M*A*S*H (TV series) the parent show's Monday night time slot and featured several of its characters reunited in a Midwestern hospital after the war. The more successful "Trapper John, M.D." (1979–86) took place nearly three decades after the events of "M*A*S*H" and depicted Trapper John McIntyre as chief of surgery at a San Francisco hospital; its producers argued successfully in court that it was based on the earlier movie rather than the TV series. In an unpurchased television pilot, "W*A*L*T*E*R" (1984), Walter "Radar" O'Reilly joins the St. Louis police force after his farm fails following his return to the US. "Making M*A*S*H", a
Alan Alda in "M*A*S*H". His wife and daughters lived in New Jersey, and he did not want to move his family to Los Angeles, especially because he did not know how long the show would last. Alda's father, Robert Alda, and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in an episode of "M*A*S*H", "Lend a Hand", during season eight. Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" in season three. During the first five seasons of the series, the tone of "M*A*S*H" was largely that of a traditional "service comedy", in the vein of shows such as "McHale's Navy". However, as the original writers gradually