We've discussed the sad attempt at keeping the iconic sitcom M*A*S*H alive with the less than stellar AfterM*A*S*H. As flawed as that show was, it sadly wasn't the worst attempt to cash in on the success of M*A*S*H. That dubious distinction goes to the little seen W*A*L*T*E*R which would have focused on the lovable Radar O'Reilly and his problematic return to peacetime. The show was not picked up by CBS, but it was made at a time when the networks would burn off unsold pilots in the summer months. CBS chose to air it on July 17th, 1984 as a special broadcast.
We're fortunate that it was a common practice to air unsold pilots in the summer back then, because otherwise who would have believed that CBS commissioned a show in which Radar O'Reilly fails at farming and his marriage and tries to commit suicide? Were it not for a pre-SNL, pre-insanity Victoria Jackson, he would have succeeded at just that. But she's such a nice pharmacy employee that she convinces him that life is worth living. By the end of the thirty minutes, Radar has a new job, new friends and a new lease on life. Will his new relationship with the creatively named "Victoria" go anywhere? What about his new job? Viewers were forced to use their imaginations, because this sitcom was D*O*A.
