Original Air Date: 1/11/82
Written by: Karen Hall
Directed by: Charles S. Dubin
Margaret is excited over her upcoming birthday, which she's made special plans to celebrate--heading off to Tokyo to meet up with a friend for what sounds like a romantic weekend. She arranges Klinger to drive her to Seoul, but she won't say what she's so twitchy about.
A Korean farmer comes into camp with his pregnant cow, looking for help, but none of the doctors know how to do it, so they call a veterinarian at I-Corps. Meanwhile, Col. Potter informs Margaret that I-Corps has approved the use of the drug Levophed, and the lesson on how to administer it must be delivered to her nurses immediately, conflicting with her trip.
She begs Winchester to do it for her (since it must be done a major), who agrees only when he gets Margaret to offer in return a particular classical recording while she's in Tokyo.
Kllinger is busy arranging a lottery as to the birth of the calf, so busy he forgets about driving Margaret to Seoul. She grabs him while he's rounding up prospective customers and they jump in the jeep and drive off.
On the way, Margaret insists they take a rougher--but presumably faster--route, since they're running late. Klinger tries to argue, but she orders him to do it. As Klinger warned, their jeep hits a huge pit hole, and breaks down.
Meanwhile, back at the 4077th, the cow goes into labor, but there's a complication--its heart rate is much too fast, and it might die in the act of giving birth.
Miles away, Klinger has to break the news to Margaret that the jeep isn't going anywhere. She won't accept that, and begins walking. Klinger tries to reminder her how dangerous that is, and can't understand why she's so hell bent on getting to Seoul. Margaret partly breaks down and admits its her birthday, and how--just this once--she wanted to celebrate it on her own terms, in her own way.
Hours later, the cow's condition gets worse. Hawkeye, B.J., and Potter get the idea of trying out the recently-delivered Levophed on it, since it's supposed to do the exact thing the cow needs--lower blood pressure.
Night falls, and Klinger and Margaret are stuck together, spending the night in the jeep. Klinger tries to be comforting, even offering her a custom-made birthday hat, but Margaret remains stiff and humorless.
But over time they get to talking, and Margaret reveals that she's a little jealous of Klinger because he has a home town that he loves. Margaret, being an Army brat, never stayed in one place for long, so she never developed any close friends. She reveals her loneliness and sadness, and she and Klinger get to know each other better.
They eventually make their back to the 4077th, tired and dirty. The Levophed worked its magic on the cow, and the calf has been born safely. Turns out the winner of the lottery was...Margaret, who bought a ticket just to shut Klinger up and get him moving!
Klinger didn't take in the haul he was planning, just a measly ten bucks. Margaret asks for the money, saying "There's somebody I want to buy a present for."
Fun Facts: The B-plot makes a big deal over the introduction of the drug Levophed, even though Hawkeye casually prescribed it in a season eight episode.
Favorite Line: Margaret asks Klinger not to loiter while she's on the phone. He leaves to go into Col. Potter's office, and she starts to talk. Then she pauses, creeps up to the two swinging doors, and kicks them. Off screen, we hear Klinger yell: "Ooof!"
1 comment:
There are familiar elements present here, but this episode makes the most of them. My favorite moment is not really that memorable, but I've always liked it: Margaret is confessing to Klinger why she feels lonely sometimes and why this trip was so important to her- Klinger at one point in the conversation points at her signifying his surprise that she would ever feel anything less than his image of her being 100% tough. A small, but significant moment between the two, and more effective than the episode where Klinger and Charles have a similiar moment when they are stranded away from camp...
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