Goodbye, Farewell and Amen Totally Explained

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"Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" is a television movie that served as the 251st and final episode of the M*A*S*H television series. Closing out the series' eleventh season, the 2½-hour episode first aired on Monday, February 28, 1983. Written by a large number of collaborators (including series star Alan Alda), and directed by Alda, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," as of 2008, is still the single most watched episode of a television series in American history.
The episode's plot chronicles the waning days of the Korean War at the 4077th MASH and features several storylines intended to show the war's effects on the individual personnel of the unit, and to bring closure to the series. After the final cease-fire of the war goes into effect, the members of the 4077th throw a closing party before taking down the camp for the final time. After saying their tear-filled goodbyes, the main characters go their separate ways, leading up to the iconic final scene of the series. The episode drew over 106 million Americans, more than both that year's Super Bowl and the famed Roots miniseries. The episode remains one of the most respected of the series. While the M*A*S*H series ended with this episode, three of the series' main characters (Sherman Potter, Maxwell Klinger, and Father Mulcahy) would later meet again in 1983 – 1985 spin-off series AfterMASH.

Detailed story

The finale starts during the waning days of the war at an unfamiliar hospital, in Ward D; it's revealed as a mental hospital. Captain Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) is inside being treated by Dr. Sidney Freedman (Allan Arbus). As time progresses, Freedman is able to force him to recall the events that led up to his breakdown.
   In the first memory that Hawkeye recalls, he's on a bus ride back to the 4077th after a day of partying at the beaches of Incheon during the 4th of July holiday, and is drunk and jovial on the bus, shouting for a bottle of whiskey to be passed to the back of the bus for someone who "can't wait." However, as time progresses in his treatment, he's able to recall memories which he repressed; in his next recollection of the story, the person who "can't wait" is revealed to be one of a group of wounded soldiers brought onto the bus, as Hawkeye calls frantically for a bottle of plasma.
   The bus then picks up a group of Korean refugees, followed later by more wounded soldiers who warn of an enemy patrol coming in their direction; the bus is taken off the road and the soldiers tell everyone to stay quiet so the patrol doesn't hear them and kill them. Hawkeye recalls a woman holding a chicken that wouldn't stay quiet and thus put everyone in danger. In his final recollection Hawkeye remembers that he went to tell the woman to "keep that damn chicken quiet." As he remembers the chicken ceasing its clucking, Hawkeye begins to break down in sobs. A confused Sidney wonders why he's being so emotional about a chicken, but Hawkeye finally remembers the true sequence of events: the woman had been holding not a chicken, but an infant, and had smothered her own child, leading to Hawkeye's breakdown. Soon after this revelation Sidney decides it's time for Hawkeye to leave, but Sidney returns him to the 4077th instead of the States. Hawkeye isn't sure he's ready to go back, but Sidney is confident, saying he'll drop by to check up on him. Also, a Korean refugee from previous episodes, Soon-Lee (Rosalind Chao), is still on the base, continuing her search for her parents.
   Meanwhile, a tank is driven by a wounded soldier into the 4077th and crushes the latrine. Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers) -- who has a mild case of dysentery and is walking the short distance to the temporary latrine down the road -- "captures" a rag-tag bunch of Chinese soldiers who happen to be musicians -- the equivalent of a unit band. Charles recognizes the music they play as a badly rendered version of Mozart's "Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, K. 581", and takes it upon himself to improve their recitation by becoming their conductor. Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) gets orders not to move the tank.
   Charles is also bemoaning the fact that a competitor for the position of Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Boston Mercy Hospital has been pulling strings in an attempt to get the job. Margaret (Loretta Swit) uses some of her family connections to help ensure Charles gets the job, but when Winchester finds out what she's done, he's none too pleased.
   The presence of the tank causes the North Koreans to begin mortaring the unit. During the initial mortaring, Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) goes out to try to save a group of prisoners of war who have been placed in a makeshift pen in the compound. In the process Mulcahy is knocked out by a very close explosion, and when he comes to, finds that he can't hear what anyone is saying. Upon learning from BJ that he's suffering from a case of tinnitus, Mulcahy makes him promise not to tell anyone about his hearing problem, because it could get him sent home where he wouldn't be able to continue helping the local orphans. B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell), who has received his discharge papers, leaves for home, before Hawkeye returns to the camp to find a fresh batch of wounded waiting for him, and is excited to see his daughter's second birthday. However, as Hunnicutt leaves, Klinger (Jamie Farr) shows Colonel Potter a different DOD letter, rescinding Hunnicutt's discharge orders. Potter decides not to stop the chopper and lets Hunnicutt leave. He tells Klinger to instead put the document on his desk so he can read it later in the day (thereby tacitly ignoring the rescission, with the hope that the Army will, too, and BJ will make it home). Hawkeye is dismayed that BJ left the same way Trapper did, without saying goodbye or even leaving a note. After a surgical round, with the mortaring of the camp continuing, Hawkeye takes the initiative and drives the tank out of the camp, through the newly built latrine and into the garbage dump. Despite the fact that Hawkeye's actions put the 4077th out of harms way and gave the group relieve, this impulsive move forces Colonel Potter to arrange for Hawkeye another session with Dr. Freedman. Meanwhile, Klinger worries about Soon-Lee and goes looking for her after he figures out she left the base to continue searching for her parents; he soon comes to realize that he's fallen in love with her, and she reveals that she loves him as well. Klinger proposes marriage, which she accepts, but she sadly states that she can't go back with him to America until she finds out what has happened to her parents.
   Soon after, wildfires started by North Korean incendiary bombs in the surrounding hills forces the 4077th to bug out. (An actual wildfire destroyed the outdoor set and had to be written into the script.) Almost as soon as the new camp has been set up, BJ returns, his journey home stopped after word reaches him in Guam that his discharge has been rescinded, as his replacement couldn't reach camp due to heavy fighting, and Potter requested that the Army find any staff who they could get their hands on. Due to the fact that Hunnicutt missed his daughter's birthday, the 4077 arrange it so a party is held for a two year orphan, and Hunnicutt serves as the guest of honor at the party as well.
   Seeing so many children at the party causes Hawkeye to withdraw and walk away, but Dr. Freedman (who has arrived in response to Potter's call after Hawkeye's incident with the tank) assures him that what he's feeling is natural, considering the memories he repressed and his recovery. Dr. Freedman also says he isn't worried about the tank incident; Hawkeye was actually acting sensibly by putting his fellow soldiers out of danger. Hawkeye continues by admitting that the thought of a patient under his care not surviving had rarely occurred to him until now. Freedman responds by saying those feelings may make Hawkeye an even better doctor than before. Moments later, in the operating room, a Korean child is brought to Hawkeye to be operated on. Hawkeye, at first, is hesitant, and Potter offers to switch patients with him. Hawkeye willingly decides to take the child, meaning his recovery is complete. He thanks Dr. Freedman for all his help.
   Winchester eventually has to say goodbye to his Chinese music students, due to a POW trade with the Koreans. Meanwhile, the longtime PA system announcer of the 4077th announces that the truce has been signed at Panmunjon and will go into effect at 10:00pm that evening, and that the war is over; the camp's staff cheer loudly and celebrate in joy afterwards. Shortly thereafter, one of the musicians is brought back to camp mortally wounded after their transport was shelled, and Charles is stunned to learn that he's the only one of the musicians to make it even that far. Charles goes inside his tent and starts up his record player, listening to the same Mozart piece the musicians had played, but after a few seconds yanks the record off and smashes it to pieces in frustration. While in surgery, the hospital staff hears journalist Robert Pierpoint over the PA as the last shots of the war are fired.
   A final party is given in the mess tent to celebrate (presumably that evening or the evening before the hospital is decommissioned). Each of the main characters – and many minor characters, including ones barely seen during the run of the show – tells what he or she'll be doing after the war. Among the characters, Colonel Potter says he's looking forward to returning home to his wife Mildred in Missouri ("There's a woman back in Hannibal, MO, who's spent the better part of thirty years waiting on me to come back from one tour of duty or another.") and being a semi-retired country doctor. Margaret has rejected several overseas postings, and says she's looking forward to working in a hospital in the States. Mulcahy, whose hearing loss has been worsening, decides he'll start working with the deaf. Charles is going to be named Head of Thoracic Surgery at Boston Mercy Hospital - the post he'd been expecting before being drafted - but reveals that his time in Korea has changed him: "For me, music was always a refuge from this miserable experience. Now, it'll always be a...reminder." The biggest surprise, however, comes from Klinger: after countless attempts throughout the series to seek a Section 8 discharge and return to the States, he's decided to stay in Korea to help his fiancée Soon Lee find her missing family.
   The day of departure begins with Father Mulcahy officiating the wedding of Klinger and Soon Lee, with Colonel Potter serving as best man. The newlyweds are the first ones to leave. As they pull out in an ox cart (decorated with a "JUST MARRIED" sign and strings of Klinger's old high heel shoes), Soon Lee throws her bouquet, which is caught by Margaret. As the tearing down of the camp begins, some personnel are sent by bus to the 8063rd MASH, a temporary stop, before being sent home. The landmark wooden arrow mileage signs of respective hometowns are taken one by one (excepting the ones pointing to Tokyo and Seoul). The officers then say goodbye, and what remains of the camp is torn down by the few remaining soldiers. Each of the senior officers depart one by one: Father Mulcahy first, on his way to the 8063rd, then Margaret, also heading to join others at the 8063rd. Margaret offers to send some of her luggage on another transport so Charles can go with her, but he dispatches Seargent Rizzo to find another vehicle. He then reconciles with Margaret over their argument about his job, letting her keep a book she'd borrowed from him. Margaret and Hawkeye then share a long, passionate kiss before saying brief goodbyes. Sgt. Rizzo shows up on the last vehicle in the 4077 motor pool: a garbage truck. Charles bids his comrades farewell, then he and Rizzo leave the camp. Colonel Potter is taking one final ride on Sophie before donating her to the local orphanage, where a jeep is waiting for him. Hawkeye and BJ tell Potter that they'd had trouble deciding what to get him for a goodbye present, before telling him that what they settled on "isn't much, but it comes from the heart." The two men then stand to attention and salute their commanding officer, who returns the gesture and rides away. The final scene involves just BJ and Hawkeye. Earlier, BJ was unable to say goodbye, Hawkeye mocking him for this failure. Hawkeye laments that that'll be on opposite sides of the country after they go home and concludes that that'll probably never see each other again, though Hunnicutt promises they will. They tearfully embrace for the last time, then Hawkeye boards a helicopter and prepares to lift off. BJ rides off on a motorcycle he'd been refurbishing(with the San Francisco mileage arrow stowed behind his luggage) and, as the helicopter ascends, Hawkeye sees a final message from his long-time friend spelled out with stones on the sandy soil: "GOODBYE." It is the last image shown of the 4077th on the screen before the final credits, before a close-up shot of Hawkeye followed by a final shot of his helicopter flying into the distance.
   The credits run longer, with an extended version of the show theme played instead of the usual short closing theme that had been used for the previous two seasons' worth of episodes.

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" on home video

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the first TV program to be released on home video by the CBS/Fox Video label (in VHS, Laserdisc, and the RCA Selectavision video disc formats), and was released to rental outlets. In the 1990s, Columbia House released selected episodes of M*A*S*H on VHS, including the finale.
   The episode has been released in three DVD packages. The "Martinis and Medicine Collection" complete series set and the Season 11 set of M*A*S*H were both released on November 7, 2006, and include the series finale. On May 15, 2007, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment re-released the "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" episode as a stand-alone three-DVD set. This DVD set also includes the two "special features" DVDs that were originally included in the complete series "Martinis and Medicine Collection" DVD set but not the in the Season 11 set.. There are differences in the labeling and packaging of the various releases.
   While the entire series is available on Region 1, Region 2, and Region 4 DVDs, the "GFA" set is currently available only on Region 1 DVD. No word if it'll be re-released on Region 2 or Region 4 DVDs.
   Currently, there's no report of M*A*S*H being released on Blu-ray Disc.

Cultural reaction and impact

Pre-airing buildup

The anticipation and buildup to the airing of "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was almost unprecedented, especially for a regular television series (in contrast to an awards show, sporting event, or special event). Interest from advertisers prompted CBS, the network that aired M*A*S*H, to sell 30-second commercial blocks for $450,000 (about $906,000 in 2006) each – a higher cost than even for the Super Bowl of that year.
On the night this episode aired, large areas of California (particularly the San Francisco Bay Area) were affected by power outages resulting from unusually strong winter weather. This prevented many viewers from watching the series finale. Three weeks later, on March 21, KPIX, the CBS affiliate in San Francisco, re-aired the episode.

Post show reaction

M*A*S*H was one of the most successful shows in TV history. So as not to completely lose the franchise, CBS quickly created the new series AfterMASH, following the adventures of Colonel Potter, Max Klinger and Father Mulcahy in a Stateside hospital after the war. Initially popular, script problems and constant character changes led to a steep decline in viewers, and the show lasted a mere two seasons. M*A*S*H finished up its 11-season run on CBS with a repeat of "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" on September 19, 1983. It was repeated again in summer 1984.

Other

This is the only episode of the series to have its title appear onscreen.
The episode's title is a paraphrase of a line in Cole Porter's song "Just One of Those Things". Many other M*A*S*H episodes had also borrowed their titles from classic songs and films.
Klinger reveals he's an Uncle Jameel. Jamie Farr's birth name is Jameel Joseph Farah.
It was Jamie Farr's idea to have Klinger voluntarily choose to stay in Korea at the end of the episode.
The shots of the 4077th tents being packed up were taken from the season 5 episode "Bug Out." A small vignette with Col. Potter giving orders to the unit was added in. And Radar can be seen running out of a building during the clip.
In the finale's closing moments, listen closely for references to the episodes "Bottoms Up" (March 2, 1981) and "The Joker is Wild" (November 15, 1982).
Alda reportedly had a different idea for what to do for the finale: he wanted it to be a typical half-hour episode, at the end of which the fourth wall would be broken when a director would be heard saying "cut!" during a surgery scene, and crewmen would walk on the set and do what they normally did. Alda would then say to the camera "Well, for the last 12 years we tried to show you what war was like, but it's not as much fun." Alda is the only series regular to be in all 251 installments of M*A*S*H.
Featured a long kiss shared between Alan Alda and Loretta Swit. Alda and Swit are the only actors to appear in both the first episode of M*A*S*H and this, the last episode. The character of Father Mulcahy also appears in both, but was played by a different actor in the pilot episode.
B.J., on his initial trip back to the US, is confronted by the MPs, who ask if he's "Hunnicutt the doctor?" To which he replies, "No, I'm Hunnicutt the chaplain." In the 1968 Richard Hooker novel, which is the basis for the M*A*S*H franchise, the doctors impersonate chaplains to get out of working "short-arm inspection" (examining a soldier for signs of venereal disease) while en route back to the US.
The final line of the episode (and thus of the series) is Hawkeye (Alda) calling out, "What?" over the whir of the chopper blades. This is in response to B.J. Hunnicutt's shouted words of farewell to his friend: "I'll see you back in the states... I promise. But just in case I don't, I left you a note." As B.J. disappears on his motorcycle, Hawkeye gives the chopper pilot the signal to take off. As the helicopter rises into the air, Hawkeye sees that B.J. has arranged the camp's white stones -- which previously spelled out "MASH" -- to read, "GOODBYE".

Footnotes

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