Is Trapper's Show A True MASH Spinoff Or What? (Confusion Explained)

Summary Trapper John, MD is a spinoff of the MASH movie, not the TV show.

The pilot of Trapper John, MD still referenced the MASH series, which caused some confusion.

Trapper John, MD was more successful than MASH's actual spinoffs.

MASH's Trapper John fronted his very own CBS show, but is this series actually connected to the legendary sitcom? Several key MASH cast members left the show during its first five seasons. Most notable among the departees was McLean Stevenson, whose character Henry Blake was killed in MASH's season 3 finale. This marked the first death of a major character in an American TV show series, and saw the sitcom's tone shift into more dramatic terrority in future seasons. The third season finale also marked the final episode of Wayne Rogers, who played surgeon Trapper John on the series.

Just like the 1970 movie by Robert Altman, the MASH TV series was designed as a two-hander between Rogers and co-star Alan Alda as Hawkeye. However, it soon became clear Alda was the true star, which resulted in his role increasing while Rogers was given less to do. By the end of the third season, a frustrated Rogers decided to leave. He was threatened with legal action over his exit, only to realize he had never signed his original contract anyway. This meant the actor was free to leave without any legal repercussions.

Related The Final Episode Of The MASH Franchise Never Aired In The U.S. (& Was Lost For 30 Years) Not only did the last ever episode of the MASH franchise fail to air in America, but it became almost impossible to view for over 30 years.

Trapper John, MD Is A Spinoff Of The MASH Movie, NOT The TV Show

Trapper John, MD is technically a sequel to Robert Altman's MASH

Every MASH Movie & TV Series Release Year MASH (Movie) 1970 MASH (TV Series) 1972-1983 Trapper John, M.D. 1979-1986 AfterMASH 1983-1985 W*A*L*T*E*R 1984

In 1979, CBS debuted Trapper John, MD, a medical drama that picked up with the title character 30 years after the Korean War. Trapper (Pernell Roberts, Bonanza) has since become the Chief of Surgery at a San Francisco hospital, and acts as mentor to his staff. Of all the MASH TV spinoffs in existence, Trapper John, MD was easily the most successful too.

Reportedly, Wayne Rogers was approached to reprise the title role in Trapper John, MD, only to turn it down for the medical sitcom House Calls.

Despite airing on CBS and using one of MASH's main characters, a lawsuit later made it clear Trapper John, MD was a spinoff of the Robert Altman movie only. This legal action was filed by the movie's producer Ingo Preminger against 20th Century Fox over the right to be involved with the spinoff. The result of this lawsuit declared Trapper John, MD wasn't a true spinoff of CBS' MASH, but of the original film instead (via Entertainment Law Reporter). It was also decided that while Preminger wasn't entitled to produce the Trapper series, he was awarded some of its profits.

Trapper John, MD's Pilot Still Referenced The MASH Series

The confusion surrounding Trapper's MASH connection is understandable

Viewers confused over whether Trapper John, MD was a spinoff of the film or show wouldn't get much help from watching the drama itself. In the opening scenes of the first episode, Robert's Trapper is seen sleeping in his office and dreaming of archive footage taken from the MASH TV show. More damningly, there is a photo frame featuring Wayne Rogers' Trapper and Alan Alda's Hawkeye. Given that CBS produced both shows, it was probably easier to get the clearance to use the show's cast instead of Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland from the film.

This indicates that producers considered Trapper John, MD to be set in the same world as the show when it debuted. The spinoff made few references to Trapper's time in a MASH unit anyway, so it didn't really matter. It wasn't until the lawsuit that its lack of connection to the show was underlined. Roberts doesn't really look or act like Gould's Trapper, but then again, there's no real resemblance to Wayne Roger's version either. Given that the spinoff is set three decades after the war, it's understandable Trapper has mellowed and matured a lot in the intervening years too.

Trapper John, MD Was Far More Successful Than MASH's Actual Spinoffs

AfterMASH wishes it had Trapper John, MD's success

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MASH ran for 11 seasons, and CBS was more than happy to keep it running. It was a cast vote that led to the decision to call time on the sitcom before it took a major dip in quality, which led CBS to greenlight spinoff AfterMASH. Debuting six months on from MASH's finale, AfterMASH did well during its first season, only to tank disastrously during season 2. This was due to CBS deciding to pit their show against The A-Team, with the latter easily crushing the comedy.

In 1984, they also aired W*A*L*T*E*R, a pilot for a proposed Radar (Gary Burghoff) show. This followed Radar's journey to becoming a police officer, but after the pilot was poorly received, plans for a series were scrapped. Trapper John, MD ran for a robust seven seasons, so in contrast to the other spinoffs, it was a major success for the network. The show's seventh season also marked the end of any MASH-related media. Given how iconic the original show is, the decision not to reboot or sequelize since is a wise one.

Trapper John, MD is currently unavailable to stream online.

Source: Entertainment Law Reporter