I am a week late posting this, so this month’s poll will have to run a bit shorter than usual. Last month, I asked visitors to answer the following question: “Have you seen any episodes of Trapper John, M.D.?” Out of the 178 responses, 63% said Yes and 37% said No. That’s very close to the response for March’s poll the same question about AfterMASH (the percentages were 60% Yes and 40% No). I was surprised that so many people had seen AfterMASH but I am not at all surprised to see so many people watched Trapper John, M.D.. For starters, it was on the air for much longer than AfterMASH (from 1979-1986). And Trapper John, M.D. was syndicated in the States, unlike AfterMASH. FX actually aired the series for a while in the late 1990s, airing two hour-long episodes back-to-back early on Sunday mornings. And AmericanLife TV (now known as Youtoo TV — seriously) aired the series at one point.

Are there any rabid fans of Trapper John, M.D. out there waiting and hoping for the series to make it to DVD?

My post about the death of Pernell Roberts earlier this week led to an interesting conversation in the comments. During the first episode of Trapper John, M.D. there is a scene in which a series of black and white photographs are shown on the office wall of Dr. John McIntyre, M.D. One of these photographs appears to depict Wayne Rogers and Alan Alda in front of the Swamp from M*A*S*H. Here’s the photograph in question, taken from a YouTube video (you can find it easily enough):

Photograph Depicting Wayne Rogers and Alan Alda?

PinkPagoda had this to say about the photograph:

The scene with the picture is on you tube – and it is obvious that the two people in the picture are supposed to be the Hawk and the Trap that we all know and love from the television show (check out the hair) – however I don’t see the symbol on the SWAMP door, the sign post seems to be relocated, and the Trapper figure is MUCH taller than the Hawkeye figure. I don’t think Wayne Rogers is notably taller than Alan Alda, is he? It must have been made for the television show – and not an actual shot. Check it out for yourself on you tube, search for “Trapper John MD first episode” and the picture comes up after the guy on the stretcher is loaded into a helicopter at the hospital. What do YOU think?

In my opinion, the man on the left is obviously Wayne Rogers. But is the man on the right Alan Alda or someone else? I don’t know. The image is blurry, due to the fact that it comes from a YouTube video likely taken from a VHS tape that may or may not be a decade old. It sort of looks like the man has a beard. Or maybe just a shadow near his chin. As for the difference in height, the man on the right could be leaning his head against the door. I’m guessing the photograph was taken on the Stage 9 set at the 20th Century Fox Studios in Hollywood rather than the Fox Ranch (now the Malibu Creek State Park). I also don’t see the symbol on the door to the Swamp but it very well could be there.

So is this an actual promotional photograph for M*A*S*H? If so, someone out there might recognize it. There are an awful lot of photographs in The Complete Book of M*A*S*H if anyone has a copy handy. Here’s an actual promotional photograph for comparison:

Promotional Photograph

Notice that Alan Alda is quite a few inches shorter than Wayne Rogers. Hit the comments with your thoughts on this mysterious Trapper John, M.D. photograph.

Pernell Roberts, who starred in Trapper John, M.D. on CBS from 1979 to 1986, passed away last week at the age of 81. I’m sure many people, myself included, know him better as Adam Cartwright from NBC’s Bonanza, which he left in 1965 after six seasons. Back when cable channel FX had the rights to M*A*S*H it also had the rights to Trapper John, M.D., at least for a while, and I recall two episodes airing back-to-back early on Sunday mornings during the late 1990s.

Cast of Trapper John, M.D. – Pernell Roberts At Center

Technically, according to a court ruling, Trapper John, M.D. is a spin-off of the movie MASH and a “sister show” to M*A*S*H. Although never as popular as M*A*S*H, Trapper John, M.D. was a solid performer for CBS and gave Pernell Roberts a career resurgence. An obituary can be found at The New York Times.

AmericanLife TV Network (website) will add Trapper John, M.D. to its schedule starting Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007 at 10:00PM ET with a repeat of the same episode at 12:00AM. Recall that Trapper John, M.D. was ruled a spin-off of the film MASH, not the television series. The series starred Pernell Roberts and ran for seven seasons from 1979 to 1986. For some reason, the first episode to be shown on AmericanLife will be the second episode, not the premiere. Be sure to check your local listings to see if you get AmericanLife TV.