Was he one of the weaker character of the show? Do you feel he may have been too cartoonish for the often serious turns the show would take?

Klinger may have started out cartoonish but the character grew and changed considerably during the run of the show. Especially after Gary Burghoff left the series and Klinger took over as company clerk.

Yeah in the beginning ALL the characters were a bit broader but as the show progressed so did their depth. Same with Klinger.

Well sort of at times but that was part of the fun of the show. The characters who were ...well....characters.

Ad if we're gonna talk cartoons certainly Frank Burns would have to rank as the biggest CLOWN of all imo.

He was the comedy relief and something for us little kids to crack up at while we watched the show with our parents.

He stopped doing drag because he did not want his children to be made fun of in school.

Klinger in the OR in his nurse's uniform was one of the funniest things about this show.

Klinger was cartoonish, but he was supposed to be. When he became company clerk, he grew up and ditched the drag. And the timing was good, because the gag had run its course by that point.

I loved the way the other characters reacted to him with their very dry, matter-of-fact comments and shrugging acceptance of his schemes.

The best scenes where when he'd barge into Col. Blake or Col. Potter's office with his latest scheme and ask for an immediate discharge.

The best ever of those confrontations was when Klinger alleged his Father was dying and Col. Blake pulled out a file that stated all the previous instances of his parents dying and family members getting pregnant at the same time.

COL. BLAKE: Klinger, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

KLINGER: You're right, sir. I don't deserve to be in the army.

Klinger was cartoonish, but he was supposed to be. When he became company clerk, he grew up and ditched the drag. And the timing was good, because the gag had run its course by that point.

I loved the way the other characters reacted to him with their very dry, matter-of-fact comments and shrugging acceptance of his schemes.

The best scenes where when he'd barge into Col. Blake or Col. Potter's office with his latest scheme and ask for an immediate discharge.

The best ever of those confrontations was when Klinger alleged his Father was dying and Col. Blake pulled out a file that stated all the previous instances of his parents dying and family members getting pregnant at the same time.

COL. BLAKE: Klinger, you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

KLINGER: You're right, sir. I don't deserve to be in the army.
COL. BLAKE: Here's an oldie but a goodie. Half your family dying. The other half pregnant.

That was one of M*A*S*H's most classic scenes ever.

That was one of M*A*S*H's most classic scenes ever.
Yes it was!

I forget the episode title and what the main plot was, but in one episode, Hawkeye and Col. Potter are hanging out in Potter's office, chatting and Klinger enters, launching into his latest scam.

Potter is clearly not in the mood for Klinger's line of bull and goes to cut him off, but Hawkeye says to Potter something like "I like this one. Let him talk. I wanna see where it goes."

Potter shrugs and lets Klinger go on.

He was my favorite character. Everything he did or said was funny! I liked the time he tried to hang glide out of camp in his pjs and col. blake descrived him as a big red bird with fuzzy feet. lol

Hawkeye and Trapper's reactions to that were priceless.

He was my favorite character. Everything he did or said was funny! I liked the time he tried to hang glide out of camp in his pjs and col. blake descrived him as a big red bird with fuzzy feet. lol
that was Hawkeye who said that, not Col. Blake.

Sorry its been a while since i see it.

Yes it was!

Another good scene with Klinger was when they were waiting for General MacArthur. When the General finally arrived and merely drove thru the camp, Klinger was dressed like the Statue of Liberty and MacArthur saluted him reverently.

But in general I thought a lot of Klinger's gags in the early seasons were hit or miss.