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"War of Nerves" is an episode from the TV series M*A*S*H, the fourth episode of its sixth season. Originally airing on October 11, 1977, with a rebroadcast on June 5, 1978 (which saw CBS move the show to Mondays at 9 p.m.), it was written and directed by Alan Alda.

Plot

Hawkeye and B.J. are surprised to find Sidney Freedman among the latest batch of incoming casualties. He had gone to the front lines to check up on Tom, a soldier who had previously been sent to the 4077th after being wounded. Sidney had counseled him and returned him to duty, but both of them were hit in an artillery barrage during his visit.

The whole camp is on edge due to a series of petty squabbles, so Colonel Potter offers to discreetly send some of the personnel to meet with Sidney and talk out their frustrations. Sidney is able to get them to reflect on the causes of their anxieties, and their moods begin to improve. Hawkeye and B.J. are surprised to see Tom in good spirits so soon after his first visit, which Sidney explains as a result of getting soldiers back on the front lines as quickly as possible. However, when face to face, Tom angrily berates Sidney for sending him back into battle so that he could be wounded again and vows never to forgive him. Afterward, Sidney and Father Mulcahy discuss the pain they feel when they lose someone under their respective care - a mind and a soul, respectively - and Mulcahy urges Sidney to focus on the success he has had in treating soldiers.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Zale and Private Straminsky have been tasked with burning a batch of disease-infested clothing confiscated from Chinese patients. They argue back and forth at first, but soon decide to work together and add other combustible items to the pile in order to make a larger fire. An unamused Potter initially orders them to remove the extra material, but Sidney persuades him to let them go ahead with it as a way to relieve stress. The camp builds and lights a huge bonfire, throwing on items of particular annoyance (such as a copy of the Army cookbook, Radar's bugle, and Sidney's fatigues), and sings "Keep the Home Fires Burning."

The next morning, Radar digs his bugle out of the ashes and plays reveille, with Potter jokingly remarking that the instrument sounds slightly better for having been put in the fire.

Cast

Guest cast is Allan Arbus as Major Sidney Freedman, Johnny Haymer as Staff Sergeant Zelmo Zale, Peter Riegert as Private Igor Straminsky, and Michael O'Keefe as Tom.

One of two episodes where Private Igor Straminsky was played by Peter Riegert, instead of Jeff Maxwell, who portrayed Igor in 59 episodes over the run of the show.

References

1. "M*A*S*H" War of Nerves (TV Episode 1977), retrieved 2017-09-09
2. "M*A*S*H" War of Nerves (TV Episode 1977), retrieved 2017-09-09

External links

• "War of Nerves" at IMDb

• M*A*S*H season 6 episodes
• 1977 American television episodes
• Television episodes directed by Alan Alda