This is a 25-minute short film featuring Emmy Award winner Gary Burghoff, who reprises his Walter character for this little mix of comedy and drama. Yes I think there are certainly enough dramatic aspects in here to categorize it as such, which is also why I must say that the laugh tracks were really annoying and irritating, especially as none of the comedy in here was truly laugh-out-loud funny and I personally felt it delivered more from the dramatic perspective. I also guess that is what the makers had in mind as the movie ends with a moral question on whether to arrest a young man or not. With "makers" I am also referring to people who made M*A*S*H as some of these also worked on this pilot episode. However, it did not get picked up despite coming out immediately after the end of the very successful and lung-running series I just mentioned. And I am not really mad about it. I have never seen M*A*S*H, but judging from this short film here I have no interest in watching it, let alone a series that follows this short film. Burghoff is fine, but the rest of the cast is not really good. Not recommended.

I saw the pilot for W*A*L*T*E*R. Now I know beyond a doubt why they never made it into a series. Here's an interesting tidbit: It was directed by Bill Bixby! I wouldn't be surprised if it did NOT appear on his resume. Even having the asterisks in the title (Radar's real name of course) is dumb.O'Reilly returns to Iowa, sells the farm & livestock and sends his mother to live with his aunt. His new bride leaves him for another man right after their honeymoon. (what!?) He decides to commit suicide, and goes to a drugstore to buy sleeping pills to overdose (+ aspirin b/c sleeping pills give him headaches (broom-che!)). The drugstore clerk, Victoria Jackson!, cheers him up and they become friends. His cousin Wendell gets him a job on the police force in St. Louis. Jocularity ensues.Radar goes back home and they make a show about him AFTER he loses the farm? Blech. You may as well have a show about him after he BUYS the farm! To have a show about Radar anywhere but in Ottumwa Iowa is bogus. Miss this! I seal it: DNW: Do Not Watch!

W*A*L*T*E*R was just plain terrible. They lamely brought back Clete Roberts to do 'follow up' interviews with MASH personal, as he had done in the WILDLY over-rated 2-part episode "The Interview" in MASH. He starts off by saying "Last week we talked with Dr. Hawkeye Pierce...this week, we look in on former Coporal, now rookie law officer, Radar O'Rielly." zzzzzzzzzzzzzzSomehow I doubt that America was really wondering how MASH personal were doing in civilian life - to the extent Clete Roberts keeps following them around asking boring questions. As the episode progresses, we keep running into TVs that have this never-ending interview with Radar continuing to play, apparently in an endless loop. The only thing more dull than the Clete Roberts interview is the rest of this pilot. According to Wikipedia, and another site called www.tvobscurities.com stated..."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 main problem with this series, as with AFTER MASH, is that the producers try to change supporting characters into lead characters. I can't imagine turning in every week to follow the story of Radar. Or for that matter, my least favorite MASH character - Klinger in AFTER MASH. Even the good Father Mulchahy isn't anywhere near strong enough to carry a show. The only one I can see doing that is Potter, and in AFTER MASH they saddled him with "the worst of MASH" characters, and terrible new characters. Some things are a product of their time, and should be left alone. That's what should have been done with MASH, and Radar. One of the many issues with W*A*L*T*E*R* is that Gary Burghoff was FORTY ONE years old when this was filmed, and he looked every bit of it. Radar should have been about 22 or so. There's only so far that can be pushed. Back in Season 8 of MASH, when they finally showed "GOODBYE RADAR", he was already way too old to be playing that character. To attempt to pick it up again in 1984 was nuts. I'm frankly shocked Burghoff even took part in this mess. Must have needed the money.

It's really a pity this show didn't get picked up. I really think it had some potential. I'm a big M*A*S*H fan and Radar was my favorite character in the whole show and I do realize I might be a bit subjective, but for this show really seemed to be able to get some laughs. I don't know why AfterMASH was picked for a while and this wasn't but I really wish it was the other way around. I enjoyed seeing Potter, Mulcahy and Klinger in that one, but it seemed to me they veered in a different direction from the one they ought to have gone towards, so I guess that's one of the reasons people didn't like it too much.