Hanky Panky (TV series episode) (2024)

Hanky Pankyis the 116th episode ofM*A*S*H, and the 19th in the fifth season of the show, which originally aired on CBS-TV on February 2, 1977. It was both written and directed by Gene Reynolds.

Storyline[]

B.J. is angry at himself for falling off the fidelity wagon after he tries to provide comfort to a nurse whose marriage has just ended.

Full episode summary[]

During a session in the OR, Hawkeye and B.J. both notice that a new nurse, Lieutenant Carrie Donovan, has something on her mind, but when they ask her about it, she keeps to herself. After surgery, Hawkeye tries making a date with Carrie, but while she likes Hawkeye, she is not interested, and Hawkeye is somewhat surprised when she says she volunteered for Post Op duty - with B.J. After she leaves, Hawkeye asks B.J. about it and suspects that the two are interested in one another, but B.J. only laughs it off, and then explains to him that Carrie's marriage back home is on the rocks.

The next morning in the Mess Tent, Radar delivers the mail, including three letters for B.J. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Carrie quietly reading her mail when she gets up and walks out. He follows her to the Supply Room where she continues reading the letter alone; it turns out to be a "Dear Jane" letter from her husband telling her he wants a divorce. Though B.J. tells her to take the night off from Post Op, she refuses. While on duty, B.J. coerces her to admit that she does want to talk, but someplace where they won't get interrupted. She invites B.J. to stop by her tent, to which he agrees, and he dismisses her early.

Later in her tent, Carrie expounds on the letter, saying that her husband has found someone else. She is on the verge of tears when B.J. takes her hands and makes a prediction that the hurt will pass quickly, and someday soon, she'll find someone else. Grateful for his words of comfort, Carrie embraces B.J., but the embrace soon becomes a kiss...

The next morning in the Mess Tent, Hawkeye sees B.J. and digs at him a little bit about his not coming home last night, but B.J. is terse and humorless. When Carrie joins them, B.J. is almost downright rude, and after a few seconds of small talk, he leaves.

Later that evening in the Swamp, Hawkeye finds a miserable B.J. writing something on paper. After some nudging, B.J. finally opens up to Hawkeye that he spent the night with Carrie and he is completely miserable over the fact that he "fell of the fidelity wagon". But Hawkeye tries to reassure him saying "you stumbled last night, that's all. You were helping somebody and it got out of hand." When B.J. reveals he's writing to Peg about what he did, Hawkeye quickly and strongly vetoes the idea, grabbing the letter and throwing it in the stove, saying that if he wants to punish himself, so be it, but not to punish Peg. B.J. agrees, but he is still miserable.

Meanwhile, Carrie, citing her personal problems, but also claiming that she's making a mess of things there at the 4077th, goes to ask Colonel Potter for a transfer. But Potter, reminding her that she volunteered to be there, knows different about her work and gently declines, saying whatever problems she is having are minimal compared to what the wounded are going through. Carrie meekly agrees.

Later, while both of them are again working together in Post Op, B.J. and Carrie have it out, and she lets him know how surly he has been to her since their night together. They talk outside, and B.J. admits his guilt, but Carrie believes he is blaming her. She then insists that his staying with her for comfort was not wrong. B.J. then admits he is still attracted to her, but she firmly states that just because it happened once, does not mean that it will happen again. She tells B.J. that she can work out her own problem and does not expect him to be the solution. B.J. takes a small degree of comfort in her words, and the two agree to remain friends, "closer than most", and return to work. (Most syndicated airings end the episode here.)

Subplot[]

Margaret becomes frantic when she doesn't hear from her fiancé, Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott, for several days. When she finally does get a letter, it says he is in Tokyo General Hospital, but it doesn't say why. She drives Col. Potter and Radar crazy with requests to go to Tokyo to be with him or at least get a call through. When she finally does get Donald on the phone, she's devastated to learn he's in for a double-hernia (inflicted while training on an obstacle course) and, according to Potter, will be out of commission for 8 weeks. (Much of this sub-plot, including her finally getting Donald on the phone in the end, is omitted from most syndicated airings.)

Guest stars/Recurring cast[]

• Ann Sweeny as Lt. Carrie Donovan
• Uncredited appearances:
  • Jennifer Davis - post-op (see Lieutenant Jennifer)

Research notes/Fun facts[]

• William Christopher receives billing, but does not appear in this episode.
• This is one of the few episodes that inexplicably shows a featured character with their own private tent (as a nurse, Lt. Donovan should have been bunking with the rest of the nurses).
• B.J. does admit he spent the night with Carrie Donovan but doesn't go further about what he did and didn't do with her. However, in their after-the-fact conversations between B.J. and Carrie, it is all but stated outright that they slept together.
• Yet only three episodes later, the writers tried to make B.J. into a second "Trapper" John in "Movie Tonight." Both B.J. and Hawkeye sing a duet about how they work on patients throughout the day and nurses through the night.
• "War Co-Respondent" is sort of a remake of this episode in which B.J. is tempted again to have an affair with a female correspondent.
• In earlier seasons, Hawkeye has been shown to be reluctant to initiate relationships with married nurses. Yet, he didn't seem to have a problem hitting on the married Nurse Donovan.

External links[]

• M*A*S*HepisodeHanky Pankyat TV.com

• M*A*S*HepisodeHanky Pankyat the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)