M*A*S*H a photograph of Rogers and Alda. "AfterMASH" was a successor to the original "M*A*S*H" television series, featuring Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr and William Christopher after the war, as the same characters they played in the original television series. Gary Burghoff and Edward Winter also appeared as guests. The series was canceled after two seasons. "W*A*L*T*E*R" was the pilot for a television series that was not picked up. It would have featured Gary Burghoff reprising the role of Walter O'Reilly. The pilot was shown as a "CBS Special Presentation" on July 17, 1984. In 1973 a play by Tim Kelly, based
Alan Alda left the series, Alda gained increasing control, and by the final seasons had become a producer and creative consultant. Under his watch, "M*A*S*H" retained its comedic foundation, but gradually assumed a somewhat more serious tone, openly addressing political issues. As a result, the 11 years of "M*A*S*H" are generally split into two eras: the Larry Gelbart/Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972–1977), and the Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977–1983). Alda disagreed with this assessment. In a 2016 interview he stated, "I don't like to write political messages. I don't like plays that have political messages. I do not think I am responsible