M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen

M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen
CBS
February 28, 1983
Dramedy
DVD
A-

About the "too many writers" rule?  I guess there are exceptions.  I don't know who was responsible for which strand, but together Alda, Davis, Hall, Metcalfe, Mumford, Pollock, Rappaport, and Wilcox managed a two-hour episode (2 1/2 hours with commercials) that somehow holds together and moved me at least as much as it did over a third of a century ago.  Alda also directed, and he has the heaviest subplot, but he lets the others shine, from his six main co-stars to some of the familiar faces listed here at the bottom.

I don't think it's simply nostalgia that makes me give one of my rare A-s.  This is a series that I once loved yet have been reliving through more cynical eyes.  But the finale really did move me.  Yes, I like that there are references to past characters and episodes (especially during one of Charles and Margaret's arguments), but on its own terms, this is amazing.  It's definitely on the "drama" side of dramedy, but there are also moments of joy and silliness.  And, really, all I remembered was something about Hawkeye and a "chicken," something about Charles and Korean musicians, and the goodbye message in rocks.

My favorite parts were when people stand up and say what they're doing after the war, and the goodbyes.  I like that each two-person relationship is unique, and the goodbyes match them.  But I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the Hawkeye/Margaret kiss.  While Hawkeye finds it easy to say the words to tell BJ how much his best friend means to him, it's not so easy with the longer-lasting and arguably more complex relationship with the former Hot Lips.  And, yes, Henry Blake gave her a big kiss goodbye, but it wasn't like this.  It's not even simply a matter of romance.  It's that these characters know they would never work as a couple, and yet they do in a sense love each other.  Also, as Hawkeye pointed out on the previous episode, they've been there as long as each other (the only ones from the first episode still here in the last).  Believe me, this packs more of a wallop in middle age, having had some "opposites attract" relationships, than it did when I was a starry-eyed 15-year-old who'd never been kissed.

It was also the part that made me laugh the most out loud.  And that is because Farrell, Morgan, and Stiers have to stand around awkwardly, adding little touches like Charles skimming through the book he's returning to Margaret.  And you know that BJ knows about the one-night stand, and the other two have probably guessed by now.  So there's resonance, and I can only wonder what the 121.6 million people watching the last six minutes thought.

GW Bailey (Rizzo), Natasha Bauman (Nurse), Brigitte Chandler (Nurse), Jennifer Davis (Nurse), Gwen Farrell (Nurse Gwen), Judy Farrell (Able), Dennis Flood (this time as a Corpsman), Roy Goldman (as Roy Goldman), Jan Jorden (Baker), Enid Kent (Bigelow), June Kim (this time the Woman with Shawl), Jeff Maxwell (Straminsky), Kellye Nakahara (Yamato), David Orr (this time a Soldier), John Otrin (Ambulance Driver), Frank Pettinger (Corpsman), Shari Saba (Nurse Shari), Frank Slaten (Corpsman Frank), Bill Snider (Corpsman), Arthur Song (Korean Man), Jo Ann Thompson (Nurse Jo Ann), and Dennis Troy (Corpsman) all return, one last time.

So how do I average this episode in?  Does it count five times?  After all, I never counted the one-hour episodes twice.  But let's count this as two episodes.  With the rest of the season averaging C to B, this comes out to a B-.  I still believe M*A*S*H didn't need to run this long without Radar and, yes, I know about and in fact watched some of After MASH.  But this is as good a place as any, and better than most, to end it.