This show was absolutely horrible!

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Most of you might know this, but in 1982 or so, the MASH cast members sat down and had another vote to continue the series into 1983 and BEYOND (MASH being on 11 years about a 3 year war), with Morgan, Farr and Christopher voting in the minority to continue the show. I think epecially with Christopher and Farr this was the best gig they ever had and did not want to let go of it.

CBS did not want to let go of the audience that MASH brought in and spun AfterMash. I dont remember too much about the series except the one where Gary Burghoff guest starred as Radar, something about Radar having a girl and having sex for the first time (which was Radar's choice, he had one nurse wanting to jump his bones, and then there was Nurse Kellye, who would have hooked up with Radar.).

They had a Frank Burns like character for the first season and an Alan Alda/Hawkeye like doctor. The series was trying to be too much like MASH. It wasn't a bad idea in my opinion, but badly executed. Harry Morgan and Jamie Farr were actually very good and funny together in MASH (Jamie Farr cracks me up just looking at his face).

I think the writers were the same MASH writers, and I feel that for a show like this to succeed which is a spinoff of a previous show without the show's star, that new writers should be brought in who are familiar with the characters and did something new and different. Old writers, old scripts, bad ideas.

They even brought in original producer/head writer Larry Gelbart to write the pilot.

But unfortunately, lightning doesn't always strike twice.

And it didn't help that they were basing a show on three characters who were there to provide support in the original series.

[The Flying Dutchmans]

I gues it has that one thing in common with Threes Company. A great show that turned into such a horrible spin off. Just as Threes Company spun off into Threes a crowd.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by The Flying Dutchmans

I gues it has that one thing in common with Threes Company. A great show that turned into such a horrible spin off. Just as Threes Company spun off into Threes a crowd.

What I remember of it wasn't horrible, just lackluster.

Now, if they'd done a spinoff where Hawkeye got a offer he couldn't refuse and took a job at a Boston hospital, where his buddy Trapper worked (Trapper came from Boston) and the head of thoracic surgery was Charles Emerson Winchester, now *there's* a M*A*S*H spinoff with potential!!

[catlover79]

My brother-in-law, a HUGE M*A*S*H fan (born in 1980) tried to watch some of the AfterMASH episodes on YT and couldn't get through them, he hated the show so much.

[gogxmagog]

I watched an ep. or two back in the day. I was about 9 yrs old so just about anything would capture my attention, but even at that impressionable age afterMASH failed to grab me.
W*A*L*T*E*R* was far supior offering in my opinion, even at its extant single episode. Im not sure that even the entire pilot exists even.

AfterMASH took all the very worst elements of the last seasons of mash (hackneyed sentimentalism, over-familiarity, lazily assuming the audience's unconditional love and approval. not very funny) and transformed it into an even less interesting version of itself with less humour and style. It would have been better had they all moved into the same house together and got into some sort of showbiz thing, like a puppet troup or side-show with fake freaks. and like how come trapper john md has an action adventure job in a modern hospital in bustling downtown 1980s when the rest of "The Gang From M*A*S*H*" still exists in a late fifties universe? Did, like, Trapper John decide he was too good and moved away from the other later mash crew?

I really liked "Hello Larry" though

[Dr. Thong]

Ya had me up until "puppet troupe."

[king of comedy]

It had potential but it was a trainwreck.

[Dr. Thong]

Again, building a show on three supporting characters was not a good move.

Imagine if, say, Charles Emerson Winchester was somehow forced to work at a VA hospital instead of going back to his hometown of Boston and Klinger and Mulcahy showed up, with Potter as the head of the hospital?

They could have had some of Charles' family that we heard about make appearances and his anguish over still having to be an army doctor would have made for a better series.

They needed Alan Alda as Hawkeye, really, but i think he was done with Hawkeye after an 11 year stint.

[DJM77]

Originally Posted by gogxmagog

W*A*L*T*E*R* was far supior offering in my opinion, even at its extant single episode. Im not sure that even the entire pilot exists even.

[jehobden]

Originally Posted by visaman666

Actually, it was only aired on the East Coast. It was cancelled before it would air on the West Coast. I only just watched it recently on YouTube!

From what I've read, WALTER aired in a time slot like 8 PM ET/7 PM CT, when it was still too early for prime time in the other time zones. The 1984 Democratic Convention started around 8:30 or 9 PM ET that night and ran past the time prior to West Coast news when prime time shows would normally air in the West after live events (post-prime time in the East), so it was preempted in the other time zones and never rerun. It wasn't "cancelled" as such.

[liane49]

Spin off's don't normally do good.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by webe123

As far as the second year goes...they made klinger a MENTAL PATIENT? What kind of fools wrote this insane dribble?

As I said before.....if this series was a horse, it should have been shot a long time ago.

No wonder they only made 7 episodes of season 2...it was worse than season 1!

What about the moment when Klinger had been told that he failed the civil service exam for a job to support his family, was TOTALLY crushed, and then Alma says, "What's this? If 'Active Duty Veteran' add 5 points."? Didn't Jamie Farr total nail Klinger's line of shock (paraphrased): "After all those years of misery, I FINALLY get paid back!"? He passes by one point.

[Duster76]

AfterMASH existed for no other reason than it could exist. CBS wanted to be in the MASH business so the suits were willing to greenlight almost anything. Spinoffs get an initial bump from their connection with the mother series but after that they sink or swim on their own merits. The show was stuck with three characters from MASH that were interesting when mixed with the circumstances and the larger cast but as lead characters they failed to measure up. This was an attempt to build a show from back to front and it just doesn't work like that.

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by Duster76

AfterMASH existed for no other reason than it could exist. CBS wanted to be in the MASH business so the suits were willing to greenlight almost anything. Spinoffs get an initial bump from their connection with the mother series but after that they sink or swim on their own merits. The show was stuck with three characters from MASH that were interesting when mixed with the circumstances and the larger cast but as lead characters they failed to measure up. This was an attempt to build a show from back to front and it just doesn't work like that.

There was network interference to blame as well. The ratings weren't all bad, but tinkering resulted in Potter's wife being played by a different actress in season 2 and I think someone at CBS decided they didn't want to be in the After-MASH business anymore.

[Dude111]

I didnrt ever see one episode!!!!