M*A*S*H

That is, this series started out in 1972 to capitalize on the antipathy people had towards the Vietnam War, plus it blended well with the anti-establishment theme of the CBS prime time lineup as well. Then something horrible happened - that is for those financially backing the show - four months into production the Vietnam War effectively ended. Also, it was announced the draft would end. Poof. There goes the show's reason for existence. This is where the show "rolled with the punches". Rather than just dry up and blow away as an artifact of a time that had come and gone, it explored new avenues and ways to stay relevant. It explored friendship, maintaining family ties when far from home, and the shock of sudden death. At the end of eleven years, when the show called it a day, you had two characters that loathed each other in the beginning of the series practically declaring their love for one another, although they knew in peacetime it could never be.

If you ever decide to go whole hog and buy the complete series, have patience with it. The first three episodes are not that good - the humor is very forced and were it not for the laugh track you might not get that a joke had just been told. But it does get much better rather quickly. Back in 1972 network shows were allowed time to get better. Now some network bean counter just pulls the plug and drags out some reality show replacement.

M*A*S*H is truly a one of a kind show. It combines both comedy and drama to form a rare type of show that comes along maybe once or twice every decade. You know, the ironic thing is that the series itself lasted more than three times as long as the actual war. M*A*S*H will always have a life in reruns.

I've found many of the comments about this series to be quite amusing, particularly the ones bashing it for "shoving" a liberal agenda down viewers throats. Given it's success for 11 years, I don't think the audience seemed to agree with that assessment. Quite simply, the show was one of the best written, best acted, and most entertaining shows in television history. Yes, it wore out its welcome in the end; but, it is a masterpiece that later shows rarely measured up to.

I have no great preference for one season's cast over another. Each character was unique and had something to contribute. When we lost the bumbling, but loveable Henry Blake, we got the stern but loving Sherman Potter. Both were the C.O., but each was a different person, a smart move by the creators. The same is true for Frank Burns and Charles Emerson Winchester III. Burns was a neurotic, vindictive, childish fool; while Winchester was an arrogant blowhard, but one who could hold his own with Hawkeye. Burns was incompetent, while Winchester was an outstanding surgeon; just ask him. Characters were missed when they left; but, they were not replaced with doppelgangers. That is part of the reason this show lasted so long.

The show did take on a more serious tone in the later seasons, but not entirely. There are plenty of laughs right up to the end. Those serious shows were often some of the most memorable, and they kept the series from becoming stale. With that said, they did tend to resort to Hawkeye's mental problems a bit too much, especially in the farewell. You can argue that a character like Hawkeye, with his passion for preserving life, was ripe for mental breakdowns; but, in reality, he probably would have been shipped home by the second breakdown.

The show is not perfect (it lasted 8 years longer than the actual war) but it comes far closer than most. It seems to be fashionable to bash popular shows and movies after their days is over. Part of this is a new generation trying to establish their own identity and dominance. Well, I didn't like my parent's movies, shows and music when I was younger; until I actually watched them and listened to them. Some of it turned out to be quite good, some not. Real quality stands the test of time. MASH will be around far longer than most of what I see on tv today.

MASH is still remarkable - funny, poignant, moving, occasionally schmaltzy - but always well scripted, acted and often directed by the actors who really know the players. Alan Alda at his best, with a magnificent equal billing cast. Watch MASH often!!

I've read several recent (2019) reviews of MASH here on IMDB. Many of them take a political slant, calling the show "anti-war", "left-wing", or (and this is my favorite) an "Evil Mockery of all good things and American Values". Frankly, every word of those comments is partisan hooey, colored by the divisive political landscape we live in at present.

I'm a 19 year, career military member and am currently deployed to Iraq. I just watched the entire-run of this show at a rate of 2 episodes per night and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can want some of the topics it presents to be political, but they're not. The overwhelming majority of them are simply the musings of people who seem to have an incisive and witty understanding of what it means to be deployed far away from home.

Those insights are what keep the show watchable. Being critical of war doesn't make the show liberal. It makes it rationale. Broaching progressive subjects doesn't make it left-wing. It bases it in reality. Arguing that war should be the absolute last means of persuasion doesn't make it a mockery of American values. It makes it a commentary on what those American values have historically been.

The years have been rough on MASH insomuch as portrayals of sexism and alcoholism are concerned. Outside of that, the show holds up as a commentary on war at large-be it in Korea, Vietnam, or Iraq. Simply put, it's still funny.