"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" is a
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
that served as the
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
of the American television series ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
The ...
''. Closing out the series' 11th season, the 2 1⁄2-hour episode first aired on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
on February 28, 1983, ending the series' original run. The episode was written by eight collaborators, including series star
Alan Alda
Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war co ...
, who also directed.
The episode's plot chronicles the final days of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
at the 4077th MASH; it features several storylines intended to show the war's effects on the individual personnel of the unit and to bring closure to the series. After the
ceasefire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
goes into effect, the members of the 4077th throw a party before taking down the camp for the last time. After tear-filled goodbyes, the main characters go their separate ways, leading to the final scene of the series.
Plot
The film begins with
Hawkeye Pierce
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televisio ...
being treated at a psychiatric hospital by
Sidney Freedman
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televis ...
. It is revealed he suffered a nervous breakdown while working in the operating room. He tells Freedman about a recent beach outing by a busload of camp staff. They picked up some refugees and wounded soldiers on their return home. Forced to pull off the road to avoid an enemy patrol, Hawkeye remembers telling a refugee to keep her chicken quiet; in doing so the chicken was smothered and died.
Conditions back at the 4077 are chaotic with the camp now home to large numbers of refugees and prisoners of war. A wounded tank driver demolishes the camp latrine and abandons the tank in the camp.
Charles Winchester leaves camp to perform his ablutions and meets five Chinese soldiers on a motorcycle-sidecar combination eager to surrender. The men are revealed to be musicians and Winchester marches them to camp while they play
Oh! Susanna
"Oh! Susanna" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster (1826–1864), first published in 1848. It is among the most popular American songs ever written. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all tim ...
. B.J. eagerly takes possession of the motorcycle while Winchester begins to teach the prisoners classical music. Despite a language barrier, the musicians recognize
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
's name and learn to play
Mozart's Clarinet Quintet.
Margaret Houlihan
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televis ...
and Winchester discuss their postwar careers. Houlihan is offered an Army administrative post while Winchester is disappointed to find his absence from Boston has let a less talented colleague take a coveted chief surgeon spot. Winchester receives a letter to the contrary, but becomes angry after learning from
Klinger Klinger may refer to:
* Klinger (surname), a list of people with the surname
* Corporal Klinger, a character from ''M*A*S*H''
* Klinger (horse), owned by the US Army
* Klinger (band), an Australia band from 1996 to 2003
* Klinger Ridge, Marie Byrd ...
that Margaret had intervened in the selection process by having a relative pull strings.
Klinger falls in love with a refugee named Soon-Lee Han, who wants to return to the combat zone to find her missing parents.
B.J. Hunnicutt
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel ''MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 MASH (film), film adaptation of the novel, and t ...
receives repatriation orders and prepares to leave once
Colonel Potter
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televisio ...
can get a replacement surgeon. The chaos in the camp is intensified by enemy mortar fire on the abandoned tank.
Father Mulcahy
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televis ...
loses his hearing while saving
POWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
under fire in their holding area. He swears B.J. to secrecy about the nature of his injury, afraid the Army will return him home, away from the local orphans he has tended throughout his time in Korea.
Hawkeye's treatment progresses and he reveals the woman on the bus had actually
smothered
This is a list of television programs formerly or currently broadcast by TLC (TV network), TLC.
Current programming First-run original programming
Re-runs of acquired programming
Future programming Original programming
*''MILF Manor'' (January ...
her own baby. Hawkeye vents anger on Sidney for making him remember the true nature of the incident. Sidney explains it is necessary for his recovery and returns Hawkeye to duty. B.J. meanwhile is offered a chance to fly out in time for his daughter's birthday and leaves. Hawkeye returns to find B.J. left without a farewell, as Trapper John had earlier in the series. When the mortar fire intensifies, Hawkeye impulsively drives the tank into the camp garbage dump, prompting concern from the others. Sidney Freedman is asked to return to follow up.
A nearby forest fire causes the camp to relocate. A helicopter bringing B.J.'s replacement arrives, and it is revealed to be Hunnicutt himself, who travelled to
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
before he was sent back to Korea. He celebrates his daughter's birthday at a party for orphaned refugee children. Hawkeye is unable to watch the party due to his experiences, and discusses his postwar future with Sidney, fearing he can no longer be around children. When Hawkeye finds he is able to operate on an injured young girl, Sidney leaves the 4077th with Hawkeye's thanks.
Charles's musicians leave camp as part of a prisoner exchange, playing Mozart Clarinet as they depart. The
ceasefire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
is announced ending
hostilities in the war. The 4077 returns to its camp site with wounded soldiers continuing to arrive in the last hours of the war. Winchester discovers one of the musicians has been brought in dead and that the others have been killed. Dazed, he returns to The Swamp and tries to listen to the Mozart recording he used to teach the musicians but finds it no longer brings him joy and smashes it in anger.
The camp personnel throw a final party and reveal their postwar plans. Klinger will marry Soon-Lee and ironically, given his attempts throughout the series to be sent home, remain in Korea. Mulcahy officiates at their wedding while the camp is dismantled. Camp staff say their goodbyes and leave in different ways. Winchester apologizes to Houlihan for his earlier poor treatment of her and gives her a signed book of her favorite poetry. Houlihan says goodbye to Potter and B.J. before Hawkeye steals a long kiss. Potter takes a final ride on the horse that was gifted to him earlier in the series before donating her to the orphanage. Hawkeye and B.J. give him a final parting gift, a heartfelt salute, which Potter tearfully returns.
In the final scene of the series, B.J. gives Hawkeye a ride to his chopper on the motorcycle. Just before the chopper takes off B.J. shouts that he left a note this time and then rides off. As the helicopter lifts off, Hawkeye sees the word GOODBYE spelled out with rocks on the helipad. He smiles as the chopper carries him away.
Cultural reaction and impact
The anticipation before the airing of "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was unprecedented, especially for a regular television series (in contrast to awards shows, sporting events, or special events). Interest from advertisers prompted CBS, the network broadcasting ''M*A*S*H'', to sell 30-second commercial blocks for $450,000 (equal to $ today) each—costlier than even
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's airing of the
Super Bowl of that year.
On the night the episode aired, large areas of California (particularly the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
) suffered power outages due to unusually stormy winter weather, which prevented many viewers from watching the series finale. Three weeks later, on March 21,
KPIX
KPIX-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's CBS network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside ...
, the CBS affiliate in San Francisco, re-aired the episode.
Reaction and ''AfterMASH''
In the United States, the episode drew 105.97 million total viewers
[ and a total audience of 121.6 million, more than both Super Bowl XVII and the '']Roots
A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients.
Root or roots may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
'' miniseries. The episode surpassed the single-episode ratings record that had been set by the ''Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'' episode that resolved the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger. From 1983 until 2010, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" remained the most watched television broadcast in American history,[ passed only in total viewership (but not in ratings or share) in February 2010 by ]Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
. As of 2010, it stands as the most-watched finale of any television series, as well as the most-watched episode as of 2018.
As ''M*A*S*H'' was one of the most successful shows in TV history, in order not to lose the franchise completely, CBS quickly created a new series, ''AfterMASH
''AfterMASH'' is an American sitcom television series produced as the first spin-off (second overall) and a continuation of ''M*A*S*H'' that aired on CBS from September 26, 1983 to May 31, 1985. It was developed as the sequel series as it takes ...
'', that followed the postwar adventures of Colonel Potter, Max Klinger, and Father Mulcahy in a stateside veterans hospital. Despite wide popularity in its premiere episodes, script problems and constant character changes led to a sharp decline in viewers, and the show was canceled by CBS after only two seasons. Another would-be spin-off, ''W*A*L*T*E*R
''W*A*L*T*E*R'' is a 1984 American television pilot for the third spin-off of ''M*A*S*H'' that was never picked up. It starred Gary Burghoff, who reprised his ''M*A*S*H'' character.
The episode chronicles the adventures of Corporal Walter "Rad ...
'', was a pilot made in 1984 that was never picked up. It starred Gary Burghoff, who reprised his ''M*A*S*H'' character.
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was not initially included in the syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
package for ''M*A*S*H''s final season; however, in 1992, the episode made its syndication premiere in time for its 10th anniversary. Local stations aired it as a part of a ''Movie of the Week''.
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was not the final show filmed, as the final season was filmed out of order. The final scene filmed for the series was the time capsule burial scene from "As Time Goes By".
The wildfire storyline was written into the show after a real wildfire destroyed most of the outdoor set, in October 1982. The scene was filmed less than 12 hours after the fire had ravaged the set, and several burned-out vehicles remain at the location to this day.
When "M*A*S*H" was shown on FX and Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...
, they aired "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" occasionally. Hallmark Channel showed it twice a year, February and August, before dropping "M*A*S*H" from its schedule. TV Land
TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cla ...
and MeTV
MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...
have also shown the episode sporadically, including Veterans Day broadcasts on November 11, 2015, November 11, 2019, November 11, 2020, November 11, 2021, and November 11, 2022. In Canada, the cable channel History Television shows the episode in its entirety annually on the Labour Day holiday.
In 2011, the TV Guide Network
The American cable television, cable and satellite television network Pop (American TV channel), Pop was originally launched in 1981 as a barker channel service providing a display of localized electronic program guide, channel and program listings ...
special "TV's Most Unforgettable Finales" ranked this finale as the best.
Because the final episode was filmed as a -hour movie, the producers counted it as 5 episodes in the season's production order to the network for broadcasting, for a total of 20 episodes in all.
See also
* List of most watched television broadcasts
This page lists the television broadcasts which had the most viewers within individual countries, as measured by ratings and research agencies in those countries. The research methodology and choice of statistics varies between sources, and is ex ...
Footnotes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodbye, Farewell And Amen
American television films
M*A*S*H (season 11) episodes
American television series finales
1983 television films
1983 films
1983 American television episodes
Television episodes directed by Alan Alda
Films with screenplays by Alan Alda
February 1983 events in the United States
Television episodes about weddings
1983 in American television
Fiction with unreliable narrators