M*A*S*H

Conclusion: “I Shall (Not) Return”—AfterMASH

“Would you believe that two years ago I’d never heard of Korea?” A wounded soldier speaking to a doctor in “Hawk’s Nightmare” As the second of three CBS spin-offs of M*A*S*H, preceded by Trapper John, M.D. (1979–86) and followed by W*A*L*T*E*R (1984), AfterMASH was seen as an obvious attempt by network executives to ride the coattails of the original series.1 Although riddled with critical bullets after its debut on September 26, 1983, AfterMASH lasted an entire season (only one of its thirty episodes never aired). Over the course of that single season, viewers were given a glimpse into the lives of Sherman Potter, Father Mulcahy, and Max Klinger after these three had returned to the United States. Accompanying Corporal Klinger was his Korean bride, Soon-lee, played by the Chinese American actress Rosalind Chao. Referred to by Robert Lee as “a model of ethnic assimilation ,” the Korean War bride is often linked to the cold war origins of the model minority.2 The representation of SoonC o n c l u s i o n “I Shall (Not) Return”— AfterMASH 123 Conclusion lee in both M*A*S*H and its sequel is indicative of the ways in which that stereotype—the model minority—not only fed into neoliberalist attitudes toward Asian immigrants during the 1950s and 1960s but also continued to animate cultural debates throughout the 1970s and 1980s, when the Korean population in the United States rose to 357,393 (in 1980) before reaching 798,849 (in 1990). Unlike its predecessor, though, AfterMASH tackled social problems and identity issues unique to Korean immigrant life in the United States. Indeed, the first episode (written by Larry Gelbart, directed by Gene Reynolds, and titled “September of ’53”) puts all of its creators’ cards on the table and features a scene in which Klinger—after landing in jail for being a bookie and before settling into a lower-middle-class existence with Soon-lee in River Bend, Missouri—appears in court before a judge, where he explains: 124 A critical failure (but provocative nonetheless): AfterMASH “I Shall (Not) Return”—AfterMASH I’m a Korean vet. And things haven’t exactly been what I thought they’d be while I was over there before I came back home. I remember when the GIs came home after World War II. That was like a hit war, you know. People flew flags. A GI just opened his mouth and somebody put a kiss in it. Now, I didn’t expect around-the-clock parading . But I didn’t think everyone would go into hiding either . It’s like the biggest secret of the Korean War was there was a Korean War. You know what kills me: Nobody calls it that. “Police Action,” “Korean Conflict.” Take it from me, it was a war. It was dirty. It stunk. At least let’s call it what it was. . . . I married a wonderful girl overseas, wonderful. But believe me, Eva Braun wouldn’t get the kind of looks she gets over here.3 Forcing the viewer to acknowledge not only the widespread cultural misperceptions about the Korean War but also the institutional biases and civil rights violations that Asian immigrants often faced, these lines of dialogue, not to mention subsequent episodes devoted to Soon-lee’s efforts to assimilate into the all-white community of River Bend, are important moments in the history of American television, touching on matters of citizenship and pluralism that continue to resonate with contemporary viewers. Nevertheless, most TV reviewers seemed not to care about such things and instead trashed AfterMASH. Unlike its renowned predecessor, which dodged cancellation after its first dismal season and managed to score impressive Nielsen ratings from its second season on (not to mention dozens of industry awards and nominations), AfterMASH fell from favor and today is remembered as one of the worst spin-offs in TV history. It was not, however, the only attempt to “return” to the original series , whether literally or figuratively. On February 5, 1980, three years before the end of M*A*S*H, CBS stations aired the all-star television special 125 Conclusion Because We Care, a benefit concert combined with dramatic and comedic sketches designed to “aid the needy in Southeast Asia.” Among the many celebrity performers and presenters taking part in this special at the...