They Call the Wind Korea (TV series episode)

Template:Infobox M*A*S*H episode V2They Call the Wind Korea was the eighth episode of Season 7  of the M*A*S*H TV series, also the 155th overall series episode. The episode, which was written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs, was directed by Charles S. Dubin. The episode originally aired on CBS-TV on October 30, 1978.

Synopsis

During a wind storm, and while lost on the way to Seoul, Winchester and Klinger come across an overturned Greek transport with several injured men. Meanwhile the camp is also devastated by the gales causing the water tower to collapse and injuring Nurse Bigelow.

Full episode summary

A massive freezing wind storm is about to hit the 4077th. Reactions are mixed: Hot Lips is in a panic to get the camp secured, Hawkeye is thrilled since that means there won't be any wounded.

Winchester is devastated, because he had planned to make it to Seoul where he would begin three days of R&R in Tokyo, his first vacation since arriving at the 4077th.

He asks Klinger to drive him to Seoul anyway, but Klinger refuses. Col. Potter generously offers to let Klinger stay in Seoul overnight if he drives Winchester, a deal Klinger accepts.

On the way to Seoul, Klinger and Winchester get stopped at a checkpoint. An MP tells them that a convoy is using the main road, delaying all traffic by several hours. Winchester is, again, devastated, but the MP gives them an alternate route. Even though its complicated and long, Winchester demands they take it, barely waiting to get all the directions.

Of course, it doesn't take long for them to get hopelessly lost. While driving around, they spot an overturned troop truck, with several seriously wounded Greek soldiers inside. Winchester, frustrated, agrees to try and help.

Without any instruments or medicine, there's not much Winchester can do, so he has to use his wits and try and jerry-rig some temporary solutions, like using his 100% silk shirts and turning them into bandages.

Back at the 4077th, disaster strikes when the camp's water tower collapses, injuring some of the staff, including Nurse Bigelow. Margaret is deeply upset, since Bigelow was wounded while performing a task Margaret gave to her.

Outside, Winchester and Klinger get to know each other--sort of--as they try to ride out the storm and keep the wounded soldiers alive. At one point, Winchester has to insert a chest tube--with the patient awake through the whole thing.

The next morning, the storm has passed, and Klinger heads outside to try and find a way home. He can't believe what he sees: just 200 yards away is...the 4077th. They were in their own backyard the whole time!

Winchester and Klinger return home, and Potter offers that Winchester can try again since he still has two days left of his R&R. Winchester refuses, staying, only somewhat sarcastically, "Be it ever so crumbled, There's no place like home."

Research notes/Fun facts

• There's a great moment with Col. Potter and Radar as they prepare the 4077th for the storm. Radar is ahead of Potter at every turn, except for once. Potter is delighted and yells "A-ha! Got ya! I was gonna say, 'nail down the windows in Post Op'!" Radar is frustrated, Potter delighted.

• In the previous episode, "None Like It Hot", the camp was in the middle of a heat wave! This rapid change of climate is partly explained by the fact that the broadcast sequence of the episodes in Season 7 is very different from the production sequence. "They Call the Wind Korea" was actually produced earlier on, 3 episodes before. However the weather experienced by the MASH was very much a matter of whimsical choice exercised by the screenwriters. Ken Levine, who wrote many of the Season 7 episodes, commented on his blog that, on some occasions, the cast got very picky about the lines they were given, so the screenwriters accommodated their concerns but made a change of their own: they changed the weather to make it a "cold show". So the cast all had to wear their warm parkas around fires in the middle of the blazing sun in the outdoor set! After that they didn't get any further complaints.

Guest stars/Recurring cast

• Enid Kent as Nurse Bigelow
• Paul Cavonis as Sergeant Cutrifiotis
• Tom Dever as M.P.
• Randy Stumpf as Greek Soldier

Gallery

Winchester demands transport to Seoul. Potter is wearing an interesting vest with horse motifs. He is not wearing his usual campaign or "smokey"hat. But this hat also has his Colonel's eagle insignia on it.

Tom Dever plays many M.P.s in the series. This is yet another one of them.

Randy Stumpf as an unnamed Greek soldier. He doesn't get any lines but there is a lot of scripted interaction required in the part and so he probably got a credit for this.

Hawkeye visits a Korean boy who got injured trying to save his livestock in a minefield. The boy is not credited.

Here is a close up of the Korean boy in case someone can identify the actor.

A view of the devastation caused by the storm. The point of view is looking to the southeast from just behind the latrine (which can just be seen to the extreme left). The officers club is the metal shed in the center left. The camouflage net covers the accomodation tents. The hill in the background center is where Klinger is standing.

A zoomed-in picture from the same viewpoint showing Klinger on the hill.

External links

• M*A*S*H episode They Call The Wind Korea at TV.com
• M*A*S*H episode They Call The Wind Korea at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)