This episode focuses on Colonel Potter. A supervisor of nurses for the whole shebang comes to inspect the camp. She is Potter's age, has a twinkle in her eye, and proves to be a kind, concerned person. They are immediately attracted to each other and spend lots of time. Radar is furious because he has a pure, unsullied view of the Colonel and he feels this wench is getting her claws into him and potentially ruining his commitment to his marriage. The question is whether they will actually carry this further. The other little subplot involves Hawkeye becoming obsessive over what the B and the J stand for in B.J.'s name. He goes through every conceivable gyration trying to find out, letters home, invading Radar's private files, etc. This adds another example of Hawkeye's manic being.
6 Reviews
Lil bit of action
safenoe31 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Lil was wanting a bit of intimacy with Potter, but he wasn't into it. Potter was the devoted husband, and he wasn't going to cheat on Mildred, even from a distance. Such a nice guy. Radar was even concerned Potter would cross the line.
So what does BJ stand for?
zacdawac24 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Thirty odd years later, there might have been some slightly more crass, or might I say more intimate implications for the name BJ. At the time of this airing, I was a teenager in Brooklyn and I wasn't nearly as appreciative of the strength of the show's replacement characters as I am now. In the film, in the book and in earlier seasons, everyone was having sex, whether married or not. Kidneys were removed for sport, blood was syphoned while unknowing participants slept and essentially, everyone was far wilder and more outrageous than they were after original performers departed.
It took me a while to appreciate Charles, who was probably the most multi-faceted and complex character to be part of the unit. He was brought in as the essential opposite of Frank Burns, being refined, competent, single and an exemplary, dedicated surgeon. At the same time, he was just as much the foil for his swamp mates, even though he was able to hold his own and give back. But even Charles, a brilliant, affluent, high class young-ish doctor, surrounded by passionate, available nurses seemed relatively celibate. There were only small implications that Charles ever sewed his oats, on two or three episodes.
So what does BJ stand for? A character who only stepped out on his wife one time, when all of the married characters in the book, film and early seasons seemed to do it, from the first day that they arrived. A noble man who refused to remove someone's kidney without a valid medical reason, regardless of how it might affect the good of the many? When I was sixteen, my assumption was, since Mash once had a Trapper John, a Ho Jon and an Ugly John, BJ must have stood for Boring John. As I'm typing, I'm thinking it also could have been Banal John.
It took me a while to appreciate Charles, who was probably the most multi-faceted and complex character to be part of the unit. He was brought in as the essential opposite of Frank Burns, being refined, competent, single and an exemplary, dedicated surgeon. At the same time, he was just as much the foil for his swamp mates, even though he was able to hold his own and give back. But even Charles, a brilliant, affluent, high class young-ish doctor, surrounded by passionate, available nurses seemed relatively celibate. There were only small implications that Charles ever sewed his oats, on two or three episodes.
So what does BJ stand for? A character who only stepped out on his wife one time, when all of the married characters in the book, film and early seasons seemed to do it, from the first day that they arrived. A noble man who refused to remove someone's kidney without a valid medical reason, regardless of how it might affect the good of the many? When I was sixteen, my assumption was, since Mash once had a Trapper John, a Ho Jon and an Ugly John, BJ must have stood for Boring John. As I'm typing, I'm thinking it also could have been Banal John.
Colonel Potter has a moral compass
wildbilly069020 December 2018
Warning: Spoilers
One of my all time favorites! Colonel Rayburn shows up to inspect the nurses and Margaret, however unlike Colonel Buckholtz, (S11E01) Lil is a genuinely nice woman and cares for those under her command. Her easygoing nature and her age put her eye to eye with Colonel Potter, so to speak. After spending a couple days together showing her around the camp, Lil finds herself attracted to Sherman. I really feel that the writers did a wonderful job with Colonel Potter and his reaction. Colonel Potter deals with infidelity almost daily from the men (Klinger, Zale) and nurses (Margaret, Donoven) under his command, plus his son-in-law cheated on his own daughter, plus he himself cheated on Mildred (he told his son-in-law) and admitted that it was the hardest thing he ever did. If he was to cheat with Lilian then it would have undermined his whole character. On the other side, we find out that Dr. Hunnicutt's parents are Bea and Jay lol
So so
unclemc-9571025 May 2023
The main plot revolves around Colonel Potter's time spent with a visiting nurse who is his age, and just how friendly their time will become.
The subplot is about Hawkeye trying to figure out BJ's reap name.
In my mind the Hawkeye-BJ storyline is more enjoyable. It's fun without being mean, and very relatable. It's also very short.
The Colonel Potter storyline is entirely forgettable. While interesting, it seems crafted to give Harry Morgan some screen time and a bone to MASH's older viewers.
Oh, it has some good parts, such as when Colonel Potter visits Lil and finds Hotlips visiting first. But the "will they or won't they" element is predictable and unsurprising.
The subplot is about Hawkeye trying to figure out BJ's reap name.
In my mind the Hawkeye-BJ storyline is more enjoyable. It's fun without being mean, and very relatable. It's also very short.
The Colonel Potter storyline is entirely forgettable. While interesting, it seems crafted to give Harry Morgan some screen time and a bone to MASH's older viewers.
Oh, it has some good parts, such as when Colonel Potter visits Lil and finds Hotlips visiting first. But the "will they or won't they" element is predictable and unsurprising.
Sets up the audience and then does not deliver.
PWNYCNY28 June 2009
This was shaping up as one of the better episodes of MASH. Excellent acting, great script, real chemistry between Colonel Potter and his female visitor, who also was a Colonel, a plausible story, two people attracted to one another and then ... nothing. What was shaping up to be an outstanding episode of television theater ended with a thud. Why the writers would want to ruin a such a great story is perplexing. The episode is building up to a climax and ends with ... a handshake between a man and woman stuck in a war zone, thousands of miles away from home, and obviously attracted to each other. There is no worse screenplay then one that sets up the audience and then does not deliver. The two Colonels were primed for action and then the writers pull the fuse and create a dud. Ugh!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
