I’ve been doing some more research on the state of M*A*S*H in the late 1970s. Everything I’ve found thus far continues to point towards the final decision on the series being renewed at the end of each season resting on Alan Alda’s shoulders. This fits with everything I’ve read or heard over the years. Alda was considered the star of the series, inasmuch as an ensemble cast can have a star, and he was the only actor deemed irreplaceable.

In a June 1979 article about Gary Burghoff leaving M*A*S*H, Gary Deeb of The Chicago Tribune had this to say about the future of the hit sitcom:

With “M*A*S*H” consistently among the five most popular programs on the tube, CBS naturally hopes the show will last deep into the 1980s, but [Burt] Metcalfe realizes the program’s lifespan depends almost exclusively on how long Alda wants to remain as the star.

“So far, Alan shows no signs of wanting to quit after next season,but he does renew his contract strictly on a year-to-year basis,” Metcalfe says. “He loves doing the show because he works only six months a year, he makes an enormous amount of money, and he gets to do something he’s proud of. He’s a brilliant man and a lovely guy.”

Some seven months later, Deeb reported that M*A*S*H would be returning on CBS for the 1980-1981 season, its ninth:

The best comedy series in TV history almost certainly will remain on the air for another season of new episodes. “M*A*S*H,” the Korean war comedy-drama, is expected to be around next September for its ninth season as a mainstay of the CBS program lineup. The whole ball of wax hinges on the whim of series star Alan Alda, and inside sources say Alda is willing to sign for another season, just as long as the program’s filming schedule can be worked around his suddenly booming career in movies.

Just imagine the fun Alda could have had if he wanted to string CBS and 20th Century Fox along. We’re lucky that power didn’t go to his head.

References

• Deeb, Gary. “‘M*A*S*H’ to Stay, but ‘Waltons’ to Fold.” Chicago Tribune. 16 Jan. 1980: A8.
• Deeb, Gary. “Tempo TV: The Troops May Come and Go, But ‘M*A*S*H’ Crew Carries On — Splendidly.” Chicago Tribune. 25 Jun. 1979: A10.

I wrote yesterday about the possibility that M*A*S*H was considered for cancellation at the end of the 1978-1979 season. In that case, however, it was an investment firm surveying advertising agencies coming to the conclusion that M*A*S*H might end after its seventh season. I’ve now found an interesting article in The Chicago Tribune — by none other than the late Gene Siskel — from February of 1979. The article is about Alan Alda but, obviously, talks a lot about M*A*S*H.

Here’s the important section:

Although Alda wouldn’t confirm it, there is a good chance “M*A*S*H” may not survive after its eighth season, the last year of his current contract.

“It depends on whether we think we can think up more stories. By the end of next year, we will have done 200 stories. If we develop a staff that feels like it has the energy to go on, then maybe we’ll decide to go on. We don’t want to run it into the ground. A couple of times lately, we’ve felt as though we were repeating ourselves, and we don’t want to do that. We’re too proud of what we have done.”

Some would argue that M*A*S*H should have ended after its seventh or eighth season. But as we all know, it continued for three more seasons, not ending until February of 1983 after eleven seasons and 251 episodes. And it only came to an end because — as the story goes — the cast voted four to three to end it. In any event, I have never come across any evidence suggesting that the network (CBS) or the production company (20th Century Fox) ever considered ending M*A*S*H (aside from the first, low-rated season). Even when it did end, the Nielsen ratings were high and it was the cast that decided call it a day.

References

• Siskel, Gene. “TV’s Mr. Popularity Tries a New Sparkle.” Chicago Tribune. 11 Feb. 1979: E2.

An annual advertising survey conducted by investment firm Bache Halsey Stuart Shields Inc. suggested that M*A*S*H and three other “long-running series” were “considered candidates for cancellation before the season ends,” according to an August 4th, 1978 article in The New York Times. The other three shows were The Rockford Files on NBC and Barnaby Jones and Hawaii Five-O on CBS.

The Bache surveys began in 1975, according to the article, and involved experts from thirteen advertising agencies giving their opinions on new and returning programs on the three networks. Anthony M. Hoffman, the broadcast analyst for Bache, stated that the surveys “have proved fairly accurate in forecasting the overall results of the season, if not always in predicting the fate of individual shows.”

As everyone knows, M*A*S*H didn’t come to an end until February of 1983, so the Bache survey was off by quite a bit. But Bache was also wrong about the other three shows, all of which ended in 1980. And there is no evidence to suggest that CBS was considering ending M*A*S*H at the end of the 1978-1979 season.

References

• Brown, Les. “ABC-TV Expected to Stay No. 1.” New York Times. 4 Aug. 1979: C21.

I’ve updated the M*A*S*H References on Television page with a reference from FOX’s medical drama House.

In the November 11th, 2008 episode of House (”The Itch”) while discussing doing surgery in a patient’s home as opposed to the hospital, the following exchange takes place:

Cameron: “It’s probably ten times more sterile than any mobile hospital [operating room?] you’d find in a battlefield.”
House: “We’d still need Trapper John.”

I’ve added a M*A*S*H clue from the December 2nd, 2008 edition of Jeopardy! to the M*A*S*H on Jeopardy! page. It was a good but easy clue — and in poem form — and one of the contestants was able to correctly answer.

I’ve updated M*A*S*H References on Television with a reference from Mork & Mindy. Joanne originally submitted the reference, although she was a little vague, but luckily I saw the episode a few weeks ago when SCI FI Channel had a marathon:

During the episode “I Heard It Through the Morkvine,” Mork calls up information on the telephone, looking for gossip:

“Hello, information? Yes. Hi, I’d like the truth about M*A*S*H. Yes, is it true Corporal Klinger is really Danny Thomas’s sister?”

I’ve also changed the format of the page in an attempt to make it a little bit easier to read. Let me know what you think. And be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for references to M*A*S*H on television.