MAS*H: Season 09 (1980)

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After a late start thanks to a Hollywood writer's strike, M*A*S*H launched its ninth season on November 17, 1980. With the past defections of Wayne Rogers, Maclean Stevenson, Larry Linville and Gary Burghoff, Alan Alda (as Hawkeye), Loretta Swit (as Margaret Houlihan), Jamie Farr (as Klinger) and William Christopher (as Father Mulcahy) were the sole survivors from the series' first season cast lineup--and of those four, only two (Alda and Swit) had been "regulars" from the beginning. The series' occasional digressions from its established format was represented by one memorable "gimmick" episodes during season nine. In " War for All Seasons," the men and women of the 4077th celebrated the New Year by looking back on the events of 1951. Going a step farther than the familiar "letter home" episodes of previous seasons, in which the events of a single week were highlight in flashback fashion, "A War for All Seasons" boldly telescoped an entire year into a mere 22 minutes' screen time--and succeeded brilliantly. Still dominating the ratings on CBS' Monday-evening lineup, M*A*S*H sustained its ranking from the previous season as America's fourth most-watched network program. And though no additional Emmy awards came the its way during season nine, the series garnered eight Emmy nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi