Almost the entire camp comes down with salmonella after eating Thanksgiving turkeys Klinger managed to get at a discount — except Father Mulcahy, who was at the orphanage, Charles and Margaret, who were at the 8063rd and are pressed into service, and B.J. and Hawkeye, who are coming from Battalion Aid with antibiotics, but who get lost and run into a North Korean who insists on surrendering to them.
Attention all personnel! The following tropes were obtained at a discount:
- Affectionate Nickname: Hawkeye names the North Korean who surrenders to him and B.J. "Ralph", after a kid in his class. He later names the farmer they come across "Fred".
- The Alcoholic: Whatever is in the jug Fred gives Hawkeye is enough to make Hawk, an experienced moonshiner, give a whoop and spin away to take a breath. He still suggests taking a slug of it before fueling the motorcycle up.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: The rest of the camp is thrilled when Klinger becomes just as sick as they are from the turkeys.
- Artistic License – Medicine: The camp is suffering from food poisoning caused by the bad turkey meat that Klinger procured. But the episode incorrectly identifies the condition as salmonella, which is actually caused by eating improperly cooked meat. If it was really salmonella, then the fault would lie with the cook, not Klinger. Even a layman might know this, and an experienced doctor like Colonel Potter (who joins the camp personnel in blaming Klinger) certainly would.
- However, if Klinger thought that the turkeys had already been cooked (but in fact weren't) and had them served while only partially cooked, then it would be salmonella and technically Klinger's fault.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: As Father Mulcahy tends to the sick, an ailing Klinger pokes his head in and asks if it's safe to come in yet. Someone offscreen immediately throws a bedpan at Klinger, narrowly missing. Mulcahy quips that's one vote for no.
- Berserk Button: Do not shirk your duties around Margaret. Charles finds this out the hard way.
- Drives Like Crazy: B.J.Hawkeye: Will you slow down to the speed of sound? I can't hear myself scream!
- Exact Words:Hawkeye: You said this is a shortcut!
B.J.: It is a shortcut! Look how fast we got lost. - Gargle Blaster: Whatever is in the clay jug is so potent, that it makes Hawkeye dizzy from the fumes and makes a good substitute for gasoline for the motorcycle.
- I Can Still Fight!: Despite being as sick as everyone else, Colonel Potter insists on helping with the rest of the ailing staff.
- I'll Kill You!: Laid up in bed, Rizzo promises to kill Klinger for all this. He says the possibility of getting to do that is the one thing that makes him want to live right now.
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: When Margaret demands Charles wash and clean sheets, he protests, "I'm a doctor, not a woman!" She reacts how you'd expect.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: When B.J. finds a Korean with a motorcycle that can take them back to camp, he assures Hawkeye they have no problems. Then he looks in the empty gas tank, and admits to Hawkeye, "We've got one problem."
- Indy Ploy: When Ralph pretends to have taken B.J. and Hawkeye captive so the North Koreans passing them by will let them go. It works.
- Jumped at the Call: While, of course, Father Mulcahy is sorry everyone at camp is sick, he's thrilled to be able to help out (as we know from previous episodes, he's always worried about whether he's being useful).
- Language Barrier: Ralph speaks no English and the doctors speak little Korean. It's Played for Laughs (especially when Ralph tries understanding Hawkeye's directions), and actually not much of an impediment; Ralph makes it sparkling clear he's surrendering to Hawkeye and BJ, and he's so expressive in face and body language that he easily makes himself understood.
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- Klinger gets sick from his own turkeys.
- While walking, Hawkeye, BJ, and Ralph find a farmer who crashed his wagon and hurt his leg. The three get him safely back to his farm (to the joy of his wife). Right after arriving, the farmer and his wife take the trio to their shed, where they keep an old but operable motorbike (which BJ, a motorcycle enthusiast, is thrilled by). They give them gas, thank them for their help, and send them on their way.
- Literary Allusion Title: To The Wizard of Oz.
- Missed Him by That Much: Hawkeye, BJ, Charles, and Margaret all had to go on missions on Thanksgiving day, while Father Mulcahy missed Thanksgiving dinner because he went to spend the day at the orphanage. Because of this, none of them ate the tainted turkey and are the only members of the 4077 who are actually healthy.
- Only Sane Man: Father Mulcahy keeps Charles and Margaret from going at it, explicitly reminding them that the entire camp is depending on the three of them.
- Potty Failure: Heavily implied to happen to Klinger at the end of The Tag, given the strain in his voice when he's talking to Sparky and the astonished expression on his face at the end.
- Running Gag:
- Everyone's mad at Klinger.
- BJ was the one who got them lost, and Hawkeye is not going to let him forget it.
- Sick Episode: Ironically, several of the show's main characters (Hawkeye, BJ, Margaret, Charles, and Father Mulcahy) are the only ones who don't get sick. The rest of the show's cast (Potter, Klinger, and the ensemble) comes down with salmonella.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: Hawkeye and BJ for most of the episode, as they use jokes and insults to keep themselves optimistic despite the grimness of the their situation (they're lost in a war zone with no provisions, no jeep, and with medical supplies to deliver). They do it more often when Ralph gets involved.
- The Tag: When a still-ailing Klinger gets on the phone with the man who sold him the turkeys in the first place, he just has this to say to him; "STUFF IT!"
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Charles and Margaret get into this, as he feels he shouldn't have to do a nurse's usual duties, and she badgers him for his views on gender roles.
- Tempting Fate: Klinger initially balks at the claims that the turkeys were the problem, saying he and Potter also had turkey and are doing just fine. It takes a couple scenes, but Klinger eventually starts feeling under the weather.
- Thanksgiving Episode: Well, technically a Day-After-Thanksgiving Episode. (In-universe, that is. It first aired on November 19, 1979, the Monday prior to the holiday that year.)
- This Is Gonna Suck:
- Potter when Klinger brings up that the two of them ate the turkey, too, meaning that they're both going to get sick, as well.
- B.J. when bumping into the armed North Korean troops that were passing by.
- Too Proud for Lowly Work: Charles, who figures since he's a doctor, he should just take care of the patients and let Margaret take care of the cleaning that needs to be done. She doesn't let him get away with it.
- With Due Respect: When informed by Potter of why the camp is sick, Charles says this when pointing out no rational person would eat such turkeys in the first place.
- With Friends Like These...: When surprised by Ralph, Hawkeye and B.J. throw up their hands, only to be surprised when he does the same. They're pretty sure Ralph is surrendering to them, but they're worried about being wrong. B.J. tells Hawkeye to lower his hands, quipping that he'll do the same if Hawk doesn't get shot.
