B.J. decides to boost morale at the 4077th by planning a "surprise" birthday party for Hawkeye, but it isn't even close to his birthday. Hawkeye is irritated and when Dr. Anthony Borelli stops by, to avoid Borelli and the fake birthday, Hawkeye volunteers for more dangerous duty at the Battalion Aid Station. But then Borelli also volunteers to go along.
Attention, all personnel! Dr. Borelli has come to visit the 4077 and has brought the following tropes with him
- The Bus Came Back: Anthony Borelli, last seen in ''The Consultant'', returns for this episode.
- Continuity Nod: Winchester once again wears his childhood toboggan cap when it gets cold.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: While working on the cake, Klinger accidentally gave "birthday" an extra H. Charles tells him to fix it, but Klinger is reluctant after working so long already. He insists that absolutely no one would notice, only for Mulcahy to enter and immediately point out the mistake.
- Jerkass Ball: Dr. Borelli is portrayed in this episode as being quite overbearing, which he showed no sign of in his previous appearance.
- Laser-Guided Karma: B.J. lied about Hawkeye's birthday coming up to give the rest of the camp something to do, his buddy being annoyed by all this not even remotely a concern. Hawkeye later returns the favor by lying about it being B.J. and Peg's wedding anniversary.B.J.: You rat.
- Precision F-Strike: Implied when Potter grumbles that he's going to give who he thinks is the general "a four letter aria" for calling at 3:30 in the morning.
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Real-Life Relative: Dr. Borelli, played by Alan Alda's father Robert Alda, makes a return appearance.- The medic at Battalion Aid is played by Alan Alda's brother, Antony Alda.
- Sarcastic Confession: Hawkeye tells the others it's not B.J. and Peg's wedding anniversary in a cheeky tone and gladly leaves B.J. to deal with the fallout.
- Shout-Out: When the rest of the main cast show up to greet Dr. Borelli, Potter refers to them as the members of Our Gang: Spanky (Hawkeye), Alfalfa (B.J.), Buckwheat (Charles), and Spot (Klinger).
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Despite Dr. Borelli and Hawkeye getting on each other's nerves this episode, their getting wounded at an aid station requires each of them to cooperate to save a patient's life.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The medic at the aid station gives Borelli and Hawk grief for bickering during surgery.
- Wrong Assumption: In the face of assorted questions (from what his favorite color is to if he ever had any pets), Hawkeye suspects B.J. is once again playing The Prankster. Actually, B.J. just arranged for a surprise birthday party just to give everyone a break from the boredom and surly mood pervading the camp. Of course, it's not anywhere close to Hawkeye's actual birthday, so it's not entirely without some prankster fun at least at his expense.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Just as Klinger finishes correcting the birthday cake, Margaret tells him to completely change it to a "Happy Anniversary" cake for B.J.'s supposed anniversary instead.
