The long-running classic sitcom "M*A*S*H" went through quite a few changes throughout its 11 seasons, both in front of the camera and behind it. Even series creator Larry Gelbart left after the fourth season because the show had become all-consuming in his life due to its immense popularity. In fact, there were so many cast change-ups over the years that there is only one episode (albeit a two-parter) that features every single starring cast member. And all in all, only one character, head surgeon Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), appears in every episode. It makes sense that faces would change in a wartime situation, especially when the real-life Korean War lasted for only three years and "M*A*S*H" went on for eleven.
Over the years, the show lost not only Gelbart but stars Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Larry Linville, and Gary Burghoff, who played Hawkeye's best friend "Trapper" John McIntyre, commanding officer Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, cartoonish villain Major Frank Burns, and company clerk Corporal "Radar" O'Reilly, respectively. But in the season seven two-parter, "Our Finest Hour," everyone got the chance to shine, although not necessarily all together.