Today marks the 30th anniversary of the end of M*A*S*H. Three decades ago, on Monday, February 28th, 1983 the final two-and-a-half-hour episode aired. There were viewing parties and M*A*S*H bashes across the country. It remains the highest-rated single television broadcast of all time. M*A*S*H was still a very popular show when it went off the air but that doesn’t explain why so many people who weren’t weekly viewers tuned in for the finale. What was it that made the end of the show such a big event? Was it curiosity? Did the media stir up such a frenzy that tens of millions of people decided to see what all the fuss was about? How many people watching “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” back in February 1983 had never seen an episode of M*A*S*H before?
Hit the comments with thoughts on the incredible popularity of the finale and to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
It’s honestly almost hard to relate to what the TV universe was like in 1983 considering the incredible changes since then. No Fox, no iTunes, no DVR, VCRs were available but expensive and not prevalent. M*A*S*H was an event – it was still a top 10 show in its final season… it had a lot of fans over the years… and it had the benefit of the clearest, cleanest series finale – M*A*S*H didn’t need to do anything too clever for a series finale, it was very simple – the war is over. Everybody gets to go home. And I think the simplicity of that presence made it truly must-see TV… who wouldn’t want to be part of the watercooler conversations the next day?
I don’t remember staying up until 11p.m. very often in 1983… certainly not a weeknight… but my parents and I were glued to that final episode. And I had no expectation of ever seeing the episode again, so I certainly didn’t want to miss a minute.
I think that while many folks didn’t watch it weekly, most had seen it before – and knew the characters and who they were. Some folks who saw it probably just like a good party – and so they were at the MASH BASHes. But to be able to see a series with closure was an exciting thing. Everyone wanted to see how it would end, would there be any surprises, and what would happen to our beloved cast? Maybe, in that simpler time, the feeling that it was witnessing history – an 11 year run that ended while still at the top – was just too much to resist.
Unlike Gilligan’s Island, which ended unexpectedly and therefore left the castaways on the island, MASH decided to make its own ending, while still at the top of the charts, and to write an ending that was poingnent, still deliverd the “War is Hell” message, changed Charles forever, and gave Hawkeye PTSD even before we acknowledged this problem with our returning GIs and yet was a satisfying ending for all, that left us with a sense of closure and a feeling that all was well with everyone we had come to know and love. It was, in a word, PERFECT.
Almost makes you sad they screwed it up with “After Mash” doesn’t it???
This attempt has been made since then with the ending of Friends, Cheers, and Seinfeld – and they fell far short of the great popularity of this one episode. And I don’t care about ever seeing the endings of those shows again, while I can watch this one over and over.
My guess is that because back in the day, many networks didn’t allow shows to have official final episodes, because they felt that such a thing would kill the show’s popularity, as well as, not make the show profitable in syndication… I think the finale of The Fugitive was probably the basis for most of their “fears”, but I remember seeing footage of a lecture Mike Farrell was giving not too many years ago, where he talked about CBS was reluctant to let M*A*S*H have a proper final episode because of the fiasco with The Fugitive, but apparently Mike convinced them otherwise when he told them, “I’m not sure if any of you are aware of this… but most people know that the Korean War ended.”
Love Mike’s quote!!!!
I think that when the finale aired, the show was already a legend in it’s own time, and as such was deeply embedded in the culture, making it’s finale a major cultural event. As Dan said above, not having all these other distractions and ways to watch shows definitely contributed to it’s record ratings, but I think it also goes deeper than that – there was someone for everyone on that show, which is very very rare. The characters covered a wide gamut of personalities and backgrounds, making it appealing to a lot of different people.
The finale is still hard for me to watch. The final 10 minutes make me choke up every time.
Ken Levine has a nice remembrance on his blog today, by the way.
I was about to graduate high school, and had already enlisted in the Marine Corps. I’d always been a huge fan, so the finale was not my indoctrination to the series. The show, and the characters, became–and have remained–a significant part of who I am. Thank you for this site, as it has greatly assisted me in my journey back to some of the best times in my life.
Personally, I prefer thinking of “As Time Goes By” as the series finale and “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” as a sort of follow-up movie. “As Time Goes By” really does provide a good sense of closure for the series despite not involving the end of the war. The characters join together as a group to remember former colleagues and friends and commemorate their time in Korea. The fact that they don’t actually say goodbye in “As Time Goes By” doesn’t make it any less of a farewell.
If the series had ended with that episode, I think it would have been a satisfying conclusion.
GREAT article here!! Puts a lot in perspective – more than 1/2 of the country’s population tuned in for the finale.
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/happy-30th-anniversary–m-a-s-h–series-finale–still-the-most-watched-tv-episode-of-all-time-163833170.html
And as I said on another site – Thank heavens that due to DVD’s and Reruns in syndication, we never have to say Goodbye or Farewell….. AMEN!!!