Original Air Date: 12/19/83
Written by: Dennis Koenig
Directed by: Burt Metcalfe
It's Christmas Eve at General General, and everyone is stuck at the hospital.
Klinger is busy buying last minute Christmas presents, and Father Mulcahy is busy arranging a delivery of gifts to the patients via charitable donations.
Everyone seems in a good mood, except for Dr. Pfeiffer. When Father Mulcahy tries to give him a present, he refuses it, saying since he doesn't have money to give presents, he feels he shouldn't accept them either. Father Mulcahy tries to talk him out of it, but Pfeiffer mentions that back in his home town, his family was the recipient of the town's collective charity, and he's still sensitive about it.
Soon-Lee arrives, and we see she's there to visit Col. Potter. In his examining room, we learn why she's there: Col. Potter confirms that Soon-Lee is pregnant!
Mike D'Angelo and Alma Cox have a private Christmas get-together, but they're not on the same page: D'Angelo has invited most of the hospital's staff, but Cox was hoping it was a private romantic evening.
Before the Klingers go to the party, Soon-Lee tells Klinger they're going to have a baby--Klinger is overjoyed at the idea of being a father.
Down in the ward, Father Mulcahy unveils another present for the patients: a brand-new, high-tech television! Mulcahy is sure TV will be a source of culture and education, but all the patients want to watch are soap operas and midget wrestling. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long: a patient (a cop, who is sure his wife is cheating on him) gets so furious when he sees what he thinks is his personal life reflected on the soap, pulls out a gun and shoots the TV to death!
Meanwhile, Alma Cox is depressed at being thrown over by Mike D'Angelo. She drinks too much at the party, and is surly to everyone. As a way to pick herself up, she sneaks into Klinger's office, looking for grounds to fire him. In the middle of the attempt, though, she passes out.
Klinger finds her, drunk and passed out, in his office. He's furious, but is still nice enough to forge her name on some vital hospital documents that need to go out that night--if they don't, Cox would be fired. After that good deed, he calls his folks at Toledo to tell them the good news.
Fun Facts: The angry cop is played by Alan Fudge, who played the confused Arnold Chandler in the classic M*A*S*H Season Four episode, "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler."
Ironically, for a spin-off, AfterM*A*S*H to this point didn't feature a lot of scenes with Potter, Klinger, and Mulcahy together. This episode ends with them sharing a Christmas toast, a nice moment.
Favorite Line: Father Mulcahy takes a phone call from a woman at the hospital's switchboard, apologizing for being late: "Sorry, I was removing mistletoe from the confessional--some young couple must have had fun last night."
The young woman slinks away: "I'll never do it again, Father."
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ReplyDeleteAnother Christmas episode? The war was over in July of 53, so this episode is happening 5 months after the war?
ReplyDeleteYou would think a year or two would have passed, as Potter and Klinger would still be technically in the Army, waiting to be demobbed.