Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

 40 years ago tonight, along with with 106 million of my fellow Americans, I watched the final episode of M*A*S*H. 

I remember the plot to this day, but what's alway stuck with me is a negative memory- the amount of commercials that interrupted the broadcast seemed endless (and no wonder; CBS sold 30 second ad slots for MORE than they cost during the Super Bowl that year.)

Like anyone else worth their salt, I wept at the end of an era. And when the waterworks, wouldn't stop, I was allowed to stay up to watch the nightly 10:30 syndicated reruns. It was an old episode from the Trapper John days, and the contrast between the slapstick humor of those wonderful, early days, and the heavy dramedy of the finale - man, it was night and day. 

RIP M*A*S*H:  you were, and are, one of the greatest shows in history.