The cast of M*A*S*H reunited in the late ’80s to shill for IBM

By Joe Blevins  |  November 15, 2016 | 3:00pm
Aux Features TV
The cast of M*A*S*H reunited in the late ’80s to shill for IBM

Running for over a decade and still alive through syndicated reruns, M*A*S*H had one of the most well-known and loved ensemble casts in TV history. The 1983-84 follow-up series AfterMASH was supposed to be the rehabilitation clinic for recovering addicts of the Korean War sitcom, but fans who still needed a fix after that are advised to check out this late 1980s IBM ad campaign featuring almost the entire cast. The gang’s all here: Wayne Rogers, Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr, Loretta Swit, William Christopher, Gary Burghoff, and even Alan Alda himself. YouTuber GroverKent has taken the liberty of editing all these commercials into a six-and-a-half-minute compilation video. The effect is a bit surreal. It’s like the entire 4077th has been copied and pasted into Dilbert. Their traumatic memories of the overseas conflict now apparently a distant memory, these war veterans now trade quippy dialogue about software and printers in a sterile office environment.

Not surprisingly, the interpersonal dynamics have not changed that much since the old days. Morgan is still the tough-to-impress curmudgeon. Alda still makes sardonic wisecracks, never losing his smirking demeanor even when he has to cross a flooded office in an inflatable life raft. Linville is forever the clueless heel. And Burghoff remains eager to please as ever, nervous about asserting himself while seemingly doing the work of two or three people. It’s just like the show, really, except the actors are no longer surrounded by wounded and dying soldiers anymore. Just about the only major M*A*S*H figures missing here are David Ogden Stiers, Mike Farrell, and McLean Stevenson. But fear not. GroverKent has helpfully included some of Stevenson’s ads for Piedmont Airlines. And for people who really can’t get enough of this stuff, there’s another whole compilation of M*A*S*H-related ads, including an Atari spot featuring Alda.

 
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