Press Pass 29: “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” Press Photo Collages

UPDATE: 2/12/2024: Thanks to Dan Harrison, I have added another reason why “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” was aired once again on CBS in September 1983.

On February 28, 1983, an estimated 60% of American households gathered around their TV sets to watch the finale of M*A*S*H. It was a huge ratings success for CBS, and to prepare viewers for the M*A*S*H spin-off series AfterMASH, CBS re-broadcasted “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” on Monday, September 19, 1983. To advertise the re-showing of the finale, CBS sent out several press photo collages with scenes from the episode. For the last several months, I have been featuring items related to the final episode of M*A*S*H including a press release about an MDA benefit tied to the finale and a press release from TV Guide about an article that was featured in the February 12, 1983 issue. In this week’s post, I have gathered three press photo collages advertising the re-broadcast of “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.”

I am sure CBS sent out more press materials than these three press photos advertising the re-broadcast of the M*A*S*H finale, but these are the three I have in my collection. In each, we see a series of scenes from the episode, and even a few behind the scenes photos including one of Alan Alda behind a camera. The release featuring the photo of Hawkeye after he has just run over the latrine with a tank is recycled. On the front, it advertises the finale’s original air date of February 28. The other two, however, have information attached to the back promoting the September 19 re-broadcast.

You may be wondering why was the M*A*S*H finale re-broadcast so soon. There are likely three answers to this question. The first explanation is that it was common for networks to rebroadcast full seasons of a show over the summer. For M*A*S*H, the logical way to conclude the season 11 re-broadcast was with “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.” Although, its length would make its airing in syndication a rare occasion. Another reason was that CBS would soon lose the rights to re-broadcast M*A*S*H since it had officially ended and was removed from the schedule. Before the new season began in late September, this was the network’s last chance to run the finale. The third reason CBS re-broadcast the finale was because the following week, on September 26, the M*A*S*H time slot was occupied by the new M*A*S*H spin-off series, AfterMASH. Since the main characters’ storylines from the finale (Klinger’s marriage to Soon-Lee and Father Mulcahy’s hearing loss) carried over to AfterMASH, it made sense to re-air the finale to remind viewers of what happened to the three core characters (Col. Potter, Klinger, and Mulcahy).

Since “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” broke every television viewership record up to that point, it made sense for CBS to promote the re-broadcast of the episode. CBS sent out several photo collages with scenes from the episode for local press outlets to use to advertise the broadcast. I am sure there were some fans who were not so anxious to say “Goodbye” to the 4077th again so soon after the finale originally aired, but it was in the interest of CBS to help promote AfterMASH, which did do well in its first few weeks. However, interest would wane in the series and it would be cancelled in its second season. M*A*S*H and “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” hold up as examples of the best television series and the best series finale.