The ninth season of M*A*S*H aired Mondays at 9:00-9:30 pm on CBS.
| M*A*S*H | |
|---|---|
| Season 9 | |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | November 17, 1980 – May 4, 1981 |
| Season chronology | |
Cast
edit| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Alan Alda | Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce |
| Mike Farrell | Capt. B.J. Hunnicut |
| Harry Morgan | Col. Sherman T. Potter |
| Loretta Swit | Maj. Margaret Houlihan |
| David Ogden Stiers | Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III |
| Jamie Farr | Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger |
| William Christopher | Capt. Father Francis Mulcahy |
Episodes
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title [n 1] | Directed by [n 2] | Written by [n 2] | Original air date | Prod. code [n 3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 199 | 1 | "The Best of Enemies" | Charles S. Dubin | Sheldon Bull | November 17, 1980 | Z-404 |
|
On his way to Seoul, Hawkeye is captured by a North Korean (Mako) who forces him to save his comrade. Meanwhile, Potter and Charles compete to find out who is better at bridge. | ||||||
| 200 | 2 | "Letters" | Charles S. Dubin | Dennis Koenig | November 24, 1980 | Z-403 |
|
The camp answers letters from fourth-graders in Hawkeye's hometown, and Hawkeye struggles to respond to a boy who holds doctors accountable for the death of his soldier brother. | ||||||
| 201 | 3 | "Cementing Relationships" | Charles S. Dubin | David Pollock and Elias Davis | December 1, 1980 | Z-401 |
|
Klinger supervises the creation of a cement floor in the OR, while Margaret is wooed by an amorous patient (Joel Brooks) from Italy. | ||||||
| 202 | 4 | "Father's Day" | Alan Alda | Karen Hall | December 8, 1980 | Z-405 |
|
Margaret tries to whip the camp into shape before her father "Howitzer Al" Houlihan (Andrew Duggan) comes for a visit, but Potter discovers a disturbing side to the father Margaret all but worships. | ||||||
| 203 | 5 | "Death Takes a Holiday" | Mike Farrell | Story by : Thad Mumford & Dan Wilcox and Burt Metcalfe Teleplay by : Mike Farrell, John Rappaport and Dennis Koenig | December 15, 1980 | Z-408 |
|
The spirit of Christmas is felt at the 4077th during a truce as they throw a potluck party for the orphans, which reveals a surprising side of Charles. But when Hawkeye, B.J. and Margaret receive a mortally wounded soldier, they attempt to keep him alive until the day after Christmas for the sake of his wife and kids. | ||||||
| 204 | 6 | "A War for All Seasons" | Burt Metcalfe | Dan Wilcox & Thad Mumford | December 29, 1980 | Z-409 |
|
A survey of life at the 4077th during the year 1951, including the doctors' efforts to build an artificial kidney and camp-wide bets on whether the Brooklyn Dodgers will win the year's National League championship. | ||||||
| 205 | 7 | "Your Retention, Please" | Charles S. Dubin | Erik Tarloff | January 5, 1981 | Z-406 |
|
A pushy retention officer (Barry Corbin) persuades a depressed Klinger to reenlist; a male nurse chafes over his low rank. | ||||||
| 206 | 8 | "Tell It to the Marines" | Harry Morgan | Hank Bradford | January 12, 1981 | Z-410 |
|
With Charles temporarily in command, Hawkeye fights for the cause of a soon-to-be-discharged Dutch immigrant marine whose mother is about to be deported. | ||||||
| 207 | 9 | "Taking the Fifth" | Charles S. Dubin | Elias Davis & David Pollock | January 19, 1981 | Z-407 |
|
Hawkeye uses a bottle of wine as bait for a date with a nurse, while Potter is mad at the Army for banning the use of curare as a surgical anesthetic. | ||||||
| 208 | 10 | "Operation Friendship" | Rena Down | Dennis Koenig | January 26, 1981 | Z-412 |
|
Charles looks after Klinger in gratitude for saving his life during an autoclave explosion, while a specialist (Tim O'Connor) is brought in to treat B.J. for a compartment hemorrhage injury to his right wrist. | ||||||
| 209 | 11 | "No Sweat" | Burt Metcalfe | John Rappaport | February 2, 1981 | Z-402 |
|
The 4077th deals with a sudden heat wave in their own personal ways: Klinger disassembles the P.A. system, Charles goes through all of his tax returns and bonds, B.J. stresses over a letter from Peg, Margaret develops a severe case of prickly heat, and Colonel Potter can't get a good night's sleep. John Rappaport received a Writers Guild Award nomination for this episode. | ||||||
| 210 | 12 | "Depressing News" | Alan Alda | Dan Wilcox & Thad Mumford | February 9, 1981 | Z-411 |
|
Klinger finds the perfect story to start his unit newspaper: Hawkeye's new craft project, inspired by a mistaken delivery of 500,000 tongue depressors. In one scene, Alan Alda can be seen still wearing his blue, 1980's-style sneakers. | ||||||
| 211 | 13 | "No Laughing Matter" | Burt Metcalfe | Elias Davis & David Pollock | February 16, 1981 | Z-413 |
|
B.J. challenges Hawkeye to go through one day without making any jokes, while Charles confronts the colonel who sent him to Korea. Robert Symonds reprises his role as Horace Baldwin, after playing it in the season 6 episode "Fade Out, Fade In". Note, Seymonds' character (Horace Baldwin) is now a lieutenant colonel. A possible writer's error or an off-screen demotion. | ||||||
| 212 | 14 | "Oh, How We Danced" | Burt Metcalfe | John Rappaport | February 23, 1981 | Z-414 |
|
Hawkeye plans a surprise for B.J.'s wedding anniversary, while Charles offends a hot-tempered frontline officer. Catherine Bergstrom plays B.J.'s wife Peg. | ||||||
| 213 | 15 | "Bottoms Up" | Alan Alda | Dennis Koenig | March 2, 1981 | Z-415 |
|
Margaret is worried that her friend and colleague (Gail Strickland) has been drinking, while Hawkeye is a social pariah for embarrassing Charles too much during surgery. | ||||||
| 214 | 16 | "The Red/White Blues" | Gabrielle Beaumont | Elias Davis & David Pollock | March 9, 1981 | Z-416 |
|
Potter is given too much kindness when word gets around about his blood pressure, while Klinger is accused of laziness when he is actually having an adverse reaction to primaquine.[1][2] | ||||||
| 215 | 17 | "Bless You, Hawkeye" | Nell Cox | Dan Wilcox & Thad Mumford | March 16, 1981 | Z-417 |
|
Potter calls Sidney for help when Hawkeye keeps sneezing nonstop. Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford received a Writers Guild Award nomination for this episode. | ||||||
| 216 | 18 | "Blood Brothers" | Harry Morgan | David Pollock & Elias Davis | April 6, 1981 | Z-421 |
|
Hawkeye discovers troubling news regarding a patient's (Patrick Swayze) blood test, while Father Mulcahy works his heart out to prepare the camp for a visiting Cardinal. Harry Morgan received a Directors Guild Award for this episode. | ||||||
| 217 | 19 | "The Foresight Saga" | Charles S. Dubin | Dennis Koenig | April 13, 1981 | Z-422 |
|
Potter's feeling down when his eyeglasses break, while a letter from Radar and fresh vegetables make everyone else happy. | ||||||
| 218 | 20 | "The Life You Save" | Alan Alda | John Rappaport & Alan Alda | May 4, 1981 | Z-418 |
|
Charles becomes obsessed with death after surviving a near-fatal sniper attack. | ||||||
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Episode Spotlight: The Red/White Blues". MASH4077TV. September 28, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
...Klinger wasn't petty and it paints everyone else in a poor light that they assumed he was slacking off to get back at Colonel Potter for nixing his pass to Tokyo. Hawkeye in particular appears foolish and incompetent by not noticing that Klinger is ill and then actually ordering him, not to mention trying to put him on report... ...The on-screen text at the end of the episode explaining developments in the understanding of primaquine is unique in the history of the series.
- ^ Winegard, Timothy C. (2019). The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator. Dutton Penguin. p. 47. ISBN 9781524743413. Retrieved May 3, 2004.
M*A*S*H afficionados may well remember the episode where Corporal Klinger develops a serious illness after being prescribed primaquine. Given Klinger's Lebanese ancestry, this is cinematically accurate, for G6PDD primarily affects those of Mediterranean and North African origin.