'M*A*S*H' - 'The Merchant of Korea' Quiz

Answer: Stinson Beach

BJ is tickled pink, and he should be. Stinson Beach is a lovely stretch of northern California coast along the Pacific Ocean. It's not far from Mill Valley, where BJ and Peg call home. All BJ needs to do is send Peg money for a down payment, and the acre of land is theirs. That's the tricky part.

Answer: 200

For what seems like a pittance in the modern era, $200, BJ and Peg can make a down payment for their lovely beach property. As BJ hasn't got the cash, and he certainly cannot count on Hawkeye or Radar for that large a sum, he must turn to Charles in what will become a Faustian bargain.

Answer: To assist in closing a patient of Charles' in the O.R.

Choppers arrive at camp seconds after the loan is made from Charles to BJ. At the end of a long O.R. session, Charles asks BJ to assist him with a patient. This assistance includes sewing the closing stitches. BJ suggests that this is highly irregular, but Charles convinces him by means of a reminder of their earlier 'business transaction'.

Answer: Back

The following morning, BJ and Hawkeye are off to the mess tent for some breakfast. Charles remains in bed and, just before BJ exits the tent, requests a small favor. He asks BJ to pour him a cup of coffee. BJ refuses. Charles then feigns back pain while rising from his cot and BJ succombs with annoyance to his tentmates machinations.

Answer: Sophie's blanket

The officers are especially annoyed at their lack of funds, and in particular Margaret seems irked. She becomes doubly so when she finds out that Donald has tied up all of her cash in savings bonds and is unwilling to forward her some emergency cash. Colonel Potter calls her a 'live grenade'.

His only concern seems to be for a blanket he is purchasing for his horse Sophie. Why would a horse need a blanket, by the way?

Answer: To pay off his bar tab at the officer's club

While at the bar at the officer's club, Hawkeye offers a round of drinks to his two Swamp-mates. It is here that Zale informs Hawkeye of his outstanding debt of $50 dollars, $30 dollars over the usual maximum bar tab allowance. Charles is happy to pay off Hawkeye's tab, and in return he asks only for Hawkeye to have a beer ready for him at the Swamp when he returns from post-op duty at 10 PM. 'I have the uneasy feeling that I've just been had,' says a suddenly piqued Hawkeye. 'Perhaps that's because you've just been had,' says BJ, suddenly filled with a gleeful Schadenfreude.

Answer: Cribbage

As most fans of 'M*A*S*H' know very well, Charles is a cribbage shark. In fact, it is his skill at the game that landed him at the 4077th in the first place. However, his skills with poker are unknown, and BJ and Hawkeye attempt to exploit this by enticing Charles into a dollar ante game. Charles, a self-proclaimed 'very lucky person', accepts.

Answer: Straight

The participants of the game include: Hawkeye, BJ, Margaret, Colonel Potter, Father Mulcahy, Radar, Klinger and Charles. All believe they will come away winners, but Charles soon makes it clear that he has no intention of being their stooge. He wins the first hand with a straight from a four-card draw. Charles comes away with a tidy sum of his opponents' collective money during the first half of the game.

Answer: La Traviata

Specifically, he whistles a portion of the drinking song from the first act of Verdi's 'La Traviata'. When the other players discover Charles' whistling style, the game becomes mere child's play to them.

Answer: A jar of dirt

BJ handles a small jar of dirt while he talks with Peg. The dirt comes from the land they have just purchased at Stinson Beach. In this day and age, that land would be worth millions, quite a happy outcome indeed for the Hunnicuts!

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