M*A*S*H (TV series)
M*A*S*H (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American war comedy drama television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1972, to February 28, 1983. It was developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The series, which was produced with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).
M*A*S*H
Johnny Mandel
(written for the film)
"Suicide Is Painless" (Instrumental)
"Suicide Is Painless" (Big Band Version)
United States
English
11
256 (list of episodes)
- Larry Gelbart (seasons 1–4)
- Gene Reynolds (seasons 1–5)
- Burt Metcalfe (seasons 6–11)
25–26 minutes; except "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (2 hours)
September 17, 1972 –
February 28, 1983
The ensemble cast originally featured Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers as surgeons Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper" John McIntyre, respectively, as the protagonists of the show; joined by Larry Linville as surgeon Frank Burns, Loretta Swit as head nurse Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, McLean Stevenson as company commander Henry Blake, Gary Burghoff as company clerk Walter "Radar" O'Reilly, Jamie Farr as orderly Maxwell Klinger, and William Christopher as the chaplain, Father John Mulcahy. Over the run of the show, several members of the main cast were replaced: Wayne Rogers was replaced by Mike Farrell as B. J. Hunnicutt, McLean Stevenson was replaced by Harry Morgan as Sherman Potter, Larry Linville was replaced by David Ogden Stiers as Charles Emerson Winchester III, and, when Gary Burghoff left the show, the Maxwell Klinger character moved into the company clerk role. Longtime supporting cast members included Kellye Nakahara, Jeff Maxwell, Allan Arbus, and Edward Winter.
The series varied in style and tone – including broad comedy and tragic drama – which can be attributed to fluctuating writing staff over the life of the show and the variety of sources contributing to the stories, such as actor Alan Alda and surgeons who served in the Korean War.[1] The show's title sequence features an instrumental version of "Suicide Is Painless", the original film's theme song.[2]
The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel, M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, failed. The television series is the best-known of the M*A*S*H works and one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history. Its final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", was the most-watched television broadcast in American history from 1983 until 2010,[3] and it remains both the most-watched finale of any television series and the most-watched episode of a scripted series.[4]
Premise[edit]
M*A*S*H aired weekly on CBS, with most episodes being a half-hour in length. The series is usually categorized as a situation comedy, though it has also been described as a "dark comedy" or a "dramedy" because of the often dramatic subject matter.[A]
The show is an ensemble piece revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–53). The "4077th MASH" was one of several surgical units in Korea. The asterisks in the name are not part of military nomenclature and were creatively introduced in the novel and used in only the posters for the movie version, not the actual movie.
Early seasons aired on network prime time while the Vietnam War was still ongoing; the show was forced to walk the fine line of commenting on that war while at the same time not seeming to protest against it. The show's discourse, under the cover of comedy, often questioned, mocked, and grappled with America's role in the Cold War.
Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several narrated by one of the show's characters as the contents of a letter home. The show's tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the unwilling civilian draftees of 4077th – Captains Pierce, MacIntyre, and Hunnicutt, for example – and the "regular Army" characters, such as Major Houlihan and Colonel Potter, who enlisted voluntarily. Other characters, such as Lieutenant Colonel Blake, Major Winchester, and Corporal/Sergeant Klinger, help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward Army life, while guest characters played by actors such as Eldon Quick, Herb Voland, Mary Wickes, and Tim O'Connor also help further the show's discussion of America's place as Cold War participant and peace maker.
Publicity photo of the cast of M*A*S*H shot just prior to the production of Season 2, 1974 (clockwise from left): Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, Wayne Rogers, Gary Burghoff, McLean Stevenson, and Alan Alda
The cast of M*A*S*H from Season 6, 1977 (clockwise from left): William Christopher, Gary Burghoff, David Ogden Stiers, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell, Alan Alda, Harry Morgan, Loretta Swit.
The cast of M*A*S*H from season 8 onward (clockwise from left): Mike Farrell, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, David Ogden Stiers, Loretta Swit, Alan Alda, and Harry Morgan
Production[edit]
Writing[edit]
As the series progressed, it made a significant shift from being primarily a comedy with dramatic undertones to a drama with comedic overtones. This was a result of changes in writing and production staff. Series co-creator and comedy writer Larry Gelbart departed after Season 4. Executive Producer Gene Reynolds departed at the conclusion of Season 5 in 1977, resulting in M*A*S*H being almost fully stripped of its original comedic foundation by the beginning of Season 6.[1]
Whereas Gelbart and Reynolds were the comedic voice of M*A*S*H for the show's first five seasons (1972–1977), Alan Alda and newly promoted Executive Producer Burt Metcalfe became the new dramatic voice of M*A*S*H for Seasons 6–11. By the start of Season 8 (1979–1980), the writing staff had been completely overhauled, and with the departure of cast members McLean Stevenson, Larry Linville, Wayne Rogers and Gary Burghoff, M*A*S*H displayed a distinctively different feel, consciously moving between comedy and drama.
The end of the Vietnam War in 1975 was a significant factor as to why storylines become less political in nature and more character-driven. Several episodes experimented by going outside the sitcom format:
Reception[edit]
Ratings and recognition[edit]
The series premiered in the US on September 17, 1972, and ended on February 28, 1983, with the finale, showcased as a television film, titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", becoming the most-watched and highest-rated single television episode in US television history at the time, with a record-breaking 125 million viewers (60.2 rating and 77 share),[25] according to the New York Times.[21] It had struggled in its first season and was at risk of being cancelled.[26] In season two, M*A*S*H was placed in a better time slot by CBS (airing after the popular All in the Family, taking the place of Bridget Loves Bernie, which had been canceled after one season despite good ratings due to religious groups protesting the show's premise of an inter-faith marriage between the title characters); the show then became one of the top 10 programs of the year and stayed in the top 20 programs for the rest of its run.[26] It is still broadcast in syndication on various television stations. The series, which depicted events occurring during a three-year war, spanned 256 episodes and lasted 11 seasons. The Korean War lasted 1,128 days, meaning each episode of the series would have averaged almost four and a half days of real time. Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. Like the movie, the series was as much an allegory about the Vietnam War (still in progress when the show began) as it was about the Korean War.[27]
The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997.[28] In 2002, M*A*S*H was ranked number 25 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[29] In February 2008, the series was named the number-one smartest TV show of all time by Jim Werdell, chairman of Mensa International, who said that it "had smart repartee and was so much more than a comedy".[30] In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the fifth-best written TV series ever[31] and TV Guide ranked it as the eighth-greatest show of all time.[32] In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked it as the 16th-greatest TV show.[33] In 2023, Variety ranked M*A*S*H #24 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.[34]
Games[edit]
Two board games were created based on the show. The first came out in 1975 and was published by Transogram[51] The second was published in 1981 by Milton Bradley.[52]
A M*A*S*H video game was produced by Fox Video Games in 1983. It was criticized for trivializing the war, lacking the nuance of the film and TV show.
Finally, there was a trivia game published by Golden in 1984. It was available in two variations, one with a full complement of paraphernalia including game-tray, die, and point value cards and another one that was just question cards.[53]
Merchandise[edit]
A trading card set was published in 1982 by Donruss.[54] Also in 1982, Tri-Star International produced a set of MASH action figures, with vehicles and a play set.[55][56]
The two-season spin-off AfterMASH (1983–1985) inherited the parent show's Monday night time slot and featured several of its main characters reunited in a Midwestern hospital after the war.[57] The more successful Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1986) took place nearly three decades after the events of M*A*S*H and depicted Trapper John McIntyre as chief of surgery at a San Francisco hospital;[58] its producers argued successfully in court that it was based on the earlier movie rather than the TV series.[59] In an unpurchased television pilot, W*A*L*T*E*R (1984), Walter "Radar" O'Reilly joins the St. Louis police force after his farm fails following his return to the U.S.
Making M*A*S*H, a documentary special narrated by Mary Tyler Moore that takes viewers behind the production of the season 8 episodes "Old Soldiers" and "Lend a Hand", was produced for PBS, and aired on January 21, 1981. The special was later included in the syndicated rerun package, with new narration by producer Michael Hirsch.[60]
Three retrospective specials were produced to commemorate the show's 20th, 30th and 50th anniversaries:
Memories of M*A*S*H and M*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Reunion are included as bonuses on the Collector's Edition DVD of "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen". Also included is "M*A*S*H: Television's Serious Sitcom," a 2002 episode of A&E channel's Biography program that detailed the show's history.
In the late 1980s, the cast had a partial reunion in a series of commercials for IBM products, including personal computers and the AS/400 system. All of the front-billed regulars (with the exceptions of Farrell and Stevenson) appeared in the spots over time.[61][62]
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