In this M*A*S*H related pilot (and hopeful spin-off) , Gary Burghoff starred once again as Walter O'Reilly, this time he was a rookie cop working in 1954 St. Louis, alongside his cousin. Seems here, Walter O'Reiley had lost his family farm. (Only less than 2 year afters coming home from the war.)
It was shown as a "CBS Special Presentation" on July 17, 1984 but only in the Eastern and Central time zones, due to coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
No doubt about it, one of the most popular characters to appear on "M*A*S*H,was Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly, played by Gary Burghoff.
Starting filming in 1969, Burghoff originated the role of Radar in the film 'MASH' (released 1970) and was the only actor from the film to join the TV series. After seven seasons on the show (1972 to 1979) , Burghoff decided to leave the show. Radar bidding an offical farewell in October 1979.
In a January 20th, 1984 interview for United Press International, Burghoff explained why he left M*A*S*H :
"I couldn't function anymore. I'd given all I had to give to the part and to the show." "I cared too much to give less than my best and I'd lost my vitality." (his drive & desire to be Radar). His divorce was the final straw.)
In December of 1983, "TV Guide" reported that Burghoff would be appearing as Radar in an upcoming episode of "AfterMASH" , suggesting this would "serve as the vehicle for yet another M*A*S*H spin-off, this one to star Burghoff" (So we were informed back then).
Burghoff made an appearance January 16th & January 23rd 1984... in a 2 part episode in which he shows up at the home of Sherman Potter. Having run out on his bride-to-be shortly before the wedding. (He thought she had cheated). They later reconciled and were married.
Bughoff had actually been asked twice by 20th Century Fox to do a new series. One as a 'similar' Radar type and another that would be Radar. He said no, both times.
So, why did he agree to return for the AfterMASH spot? When the show's producers called him, it had been 4 years since he had been Radar. So, was able to return to the role without it being an overwhelming ordeal, like in 1979.
That set the stage for the pilot, originally titled, "Radar" ... then finally "W*A*L*T*E*R" . The setting for the pilot was changed 2 times before finally settiling on St. Louis. Filming began on March 26th, 1984.
On April 9th, The Washington Post reported that the pilot was under consideration to be a series for the 1984-1985 season. However, when CBS announced its schedule in May, it was not mentioned.
The network ultimately decided to just broadcast the pilot, now called "W*A*L*T*E*R," as that CBS Special Presentation.
The 1984 Democratic National Convention convened in San Francisco on Monday, July 16th. "W*A*L*T*E*R" was scheduled to air the following day. All 3 networks planned live coverage of the convention.
On CBS, "W*A*L*T*E*R" would air from 8-8:30pm EST , followed by another unsold pilot starring Hal Linden called "Second Edition" , from 8:30-9PM. Then live convention coverage would begin. Wll, except for where the pilot was actually seen, the 2 pilot shows, did not get seen anywhere else. Coverage ran overtime.
So maybe a few in MST saw it, but not in PST.
Most of Central and definetely Eastern saw the show.
What the viewers tuned into was :
At the start of "W*A*L*T*E*R" it was October 1954 and Walter was a rookie cop living with his cousin Wendell Micklejohn (played by Ray Buktenica) in St. Louis.
The two were late for work but wanted to see the start of Walter's interview with reporter Clete Roberts on television.
As the interview unfolded over the course of the pilot, Walter revealed that he had refused government subsidies and shortly thereafter lost his family farm.
He sent his mother to live with his aunt and moved to St. Louis to become a police officer. Walter also explains that while on their honeymoon, Sandy had left him for Claude Greevy.
Contemplating suicide, he wandered into a drugstore where he met the clerk, Victoria (played by Victoria Jackson), who took pity on him and cheered him up. The two became good friends.
While out on patrol, Walter and Wendell were victimized by a pickpocket, leaving Walter distraught because he kept his M*A*S*H picture in his wallet.
Before they could investigate, they were sent to deal with a disturbance at a local theater involving a pair of strippers. The two were fighting about a missing bird, which Walter soon located.
Back on patrol, Walter spotted the pickpocket and gave chase with Wendell right behind him. They caught up with the boy but after learning he didn't have a record, Wendell took off, leaving Walter to take the boy to get a root beer float at the drugstore where Victoria worked.
They were able to guilt him into returning the wallet. Walter also made him promise to stay out of trouble and to show up at the drugstore every Saturday afternoon to talk.
End of pilot.
___________________________
The end Result :
"W*A*L*T*E*R" ranked 33rd for the week in the Nielsen ratings, ahead of "Second Edition" which ranked 44th. Speaking of the pilot, Burghoff stated, "I feel like I've proved to myself that I'm still able to play Walter, even after playing other roles"
"W*A*L*T*E*R" was an attempt to sell a series "solely" on the popularity of a character. Not Gary Burghoff the actor but Radar O'Reilly, the character he played. A character that hadn't been seen regularly on TV for almost five years.
As for Burghoff, in October 1984 he told the Hartford Courant's Cynthia Wolfson that CBS had passed on "W*A*L*T*E*R" because "they've taken almost all of the situation comedies off - replacing them with nighttime soap opera dramas."
Which was true. After all of it's 1970s sitcoms were gone, CBS had very few sitcoms on TV then.
So, there you have it foiks. The true story of why Gary Burghoff did the pilot for this show and the events that led up to it. What I feel and maybe even know what was missing in this, was that there was no "Radar" element here.
I watched this on You Tube a few years ago and yes, we had "Walter O'Reiley" but it was clear, there was no "Radar" like quality to him.
Radar was who he was in the Korean War, a loveable and even endearing character (sometimes a smart aleck but still nice.) In civilian life, it's just not the same thing. "W*A*L*T*E*R" was just that...Walter. ...and Mr. O'Reiley was no kid anymore and Gary was 41.
I give this pilot / potential spin off 2 stars ...But solely for Gary and the actors.
I know actors do their best with what they're given and any good actor deserves better. Especially when asked to do some thing they've already done.
Radar belonged on MASH and Walter should have been left on the farm. (END)
It was shown as a "CBS Special Presentation" on July 17, 1984 but only in the Eastern and Central time zones, due to coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
No doubt about it, one of the most popular characters to appear on "M*A*S*H,was Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly, played by Gary Burghoff.
Starting filming in 1969, Burghoff originated the role of Radar in the film 'MASH' (released 1970) and was the only actor from the film to join the TV series. After seven seasons on the show (1972 to 1979) , Burghoff decided to leave the show. Radar bidding an offical farewell in October 1979.
In a January 20th, 1984 interview for United Press International, Burghoff explained why he left M*A*S*H :
"I couldn't function anymore. I'd given all I had to give to the part and to the show." "I cared too much to give less than my best and I'd lost my vitality." (his drive & desire to be Radar). His divorce was the final straw.)
In December of 1983, "TV Guide" reported that Burghoff would be appearing as Radar in an upcoming episode of "AfterMASH" , suggesting this would "serve as the vehicle for yet another M*A*S*H spin-off, this one to star Burghoff" (So we were informed back then).
Burghoff made an appearance January 16th & January 23rd 1984... in a 2 part episode in which he shows up at the home of Sherman Potter. Having run out on his bride-to-be shortly before the wedding. (He thought she had cheated). They later reconciled and were married.
Bughoff had actually been asked twice by 20th Century Fox to do a new series. One as a 'similar' Radar type and another that would be Radar. He said no, both times.
So, why did he agree to return for the AfterMASH spot? When the show's producers called him, it had been 4 years since he had been Radar. So, was able to return to the role without it being an overwhelming ordeal, like in 1979.
That set the stage for the pilot, originally titled, "Radar" ... then finally "W*A*L*T*E*R" . The setting for the pilot was changed 2 times before finally settiling on St. Louis. Filming began on March 26th, 1984.
On April 9th, The Washington Post reported that the pilot was under consideration to be a series for the 1984-1985 season. However, when CBS announced its schedule in May, it was not mentioned.
The network ultimately decided to just broadcast the pilot, now called "W*A*L*T*E*R," as that CBS Special Presentation.
The 1984 Democratic National Convention convened in San Francisco on Monday, July 16th. "W*A*L*T*E*R" was scheduled to air the following day. All 3 networks planned live coverage of the convention.
On CBS, "W*A*L*T*E*R" would air from 8-8:30pm EST , followed by another unsold pilot starring Hal Linden called "Second Edition" , from 8:30-9PM. Then live convention coverage would begin. Wll, except for where the pilot was actually seen, the 2 pilot shows, did not get seen anywhere else. Coverage ran overtime.
So maybe a few in MST saw it, but not in PST.
Most of Central and definetely Eastern saw the show.
What the viewers tuned into was :
At the start of "W*A*L*T*E*R" it was October 1954 and Walter was a rookie cop living with his cousin Wendell Micklejohn (played by Ray Buktenica) in St. Louis.
The two were late for work but wanted to see the start of Walter's interview with reporter Clete Roberts on television.
As the interview unfolded over the course of the pilot, Walter revealed that he had refused government subsidies and shortly thereafter lost his family farm.
He sent his mother to live with his aunt and moved to St. Louis to become a police officer. Walter also explains that while on their honeymoon, Sandy had left him for Claude Greevy.
Contemplating suicide, he wandered into a drugstore where he met the clerk, Victoria (played by Victoria Jackson), who took pity on him and cheered him up. The two became good friends.
While out on patrol, Walter and Wendell were victimized by a pickpocket, leaving Walter distraught because he kept his M*A*S*H picture in his wallet.
Before they could investigate, they were sent to deal with a disturbance at a local theater involving a pair of strippers. The two were fighting about a missing bird, which Walter soon located.
Back on patrol, Walter spotted the pickpocket and gave chase with Wendell right behind him. They caught up with the boy but after learning he didn't have a record, Wendell took off, leaving Walter to take the boy to get a root beer float at the drugstore where Victoria worked.
They were able to guilt him into returning the wallet. Walter also made him promise to stay out of trouble and to show up at the drugstore every Saturday afternoon to talk.
End of pilot.
___________________________
The end Result :
"W*A*L*T*E*R" ranked 33rd for the week in the Nielsen ratings, ahead of "Second Edition" which ranked 44th. Speaking of the pilot, Burghoff stated, "I feel like I've proved to myself that I'm still able to play Walter, even after playing other roles"
"W*A*L*T*E*R" was an attempt to sell a series "solely" on the popularity of a character. Not Gary Burghoff the actor but Radar O'Reilly, the character he played. A character that hadn't been seen regularly on TV for almost five years.
As for Burghoff, in October 1984 he told the Hartford Courant's Cynthia Wolfson that CBS had passed on "W*A*L*T*E*R" because "they've taken almost all of the situation comedies off - replacing them with nighttime soap opera dramas."
Which was true. After all of it's 1970s sitcoms were gone, CBS had very few sitcoms on TV then.
So, there you have it foiks. The true story of why Gary Burghoff did the pilot for this show and the events that led up to it. What I feel and maybe even know what was missing in this, was that there was no "Radar" element here.
I watched this on You Tube a few years ago and yes, we had "Walter O'Reiley" but it was clear, there was no "Radar" like quality to him.
Radar was who he was in the Korean War, a loveable and even endearing character (sometimes a smart aleck but still nice.) In civilian life, it's just not the same thing. "W*A*L*T*E*R" was just that...Walter. ...and Mr. O'Reiley was no kid anymore and Gary was 41.
I give this pilot / potential spin off 2 stars ...But solely for Gary and the actors.
I know actors do their best with what they're given and any good actor deserves better. Especially when asked to do some thing they've already done.
Radar belonged on MASH and Walter should have been left on the farm. (END)