(08x06) 179 - Period of Adjustment

Talk about individual episodes here. Every episode has its own discussion thread and there are also threads for each season.
Post Reply

Rate This Episode

Best of the best
0
No votes
Above average
0
No votes
Average
1
33%
Below average
2
67%
Worst of the worst
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 3

User avatar
Big Daddy O'Reilly
Colonel
Posts: 543
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 10:57 am
Location: The Swamp
Contact:

(08x06) 179 - Period of Adjustment

Post by Big Daddy O'Reilly »

Mike Farrell said this was his favorite episode, mainly because he gave him a chance to really exercize his skills as an actor.

I hate this episode personally - everybody treats Klinger like absolute crap because he can't measure up to Radar, then because of it, he hates Radar... meanwhile, B.J. sinks a depressive funk because he learned Erin called Radar "daddy" and because of it hates him as well.
Ferret Face
First Lieutenant
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:11 pm

Re: (08x06) 179 - Period of Adjustment

Post by Ferret Face »

I actually really liked this one. For one thing, I think it's one of the better "BJ misses his family" episodes, playing on the departure of Radar (and even Trapper) to emphasize the point. I can understand how some people may feel like Mike Farrell was over-acting during BJ's breakdown in Potter's office, and to be fair, it was a bit borderline there (though it could be argued that BJ was drunk, which could push him to such excessive emotions), but overall I thought he did a very good job of not just expressing his sorrow and anger, but also his conflicting emotions about someone he cared so much for over the past few seasons.

And while it wasn't quite as strong IMO, I do like the story with Klinger, as people get fed up with him because he's not as efficient as Radar. My favorite part of this story is his talk with Potter at the end, where Potter says he went through something similar after Henry left (once again doing a great job of evoking past characters), and that he should have realized it wasn't always an easy transition when people are replaced.

Also, while the main stories of the episode are certainly very dramatic, I really appreciate the comedic pieces they had in this episode, such as Charles begrudgingly looking for BJ and Klinger, and the drunken scenes in Potter's office, before BJ's breakdown. I especially liked the parts where Klinger is worried that Potter is going to hit him, and BJ's reaction to Hawkeye wearing a helmet.

On a side note, obviously this period in the series marks a major change for Klinger's character, as he stops trying to get out of the army. As I've just mentioned in another thread, I'm a bit less familiar with these later seasons (there are a quite a few episodes I do remember, but my knowledge of these seasons isn't as consistent as earlier ones), and this version of Klinger is one aspect I will have to form an opinion on based on this rewatch. However, no matter if I end up liking him or not, one thing has become increasingly clear to me over the past season: it was definitely a good time for the change. While he did have his moments throughout season 7, his schemes had been growing increasingly tired as it went along, and I could only imagine it getting worse if they hadn't made that change.
Post Reply