And his horse is a gelding (ie, a castrated male horse). Pretty good trick for a horse that was and will be a mare.
It's a little odd that people keep saluting Radar when nobody ever salutes anybody else, ever.

They All Look the Same to Me: That's it for Raymond Chao.

Notes: Radar uses his spare money to pay for his mother's electrolysis. (Seeing as she's also played by Gary Burghoff, I can see why electrolysis could be useful.)

Comments: A nice Radar episode, it just goes to show that some people like being non-coms. It was nice of BJ and Hawkeye to forego all their poker money to get Radar promoted, and even nicer when they didn't kick up a stink about him not wanting the promotion any more. They let him keep thinking that the promotion is legit. Very sweet.

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