Here’s a “bumper” for AfterMASH that aired near the end of the first half of the hour-long premiere (“September of ‘53″) on September 26th, 1983. These bumpers were used to remind viewers that the very show they were in the process of watching would, in fact, return after a commercial break. I can’t say whether bumpers were used during every episode of AfterMASH or just during the premiere.

Here’s what may or may not be an incomplete promotional spot for “It Had to Be You,” the January 23rd, 1984 episode of AfterMASH. The episode guest-starred Gary Burghoff as Walter “Radar” O’Reilly (he had a cameo in the previous episode). It’s very short but does appear to fade out at the end rather than cut off abruptly.

Speaking of bumpers, M*A*S*H used them, too. You can find one at my feature Watching M*A*S*H in the 1970s. According to this post at the BCA Message Board, it’s actually Harry Morgan doing the “We’ll Be Right Back” voiceover. I didn’t recognize his voice.

I came across this commercial while checking the contents of a VHS tape I had in a drawer. It was played during a commercial break in an episode of the CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond back in December 2001. In the commercial, Gary Burghoff spoofs his famous character of Radar for Connecticut’s CBS affiliate, WFSB-TV Channel 3, and its Doppler 3000. I live in Connecticut and remember when these commercials were originally shown. But until now I haven’t had one to share.

I was actually surprised to find only one article about the commercials, published in The Hartford Courant on February 2nd, 2000. According to the article, there were initially three 30-second commercials, titled “Incoming Storm,” “The Airport Spot” and “The Boardroom.” Said Burghoff about the commercials, “It’s fun because it’s in Connecticut, and it’s being seen by all my friends and relatives. It’s fun because Channel 3 goes back in my memory as far as it goes.” Burghoff was born in Bristol, Connecticut and still has a summer home in the state.

In the article, Burghoff explains that he didn’t have a problem spoofing his character from M*A*S*H. “When I heard they wanted to do a parody of Radar, I thought it was a cute idea. Parody is one thing I will do on a selective basis of Radar. Anything else lowers the dignity of the ‘M*A*S*H’ experience.” The article notes that the first three commercials debuted on January 17th, 2000 and were set to run for at least two months. There’s no mention of the commercial I found from December of 2001 but obviously Burghoff filmed at least one additional commercial for WFSB. I have no idea if there were even more commercials or when they were last shown.

Sources:
Weiss, Tara. “‘Radar’ Pitches Radar.” Hartford Courant. 2 Feb. 2000: D.1.

On the first disc of bonus features included in the Martinis & Medicine Complete Collection — and later released alongside “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen” — are close to ten minutes of something called “My Favorite M*A*S*H.” It features members of the cast, including Alan Alda, Loretta Swit and Jamie Farr, introducing their favorite episodes of the series.

Alan Alda Introducing “In Love and War”

Both Alan Alda and Loretta Swit are on the M*A*S*H set, wearing their uniforms, which suggests their footage was filmed while the series was still in production. Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan and William Christopher, however, are out of uniform in civilian clothes, indicating either their footage were filmed after the series wrapped or simply away from the set.

William Christopher Introducing “Dear Sis”

Here is a list of the episodes discussed by each actor:

Alan Alda – “Dear Sigmund,” “In Love and War“
Mike Farrell – “Welcome To Korea,” “Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?“
Loretta Swit – “Hot Lips and Empty Arms,” Margaret’s Engagement“
William Christopher – “Dear Sis,” “Mulcahy’s War“
Harry Morgan – “The U.N., the Night, and the Music,” “The General Flipped at Dawn“
Jamie Farr – “Officer of the Day,” “Big Mac“

I believe this footage was used in promotional spots for the series. The following spot, from September of 1987, is advertising “The Stars Favorite Episodes” week and includes a few snippets of Jamie Farr discussing “The Trial of Henry Blake.” It isn’t one of the episodes included on the bonus disc but he is wearing the same outfit.

I wonder how many other episodes each of the actors introduced.

Here is a commercial for Connecticut’s Community Health Care Plan featuring McLean Stevenson. CHCP was an HMO created in the late 1960s/early 1970s. The commercial was aired on WTXX, a Connecticut television station, in November of 1986. Unfortunately, it was cut off and I only have the first six seconds.

Notice that McLean is wearing a sweater with CHCP written on it, much like the University of Illinois sweaters his character, Colonel Blake, wore on M*A*S*H. The same can be said about the hat he’s wearing, although it doesn’t have any fishing lures in it. It seems fairly obvious the commercial was using McLean’s most famous role in an attempt to connect with viewers. Or maybe that’s just how McLean dressed regularly.