1980-81: THE NINTH SEASON

Year-End Rating: 25.7 (4th place)

After nearly 200 episodes, the characters are superbly defined, but the irony is inescapable: As the years mount, these skillfully drawn and highly articulate characters are very rapidly running out of things to say.

Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford are the ninth season's executive script consultants, and Dennis Koenig is the executive story editor. John Rappaport returns as producer, and Gene Reynolds, Alan Alda, and Ronny Graham continue to serve as special creative and story consultants.

195 The Best of Enemies    First Aired: November 17, 1980
Writer: Sheldon Bull
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Guest Stars: Mako, Steven Lum

A North Korean soldier forces Hawkeye to perform an emergency roadside operation on his buddy.

196 Letters    First Aired: November 24, 1980
Writer: Dennis Koenig
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Guest Stars: Richard Paul, Eileen Saki, Larry Cedar, Michael Currie, Shari Saba

Members of the 4077th share their impressions of war in response to letters from fourth graders in Hawkeye's hometown.

197 Cementing Relationships    First Aired: December 1, 1980
Writers: David Pollack, Elias Davis
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Guest Stars: Joel Brooks, Alan Toy, Mel Harris

A jilted Italian soldier is smitten by Margaret; and Klinger pours a cement floor in the operating room to fight the spread of germs.

198 Father's Day    First Aired: December 8, 1980
Writer: Karen L. Hall
Director: Alan Alda
Guest Stars: Andrew Duggan, Jeffrey Kramer, Art Le Fleur, Roy Evans

Margaret has trouble pretending she's a chip off the old block when her dad, blood-and-guts "Howitzer" Al Houlihan, arrives for a visit.

199 Death Takes a Holiday    First Aired: December 15, 1980
Writer: Mike Farrell
Director: Mike Farrell
Guest Stars: G.W. Bailey, Keye Luke, Yoshiko Hoover

Christmas at the 4077th finds the surgeons struggling to keep a mortally wounded soldier alive, even if it's only through the holiday.

200 A War for All Seasons    First Aired: December 29, 1980
Writers: Dan Wilcox, Thad Mumford
Director: Burt Metcalfe
Guest Stars: Carl Freed, Laurie Bates, Jeff Maxwell

On New Year's Eve, the staff looks back on the highlights of 1951: The doctors invent an artificial kidney machine; Mulcahy plants a garden; and Margaret takes up knitting.

201 Your Retention, Please    First Aired: January 5, 1981
Writer: Erik Tarloff
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Guest Stars: Barry Corbin, Sam Weisman, Jeff Maxwell

Klinger is so depressed by news that his ex-wife plans to remarry, he re-enlists for an additional six-year hitch.

By this time Klinger had already given up on his section-eight discharge, and with it, his wardrobe of Twentieth Century-Fox originals.

202 Tell It to the Marines    First Aired: January 12, 1981
Writer: Hank Bradford
Director: Harry Morgan
Guest Stars: Stan Wells, Michael McGuirre, Denny Miller, James Gallery

Winchester takes command during Potter's absence; and B.J. and Hawkeye try to convince the Marines to grant a hardship discharge to an immigrant soldier.

203 Taking the Fifth    First Aired: January 19, 1981
Writers: Elias Davis, David Pollack
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Guest Stars: Charles Hallahan, Judy Farrell, Margie Impert, Susan Berger

Hawkeye uses a bottle of vintage wine to lure unsuspecting nurses into his den; and Potter tries to secure a different sort of anesthetic when the Army threatens to ban a painkiller.

Alda and the writers have a bit of fun with Hawkeye's bygone reputation as a ladies' man. Hawkeye, once the rooster of the henhouse, is reduced to posting a notice on the nurses' bulletin board practically begging for a volunteer.

204 Operation Friendship    First Aired: January 26, 1981
Writer: Dennis Koenig
Director: Rena Down
Guest Stars: Tim O'Connor, Gwen Farrell

Klinger saves Winchester's life when an explosion rocks the operating room; and B.J. is reluctant to reveal the extent of his injuries after the blast.

205 No Sweat    First Aired: February 2, 1981
Writer: John Rappaport
Director: Burt Metcalfe
Guest Stars: W. Perren Page, Jeff Maxwell, Kellye Nakahara

Margaret develops a case of prickly heat--just one of the indignities suffered by the 4077th staff during another unendurably hot night.

206 Depressing News    First Aired: February 9, 1981
Writers: Dan Wilcox, Thad Mumford
Director: Alan Alda
Guest Stars: William Bogert, David Dozer, Albert Insinnia

Klinger's Army newspaper reports on Hawkeye's monument to military stupidity: a giant tower made from a half million erroneously shipped tongue depressors.

207 No Laughing Matter    First Aired: February 16, 1981
Writers: Elias Davis, David Pollack
Director: Burt Metcalfe
Guest Stars: Robert Symonds, Mae Hi, Nathan Jung

Hawkeye wagers that he can go a full day without a wisecrack; and Winchester finally confronts the major who exiled him to the 4077th.

208 Oh, How We Danced    First Aired: February 23, 1981
Writer: John Rappaport
Director: Burt Metcalfe
Guest Stars: Yuki Shimoda, Arlen Dean Snyder, Catherine Bergstrom, Michael Choe, Jennifer Davis

Winchester is sent to inspect sanitary conditions on the front lines while the rest of the camp plans a surprise anniversary party for B.J.

209 Bottoms Up    First Aired: March 2, 1981
Writer: Dennis Koenig
Director: Alan Alda
Guest Stars: Gail Strickland, Shari Saba, Kellye Nakahara

One of Margaret's nurses tries to hide a severe drinking problem; and Hawkeye is scorned after a practical joke he plays on Winchester backfires.

210 The Red/White Blues    First Aired: March 9, 1981
Writers: David Pollack, Elias Davis
Director: Gabriel Beaumont
Guest Stars: Roy Goldman, Jeff Maxwell, Kellye Nakahara

Colonel Potter nearly blows his stack when his well-intentioned colleagues begin to mollycoddle him in order an effort to lower his blood pressure before his upcoming physical.

211 Bless You, Hawkeye    First Aired: March 16, 1981
Writers: Dan Wilcox, Thad Mumford
Director: Nell Cox
Guest Stars: Allan Arbus, Barry Schwartz

When Hawkeye can't stop an apparently psychosomatic sneezing fit, psychiatrist Sidney Freedman digs into the surgeon's past for a clue to the unusual malady.

212 Blood Brothers    First Aired: April 6, 1981
Writers: Elias Davis, David Pollack
Director: Harry Morgan
Guest Stars: Patrick Swayze, Ray Middleton, G.W. Bailey

Hawkeye is overcome by the devotion of a terminally ill GI for his critically wounded buddy.

213 The Foresight Saga    First Aired: April 13, 1981
Writers: Elias Davis, David Pollack
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Guest Stars: Rummel Mor, Philip Sterling, Jeff Maxwell

The 4077th is given a gift of fresh-grown vegetables by a grateful Korean; and Potter questions the veracity of an upbeat letter from Radar.

214 The Life You Save    First Aired: May 4, 1981
Writers: John Rappaport, Alan Alda
Director: Alan Alda
Guest Stars: G.W. Bailey, Val Bisoglio

After Charles is nearly felled by a sniper's bullet, he develops a philosophical obsession with death.