wingsandsword MASH was one of the most popular TV shows of all time, and the members of the 4077th became well known and beloved characters to the entire country.After more than a decade, people did want to know what happened to all of them after the war. Did Klinger find Soon-Lee's family? How did Radar fare back on the farm? Did Mulcahy get his hearing back? It would have made a fine TV movie, or maybe even a miniseries to have a big reunion of the 4077th stateside after the war (like they talked about doing a few times during the series). See that Klinger found his wife's family and they moved back to the US, only to face racism and discrimination, and is down on his luck as a petty crook trying to make ends meet. Show that Radar's farm had failed and and moved away to join the police in St. Louis. Show that Col. Potter now runs a Veteran's Hospital, and that Hawkeye went home to Maine and a small-town practice. Show that Mulcahy's hearing has been largely restored through surgery. It could have been a huge hit just to see them all later, as a epilogue to the whole story of MASH.Instead, we got AfterMASH, which took the basic idea of "what happened next" and ran it into the ground. We got three familiar characters: Potter, Klinger and Mulcahy, a brief introduction on how they got there, and then try to replicate MASH stateside. Create a whole new set of young mischievous doctors for Potter to keep an eye on, a whole new bossy administrator to yell at Klinger, and then find thin reasons for constant guest appearances by former MASH cast. It kept trying to be essentially a stateside remake of MASH, with some of the same characters, but the chemistry wasn't there. If not for the MASH name I doubt it would have even lasted as long as it did.

zog-3 It would have a perfect ending to M*A*S*H all the characters in civilian lives B.J. and wife Peg and daughter in suburban San Francisco Hawkeye crab~backed in his practice in Crabapple cove Maine Iron nurse Margaret Hoolehan in the big city hospital and severe but gentle Col.Potter and of course Maxwell Klinger! a fine 2 night special it would have made but hollywood turned it into a series after the war Klinger wanted to leave Toledo due to the constant prejudgice to his mixed marriage to his Korean beloved Soon~Lee and the economic decline of Toledo he got a stop~gap job as a bookie to raise funds to move to California he was however, arrested and was on his way to jail for six months he talked the judge into letting him go free because of his troubles and the promise of a job in Long Beach, California far far away from Toledo a letter from his job connection Colonel Potter with train fare enclosed convinces a rather reluctant and prejudiced judge to allow Klinger 24 hours to get of town so he and Soon ~lee hightail it to California mostly the show lacked that certain something to make it interesting and sustainable it was a wearying and tension filled show the only interesting dramatic was the relationship between clerk Klinger and office manager Alma Cox it was a replication of the subordinate Klinger to female authority figure Houlihan role Alma Cox had none of Margaret Houlihan's competence, intelligence, or kindliness but she did have Houlihan's overbearing bossiness and her own innate bigotry, pettiness, and viciousness the show also had Father Mulcahy as the chaplain at Veteran Hospital where they all worked I don't recall if he recovered his hearing though

gazzo-2 My memory of this is that is simply didn't work that well. I wanted it to be better than it was-Potter, Father M and Klinger were all great characters, and they tossed in Radar too after a while. But ya can't go home again, as they like to say-and on TV, it is true.Perhaps better writing woulda given this a better chance.

meija1 I don't think the series 'After M*A*S*H' was made to 'cling onto M*A*S*H's former glory' thats just bull. I think that people wanted a continuing story. They wanted to know what did happen when they returned. We know nothing compares to the original M*A*S*H but sometimes people just want an ending. And not just an ending of the 'war'.