Although a court ruling declared Trapper John a spin off of the movie MASH as opposed to the TV series the camera lingers on a photo of the TV versions of Hawkeye and Trapper (Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers) instead of the movie versions (Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould)
Trapper tells Gonzo that everyone calls Dr Riverside "The Serpent", the writers attempt to establish a variation on Frank Burns' nickname of "Ferret Face", however he is never again called "The Serpent" in the series proper.