Let me just start by saying I love M*A*S*H so much that when my fiancé said he never really watched it, it was almost a deal breaker. He did agree to watch the reruns on TV Land and we are now one happy family. M*A*S*H was a show like no other. It was a medical drama, war movie and a sitcom rolled into one.
M*A*S*H was adapted from the book “MASH: A Novel about Three Army Doctors” and the feature film MASH. The series premiered in 1972, on CBS. The show spanned 11 seasons and had 251 episodes. This is quite amazing since it was set in the Korean War that only lasted three years. Most of the main story lines came from interviews with real MASH surgeons.
The plot revolves around the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and the men and women that serve there. Each episode had some dramatic incident, but balanced with the comedy of the people trying to deal with the wild circumstances. The main characters were Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and Traper John (Wayne Rogers), who was later replaced by B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell). The cast of M*A*S*H was packed full of great characters. There was the dominating Colonel Potter, the absent minded and sweet Radar, Father Malcahy, Klinger (Jamie Farr) and of course Hot Lips Houlihan.
M*A*S*H tackled some issues like never before. They took in injured orphans whose home had been bombed and showed a glimpse of how bad war can be. We watched as soldiers lost limbs, had emergency surgery and sometimes died. You could see the wear and tear on the doctors as they stroll for another 12 hours after working for 24 hours with a 25 minute nap. With all this darkness we still laughed at Klinger’s wild costumes and Hawkeye’s crazy antics.
The show was a combination of great writing, wonderful actors and a great premise. Through the 11 seasons we watched as the characters we loved grew, loved and lost. America loved to tune in and see what antics these guys were up to. The very last episode, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” had nearly 106 million viewers. The episode still stands as the most-watched scripted broadcast in American television history.
M*A*S*H spawned a few spin-offs including, After MASH and Traper John, M.D. In season nine a documentary was made for PBS called, Making MASH. Specials were made for both the 20th and 30th anniversaries of M*A*S*H.
The show has received 8 Golden Globes, 14 Emmy Awards and received a TV Land Award this year. Altogether M*A*S*H has received over 130 award nominations.
M*A*S*H is a one of a kind. The creators caught lighting in a bottle with this show. Today’s television could do wonders with another show like this. If you love M*A*S*H as much as me, you can find most seasons on DVD and TV Land still shows the reruns.
Comments
No comments.