M*A*S*H Season 4 - Cover art, date, and specs (1 Viewer)

[Matthew_V]

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[Paul McElligott]

The only gripe I have about Mash is that, over time, it felt like it had evolved into the "Alan Alda" show. In those last few years there was waaaaay too much of Alan Alda and way too little of his supporting cast members.

That didn't start at the end. One of the reasons Wayne Rogers left was that he felt Trapper was becoming Hawkeye's sidekick rather than a full co-star.

 

[Jon_Are]

My quibbles with M*A*S*H are minor and barely worth noting:

*The silliness / unbelievability of some of the very early episodes;

*The aforementioned occasional 'preachy-ness' (which, I must point out, is noted in some very early shows as well)

*The 'gimmick' shows, which never worked or felt right to me.


That said, I love all phases equally. Henry vs. Sherman is a very close call (slight nod to Potter); Trapper vs. B.J., also extremely tight. (slight nod to B.J); and Frank vs. Charles is just too close to call.

I view the progression of the show much like the music of the Beatles: continually evolving, always entertaining, all phases favorites in their own ways.

Jon

 

[Coressel]

I had never seen a MASH episode in my life

WOW! Well, welcome to the club! It will be very interesting to get your impressions of the series as you make your way thru the first 3 seasons. Let us fellow MASH fans know what you think!

Definately pick up the 3rd season sometime. I think it's actually one of the best seasons of any TV series.



About the "Alan Alda Show" thing: I think that's sort of what they were going for in the first place. If you look at Altman's film, the go straight to the first few episodes of the first season, it becomes pretty obvious that what they did from the start is combine Elliott Gould's and Donald Sutherland's characters into one person: Alan Alda. They gave Alda the name "Hawkeye" but he then becomes the chief surgeon like Trapper does in the film, and is the wise-cracking, Groucho Marx-invoking smartass. Then Wayne Rodgers, with the name "Trapper," left the show.

Anyway, I love the series thru all 10 1/2 seasons, I just perfer the first half of its run over the last half.

 

[Debbie E]

I already have all three It's great to be able to see more than one season in a row. I have unwatched:

Sopranos 1-3
Oz 1-2
S&TC 1-3
MASH 1-3
Stargate 1-2
Friends 1-3
X-Files 5-6 (Have seen 1-4)

Those are just the ones that have more than one season out. I have more unwatched that are so far just one season ("24", Farscape, etc).

From a newcomer viewpoint, I thought it was clear that Alda was the leader and Rogers the sidekick. That relationship is obvious from episode 1.

 

[Coressel]

That relationship is obvious from episode 1.

'Tis true. In fact, even though I'm not as wild about parts of the later seasons, I do admire how they gave the lead characters more to do in certain episodes. Maybe it even became LESS the "Alan Alda Show" later on?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Farscape has 2 seasons out, and the first volume of 3 just came out. They're not boxed but they're out