W*A*L*T*E*R
| W*A*L*T*E*R | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by |
Larry Gelbart Gene Reynolds |
| Based on | The character of Walter O'Reilly created by Richard Hooker |
| Directed by | Bill Bixby |
| Starring |
Gary Burghoff Ray Buktenica Victoria Jackson Noble Willingham |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minute pilot / CBS Special Presentation |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS (ET/CT only) |
| Original release | July 17, 1984 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by |
M*A*S*H AfterMASH |
W*A*L*T*E*R is a 1984 pilot episode for a spin-off of M*A*S*H that was never picked up. It starred Gary Burghoff, who reprised his M*A*S*H character.
The episode relates the adventures of Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly after he returns home from the Korean War. He is no longer calling himself "Radar" and has moved away from Iowa after he sent his mother to live with his aunt. Settling in St. Louis, Missouri, by the beginning of the series he has become a police officer, though his character is still as in the original series.
Since the pilot was never picked up by CBS as a series, it was shown as a "CBS Special Presentation" on July 17, 1984. It was shown once in the Eastern and Central time zones of the United States, but pre-empted on the West Coast by CBS News coverage of the Democratic National Convention. This is the only known broadcast of the pilot.
The episode takes place after the series finale of M*A*S*H, and a two part guest appearance on AfterMASH, in which Radar was forced to leave the family farm.
The episode opens with Walter O'Reilly in his cousin Wendell Micklejohn's apartment. They are getting ready for their workday while watching the start of a television interview. The interview shows journalist Clete Roberts following up on the members of the M*A*S*H 4077th. The previous week Roberts had interviewed Hawkeye Pierce, and this week he is catching up with O'Reilly. At the police department and through store windows on the street, O'Reilly and Micklejohn catch pieces of the television interview, giving viewers of the pilot a chance to sample the potential series and to build a bridge between the events of M*A*S*H and W*A*L*T*E*R.
...
Wikipedia