Not sure if this was done on purpose , or if the writers didnt care or notice. But one thing that kind of annoyed me is how different in a backwards way Radar got. In a couple of the early years he is shown smoking a cigar and having a drink, yet in later years like when Potter gave him a cigar, he has to tell him how to light it and when to puff and then Radar throws up!! Same with the drinking. One episode he is actually drinking and smoking a cigar, yet in a later episode he is in the Swamp, takes a drink and loses his breath. Of course homemade alcohol can be wicked, but the way it is written it made it sound like he never ever had a drink.

Its just a nitpicky thing with me thats all. I liked Radars character but that just annoyed me the way they wrote that.

Not sure if this was done on purpose , or if the writers didnt care or notice. But one thing that kind of annoyed me is how different in a backwards way Radar got. In a couple of the early years he is shown smoking a cigar and having a drink, yet in later years like when Potter gave him a cigar, he has to tell him how to light it and when to puff and then Radar throws up!! Same with the drinking. One episode he is actually drinking and smoking a cigar, yet in a later episode he is in the Swamp, takes a drink and loses his breath. Of course homemade alcohol can be wicked, but the way it is written it made it sound like he never ever had a drink.

Its just a nitpicky thing with me thats all. I liked Radars character but that just annoyed me the way they wrote that.

I know what you mean. It was like they were trying to make him more and more innocent. I think his slight innocence compared to the others in the beginning was what made him stick out. He went along with what Hawkeye and Trapper were doing, but there was still a child like quality to him. Later on he just seems more like a young kid just starting to discover smoking, drinking and such.

the reason for the change was, after the first season Gary Burghoff suggested thatthey do all that to Radar to make him funny, because the character didn't have any "traits" like Hawkeye, Trapper, et al.

the reason for the change was, after the first season Gary Burghoff suggested thatthey do all that to Radar to make him funny, because the character didn't have any "traits" like Hawkeye, Trapper, et al.

oh ok then, never heard that one before...thanks :)

Not sure if this was done on purpose , or if the writers didnt care or notice. But one thing that kind of annoyed me is how different in a backwards way Radar got. In a couple of the early years he is shown smoking a cigar and having a drink, yet in later years like when Potter gave him a cigar, he has to tell him how to light it and when to puff and then Radar throws up!! Same with the drinking. One episode he is actually drinking and smoking a cigar, yet in a later episode he is in the Swamp, takes a drink and loses his breath. Of course homemade alcohol can be wicked, but the way it is written it made it sound like he never ever had a drink.

Its just a nitpicky thing with me thats all. I liked Radars character but that just annoyed me the way they wrote that.

I agree, Radar was mischievous in the first season, and he could be a bit of a smart aleck, too. Several first season episodes make him look a little more worldly wise, helping Hawkeye's scams, smoking the colonels cigars and peeking in the nurses shower.

It is even implied in the episode about the Army-Navy game and the bomb in the compound that he had sexual intercourse with one of the nurses. Later on he seemed to be the only person in history who got his virginity back!

Personally I prefer the earlier, ornery Radar over the impossibly naive character he later became.

yea; I also liked the early, first season Radar better.