- M*A*S*H (season 6)
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Season 6: 1977–1978
# Title[n 1] Director[n 2] Writer[n 2] Original airdate Production Code[n 3] 1 "Fade Out, Fade In" Hy Averback Jim Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum September 20, 1977 Y101 (1), Y102 (2) Frank Burns is despondent over the marriage of Margaret Houlihan to Donald Penobscot, so Colonel Potter sends him to Seoul for some R&R. While he is gone, casualties begin to arrive and Frank has apparently fallen out of touch (with only scattered reports of him acting strangely and accosting women who resemble Margaret). Desperately needing a new surgeon, the upper crust Bostonian Major Charles Emerson Winchester is promptly shipped from Tokyo, Japan to South Korea by a colonel who owes him several hundred dollars from playing cribbage. Winchester's assignment becomes permanent when Major Burns is finally caught and sent stateside, only to be cleared of all charges, promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed to a veteran's hospital in his home state of Indiana. 2 "Fallen Idol" Alan Alda Alan Alda September 27, 1977 Y104 Radar is wounded while traveling to Seoul on Hawkeye's advice. Col. Potter has to check Radar over, since Hawkeye is shocked to see that it is Radar. Hawkeye, feeling guilty, insists on operating on Radar. He follows the operating session with an all-night drinking binge and shows up to surgery the next day hung over and having to step away. Radar is shocked that Hawkeye, who he idolized, could have such a failing. The two have a major argument, but eventually reconcile, realizing that they both are only human. 3 "Last Laugh" Don Weis Everett Greenbaum, Jim Fritzell October 4, 1977 Y103 One of B.J.'s old buddies shows up at the 4077th and is a bigger practical joker than B.J. and Hawkeye combined. Unfortunately, his joke backfires and B.J. finds himself under arrest. Everybody must now undo the joke so they can exonerate B.J. (and exact revenge if they can). An irritable Margaret desperately requests a visit to Tokyo to see her husband. 4 "War of Nerves" Alan Alda Alan Alda October 11, 1977 Y106 Tensions are building at the 4077th, and morale is at an all-time low. Dr. Sidney Freedman is visiting to follow up on a wounded soldier he sent back into battle, and he convinces a concerned Colonel Potter that a big bonfire may be what it takes to let people vent their frustrations and go back to work. Meanwhile, Freedman's bitter and angry patient vows never to forget or forgive Freedman for sending him back to the front lines. 5 "The Winchester Tapes" Burt Metcalfe Everett Greenbaum, Jim Fritzell October 18, 1977 Y107 After a month at M*A*S*H, Charles records a taped message home to his parents, begging them to do whatever it takes to get him home. Hawkeye is invited to spend the weekend with a newly single nurse formerly assigned to the camp, but duty calls--over and over and over. The title is a spoof based on movie title The Anderson Tapes 6 "The Light That Failed" Charles S. Dubin Burt Prelutsky October 25, 1977 Y108 Short on entertainment and supplies, a mystery novel that B.J. receives in the mail becomes quite popular at the camp as everyone follows the story with B.J. There is only one problem. The last page is missing, so nobody knows how the story ends. Everybody in the camp works together to solve the mystery or track down the elderly author and call her so they can find out whodunnit. Meanwhile, Charles is troubled when a patient of his takes a turn for the worse. 7 "In Love and War" Alan Alda Alan Alda November 1, 1977 Y112 Hawkeye develops romantic feelings for a Korean woman with an ailing elderly mother and local children to care for. He is saddened when her mother dies and she and children decide to flee south. Major Houlihan learns something about her husband's actions while away from her that she'd rather not have learned. 8 "Change Day" Don Weis Laurence Marks November 8, 1977 Y113 Charles has a get-rich quick scheme involving the coming change of Army scrip and the fleecing of local villagers, while Klinger comes up with a new plan to get out of the Army: 1) get admitted to the U.S. Military Academy; 2) get kicked out for cheating on an exam so he can go home. 9 "Images" Burt Metcalfe Burt Prelutsky November 15, 1977 Y105 After seeing them on many soldiers and marines coming through the camp, Radar decides to get a tattoo, while Hawkeye and B.J. try to talk him out of it since it could be unsanitary and dangerous. Hot Lips gives a sensitive nurse a hard time, and later falls apart herself when a stray dog she cared for is killed. Douglas MacArthur meets Harry Truman October 15, 1950 at Wake Island 10 "The M*A*S*H Olympics" Don Weis Ken Levine, David Isaacs November 22, 1977 Y111 Hawkeye and B.J. help a despondent overweight sergeant lose weight to stay in the army, which gives Klinger an idea to literally eat his way out of the service. Meanwhile, to promote physical fitness at the camp, Colonel Potter stages a miniature Olympic games during a lull in the fighting, with Hawkeye and BJ as team captains. The grand prize of three-day R&R passes for the winning team members drives everybody to do their best. The second and last appearance of Lt. Colonel Donald Penobscott, who joins in the events. Interspersed with Movietone newsreel footage of the 1952 Summer Olympics from Helsinki, Finland. 11 "The Grim Reaper" George Tyne Burt Prelutsky November 29, 1977 Y110 A visiting Colonel, aptly named Bloodworth, unemotionally calculates how many soldiers will die in the next battle, driving Hawkeye to shove him against a wall in disgust. The Colonel begins court martial proceedings, only to drop them after watching Hawkeye save someone's life in the operating room, as he realizes how necessary Hawkeye is to the army despite his lack of discipline. 12 "Comrades in Arms (Part 1)" Burt Metcalfe, Alan Alda Alan Alda December 6, 1977 Y116 Hawkeye and Margaret Houlihan have to put their differences aside and cooperate when they get stuck behind enemy lines while on assignment and must take shelter in an abandoned hut. Margaret receives a letter from Donald that she never expected. 13 "Comrades in Arms (Part 2)" Alan Alda, Burt Metcalfe Alan Alda December 13, 1977 Y117 Hawkeye and Margaret, while on their way to the 8063rd to demonstrate a new surgical technique, must avoid capture by North Korean patrols and return to the 4077th and then deal with the emotions they experienced while stranded together. 14 "The Merchant of Korea" William Jurgensen Ken Levine, David Isaacs December 20, 1977 Y118 B.J. has to borrow money from Charles, which Charles uses as justification to treat B.J. like an indentured servant, and later does the same to Hawkeye after paying off Hawkeye's bar tab. To get even, the two invite Winchester to a poker game hoping to fleece him, only to find out that he is experiencing an amazing stroke of luck and is winning big. His winning streak comes to an end when Hawkeye and Radar realize that he gives himself away when he is bluffing. The title is a spoof of The Merchant of Venice. 15 "The Smell of Music" Stuart Miller Jim Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum January 3, 1978 Y115 Hawkeye, B.J. and Charles have a battle of wills over Charles' latest hobby of playing the French horn. Hawkeye and B.J. refuse to bathe until the instrument is silenced, but Charles keeps playing in defiance. Everybody else in the camp grows tired of the standoff (and the smell) and takes action, forcibly hosing down Hawkeye and B.J. and crushing Charles' horn. Col. Potter tries to prevent a suicidal patient from killing himself. The title is a spoof of The Sound of Music. 16 "Patent 4077" Harry Morgan Ken Levine, David Isaacs January 10, 1978 Y114 Hawkeye and B.J. want a more precise surgical clamp. After a failed attempt by Sgt. Zale, they come upon a local peddler and craftsman to have such a clamp made and use their custom equipment to save a young soldier's leg. Klinger accidentally loses Major Houlihan's dime store wedding ring, but he gets help from Hawkeye and B.J. to replace it with an (almost) identical ring from the same peddler. Note: Although the clamp wasn't invented until this episode, it was demonstrated to another M*A*S*H unit in episode 13. 17 "Tea and Empathy" Don Weis Bill Idelson January 17, 1978 Y109 After the camp supply of penicillin is stolen and they cannot get any more through legitimate methods, Father Mulcahy decides to try to get medicine for the camp and brings Klinger along for help. Bernard Fox guest-stars as a Major in the British Gloucestershire Regiment -who were in Korea from April/May 1951. 18 "Your Hit Parade" George Tyne Ronny Graham January 24, 1978 Y124 During a long session in the operating room, Radar plays disk jockey to the camp with a collection of records that just arrived. Colonel Potter shows a special affinity to the song "Sentimental Journey", Charles scrambles to find a place to sleep, and B.J. must perform a blood transfusion from a heavily intoxicated donor (Ronny Graham). Spoof of show Your Hit Parade 19 "What's Up, Doc" George Tyne Larry Balmagia January 30, 1978 Y119 Margaret Houlihan believes she might be pregnant, which would end her military career, and needs a test to make sure. Unfortunately, the only pregnancy test available at the time requires a rabbit, and the nearest rabbit belongs to Radar. Radar objects to the procedure, which would kill his rabbit, but agrees when they perform a procedure that would only require the rabbit to be spayed. Meanwhile, B.J. and Charles try to console a patient who refuses to return to the front and who later holds Charles and later Klinger hostage in order to be sent home. This title is a pun on cartoon rabbit Bugs Bunny's wisecracking phrase: "Ehh...What's Up, Doc?" 20 "Mail Call Three" Charles S. Dubin Everett Greenbaum, Jim Fritzell February 6, 1978 Y121 After being delayed for three weeks, a flood of mail arrives at the 4077th. Hawkeye gets mail addressed to another Benjamin Pierce, B.J. finds out that his wife is the subject of another man's advances, and Radar is upset to learn that his widowed mother has a boyfriend. Klinger's wife informs him that she wants a divorce and he proceeds to go AWOL. 21 "Temporary Duty" Burt Metcalfe Larry Balmagia February 13, 1978 Y125 During an officer exchange program, Hawkeye and Nurse Bigelow spend some time at the 8063rd M*A*S*H, while the 4077th hosts an irritating and obnoxious bumpkin of a surgeon that B.J. and Charles can't wait to be rid of and a nurse from Major Houlihan's past. George Lindsey guests stars as "Captain Dupree". 22 "Potter's Retirement" William Jurgensen Laurence Marks February 20, 1978 Y120 Colonel Potter considers retirement when he finds out that anonymous letters accusing him of incompetence are being sent from the camp. 23 "Dr. Winchester and Mr. Hyde" Charles S. Dubin Ken Levine, David Isaacs, Ronny Graham February 27, 1978 Y122 Exhausted from his duties and the stress of war, Charles turns to amphetamines to stay active, but the drugs quickly take a toll on him. Radar races his pet mouse against one belonging to a Marine unit in a maze. Charles gives some of his drugs to the mouse. After getting sick and then going cold turkey, Charles is his normal nasty self. The title is a spoof of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 24 "Major Topper" Charles S. Dubin Allyn Freeman March 27, 1978 Y123 Due to a shortage of actual morphine, the medical staff is forced to try to take advantage of the placebo effect. Meanwhile, Klinger and the rest of the camp are tricked by a guy faking insanity who actually gets Klinger's coveted Section Eight. Charles repeatedly tops the accomplishments of Hawkeye and B.J. with stories of his own. A spoof based on the title of the comedy movie Topper (film) Notes
M*A*S*H Books Film TV series M*A*S*H (episodes: Season 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11; finale; guest stars) · Trapper John, M.D. · AfterMASH · W*A*L*T*E*RCharacters Hawkeye Pierce · Trapper John McIntyre · Duke Forrest · B. J. Hunnicutt · Henry Blake · Sherman T. Potter · Frank Burns · Margaret Houlihan · Charles Winchester · Radar O'Reilly · Father Mulcahy · Maxwell Klinger · Recurring charactersReferences
Categories:- M*A*S*H episodes
- 1977 television seasons
- 1978 television seasons
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