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 play "QED", which had only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. Alda has also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen, and was a guest star five times on "ER", playing Dr. Kerry Weaver's mentor, Gabriel Lawrence. During the later episodes, Dr. Lawrence was revealed to be suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Alda also had a co-starring role as Dr. Robert Gallo in the 1993 TV movie "And the Band Played On". During "M*A*S*H"'s run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on a successful career as