Good-Bye Radar

"Good-Bye, Radar" is a two-part episode of "M*A*S*H" that aired at the beginning of the show's eighth season. The episode's parts aired on October 8 and 15, 1979 (with a rebroadcast as a special one-hour show on May 12, 1980), and were the final two to feature Gary Burghoff as Radar O'Reilly, capping off a nice 9-year commitment to the part which began with the 1970 "MASH" movie.

ynopsis, Part 1

A typical night in the 4077th OR is underway, with the surgeons hard at work on patients. Something goes wrong, however, when the camp's primary generator goes out. Hawkeye gets his finger jammed in a rib spreader, severely spraining it.

Meanwhile, Klinger, who is the acting company clerk in Radar's absence, goes outside to find out what's wrong with the generator. Seeing his rival Sergeant Zale at the controls, Klinger instantly assumes Zale doesn't know what he's doing and goes to crank up the camp's backup generator- only to find that it's been stolen. The primary generator then blows out, leaving the M*A*S*H without power.

With the unit's power now completely gone, two concerns become immediate: a patient of B.J. Hunnicutt's with a stomach problem, and what to do with the camp's food supply before it spoils. Colonel Potter jury-rigs a siphon device to relieve the patient's distress temporarily, then sets up a smorgasbord for everyone in the area so that the food does not go to waste.

Meanwhile, as Radar is about to return from his R&R in Tokyo, he is bumped from his scheduled flight by a general's cardboard cutout. During his wait for his plane, he meets an attractive nurse named Patty, who is going home to Lancaster, Missouri. Hearing that, and noticing that she is not too far from the same area of the U.S. as he is, Radar and Patty instantly hit it off. However, before they can get anywhere, Radar is placed on another flight, and despite his arguing with the officer in charge of booking, has to leave. He and Patty promise to try and find each other when they get home. After a goodbye kiss, Radar is off, back to the 4077th.

After getting bumped from a jeep by some stranded GIs and having to ride back to the 4077th in a bicycle-drawn cart, Radar returns, tired and hungry, to a huge ovation from the people in the camp- especially Klinger, who has been waiting for Radar to return more than anyone. Immediately the camp wants Radar to find a generator, but Radar doesn't want to right away, wanting a shower and a meal. After some cajoling, Radar finally agrees to search for a generator, only to find the same luck that Klinger has had...no generators to be found.

Later that night, while Radar is drowning his sorrows in the officers' club with his favorite Grape Nehi, Col. Potter enters the swamp with tragic news -- Radar's Uncle Ed, who had been helping his mother run their farm in Iowa for many years, has died. After breaking the news to Radar, who is trying to cope with it while also doing his job, Col. Potter tells Radar that he needs to go home to help his mother, and to get a DA-7 Hardship Discharge form for himself and fill it out. Hawkeye, B.J. and Father Mulcahy congratulate Radar on going home, and Radar is happy too...he thinks.

ynopsis, Part 2

The next day begins with Klinger desperately trying to get Radar to help him find a generator and get the office back in shape. Radar, however, does not want to hear it. He tells Klinger that no one helped him when he first became company clerk, and Klinger was going to have to learn on his own. Finally, Radar does help Klinger try and con a generator out of someone (with some help from Major Winchester, who convinces Radar to help Klinger). News of incoming wounded forces Radar to put the search on hold; instead, he orders up every available vehicle so that their headlights can be used to light the OR during the nighttime surgical shift.

After that, and seeing Hawkeye operate with his injured finger (which still is bothering him), Radar decides to fight his discharge, claiming that he is more needed at the 4077th. After getting into an argument with Hawkeye, Radar still refuses to change his mind.

In one final attempt to secure a generator, Klinger gets a call from a supply sergeant at I Corps saying they have one available. Klinger takes a case of Scotch whiskey to I Corps to close the deal. At that point, a major from a service-and-supply unit pulls up and demands the generator, saying that two others he has tried to were stolen. Realizing that the 4077th's missing unit was stolen by this same officer, Klinger decides to steal one back. While the major and supply sergeant go fill out a requisition, Klinger himself goes to the supply central issue station, poses as the major's driver, and blackmails the dispatcher into giving him the generator. Returning to the 4077th with it, Klinger is met with a heroes' welcome. Radar now realizes that the camp can survive without him if they need to, and he finally decides to go home.

Radar's day of departure finally comes and Hawkeye stops by his tent to take him to his farewell party in the mess tent. However, the party is immediately canceled just before it starts as the medical choppers come in with wounded soldiers. The unit doctors and nurses rush out of the mess tent and say their goodbyes to Radar as they move the incoming wounded into the pre-op tent or the OR tent. Colonel Potter embraces him, Margaret blows him a goodbye kiss as she rushes by, Father Mulcahy blesses him, Winchester wishes him "the best in his bucolic endeavors", and Klinger assures Radar he will make him proud as his replacement. As Radar will be stopping in B.J.'s hometown of San Francisco along the trek home, B.J. gives him a package (and two kisses on the cheeks) to give to his wife Peg and daughter Erin. Once everybody has gone, Radar goes inside the empty, silent mess tent (decorated with signs saying "WE LOVE YOU RADAR" and "GOOD LUCK RADAR"). Looking at the giant cake made in his honor, he licks the icing and grimaces.

After saying goodbye to his beloved pets, Radar heads to the main OR tent, but does not go in. From the door window he sees the 4077th doctors working in full force. Hawkeye looks up, sees Radar outside and briefly stops his work to give him a farewell salute. Radar salutes back, then boards an awaiting jeep and leaves the 4077th MASH for the last time.

After the OR session, Hawkeye, B.J. and Colonel Potter enter the Swamp to find something on Hawkeye's cot: Radar's teddy bear, which he had brought from home and kept in his office as a comfort. Hawkeye picks the bear up and while looking at it says sadly: "Goodbye, Radar".

Trivia

*The Wangensteen suction is a real device, named after its developer, Dr. Owen Wangensteen.

*Gary Burghoff originally intended to leave at the end of season 7 (and the script for this episode was ready), but the producers convinced him to wait until the beginning of season 8. He came back to film "Goodbye Radar" and a couple of short scenes for episodes that preceded it in season 8. This forced the writers to scramble and write "A Night at Rosie's" over a weekend, and begin filming immediately after.

*Gary Burghoff would later reprise his role as Radar twice. One was in a 2-part episode of "AfterMASH", and the other was in an unsold TV pilot "W*A*L*T*E*R", which featured Radar as a rookie police officer in St. Louis.

*This episode would also mark the last appearance of Johnny Haymer in the series as Sgt. Zale.

*In this episode, Hawkeye tells Radar that he would leave the 4077th in a beat given the chance, but Radar insists that Hawkeye would feel too needed and stay. Judging from "The Late Captain Pierce", an episode from the fourth season, it would seem Radar is correct.

*Gary Burghoff lost quite a bit of weight since the previous season and looks much older.

*In the episode "War of Nerves", Sidney Freedman predicted that Radar would leave his teddy bear in Korea when he went home.

* Radar's departure now leaves Hawkeye Pierce, Margaret Houlihan and Father Mulcahy the only remaining characters on the "M*A*S*H" TV series with ties to and the 1970 movie.