And finally, the gang of the 4077 hears the announcement they've been waiting for:
"This is Robert Pierpoint speaking to you from nearby Panmunjom. It is one minute before ten p.m. We can still listen to the sound of nearby artillery. At some point during the next few seconds, the guns should go silent, as the cease-fire officially goes into result...
There it is. This's the sound of peace."
Two emotional episodes set the stage for the finale. In "Who Knew?" a nurse's tragic death moves Hawkeye to show what he feels "throughout the (wise)cracks" and inform those in camp he is closest to this he loves them. In the penultimate episode, "As Time Goes By," Margaret (Loretta Switt) collects camp artifacts, among them, Radar's teddy bear, to put in a time capsule. Finally, afterwards 251 episodes, there is "the sound of peace" in "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," but not before a traumatic incident sends Hawkeye to a psychiatric ward, B.J. is sent home before he can say goodbye to Hawkeye, Charles (David Ogden Stiers) shapes an attachment to a band of Chinese musicians, and Klinger (Jamie Farr) falls in love together with a Korean woman separated from her family. This there is no audio commentary for this television benchmark is a key disappointment, but the series eloquently speaks for itself. M*A*S*H, we salute you. --Donald Liebenson