This one jumps around quite a bit before the "main" plot. We start with Christy being blue because his daughter is now 2 years old and he has never seen her. Now when this series began, lettering on the screen told us the scene was somewhere in the South Pacific in 1943. Christy had yet to wed Gloria, so even if it was supposed to be January of 1943, that would mean it would be no sooner than October of 1945 that his daughter would be 2 years old. So the timeline is fouled up. For that matter, when they later mention the name of Christy's wife, it has changed to Ruth. Oh well, not important to the plot.
Gruber has a large bag full of war souvenirs a "business partner" of his is going to fly home to sell in the states. This flier is making a quick trip to San Diego and will be back in 72 hours. But when Christy hears him mention San Diego-where his family lives-he immediately wants to jump in the sack-removing the souvenirs-to make a quick trip home for his daughter's birthday. The pilot agrees only after Gruber agrees to pay him for his trouble.
At the main base, Binghamton is dealing with a Marine Colonel Black Jack Cooper. (played by Leonard Stone, whose 146 credit filmography shows him to have been a guest on all sorts of TV series from the 50s through the 80s, but to only be a prime time regular cast member on a long forgotten NBC series Camp Runamuck) Cooper was sent to Taratupa to consult with McHale about the navigational charts for the waters around there because he was told McHale knew them so well.
Binghamton lies and says McHale knows nothing, that his quartermaster is the one who does all the navigating-so that leads to Binghamton calling McHale to send for...of course, Christy. On the phone, McHale says Christy is laid up in bed with a bad leg from an old football injury. So Col. Cooper will go to Christy because he's in a hurry.
McHale-who was furious when he learned Christy went AWOL, decides that Mr. Parker will have to pose as Christy and hopes he will fool the colonel. Now logic would say the radar man Willy would be better able to handle the charts, but when you see the series' opening credits, he isn't one of the three men who star in the show, so it had to be Chuck with the assignment.
Here I thought Tim Conway was at his best. He came hobbling in with a cane, carrying half a dozen rolled up maps, which of course he dropped on the floor before he sat down, then bumped the head of the colonel in picking them up. He confounds the man with what are perceived to be bad jokes, but we know he wasn't joking. He uses a protractor to figure x-many degrees and minutes, to suggest that makes the measurement quarter to one. Every time McHale tried to help, the colonel, having believed the lies Binghamton told him, tells him to butt out. Finally, the colonel storms out, wondering why he ever thought the navy could help him.
You'd think now, given the separate base McHale has, that they could hide from Binghamton the fact that one man was not around for 3 days. But it so happens that trying to help their buddy-before he stowed away, Gruber sent a letter to Comfleet trying to override Binghamton's refusal to grant Christy leave. Sure enough, a captain arrives informing Binghamton that Christy has been named the Navy's father-of-the-year and they are sending him, almost immediately, home to see his daughter. Captain Burton will pick up Christy and meet Binghamton for photos at the airstrip.
When Burton arrives at McHale's Island, Chuck-not with the group at the dock, overhears the name Christy, and since he was still disguised as Christy, walks out, ready to help someone else with navigation. Everyone is stunned to learn what the captain has in store, and Chuck is trying to avoid taking this trip.
But he winds up in the airplane-somehow at the controls, which wasn't explained-just as Christy returns. It seems he got bumped from his planned flight. They want to substitute the real Christy for Parker in time for the flight. But there's no time because photo-happy Binghamton pulls up. Chuck tries to hide, but hits one switch, setting the plane in motion, and before he knows it, he's once again flying a plane.
I'll skip how this part got resolved, but wish to mention a rather funny scene at the end, where Binghamton works extra hard to not get left out of a group photo.
Overall, this was one of the funniest episodes, including both Parker and Binghamton scenes. There are only two negatives to ignore-the stupidity of Christy thinking he could go AWOL for 3 days all the way to the states and back and not get caught, and what Mr. Parker did once he was airborne. But most of the plot was logical and very, very funny. I'd give it a 10 if not for the dumb parts, so I settle on a 9.
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