Hi all,
I heard this watching the "Change Of Command" episode probably a dozen times through the years, and again today on FX. But it never occurred to me before that it doesn't seem to make sense.

It was the show right after Henry Blake's death and Trapper's departure. BJ arrived in the previous episode, a two-parter. Frank Burns is in charge at the start of the show. Fairly early on in the episode, Frank is replaced as commander by Col. Potter. The show contains Col. Potter's first OR session at the 4077th, about which Hawkeye & Margaret are quite nervous -- Potter supposedly having been sitting behind a desk for two years and being out of practice when it comes to surgery. The show also implies that it's BJ's first OR session there, as well. (Before they go in, Hawkeye asks him, "Are you ready?" BJ nervously replies, "I think so." Then during his operation, BJ comments on how different it is from the type of surgery he's used to performing back home. At one point, he even desperately calls for help.

HOWEVER, while reviewing the records of all the officers earlier in the show, Col. Potter discovers that Hawkeye & BJ had gotten into trouble "last year" for accidentally setting the latrine on fire.

The question is -- how long was BJ in camp before Col. Potter arrived? In TV time, it seemed to be only *one week*

I thought, though I haven't seen B.J.'s first episode, that B.J. came to M*A*S*H straight from home. I think Potter asked that question about the fire, which had a happened a week ago. I know that he asked about something that happened a year ago, and only Hawkeye answered, since B.J. wasn't there then.

I know Frank was a jerk and all, but did anyone feel sorry for him, when Potter came in? I mean he really wanted to be in charge and then all of a sudden some new guy comes in.

Based on what I've seen of the later years, I like B.J. much more that Trapper John. But I still like Henry Blake more than Sherman Potter.

Kind of off-topic, but when I went to JVS for Printing Technologies, we had an instructor for 14 weeks. He was a nice guy, and kind of reminded me of Henry Blake. Then he left, and a female instructor came in. She was strict and the exact opposite of the original instructor. Eventually, we got used to her and she became really nice. So that's the way I see the change in M*A*S*H. Especially "Change of Command" when it all happens. The was even two guys who were kind of like Hawkeye and Trapper. They were class clowns yet also the best Printers in the class. I guess I was kind of like Radar. Just not as short.

I just watched the "Change Of Command" ep this morning too, and I have wondered how much time has passed between BJ's arrival and Potter's.
I think that BJ is still getting used to the rigors of "meatball surgery," which might explain his comments about performing surgery back home.

Since Hawkeye and BJ's antics have been reported on thier respected service records by Frank, and BJ is still adjusting to performing surgery in a M*A*S*H unit, I would say BJ has probably been in camp for a couple of weeks when Potter took command...

TJL & Adam,
Thanks for the replies.

I just saw the show again this morning on FX and must correct myself: The incident to which Potter referred as occurring "a year ago" was not Hawkeye & BJ setting fire to the latrine -- it was a theft of a steamshovel, and it was only Hawkeye to whom he was speaking.

And, as BJ nervously prepared to enter the OR and Hawkeye asked, if he was ready, BJ replied, "I hope so", not "I think so."

Whatever the case, it was defintely clear that that was the first OR session at the 4077th for both Col. Potter and BJ.


By the way, Adam, your story about the instructor reminded me of something I haven't thought of in quite a few years. In the office in which I worked in the late 1970s & early '80s, I had a co-worker who, like myself, was a "M*A*S*H" fanatic. He sat right next to me. In fact, we shared the same telephone, which we kept on a shelf between us. As time went on, our work area became known as "The Swamp" and we began addressing each other as "Hawk" and "Beej", (I was "Hawk.") while another good friend and co-worker of ours in the department across the aisle became "Trapper".and a female fellow employee, who had a rather large nose we called "Klinger." Whenever our boss came into the room -- always talking, sometimes barking orders -- we would always say, "Uh-oh, incoming choppers!" Our break times were when we would go for "a cup of Joe." And, the bar down the street, where we periodically went for lunch, for years, we called "Rosie's." We would even refer to the bartender -- even though he was a kind of chubby *guy* with a mustache -- as "Rosie." We goofed around quite a bit and had lots of laughs, but we always did our jobs well. Nice to remember that after all this time. Thanks.

Later,
Art