The TV film titled “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” specially directed by lead actor Alan Alda, was aired on CBS a long 41 years ago on February 28 serving as a curtain-drawer to the renowned American TV series “M*A*S*H.”
The virtual finale episode lasted about a special two and a half hours so eagerly anticipated that it drew roughly 106 million viewers, surpassing even Super Bowl XVII (1982), while it remained the most watched TV broadcast in history until 2010, before eventually bettered by Super Bowl XLIV, in the US.
As a matter of fact, large areas of California and in particular the San Francisco Bay Area suffered power failures through an unusually fierce storm winter weather on the night that prevented many viewers from watching it, spelling that ratings would have been even higher.
The plot follows the closing days of the Korean War (1950 – 1953) at the 4077 MASH and interweaves several individual stories among the personnel in these final stages, reaching a climax in a farewell party as well as emotional goodbyes in the final scene.
‘M*A*S*H’ (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) debuted on 17 September 1972 with the episode titled ‘Pilot’ and ran for an unprecedented nearly eleven years, comprising no less than 256 episodes, before it bowed out in grand style with ‘Goodbye, Farewell and Amen’ on 28 February 1983.
Breaking through History 