The MASH appreciation thread

Re: The MASH appreciation thread

i think many people find this series a bit pretentious, but i really enjoyed it as a kid. i mean my other viewing was candy like Three's Company and A-Team so this show was on a completely other level.

Re: The MASH appreciation thread

The show was really like three series in one, and that's one of the reasons it remained so popular for so long.

* Seasons 1-3 tried to take the movie and bring the essence of it to TV -- within the confines of the TV censorship of the day. And it (mostly) succeeded. It provided a zany and irreverent look at surgeons and nurses trying to save lives of soldiers that were being shot and killed just scant miles from their workplace. Except for a few episodes here and there ("Sometimes you Hear the Bullet") the first three seasons were more like a traditional situation comedy. And given the situation a lot of the antics and hilarity seemed rather bizarre to some viewers. That all changed with the third season finale' and the tragic on-screen departure of Henry Blake. From that heartrending scene forward this show was purely a "dramedy" (half drama/half comedy); and it totally embraced that concept in the years to come.

* Seasons 4-5 could best be described as "transitional" with the outstanding introduction episodes for BJ ("Welcome to Korea" -- one of the best episodes in the series enitre run) and Colonel Potter ("Change of Command"). From about the mid-point of Season 4 on it was obvious that the character of Frank Burns didn't really fit well with the new tone of the series, and this factor (in my opinion) kept the show from being as good as it could have been.

* Season 6 on -- With the departure of Frank Burns and the introduction of Charles Emerson Winchester the show *finally* hits its stride. Hawkeye and BJ have a foil that's more than their equal to play off of. The show goes on to tackle many serious war-related subjects in a mature manner while still maintaining a consistently entertaining tone.

We'll probably never see a series evolve in a fashion similar to this ever again!

Re: The MASH appreciation thread

Love the movie...

Re: The MASH appreciation thread

Frank Burns Eats Worms.

Re: The MASH appreciation thread

To Joseph Bolus: Your analysis of the series is very good. I enjoyed the series its entire network run. During its first year or two it was part of that "killer" CBS lineup on Saturday night with All In the Family, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart Show, and Carol Burnett Show. One of the best prime time line ups, ever.

Re: The MASH appreciation thread

I love the Winchester dynamic too and the mix of some more serious subject matter gave it some depth, but the comedic roots were almost always there true to form.