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Season 7, Episode 166: Preventative Medicine
Original Air Date: 2/19/79
Written by: Tom Reeder
Directed by: Tony Mordente
During OR, the doctors notice that all the wounded have multiple shrapnel wounds, from all directions. Col. Potter explains these soldiers are part of Col. Lacy's unit, which sustains more casualties than any other in Korea.
Later, Col. Lacy (James Wainwright) himself arrives, and seems to be quite the charmer. He's complimentary to Radar, to Col. Potter, to Margaret. Hawkeye and B.J. are indifferent to Lacy's kind words, and his troops are downright hostile to him.
Lacy makes a speech about how the bravery of his men have given him the initiative to put in a plan to I-Corps to take on Hill 403, a dangerous mission. Hawkeye and B.J. are disgusted, and in private Col. Potter tries to talk Lacy out of it, to no effect.
The next morning, Lacy sits down to breakfast with Margaret in the Mess Tent, and she's up front about how much she likes him. Lacy tells her about the mission to claim Hill 403, and when he casually admits that he expects "around 20%" in casualties, Margaret is horrified. She asks what makes the hill so important, worth all that, and he responds, as if its a strange question, "Well, getting it."
Margaret, disgusted, walks off, leaving Lacy alone. He then tries to talk to Hawkeye and B.J., and Hawkeye lets him know how revolting he finds Lacy to be. Lacy is condescending and smug, still not caring a bit about all the casualties he's created and will create.
He returns to Post Op to give out Purple Hearts, but none of the wounded want them. One of them goes into cardiac arrest, while Lacy receives a phone call from a general, who tells him that Lacy's offensive on Hill 403 has been denied, on the grounds of it being too risky.
Hawkeye and B.J. overhear this and gloat, but Lacy won't take no for an answer. He says that he plans to send out reconnaissance, and that usually draws fire. And once the shooting starts, whose to say who started it?
B.J. is horrified, but Hawkeye seems to have changed his mind--he compliments Lacy, inviting him to the Swamp for some drinks. B.J. at first is shocked, but Hawkeye lets him know the plan is to slip Lacy a mickey, pulling him off the line.
They go ahead with the plan, and when Lacy doubles over in pain, B.J. immediately diagnoses it as Gastritis, but Hawkeye says its Appendicitis, requiring surgery. When Lacy hears that, he protests, saying he'll lose his command if he's off the line that long, which only reaffirms Hawkeye's plan.
In the scrub room, Hawkeye and B.J. have it out--B.J. says cutting a healthy body open is "Mutilation--why don't you just stab him?"
Hawkeye argues that its worth that to save the lives of all the young men who won't have to climb Hill 403, and goes ahead with the operation. B.J. walks out, refusing to participate.
Later, Hawkeye comes back to the Swamp. He wearily admits to B.J. that Lacy's appendix was "Pink and perfect, and I tossed it in the scrap bucket."
B.J. says there's wounded coming, just a few seconds before the P.A. announces it. B.J. adds: "You treated a symptom--the disease goes merrily on." He puts his hand on Hawkeye's shoulder, helping him up, and together they leave the Swamp.
Fun Facts: This episode's plot is a more dramatic, extended version of part of the storyline from Season Three's "White Gold", where Hawkeye and Trapper give Col. Flagg a mickey that puts him in the hospital for a while.
Favorite Line: Col. Potter asks Hawkeye and B.J. to lay off Lacy while he's in camp. Margaret, who finds Lacy attractive, seconds that: "Yeah!"
Potter, pointing to Margaret: "That goes for you, too."
Season 7, Episode 156: Out of Gas
Original Air Date: 12/4/78
Written by: Tom Reeder
Directed by: Mel Damski
The 4077th is suffering through another cold snap, and the poker game is being played for winter gear instead of money.
Potter breaks the game up by telling them they can expect a huge load of wounded, soon. A big problem arises when they learn they are out of Sodium Pentathol, which was traded away with the 8063rd by Sgt. Zale for other supplies. They ask Zale if they can get it back, but the Pentathol has been traded so many times its irretrievable.
Without it, surgery slows to a crawl, since it takes so much longer to put wounded to sleep. To make matters worse, some of the nurses have never given ether (the replacement anesthetic) so directly, which causes some of the patients to choke. And on top of that, the fumes from the ether are so strong they knock some people out--it leaves Margaret on the floor.
Father Mulcahy decides he might be able to trade with the Black Market for some Pentathol, and he collects items from everyone in exchange. Mulcahy asks Winchester for a vintage bottle of wine and some gourmet food, which he agrees to--but only if he comes along for the ride to make sure they get the best possible deal.
They meet with the Black Marketeers, who are of course not impressed by Winchester's idea of driving a hard bargain. At gunpoint, they take his wine, his food, even his uniform, leaving Winchester looking ridiculous in his long underwear--and, to make matters worse, not even giving up the Pentathol!
As they drive off, they realize that the thieves are probably getting blasted on the wine and gorging on the food. They sneak back, grabbing the truck, loaded with the Pentathol. They barely get away when the truck won't start and the Black Marketeers start firing at them, but finally Mulcahy gets the engine to turn over and they drive off.
They arrive at the 4077th with the Sodium Pentathol, saving the day. Later, in OR, everyone is content that they're back operating at full speed...except for Winchester, who is still bemoaning the loss of his precious wine.
Fun Facts: There's a great sequence where Hawkeye makes small talk with a patient from a small town named Idaville. After Hawkeye correctly relates detail after detail about the town, the patient asks, "Hey, when were you in Idaville?"
Hawkeye responds, "Never--I grew up in the same small town in Maine."
Favorite Line: Zale lets it slip he worked out a trade to get Margaret some leather boots with spiked heels.
Potter, confused: "Spiked heels? How do you fish with those on?"
Season 7, Episode 155: Dear Comrade
Original Air Date: 11/27/78
Written by: Tom Reeder
Directed by: Charles Dubin
Hawkeye and B.J. return to the 4077th after some days of R&R, and they are dismayed to see that the Swamp is not the same Swamp they left--i.e., clean. Winchester introduces the man responsible--a Korean man named Kwang (Sab Shimono), whom Winchester has hired as a houseboy.
After wounded arrive, we learn that Kwang is not what he seems: he's actually a North Korean officer, going undercover as what he calls "a grinning lackey" to "an American capitalist fool"--namely, Winchester. He is writing a letter to his commander, giving him the details of just how the 4077th operates.
Kwang is shocked and dismissive of how the Americans operate. He says the OR is chaotic, and their behavior off-hours (which includes drinking and gambling) is "decadent."
The doctors are stumped by a rash that has infected several wounded soldiers. They call a dermatologist in Tokyo, but he is no help, flatly refusing to come out to the 4077th to look and see what's going on. Stumped and stuck with a Post Op filled with itchy soldiers, they take the advice of Kwang, who has worked up his own homemade remedy--which stinks to high heaven.
Kwang, writing his superiors, is aghast that all these educated doctors can't figure out how to treat a simple rash. The doctors are thrilled to find that, despite its stink, Kwang's mixture works!
Later that night, Kwang prepares to leave, saying that the 4077th methods of success are so unorthodox and haphazard that they can't possibly attempt to duplicate them. He quits working for Winchester, letting him know what a lousy boss he was in the process.
As he's leaving, he's stopped by Hawkeye, B.J., and Potter who thank him for the remedy, letting him know how well it worked. Potter even gives him an official commendation from the U.S. Army, as a way to say thanks.
Kwang is touched, and lies to his commanders, saying he needs to stick around and observe the 4077th some more--in reality, getting drunk with all of them in the Officers Club. Hawkeye, B.J., and Potter notice that Kwang's english has mysteriously improved over the course of the night, which he chalks up to the whiskey.
Fun Facts: Actor Sab Shimono would return to the series, in a tenth season episode.
Another episode in the "Dear..." format, this one stretching the boundaries of that conceit--an episode narrated by not only a guest star, but by a character we've never even met before!
Radar does not appear in this episode.
Hawkeye makes a joke about B.O. Plenty, a character from Dick Tracy. Tracy was still in most newspapers in 1978, not so much nowadays. I wonder how that joke plays to younger audiences? Poor Plenty didn't even get to appear in the 1990 Dick Tracy movie!
Favorite Line: Hawkeye is horrified at returning to a clean Swamp. Looking under his mattress, he exclaims in mock outrage: "All the fleas are dead--murderer!"
