W*A*L*T*E*R: Difference between revisions
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| cinematography = William Jurgensen |
| cinematography = William Jurgensen |
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| runtime = 30 minute pilot / CBS Special Presentation |
| runtime = 30 minute pilot / CBS Special Presentation |
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| company = [[20th Television]] |
| company = [[20th Century Fox Television]] |
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| distributor = [[20th Television]] |
| distributor = [[20th Television]] |
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| network = [[CBS]] ''([[Eastern Time Zone|ET]]/[[Central Time Zone|CT]] only)'' |
| network = [[CBS]] ''([[Eastern Time Zone|ET]]/[[Central Time Zone|CT]] only)'' |
Revision as of 14:42, 15 September 2021
W*A*L*T*E*R | |
---|---|
Created by | Larry Gelbart Gene Reynolds |
Based on | The character of Walter O'Reilly created by Richard Hooker |
Written by | Bob Weiskopf Bob Schiller Everett Greenbaum |
Directed by | Bill Bixby |
Starring | Gary Burghoff Ray Buktenica Victoria Jackson Noble Willingham |
Music by | Patrick Williams |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 1 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Bob Schiller Bob Weiskopf Michael Zinberg |
Producer | Michael Zinberg |
Cinematography | William Jurgensen |
Editors | Stanford Tischler Noel Rogers |
Running time | 30 minute pilot / CBS Special Presentation |
Production company | 20th Century Fox Television |
Original release | |
Network | CBS (ET/CT only) |
Release | July 17, 1984 |
W*A*L*T*E*R is a 1984 television pilot for the third spin-off of M*A*S*H that was never picked up. It starred Gary Burghoff, who reprised his M*A*S*H character.[1]
The episode relates the adventures of Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly after he returns home from the Korean War. He is no longer calling himself "Radar" and has moved away from Iowa after he sent his mother to live with his aunt. Settling in St. Louis, Missouri, by the beginning of the series he has become a police officer.[2][3][4]
Plot
The episode opens with Walter O'Reilly in his cousin Wendell Micklejohn's apartment. They are getting ready for their workday while watching the start of a television interview. The interview shows journalist Clete Roberts following up on the members of the M*A*S*H 4077th. The previous week Roberts had interviewed Hawkeye Pierce, and this week he is catching up with O'Reilly. At the police department and through store windows on the street, O'Reilly and Micklejohn catch pieces of the television interview, giving viewers of the pilot a chance to sample the potential series and to build a bridge between the events of M*A*S*H and W*A*L*T*E*R.
Viewers learn that O'Reilly returned to Iowa, where he failed at farming. He sold the farm and the livestock and sent his mother off to live with his aunt. His bride left him for another man during their honeymoon. O'Reilly decided to take his own life, and went to a drug store to buy sleeping pills for an overdose (as well as aspirin, because sleeping pills give him headaches). The drugstore clerk, Victoria, cheered him up and they became good friends. His cousin Wendell helped him get a job on the police force. Walter solves a dispute between two strippers, and gets his wallet back from a young would-be thief whose father had died in Korea.[5]
Cast
- Gary Burghoff as Walter O'Reilly
- Ray Buktenica as Wendell Micklejohn
- Victoria Jackson as Victoria
- Noble Willingham as Sergeant Sowell
- Meeno Peluce as Elston Krennick
- Clete Roberts as The Interviewer
- Sam Scarber as Haskell
- Lyman Ward as Bigelow
- Sarah Abrell as Judith Crane
- Larry Cedar as Zipkin
- Francine Gable as Pretty Girl
- Victoria Carroll as Bubbles Sincere
- June Berry as Dixie Devoe
- Bobby Ramsen as The Singer
- Dick Miller as The Theater Owner
Production
Timeline
The episode takes place after the series finale of M*A*S*H, and a two-part guest appearance on AfterMASH, in which Radar was forced to leave the family farm.
Broadcast difficulties
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.[6]
References
- ^ Walter pilot episode, 1984, retrieved 2021-07-03
- ^ David Scott Diffrient, M*A*S*H (Wayne State University Press, 2008), ISBN 978-0814335529, p. 142. Excerpts available at Google Books.
- ^ Vincent Terrace, Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012 (McFarland & Company, 2013), ISBN 978-1476602493, p. 316. Excerpts available at Google Books.
- ^ Maçek III, J.C. (12 January 2017). "What Happens When Happy Shows Turn All X-Files on You?". PopMatters.
- ^ "W*A*L*T*E*R". Best Care Anywhere. 2006-06-02. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
- ^ "W*A*L*T*E*R". Television Obscurities. 2005-02-15. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
External links
- 1984 American television episodes
- 20th Century Fox Television films
- American television pilots
- American television spin-offs
- CBS television specials
- Films directed by Bill Bixby
- Films set in St. Louis
- Television pilots not picked up as a series
- M*A*S*H
- Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
- July 1984 events in the United States