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Gary Burghoff: One major change made Radar a ''pure joy to play''
Here's how Radar evolved early in the show.
To get the full picture of a television character, sometimes it helps to jump right into the second season, maybe about halfway through. While the writers and creators might intend for a role to be one thing as they're working on the first few episodes, a lot changes. The writers' room differs from the set, and what worked before might not work when the cameras are rolling. Plus, actually having actual actors embodying these characters reveals new folds or old flaws that need to be written for. So, those first few episodes in the first season might not reflect the characters we all come to recognize later in the show.
A perfect example of this phenomenon is Radar on M*A*S*H. Gary Burghoff was the only member of M*A*S*H's main cast to reprise his role from the earlier movie. Yes, other actors were in both, and even Timothy Brown, who played Corporal Hudson in each, but Burghoff was the highest-profile actor bringing the baggage of the film to set for the TV series. So, there were all these preconceived notions in his performance that had to be worked through.
Burghoff explained what he learned, and how he changed, in an interview on M*A*S*H writer Ken Levine's blog.
"In the original feature film M*A*S*H, I created Radar as a lone, darker, and somewhat sardonic character; kind of a shadowy figure," said Burghoff.
"I continued these qualities for a short time (review the Pilot) until I realized that the TV M*A*S*H characters were developing in a different direction from the film characters. It became a group of sophisticated, highly educated Doctors (and one head nurse) who would rather be anywhere else and who understood the nature of the 'hell hole' they were stuck in."
With the help of the show's incredible writers, Gary Burghoff began to accentuate Radar's innocence and naivety to contrast with the other characters. Radar became a much more reactive character, which made him a pleasure to play.
"Once these decisions were made, Radar became pure joy to play!"
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