I’ve updated my feature on the 1972 CBS Fall Preview for M*A*S*H with a higher quality video than the one I had available before. I’ve also embedded it below:

For the sake of comparison, here is a still from the old video:

A Still from the Old Video

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.

Here’s what may or may not be an incomplete promotional spot for “It Had to Be You,” the January 23rd, 1984 episode of AfterMASH. The episode guest-starred Gary Burghoff as Walter “Radar” O’Reilly (he had a cameo in the previous episode). It’s very short but does appear to fade out at the end rather than cut off abruptly.

Speaking of bumpers, M*A*S*H used them, too. You can find one at my feature Watching M*A*S*H in the 1970s. According to this post at the BCA Message Board, it’s actually Harry Morgan doing the “We’ll Be Right Back” voiceover. I didn’t recognize his voice.

I came across this commercial while checking the contents of a VHS tape I had in a drawer. It was played during a commercial break in an episode of the CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond back in December 2001. In the commercial, Gary Burghoff spoofs his famous character of Radar for Connecticut’s CBS affiliate, WFSB-TV Channel 3, and its Doppler 3000. I live in Connecticut and remember when these commercials were originally shown. But until now I haven’t had one to share.

I was actually surprised to find only one article about the commercials, published in The Hartford Courant on February 2nd, 2000. According to the article, there were initially three 30-second commercials, titled “Incoming Storm,” “The Airport Spot” and “The Boardroom.” Said Burghoff about the commercials, “It’s fun because it’s in Connecticut, and it’s being seen by all my friends and relatives. It’s fun because Channel 3 goes back in my memory as far as it goes.” Burghoff was born in Bristol, Connecticut and still has a summer home in the state.

In the article, Burghoff explains that he didn’t have a problem spoofing his character from M*A*S*H. “When I heard they wanted to do a parody of Radar, I thought it was a cute idea. Parody is one thing I will do on a selective basis of Radar. Anything else lowers the dignity of the ‘M*A*S*H’ experience.” The article notes that the first three commercials debuted on January 17th, 2000 and were set to run for at least two months. There’s no mention of the commercial I found from December of 2001 but obviously Burghoff filmed at least one additional commercial for WFSB. I have no idea if there were even more commercials or when they were last shown.

Sources:
Weiss, Tara. “‘Radar’ Pitches Radar.” Hartford Courant. 2 Feb. 2000: D.1.