First Aired: Feb. 28, 1983 on CBS

Rate Episode: 4.63/5 (8 votes)
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Season 11 » Episode #16 - Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

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M*A*S*H - 11x16 Goodbye, Farewell and Amen
Summary: The final days have finally arrived for the 4077th. In the passing days we find Charles as a conductor for a musical group of Chinese prisoners, B.J. wishing to make it home in time for Erin's birthday and Margaret trying to find a glamorous Army post. But tragedy also befalls some of the group as Hawkeye battles his war memories after an incident aboard a bus, Father Mulcahy loses his hearing from an explosion and Klinger's fiancee can't find her family members. As the camp closes its doors forever, each member tells their plans for the future and say their final goodbyes.

Who appeared in this episode?



Guest Stars:

Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce played by Alan Alda
Captain B.J. Hunnicut played by Mike Farrell
Colonel Sherman T. Potter played by Harry Morgan
Major Margaret Houlihan played by Loretta Swit
Major Charles Winchester played by David Ogden Stiers
Sergeant Maxwell Q. Klinger played by Jamie Farr
Father Francis Mulcahy played by William Christopher
Sergeant Luther Rizzo played by G.W. Bailey

Episode Quotes

Col. Potter: I can't run a hospital without surgeons. Who's supposed to replace you?
B.J.: What would you say if we found a first-class surgeon to take my place?
Father Mulcahy: That's fair enough.
Col. Potter: Well...
Maj. Margaret Houlihan: Come on, we'll try.
Col. Potter: I guess I'd say bon voyage.
Sergeant Maxwell Q. Klinger: Thanks for your help, Father.
Father Mulcahy: Francis John Patrick Mulcahy - remember that if you name any children after me.
Broadcaster from Armed Forces Radio: This is Robert Pierpoint speaking to you from Panmunjon. It's one minute before 10:00 p.m. We can still hear the sound of nearby artillery. At some point during the next few seconds, the guns should go silent as the ceasefire officially goes into effect. [There are six more seconds of sounds of explosions, followed by eleven-and-a-half seconds of silence] There it is, that's the sound of peace.
[More Quotes]


Mistakes/Goofs

  • Goof (miscellaneous): Colonel Potter's horse, Sophie is supposed to be a mare. In the shot of Potter riding "her" away from camp, "she" is definitely a stallion.
  • Goof (continuity error): Potter, BJ, Winchester, and Hawkeye are saying their goodbyes to Margaret. When she and Hawkeye begin kissing passionately, the other three become uncomfortable and look away; BJ slowly removes his hand/forearm from Winchester's shoulder (where he had placed it, comrade-style, a few moments earlier). The kiss continues, and BJ again slides his forearm off Winchester's shoulder.
  • Goof (factual errors): During the farewell dinner in the mess tent, Nurse Kellye is wearing her rank and medical insignia on the wrong lapels on her uniform.
  • Goof (revealing mistake): During the bug out, Radar can be seen helping to remove a trunk from a building. This is due to the reuse of footage from the episode "Bug Out," but does not fit in the continuity of the show as Radar was sent home to Iowa during season 8.
  • Goof (factual errors): When Hawkeye gets out of the tank, he gets out from the commander's cupola, not the hull, meaning he could not have been driving.

Trivia

  • This episode is the only episode of the series to feature the title of that particular episode on screen.
  • During filming for the final episode, a brush fire broke out and destroyed much of the ranch set. Since the show was coming to an end, it was decided that rebuilding the set would be unnecessarily expensive, and the fire was written into the story by having the North Koreans set off incendiary devices and start a brush fire.
  • It was Jamie Farr's idea to ironically have Max Klinger voluntarily choose to remain in Korea in the final episode.
  • The wounded soldier that drove the tank into the compound is wearing a mustache when he is pulled out of the tank. Later in OR, he no longer has a mustache.
  • With approximately 125 million viewers, this overtook "Dallas" (1978) {Who Done It? (#4.4)} to become the most-watched television broadcast in American History. 50.15 million households or 60.2% watched giving it a Neilsen share of 77%.