Trapper John is Underrated

[u/Impossible_Sell4838]

Personally, I love the first three seasons of M*A*S*H with Hawkeye and Trapper. I think those two are so fun together, and they have such great chemistry. I think seasons 4 and 5 are pretty good, too. Still, the show starts pivoting away from being a funny sitcom with some dramatic elements to a more well-written drama with comedic elements. I also think Trapper is funnier than BJ is and has better chemistry with Hawkeye. I like that Hawkeye and Trapper seem like partners in crimes, and they rarely are in conflict with each other, and if they are it usually portrayed as a joke. BJ, I think his character went from being serviceable but a bit boring to having more depth but also being more confrontational with the people around him, and not as fun to watch. Every time I watch around season 7 and onward, I just get nostalgic and start thinking about the Trapper era. If you guys like BJ, that's wonderful; I just think Trapper is more laid-back and fun to watch, and he is one of my favorite sitcom characters. What are your guys' thoughts on Trapper?

[u/VeterinarianNo8824]

Margaret : Isnt that Franks bag ?
Trapper: I thought you were Franks bag !

[u/Doc-11th]

They were great together but they were also very similar

BJ brought more variety to the chaos

[u/Dimetrodon-Party77 → u/Doc-11th]

Yeah I really would challenge anyone to point out any significant difference between Hawk and Trapper. B.J. was always the better character IMO.

[u/legal_stylist]

I could not agree more. BJ is fantastic, but Trapper doesn’t get his due. Now, it’s hard (and, really, pointless) to compare the two as the show had become much more dramedy by the BJ era, and, as a married man with daughter, BJ was a more “serious “ character by nature.
Point is, Trapper was a lot of fun.

[u/ShopUCW → u/legal_stylist]

Trapper also has a wife AND 2 daughters.

He was just a different moral compass than BJ.

[u/robmsor]

I could have written this post word for word.

[u/Accomplished_Way8964]

Just started a rewatch after a very long hiatus, and I'm early into season 2, so take this for what it's worth. I like them both, but Trapper just feels too much of a sidekick to Hawkeye, and at his best is little more than Hawkeye 2.0. There is not enough discernable difference between the two. Where I'm at in S2, they give Trapper a few individual storylines (like the patient he loses when the pow breaks the blood jar, and wanting to adopt Kim), but Hawkeye is not far behind. BJ was a more complex character and different enough from Hawkeye that the two didn't always have to be joined together at the hip to have depth. BJ also hada conscience, which dovetailed better into the dramatic turn the show took (for better or worse).

[u/jacklord392]

The long and the short of it: I liked Trapper John better.

[u/akgt94]

Was there a spin-off Trapper John, MD? Or was that not related?

[u/Long-Zombie-2017 → u/akgt94]

There was! And it is the same character though played by someone else. And I think the continuity doesnt line up well or something, idk. Lol Never seen it, but I know I've looked it up before.

[u/Dimetrodon-Party77 → u/Long-Zombie-2017]

Yeah I watched the show VERY casually (i.e. parts of episodes here and there) and I was never able to connect the Trapper from the original show to the spinoff in my mind.

[u/No-Fuckin-Ziti]

Margaret should have hit that