I was listening to this Timothy Busfield interview as I was curious as to his thoughts on Trapper John. Terry Gross very snottily says no one watched the show by the time he joined, to which he basically agrees, and he said he was kind of hoping the show would not stay on much longer when he joined as it wasn't going to define his career and he was able to get good training about acting on television. (it's about 6 minutes in)
https://freshairarchive.org/segments/timothy-busfields-experience-medical-tv-shows
Do you think Trapper John's final season was bad enough to explain the ratings drop, or had it just reached a natural end, and felt out of place in a mid '80s lineup? I did not realize until now just how much turnover they had at the end of the show either. I can't even find any opening credits for the last episodes, sans Gregory Harrison. Their credits feel so harshly dated. The awful red bleed of 1-6 seems like it's trying to turn viewers into killers (I do like that the 6 theme is slowed down - the original gives me a headache), and Casio keyboard season 7 has tied the later Facts of Life years as the most '80s theme I've ever heard.