Introduction

AfterMASH is an American sitcom produced as the second spin-off and continuation of MASH that aired on CBS from 26 September 1983 to 31 May 1985.

Outline

In the one-hour pilot episode “September of ’53/Together Again“, Colonel Potter returned home from Korea to his wife Mildred (Barbara Townsend) in Hannibal, Missouri. He soon found physically forced retirement stifling, and Mildred suggested he return to work. Potter was soon hired by the bombastic and bureaucratic hospital administrator Mike D’Angelo (John Chappell) as the chief of staff at General Pershing Veteran’s Hospital (“General General”), located in the fictional River Bend, Missouri.

Max Klinger had found himself in trouble with the law in Toledo. Colonel Potter wrote to him and offered him a job as his administrative assistant. Klinger’s nemesis at General General was D’Angelo’s executive secretary Alma Cox (Brandis Kemp), a mean-spirited woman who was forever trying to “get the goods” on him, from rifling through his desk to giving him just one day to prepare for a civil service exam, the latter of which, despite her underhanded efforts, he still manages to pass.

Father Mulcahy, whose hearing was damaged in the final episode of M*A*S*H, was suffering from depression and drinking heavily. Potter arranged for Mulcahy to receive an operation at another VA Hospital in St. Louis. After his hearing was surgically corrected, he stopped drinking and joined Potter and Klinger at “General General” as its Catholic chaplain.

Also on hand was the idealistic, talented, and often hungry young resident surgeon Gene Pfeiffer (Jay O. Sanders), attractive secretary Bonnie Hornbeck (Wendy Schaal), who had an eye for Klinger, and old-timer Bob Scannell (Patrick Cranshaw) who served under then-Sergeant Potter in World War I and was now a hospital resident of 35 years (thanks to his exposure to mustard gas). Unlike the other patients and staff who addressed Potter by his retired rank of colonel, Scannell called him “Sarge” at Potter’s request.

Halfway through the first season, Dr. Ron Boyer (David Ackroyd) was introduced as a hardened veteran who lost a leg in Korea and had a hard time adjusting to civilian life. Despite only having signed on for two episodes, his character began appearing more often toward the end of the season, so often that Dr. Pfeiffer was suddenly pulled from the cast after Dr. Boyer’s debut episode.

The only other main character from the original series to appear on AfterMASH was Radar (played by Gary Burghoff), who appeared in the first season two-part episode. As Potter, Klinger, and Mulcahy prepare to head to Iowa for Radar’s wedding, Radar shows up in a panic at Potter’s house in Missouri, believing his intended fiancée has cheated on him in “It Had to Be You“. The Radar character later appeared in a pilot called W*A*L*T*E*R, in which Radar moved from Iowa to St. Louis, after his wife left him on his wedding night, and he became a police officer.

The season included home scenes with the Potters, most notably when they were deluged with guests in “Thanksgiving of ’53“, and Potter tried to keep the phone occupied so Klinger could not call his relatives, who were on the way over to surprise him; this episode also marked the only onscreen appearance of Potter’s oft-mentioned daughter, Evvy Ennis, and Potter’s grandson, Corey. One of the season’s standout episodes was the Emmy-nominated “Fallout“, where Potter and Klinger considered leaving General General, but reconsidered when they linked the leukaemia seen in a patient with exposure to atomic testing; writer-director Larry Gelbart received a Peabody Award for this episode. The season closed in March with Klinger being arrested for assaulting a real estate agent as pregnant Soon Lee went into labour.

In May, CBS announced the show was renewed for a second season.

AfterMASH Series

• Episode 01: September of ’53.
• Episode 02: Together Again.
• Episode 03: Klinger vs. Klinger.
• Episode 04: Snap, Crackle, Plop.
• Episode 05: Staph Inspection.
• Episode 06: Night Shift.
• Episode 07: Shall We Dance.
• Episode 08: Little Broadcast of ’53.
• Episode 09: Sunday, Cruddy Sunday.
• Episode 10: Thanksgiving of ’53.
• Episode 11: Fallout.
• Episode 12: The Bladder Day Saints.
• Episode 13: All About Christmas Eve.
• Episode 14: Chief of Staff.
• Episode 15: C.Y.A.
• Episode 16: Yours Truly, Max Klinger.
• Episode 17: It Had To Be You.
• Episode 18: Odds and Ends.
• Episode 19: Another Saturday Night.
• Episode 20: Fever Pitch.
• Episode 21: By the Book.
• Episode 22: Up and Down Payments.

You can find a full index and overview of AfterMASH here.

Production & Filming Details

• Creator(s): Larry Gelbart, Gene Reynolds, Ken Levine, and David Isaacs.
• Director(s): Burt Metcalfe, Nick Havinga, Will Mackenzie, Edward H. Feldman, Larry Gelbart, Burt Brinckhoff, Peter Levin, and Gabrielle Beaumont.
• Producer(s): Dennis Koenig, Burt Metcalfe, Standford Tischler, David Isaascs, and Ken Levine.
• Writer(s): Larry Gelbart, Ken Levine, David Isaacs, Dennis Koenig, Everett Greenbaum, Elliot Reed, Gordon Mitchell, Janis Hirsch, and Larry Balmagia.
• Music: Patrick Williams.
• Cinematography: Emil Oster and Dominic Palmieri.
• Editor(s): Stanford Tischler, John Farrell, and Larry L. Mills.
• Production: 20th Century Fox Television.
• Distributor(s): CBS.
• Release Date: 26 September 1983 to 12 March 1984.
• Running time: 22-25 minutes (per episode).
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L68pVCRubCs