War Co-Respondent was the 23rd episode of Season 8 of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, also the 196th overall series episode. Written and directed by Mike Farrell, it originally aired on March 3, 1980.
Plot synopsis[]
In a situation reminiscent of an earlier episode in which he fell off the fidelity wagon, B.J. finds himself falling for a beautiful war correspondent who is even more attracted to him.
Full episode summary[]
A bus full of wounded arrive, escorted by an unexpected guest in the form of a genuine celebrity: journalist and war correspondent Aggie O'Shea (Susan Saint James), who is covering a group of soldiers as they make their way through their tour of duty in Korea, and then making sketches and reporting on what she experiences. She was holding on to the hand of a frightened wounded soldier named Scotty.
Aggie meets with the doctors and Margaret after surgery, and Hawkeye is shameless and unrelenting in his attempts to romance her. But while mildly amused by Hawkeye, Aggie shows more interest in B.J., as she openly flirts with him in Post Op continually rebuffing Hawkeye's advances. Her interest in B.J. becomes so prevalent that everyone in camp notices, even the wounded. In Post Op, Scotty makes mention that his chest feels heavy, though he was wounded in the stomach. Hawkeye guesses it is just post-operative discomfort, and they reassure him that it's nothing to worry about.
That night, Aggie interviews B.J. as they share a drink in the Officers Club, and Aggie talks about her own career, how she has done almost everything there is to do in journalism - women's stories, foreign affairs, human interest, even sports, and remarks about how she is now "a war correspondent with Bill Mauldin overtones". B.J. becomes awestruck by Aggie, but finds himself tempering his choice of words. Aggie then lays it on the line with B.J., letting him know she's "very interested" in him and that she will be leaving in 48 hours; she then walks out of the Officers Club, leaving B.J. in stunned silence.
Aggie is bunking with Margaret in her tent, and she asks her about the "camaraderie" between the doctors and the nurses, to which Margaret replies that, as adults, as long as they're discreet, they can "camarade all they want". Aggie then asks whether B.J. would do something discreet, which Margaret laughs off in disbelief.
The next morning, B.J. and Aggie are the talk of the camp, and Aggie wants to do a sketch of B.J. standing outside the Swamp, but they are repeatedly interrupted, first by Charles, then Klinger, and then finally Hawkeye, who continues his coquetry. B.J. asks Hawkeye about Scotty, who it turns out has cardiac tamponade (fluid building up in the sac around the heart muscle). After looking in on Scotty himself, B.J. is examining Scotty's x-rays when Aggie comes in. He tells her that Scotty must have suffered a hard blow to his chest, but while there is no visible wound, there is internal bleeding. Aggie remarks on what a special doctor B.J. is, but while he is flattered by all the praise, he plays if off saying he's nothing important. She tells him that she has to leave for Seoul tomorrow morning; when B.J. asks how long she'll be there, she responds, "How long would you like?"
In the Mess Tent, Klinger, Hawkeye, and Charles are with Margaret and Father Mulcahy discussing how far B.J. and Aggie have gotten. Charles and Margaret think they're already there, while all Hawkeye can do is lament that he is not the center of the gossip. Their laughing abruptly stops when B.J. walks in. Noticing that they're laughing about him, he is about to excuse himself when Nurse Kellye tracks him down saying that Scotty is having problems. B.J. has her prep him, and Hawkeye lends assistance.
As they prep for surgery, Hawkeye gets B.J. to open up about what's really going on. B.J. says that nothing has happened between him and Aggie, but then admits to Hawkeye that for the first time someone else besides Peg has caught B.J.'s eye, and he doesn't like the way he is beginning to think and feel. He confides in Hawkeye that he's not only thinking about being in bed with Aggie, but just being with her.
During surgery, Hawkeye points out how a war can bring two very different people together, people who would have little in common back home. Hawkeye uses the friendship between Aggie and Scotty as an example, but is clearly alluding to the attraction between Aggie and B.J.
Later that night, B.J. and Aggie talk again, and B.J. states that everything he is presently doing is because of the war; he points out that he works, eats, drinks, sleeps, and dresses because of the war, and then adds that the war brought Aggie to him. He admits he has strong feelings for her, but he cannot bring himself to give up his one lifeline to his wife and daughter back home in Mill Valley because of the war. Aggie understands, but tells him that she still loves him just the same, which B.J. reciprocates before they embrace one final time before she leaves.
Weeks later, a care package from Aggie arrives with gifts for everyone: a bottle of 12-year old Scotch for Hawkeye, perfumed soap for Margaret, a jar each of peanut butter and jelly for B.J., and for Potter, an original drawing by Aggie - B.J., posing outside the Swamp wearing a life preserver around his waist emblazoned with the words "SS Mill Valley". When Potter asks what that means, B.J. only smiles and answers, "Beats me."
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- This episode is a Mike Farrell tour de force, an episode that Farrell wrote and directed as well as starred in.
- The episode's title is a play on 'correspondent', using the more appropriate word 'co-respondent', a legal term for a person cited in a divorce case as having committed adultery with a respondent (defendant).
- Susan Saint James guest-starred in this episode four years after leaving her role as Sally McMillan in NBC's Mystery Movie drama McMillan & Wife (1971-76), and four years before she would co-star with Jane Curtin in the CBS sitcom Kate & Allie (1984-89), playing Kate McArdle. She and Curtin co-starred with Jessica Lange in the comedy film How to Beat the High Cost of Living which was released in July of 1980.
- Aggie O’Shea is based on real-life war correspondent Marguerite Higgins, who was in Korea in 1950.
- There's a throwaway line between Margaret and Aggie in Margaret's tent. When Aggie wonders if B.J. has ever fooled around, Margaret, not knowing what happened in "Hanky Panky", laughs, and answers, "That's a laugh...no, never."
- Radar is mentioned in this episode around the 8-minute mark, one of the few times where he is mentioned after his departure at the beginning of this season.