When M*A*S*H came to an end after eleven seasons, Harry Morgan was one of three cast members to make the transition to AfterMASH (the others were William Christopher and Jamie Farr). The spin-off, which followed Potter, Mulcahy and Klinger as they returned to civilian life after the end of the Korean War, was cancelled less than halfway through its second season. The final episode (which was not a true series finale but simply the final episode produced) was never aired. The second-to-last episode was broadcast in May of 1984 after a five-month hiatus but unfortunately I do not have access to a copy. So, here is the final scene from the third-to-last episode of AfterMASH (“Ward is Hell,” originally aired December 4th, 1984):

I apologize for the poor quality. For the record, in the episode, Doctor Boyer (played by David Ackroyd) develops a staph infection in his leg and is admitted to the hospital. He winds up in his own ward, under the supervision of a young intern, Doctor Caldwell (played by Tom Isbell), who is overeager to say the least. In the final scene, Potter gives Doctor Caldwell the good news that Boyer’s infection has cleared up, only to discover that Boyer has disappeared. If you’re not familiar with AfterMASH, you can read all about it here.

Despite its relatively short run, AfterMASH went through three different opening credit sequences. Here they are. The first version was used throughout the 1983-1984 season:

When the show returned for its second season on September 23rd, 1984, a new, jazzier theme song and a reworked version of the opening credits were introduced:

Beginning with the October 9th, 1984, the opening credits were changed again, although the new theme song was retained:

I’ve also updated my article on AfterMASH to include all three versions.

People.com makes almost 50,000 stories dating back to its 1974 debut available in its online archive. You can even download some issues in their entirety. M*A*S*H cast members or the show itself have graced the cover of People several times over the past 36 years. The earliest cover I am aware of is the March 17th, 1975 issue, which featured Alan Alda on the cover, while the most recent was the October 24th, 1983 issue, which featured the cast of AfterMASH. Some of these issues are available online, as are articles from issues that didn’t have M*A*S*H on the cover. Here’s an incomplete list of People covers and articles with links to the online version when available:

March 17th, 1975 – Cover, Alan Alda
March 13th, 1979 – Cover, Loretta Swit (Unavailable)
April 9th, 1979 – Article, Mike Farrell
November 17th, 1980 – Article, Filming 200th episode (Unavailable)
June 15th, 1981 – Cover, Alan Alda
August 21st, 1981 – Article, David Ogden Stiers
March 7th, 1983 – Article, End of M*A*S*H (Unavailable)
May 16th, 1983 – Article, Jamie Farr
October 24th, 1983 – Cover, Cast of AfterMASH
August 9th, 1999 – Article, Gary Burghoff
April 24th, 2000 – Obituary, Larry Linville

Here’s another “bumper” for AfterMASH. Last year I posted another version, one that was used during the first half of the hour-long premiere (“September of ’53″) on September 26th, 1983. Bumpers were used by the networks to remind viewers that after the commercial break their show would be coming back. The only real difference between this version and the earlier bumper is the inclusion of the show’s title. Notice, however, that the still image — a nurse helping a wounded veteran walk down a path — has been flipped. In the first version the two are on the right side; in this second version they are on the right. Strange.

I’m not quite sure when the second version was first used. I do know it appeared as early as the sixth episode (“Night Shift”), which was broadcast on October 24th, 1983.

Here’s a “bumper” for AfterMASH that aired near the end of the first half of the hour-long premiere (“September of ’53″) on September 26th, 1983. These bumpers were used to remind viewers that the very show they were in the process of watching would, in fact, return after a commercial break. I can’t say whether bumpers were used during every episode of AfterMASH or just during the premiere.