It just wasn’t as developed as I would have liked. Sure, the other Benjamin Pierce was interesting, what with his monotone, humorless demeanor at odds with the way he made all the ladies laugh. There was a lot of potential and I don’t think it was fully reached here. Part of me wishes that Hawkeye getting another Benjamin Pierce’s mail had been a larger plotline in another episode. Together, Klinger and B.J.’s plot points felt a little reminiscent of Trapper nearly going AWOL in “Mail Call” during Season 2. While that may seem somewhat sexist, I’m sure it was a very real fear for soldiers in the 1950s. No, he was terrified that Peg would realize she didn’t need him, that she could fend for herself just fine. He wasn’t so much worried about her having to deal with plumbing or the car and his anger wasn’t just that a good neighbor made a pass at her. Has it been a few months? Half a year? More? He always missed her but this time there was something more. has been away from Peg by this point in the series.
Likewise, we don’t know just how long B.J. His plea in front of the entire camp (“I want somebody to listen to me.”) revealed the depth of his pain, both at the divorce and the fact that he had become the boy who cried wolf. I wish more attention had been given to the fact that nobody believed Klinger when he said Laverne wanted a divorce, although to be fair apparently Klinger had made the claim in the past. Given the impossible timeline of the series, it’s possible the two were only married for a few months. The wedding took place over the phone during “Springtime” in Season 3. It’s unclear how long Klinger was married to Laverne. with a little bit of Hawkeye and Radar thrown in for good measure. For all intents and purposes this was an episode about Klinger and B.J. There’s no real storyline to this episode, just plot points involving every single character, some tied together and most involving mail. This was the third and final episode to have mail call in the title (after “Mail Call” from Season 2 and “Mail Call Again” from Season 4) but by no means was it the last episode to involve character’s receiving letters from home. while Hawkeye gets another man’s love letters.
Written by Everett Greenbaum & Jim FritzellĬapsule Summary: Mail call brings bad news to Klinger and worries to B.J.
Originally Broadcast: Monday, February 6th, 1978 Every Monday, I spotlight a random episode of M*A*S*H, providing a brief review and asking readers to offer their thoughts.