ChronoFive
Play today’s puzzle
Setting the scene
M*A*S*H began in 1972 as a CBS sitcom set in a Korean War mobile army surgical hospital, using Army doctors' black humor to comment on Vietnam without naming it. By the early 1980s it was television's most-watched comedy, balancing surgery gore with Hawkeye Pierce's pranks. Networks rarely gave sitcoms proper finales, but creator Alan Alda wanted closure for the 4077th.
What happened
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen aired on February 28, 1983, a two-and-a-half-hour special written and directed by Alda as Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce. The episode dealt with a chicken-smuggling prank gone wrong, Hawkeye's breakdown, and the armistice ending the war as the staff scatters home. B.J. Hunnicutt's goodbye spelled with rocks visible from a helicopter became one of TV's most debated endings.
Why it still matters
Over 105 million Americans watched, a record that stood for decades, proving finales could be national events. The show's mix of comedy and trauma influenced ER and later war satires. Memorable detail: CBS repeated the finale so often that some viewers joked the Korean War lasted longer on television than in history.
Background
Over 105 million viewers watched the Korean War sitcom sign off.