Summary

• The cast of MASH held a vote during season 10 to end the show.
• The actors who voted to keep the show running then became the stars of AfterMASH.
• AfterMASH is now considered one of the biggest mistakes in TV history.

A vote by the cast of MASH had the accidental effect of leading to the franchise's biggest blunder. Acclaimed as the long-running CBS sitcom might be, certain creative decisions didn't sit well with some viewers. Some fans much prefer the earlier seasons, which put more of an emphasis on comedy. The death of Henry Blake in MASH season 3 saw the show move into more dramatic terrority, with this dramedy approach proving divisive. Of course, some devotees loved this tonal shift and feel the show lasted so long because of this blend of humor and heartbreak.

MASH ran for 11 seasons in total, but like any long-running series, it was starting to run out of energy towards the end. It began recycling storylines and character arcs, and while it was never less than entertaining, it was clear by MASH season 10 it near time to wrap things up. MASH's finale became the most-watched scripted TV episode of all time in 1983 and was a perfect way to send off the characters. It wasn't, however, the end of the franchise.

The MASH Cast Majority Voted To End The Show During Season 10

MASH's ensemble realized it was time to bring down the curtain

MASH's bad season 1 ratings almost got the show canceled, but went on to become a huge success in re-runs. The ratings for the sitcom remained constantly high, even towards the end of its run. Hence, CBS was perfectly happy to keep it going as long as possible. The ensemble wasn't so keen so during MASH season 10, the cast majority voted to end the series with the then-upcoming season 11 (via UPI).

Key cast members like Alan Alda, Loretta Swift and Mike Farrell agreed it was best to end before MASH suffered a steep decline in quality.

According to executive producer Burt Metcalfe, it was felt that after 260 episodes they had "... exhausted the storylines and the actors want to get on with their careers." Cast members like Alan Alda, Loretta Swift and Mike Farrell agreed it was best to end before MASH suffered a steep decline in qualiity. This decision appears to have helped the final season, as there is a sense the cast and crew were motivated to close on a strong note with their final year.

The Actors Who Voted To Keep MASH Running Became The Stars Of AfterMASH

Not everybody wanted to close out MASH

It is often noted that while MASH ran for 11 years, the Korean War itself only lasted for three. While this is accurate, the fact the cast visibly aged throughout its run could easily be explained by the stress their characters faced in a warzone. After being locked into one show for so many years, it made sense some of the cast wanted to move on to new projects. Even so, MASH actors Jamie Farr, William Christopher and Harry Morgan voted to keep the show running.

Loretta Swit tried to exit MASH during season 8 after playing the role of Cagney in the original Cagney & Lacey TV movie. CBS refused to release her from the show.

Since CBS was reluctant to end the original series, they decided to greenlight a spinoff with the actors who voted to continue. The result was AfterMASH, where Farr's Klinger, Christopher's Father Mulcahy and Morgan's Dr. Potter reunite after the war in a veteran's hospital. On paper, a series dealing with the issue of combat veterans and their medical care should have been a natural way to continue the themes of MASH, but the various issues with the spinoff were clear from the start. It never balanced the humor and drama, while the absence of names like Alda was another problem.

AfterMASH Did Well During The First Season

The MASH spinoff was not the instant turkey it has been framed as

Audiences were curious to see what the offshoot would be, and while it was never as funny as its predecessor, AfterMASH was a comfortable success during its first season, ranking 15th out of the season.

AfterMASH managed to lure Larry Gelbart back, who was the showrunner behind the original show's first four seasons, and is often credited with making it such a hit. Gelbart found himself burned out by the sitcom's immense workload and bowed out after season 4, but he liked the concept for the spinoff so much that he helped usher it into existence. Audiences were also curious to see what the offshoot would be, and while it was never as funny as its predecessor, AfterMASH was a comfortable success during its first season, ranking 15th out of the season (via MASH4077th).

For a new show, those are solid numbers, but CBS wasn't happy. They wanted the spinoff to perform as well as MASH did, so they made changes for the second season. They wanted it to be funnier and wackier, which included having Klinger dressing up in women's clothing again. The network unwisely placed AfterMASH against the third season of The A-Team too, figuring their show would come out on top.

Instead, the ratings tanked, and the series was abruptly canceled before it even finished its run. In fact, AfterMASH's final episode never aired in the U.S. and became near impossible to watch for decades afterward. Another attempted spinoff called W*A*L*T*E*R would have followed Gary Burghoff's Radar as he became a policeman, but this never made it past the pilot stage.

Why AfterMASH Is So Reviled Today

Does MASH's sequel series deserve its dire reputation?

AfterMASH has become a byword for bad television, with the spinoff often being mocked as one of the biggest mistakes in TV history. Unlike MASH, it has never received a home media release - not even on VHS - nor is it available to view on streaming services. There is a sense everyone involved with AfterMASH wants to pretend it never happened, and that is an embarrassment to the franchise's good name. The stench has lingered so long there have been no further attempts to reboot or sequelize MASH in the decades since it finished.

It's true that AfterMASH just doesn't quite work. Potter, Mulcahy and Klinger are supporting players, and what the show needed was a character like Trapper (Wayne Rogers) or B.J. to be the lead. Even so, the spinoff had its heart in the right place, and some episodes display AfterMASH's potential as a more straightforward medical drama. The second season should have seen it lean into the drama rather than the comedy, most of which weren't terribly funny anyway.

The Key Mistake AfterMASH Made, According To The Showrunner

Larry Gelbart feels AfterMASH needed to lose the MASH

In an honest assessment of what went wrong with his spinoff, co-creator Gelbart told FoundationINTERVIEWS that if he were to do it again, he wouldn't have peopled it with characters from MASH. Gelbert feels AfterMASH should have been an hour-long drama instead of a sitcom, and that humor shouldn't have been the focus. Gelbart realized it was the idea of focusing on a veteran's hospital and the various issues that arose from that setting are what interested him, but he took the wrong approach.

There is a very special place in my core when it comes to MASH and I would not be pleased to sully the name or the memory. But I managed to do it anyway!

Circling back to the casting vote that ended MASH, it's possible that if all the actors agreed, then the spinoff may not have happened. It's a textbook example of a network trying to extend a show past its natural lifespan. While the spinoff is not entirely without merit, as Gelbart said, AfterMASH might have been a better show without any MASH characters in it.

Source: UPI, MASH4077TH, FoundationINTERVIEWS