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The long-running classic sitcom "M*A*S*H" went through quite a few changes throughout its 11 seasons, both in front of the camera and behind it. Even series creator Larry Gelbart left after the fourth season because the show had become all-consuming in his life due to its immense popularity. In fact, there were so many cast change-ups over the years that there is only one episode (albeit a two-parter) that features every single starring cast member. And all in all, only one character, head surgeon Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), appears in every episode. It makes sense that faces would change in a wartime situation, especially when the real-life Korean War lasted for only three years and "M*A*S*H" went on for eleven. 

Over the years, the show lost not only Gelbart but stars Wayne Rogers, McLean Stevenson, Larry Linville, and Gary Burghoff, who played Hawkeye's best friend "Trapper" John McIntyre,...

Loretta Swit's absence in Mash's best episode "The Interview" was due to her commitment to a play. Swit never missed another episode of the show after "The Interview." Swit eventually appeared in a sequel to "The Interview" in Mash season 7, correcting Margaret's missing interview.

One key Mash character is missing from the show's most acclaimed episode, but they had a great excuse. Despite becoming one of the biggest shows on television during the 1970s, many actors exited Mash during the early years. It quickly became clear that Alan Alda's Hawkeye was the Mvp, but the attention the showrunners paid to him led to cast members like Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson feeling like their characters were pushed aside. Stevenson's decision to leave led to Mash killing Herny Blake in season 3's finale, which became a watershed moment in television.

While it wasn't intended to be that way,...

Mash broke ground by mixing laughter with heartbreak, straying into serious topics despite being labeled a sitcom first. "The Interview" is considered the best Mash episode, focusing on character depth and wartime despair, presented in black and white. The show's experimentation with formula and dropping the laugh track set Mash apart, making it a groundbreaking dramedy on television.

Arguably Mash's greatest-ever episode is remarkably light on jokes, but with good reason. Despite being set during the Korean War, CBS viewed Mash as a sitcom first and wanted the showrunners to avoid overt political commentary or serious topics. Naturally, straying into those areas is precisely what made it so groundbreaking, with the show mixing laughter with heartbreak on a regular basis. Across Mash's 11 seasons the show changed dramatically, becoming one of the first real dramedies on television.

Mash was also one of the first sitcoms to drop the laugh track,...

"Our Finest Hour" is the only Mash episode that features the entire cast, but it is a clip show. "The Interview" from season 4 is considered one of the best episodes of the series due to its dark, emotionally charged storyline. "Our Finest Hour" is one of the least-liked episodes of Mash because it lacks fresh insights and emotional depth, and recycles concepts from "The Interview."

Mash may have run for 256 episodes, but only one featured the entire main cast. Considering the impact it would have on the television landscape in the years that followed, it's strange to think Mash was almost canceled following its first season. The show adapted both the original novel and the acclaimed 1970 Robert Altman movie, but it consistently struggled in the ratings in its first year. Thankfully, those numbers improved greatly during re-runs, and over time, the series evolved into a unique blend of sitcom and medical drama.

Recently, more than half a century after its premiere, Fox released a retrospective special about the storied anti-war sitcom "M*A*S*H" that included rare and previously unseen interviews with the show's cast and crew. When they weren't reminiscing about their characters and opening up about cast changes over the years, former members of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital discussed episodes of the show that broke the TV mold, pushing the medium beyond its established boundaries and yanking on viewers' heartstrings in unexpected ways.

Among the spotlighted episodes in "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television" was "The Interview," the season 4 finale that saw the show briefly take the form of a black-and-white war documentary. The late writer and executive producer Burt Metcalfe said the experiment took inspiration from Edward R. Murrow's 1950s newsreel show "See It Now," which included interviews in Korea during the war. "We'd always had a...

Jamie Farr hosts “M*A*S*H: The Best by Farr” A Weeklong Presentation of His Favorite Episodes’ to help celebrate the MeTV Network commemorate M*A*S*H’s 50th anniversary.

The special weeklong presentation includes Jamie Farr’s favorite episodes, hosted commentary, memories, and stories from his time as co-star of one of television’s greatest all-time favorites.

“M*A*S*H: The Best by Farr” airs September 12-16, 2022, from 7-8 pm Et/Pt on MeTV, with two of Farr’s hand-picked “best of” episodes airing nightly.

M*A*S*H is part of MeTV’s memorable and entertaining weeknight lineup, airing two back-to-back episodes starting at 7 pm Et/Pt every Monday-Friday and Sunday night.

“M*A*S*H has been a staple of the MeTV weeknight schedule since the network began, and it’s a show with lasting relevancy and audience appeal,” said Neal Sabin, Vice Chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co....

In the last decade of his career, John Ford produced and directed this ode to crony politics, with Spencer Tracy as an old-fashioned mayor who uses underhanded ploys to do right by his constituents. Tracy is backed by a veritable army of supporting actors, neatly orchestrated in Frank Nugent’s screenplay. We’re talking scores of John Ford stock company players; it’s like old home week, with Ford in firm control.

The Last Hurrah

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 121 min. / Street Date September 18, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster, Basil Rathbone, Pat O’Brien, Donald Crisp, James Gleason, Edward Brophy, John Carradine, Willis Bouchey, Basil Ruysdael, Ricardo Cortez, Wallace Ford, Frank McHugh, Carleton Young, Frank Albertson, Anna Lee, Ken Curtis, Jane Darwell, O.Z. Whitehead, Charles B. Fitzsimons, Arthur Walsh, Bob Sweeney, William Leslie, Danny Borzage, Richard Deacon, James Flavin,...

Nicholas Meyer's first directing effort is a classy science fiction thriller best remembered for a charming romantic angle, and for introducing many of us to the marvelous Mary Steenburgen. Clever storytelling pits Malcolm McDowell against fellow time tripper David Warner, in a fourth-dimensional pursuit of none other than Jack the Ripper. Time After Time Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1979 / Color / 2:40 widescreen / 112 min. / Street Date November 15, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen, Charles Cioffi, Kent Williams, Andonia Katsaros, Patti D'Arbanville, Corey Feldman, Shelley Hack, Clete Roberts. Cinematography Paul Lohman Film Editor Donn Cambern Original Music Miklos Rozsa Written by Nicholas Meyer story by Karl Alexander & Steve Hayes Produced by Herb Jaffe Directed by Nicholas Meyer

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Known for his smart scripts -- face it, even Invasion of the Bee Girls is an intelligent script -- Nicholas Meyer broke into the writer-director hyphenate...