August 2, 2016

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen served as the 256th and final episode of the television series M*A*S*H. Closing out the series' 11th season, it first aired on CBS on February 28, 1983. A whopping 105.9 million people watched on average over the two-and-a-half hours, with that number peaking at 121.6 million in the final six minutes. The episode surpassed the single-episode ratings record that had been set by the Dallas episode that resolved the "Who Shot J.R.?" cliffhanger. From 1983 until 2010, Goodbye, Farewell and Amen remained the most watched television broadcast in American history, passed only in total viewership (but not in ratings or share) in February 2010 by Super Bowl XLIV. It still stands as the most-watched single episode of an American television series.