The feature-length M*A*S*H series finale aired 42 years ago tonight on CBS in 1983. “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” broke multiple records in its original broadcast and remains the single highest-rated television program of all time in the United States. Personally, I haven’t watched the finale in a long, long time but maybe 2025 will finally be the year I sit down and watch it again.
A total of eight writers had a hand in writing the script for the final episode: Alan Alda, Burt Metcalfe, John Rappaport, Dan Wilcox, Thad Mumford, Elias Davis, David Pollock, and Karen Hall.
CBS repeated “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” twice in prime time: first on Monday, September 19th, 1983 and again on Tuesday, September 18th, 1984. It didn’t air in off-network syndication until February 1993 to mark the 10th anniversary of the end of M*A*S*H. “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” aired on cable for the first time as part of a 15-hour “Bootcamp Marathon” on FX on Sunday, September 6th, 1998.
Did you watch “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” when it originally aired 42 years ago? If not, when was the first time you saw it?
I didn’t get into M*A*S*H until the mid 90s, when it was running on Norwegian TV. I was really looking forward to watching the finale, which Norwegian TV2 split up into five separate TV episodes. The endings were really abrupt. Anyone know if this was done for syndication, or was it something TV2 did themselves?
I actually saw it this Christmas, and it was the first time in over decade, if not more. And it was just as I remembered.
I think there’s a lot of good stuff about the finale, but it also summarises why the last three seasons were not on par with the earlier seasons. Hawkeye having yet another breakdown was wearing thin at the time. Although the revelation of why he broke down this time is haunting, it would have carried a much harder impact if it was Charles, for example. That would have been so unexpected, although the trauma they came up with for him was pretty darn good.
But when Hawkeye returns, and start acting just like he would have done in the earlier seasons, his co-workers think he is mad. Driving the tank into the garbage dump while under heavy fire was pure vintage Hawkeye, and something he would’ve done in a heart beat in the earlier season. But in the finale it makes them call Sidney. I just don’t get that. It’s like the show had forgotten its roots in the later seasons, where they were acting out of character (at least compared to how their characters had behaved earlier in the series). It also didn’t help that the main cast suddenly all were friends. This meant there was no longer any tension, and they had to drag in an antagonist of the week to create conflict. Or they did a really stupid quarrel between some of the main characters (like the one Margaret and Charles has in the finale).
The finale is also too long. There is a lot of filler, and the inclusion of the fire seemed to come out of nowhere (I know that there was a real fire at the ranch where they shot exteriors). But it was like the producers suddenly remembered that the M in M*A*S*H stood for mobile, and that they had only moved 3 times during the show’s entire run. They even re-used footage from a previous episode.
The marriage to Soon-Li felt forced, even if they built up to it in an earlier episode, but I think Jamie Farr did a great job in this episode.
The goodbyes between the characters are perfect, though. Everything from signing the Scarlett O’Hara photo to the one minute kiss (which was at least voluntary for Margaret this time) and Charles saying “Geeentlemeeen” before the spelling of GOODBYE on the ground. I also liked that we saw a glimpse of the old Hot Lips when she said goodbye to Klinger.
I came across M*A*S*H in 2020 and instantly became a fan; since then I’ve rewatched every season many times, kept skipping Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen because I didn’t want to say goodbye – finally watched it in January 2024 (I now watch it when getting to the end).
The many great shoutouts to past episodes and characters are fun and masterfully woven in.
They hit the bullseye with each of their personalities, traits, desires, endings, and goodbyes. Their stories fit their character to a T, as well as each making a statement about war leaving its mark.
A brilliant well crafted finale.
Why isn’t M.a.s.h. on METV tonight (7/29/2025)? in Utah, USA?