Original Air Date: 12/7/76
Written by: Jim Fritzell & Everett Greenbaum
Directed by: Burt Metcalfe
Col. Potter gets some R&R, so he's headed off for a second honeymoon with his wife in Tokyo.
Before he leaves, Hot Lips tells him that her appendix is acting up, and she wants permission to go to Tokyo to get it removed. Potter suggests having the procedure done at the 4077th, but she doesn't want Frank--who handles routine surgeries--to touch her. Hot Lips asks if Hawkeye can do the procedure, if necessary, and Potter agrees.
A few days later, Radar is shocked to find Col. Potter's horse, Sophie, laying down in her corral, sick. He asks Hawkeye and B.J. for help. They try to beg off, but Radar finally guilts them into it. At first, they don't really take this seriously, and they make so many jokes Radar gets mad at them for their indifference. Hawkeye and B.J. straighten up.
After examining Sophie and not being able to figure out what's wrong, they call B.J.'s father-in-law who is more familiar with veterinary medicine. He tells B.J. that Sophie has Colic, a twisting of the intestines, which could be fatal.
The prescription is to "clean her out" with lots and lots of warm water, an unappealing prospect. But Hawkeye and B.J. persevere--they hook a hose up to the camp water tank, and with the help of other people in the camp, they fill the tank with warm water, sending it down the hose to the other end, where Hawkeye is handling the rough part.
After a minute or two, Sophie whinnies loudly, kicking a wall of her corral--mission accomplished! Just in time for Col. Potter to arrive back in camp. He asks Radar hw Sophie's doing. Radar assures him, "Clean as a whistle, sir--inside and out!"
That night, Hot Lips staggers into the Swamp, doubled over in pain--her appendix about to burst. Hawkeye grabs B.J. and they take her to the O.R. Potter and Mulcahy are there, too, and then Frank bursts in, demanding to be the one who performs the surgery. Hot Lips tells him in no uncertain terms to get out.
The next morning, both Col. Potter and Hawkeye escort their respective patients for a stroll of the compound, both ladies feeling much better.
Fun Facts: "The Colonel's Horse" is one of the series most dull episode titles. To be fair, these were never meant to be broadcast or known outside the network and the studio, but considering the episode is about two sick females (Hot Lips and Sophie), a title reflecting that might have been a bit more appropriate.
Favorite Line: Hawkeye wakes B.J. up by throwing a pillow at him. B.J. annoyed, asks, "What? What?"
Hawkeye: "Appendix!"
B.J.: (trying to go back to sleep) "Never heard of him."
7 comments:
"Two Ill Phillies"
"The Neighs Have It"
"Ladies in Waiting"
"Back in the Saddle"
(oh, you weren't soliciting replacement episode titles?)
No, I wasn't, but those are all great.
I especially like "The Neighs Have It", because it feels like an Abbott & Costello movie to me as well...
My favorite line is when Radar gets mad and says, "Hell!" which shocks BJ and Hawkeye. He then spells it, "H-E-double toothpicks," which was the first time I'd ever heard that phrase. It still makes me smile when I hear it.
Oh, and I think I found a time warp issue for you, Rob. When they are calling BJ's father-in-law, BJ spells out his last name, and then Hawkeye sings, "M-O-U-S-E" from the Mickey Mouse Club...but that show didn't start until the late 50s, much after the Korean War was over.
Frank was at his obnoxious worst in the OR: He demanded to hear what the patient (Margaret) said. When she screamed at him, "Out, Frank!", he snarled: "I hope you get a great big scar!"
I give kudos to Hawkeye and BJ for taking a rather as you said "dull" story line and really doing a good job coming through. the exchange by the horse that t's radar off is fantastic. I also like it when they are arguing whether to help. Hawkeye claims "I'm not a veterinarian" BJ responds "but your a veteran" Hawkeye then adds in there somewhere "let's go play horsey" The way he says it is pretty good"
For an episode title, how about one of the Potterisms: "Horse Hockey"?
I've always wondered: was Colonel Potter's horse based on the real-life Marine horse, Sgt. Reckless, who was used by a Marine unit as an ammo carrier and to bring back wounded from the front lines? Unlike Colonel Potter's horse in the show, Sgt. Reckless was brought back to the States, where she lived out her days (and was promoted twice) at Camp Pendleton, CA, before she died in 1968. She was the subject of a recent book and has had a statue erected in her honor at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, VA.
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