TELEVISION - Feb. 14, 1991

Life/Death Twists: ABC said most of the few dozen viewers who called to react to Tuesday’s surprising “thirtysomething” plot twist expressed relief that Nancy (Patricia Wettig), who has battled cancer for more than a year, was going to survive. In the episode, shaggy-haired series regular Gary Shepard (Peter Horton) was killed in a car accident just as Nancy and friends were celebrating her upbeat prognosis. Horton will reappear on the show as his friends deal with his death in future episodes, and might also return to direct episodes of the series next season, an ABC spokesman said. Ratings wise, the climactic episode won the time period for ABC, beating NBC’s “Law and Order” and the CBS movie “Not of This World.”