M*A*S*H Mania

His nickname comes from his habit of responding to all conversation with the phrase "Boom-boom" when he is tired of participating further and he is uninterested in dull routine tasks, believing justifiably that his talents are far better employed in his specialist area.

Pierce, who fostered him as a troubled but gifted child, gives Benner the advice he needs to navigate the hospital bureaucracy and hence ensures that Spruce Harbor will continue to enjoy the presence of an outstanding heart specialist.

Hawkeye obliges with a humorous story about his "dragon-crunching" adventures as a youth and how he induced a dragon called "Big Sid" to breathe fire on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading the world to believe that America had developed the atom bomb.

However, since Mrs Morse is Hawkeye's sister, she is able to persuade him that Meanstreak is brighter than he appears, and when he tests close to 140 IQ Dr Pierce starts to prepare the way for him to enter medical school.

Psychoanalysis In late 1974, Hawkeye Pierce, by then over fifty, is feeling a need for some rest, and after the usual eccentricities he accepts Spearchucker's suggestion to interview an up-and-coming young doctor named D'Artagnan Maguire.

The facilities for the new Mental Health and Social Service departments are war surplus tents similar to those the doctors used in Korea, and General Henry Braymore Blake is able to write off the delivery as a "training exercise".

When Dr Moore, and Halfaman Timberlake's pet bear, appear in court for rape, Judge Carr dismisses the case out of hand and orders the District Attorney to stay behind for a scolding.

With the new mental health clinic in full swing, the story closes with the news that, while Rex Eatapuss and his staff may have been lamentable failures in their medical careers, they are showing signs of running an excellent seafood restaurant.