[Hawkeye was telling Dr. Sidney Freedman about what he initially thought was a chicken clucking inside the bus]
Dr. Sidney Freedman: Then what happened?
Hawkeye: Then I went back toward the front of the bus.
Dr. Sidney Freedman: And what happened next?
Hawkeye: There’s something wrong with it. It stopped making noise. It just–just stopped.
[pauses]
Hawkeye: She-she killed it! She killed it!
Dr. Sidney Freedman: She killed the chicken?
Hawkeye: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I didn’t mean for her to kill it.
[sobbing]
Hawkeye: I did not–I–I just wanted it to be quiet. It was–it was a baby! She, she smothered her own baby.
[pauses]
Hawkeye: You son of a bitch, why did you make me remember that?
Dr. Sidney Freedman: You had to get it out in the open. Now we’re halfway home.
The series finale of M*A*S*H aired on this day, 36 years ago (February 28, 1983). Over 125 million tuned in to watch! To this day, it is the largest audience for any television series (excluding sports and news events) ever. It is still the standard of which every television series finale is compared.
You can get the complete series from Amazon by clicking on the box set below:
The “I’m going to Disney World!” and “I’m going to Disneyland!” slogan was first used on this day 32 years ago (January 25, 1987) after the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI (39-20).
On this episode of Return to the ’80s, Robert and Paul welcome Ty Ray, from the Beats and Eats podcast, to the show. The guys Return to 1981, and count down the year’s top songs, movies, and television shows. Also, find out what the biggest selling toys were in 1981, and reminisce on the big news stories of the year.
As this current decade comes to a close, come join us to Return to the greatest decade ever, and check out the awesome year of 1981!
10. One Day At a Time
9. M*A*S*H
8. ABC Monday Night Movie
7/6 tie Too Close for Comfort and The Dukes of Hazzard
5. Alice
4. Three’s Company
3. The Jeffersons
2. 60 Minutes
1. Dallas
NFL
Oakland Raiders beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 – January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome
NBA
Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets 4-2
NHL
New York Islanders defeat the Minnesota North Stars 4-1
MLB
LA Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-1
News Events
January 20 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days freed
March 6 Walter Cronkite signs off of CBS Evening News
March 30 Reagan Assassination attempt
April 18 The Longest Game – Pawtucket Red Sox tie Rochester Red Wings 2-2 in 32 innings (game resumed 23rd June)
May 11 Cats premieres in London
May 13 Assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II
Jun 2 Barbara Walters asks Katharine Hepburn what kind of tree she would be
Jun 5 AIDS Epidemic officially begins when US Centers for Disease Control reports on pneumonia affecting five homosexual men in Los Angeles
Jun 12 Baseball players begin a 50 day strike, their 3rd strike
July 29 Royal Wedding
Aug 1 MTV premieres at 12:01 AM
Aug 3 13,000 Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) begin their strike; US President Ronald Reagan offers an ultimatum to workers: ‘if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated’
Sep 12 “The Smurfs” animated cartoon series by Hanna-Barbera first broadcasts in North America
Sep 25 Sandra Day O’Connor sworn in as 1st female supreme court justice
Dec 11 Muhammad Ali’s 61st & last fight, losing to Trevor Berbick
Dec 28 1st American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr is born in Norfolk, Virginia
The year is 1987 and NASA launches the last of America’s deep space probes. In a freak mishap Ranger 3 and its pilot Captain William ‘Buck’ Rogers are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life support systems and returns Buck Rogers to Earth 500 years later.
Happy 76th birthday to Gil Gerard!!!
If you’d like to get this television series from Amazon, click on the poster below:
Dr. Sam Hachiya: [intensely] What did you see? You come from Kansas City. What did you see?
Dr. Russell Oakes: [in shock] I was on the freeway, about 30 miles away. I’m not sure… it was high in the air, directly above downtown. Like the sun… exploding.
The TV movie The Day After aired on ABC on this day, 35 years ago (November 20, 1983). More than 100 million tuned in to watch. It was one of the first “watercooler moments” of us school children the next morning.
If you’d like to buy this movie from Amazon, click on the movie poster below:
