M*A*S*H

[Visiting Stewardess]

As we were getting quite OT in that season one thread I thought it would be good to start a MASH thread. (I have copied the off topic parts in here so that we can continue the flow of the conversation here, if you don't mind.)

Now this was funny... M*A*S*H is another one of my TV obsessions and there's a character called "Hawkeye".

Funny indeed!
Didn't know about that character.
I think I haven't seen more than two or three episodes of M*A*S*H in all my life.
I don't know why, maybe I didn't understand that kind of humor when I was a child.
A couple of years ago I saw the movie and found it funny.
Maybe I could appreciate the series now.

Edit: I just remembered there is a short tv-series called "Hawkeye", starring Lynda Carter.
Never seen it (probably never broadcasted here in Italy), I have been waiting for years a R2 (UK) release.
Looks like I'll have to buy the US release.

I don't know why, maybe I didn't understand that kind of humor when I was a child.

I didn't get it as a kid either, but revisited it as an adult and loved it. Could it have been the first genre bending "dramedy" tv series?

I don't know if THE first, among the first for sure.
As I said I liked the movie and I would like to give a try to the series.
But it was a long one (I believe 11 seasons or so = expensive) and there are so many shows on the waiting list that come first.

Yes, M*A*S*H ran for 11 seasons. As far as I know the term dramedy was coined for that series.

It is sometimes cheaper to get the box on Amazon if they have it in offer, but the quality of the box isn't very good as you slide the individual disks into cardboard slots, which can scratch the disks. No good for die hard fans who take them out a lot.

The film MASH and the TV series MASH are quite different. The film was very anarchic, for TV they "cleaned" it quite considerably. The first season still has lots of references to the film, but they get less as the series progresses and gets a life of its own.

I personally like both, the film and the series, but I see them as separate entities. There are some who rate the film very high and think the series is crap and vice versa.

MASH had a lot of "firsts". They had a main character die on screen, they addressed racial segregation and homosexuality in the army. It was quite advanced for its time.

[KENJI]

One of my favourite episodes was when Henry/Col. Blake was being shipped home which was very moving, but your heart gets ripped out during the last scene when Radar comes into the O.R. and tells the M.A.S.H. unit that Col. Blake's helicopter went down and there were no survivors. I don't think anyone expected that. There are loads of funny episodes, but that one hits the human emotion scale really high. It would be right up there with Magnum watching the tape of Michelle, (***Lily***) and Edward entering a car only to see it explode.

[JT]

I personally like the series better than the film.
Mash is an excelent show.
Mash has an good mixture of real life drama and humor.
I used to watch it together with my dad, brings back some good memories.

[Visiting Stewardess]

but your heart gets ripped out during the last scene when Radar comes into the O.R. and tells the M.A.S.H. unit that Col. Blake's helicopter went down and there were no survivors.

The first time I watched that episode there were tears streaming down my face. Even now, having watched it probably a dozen times, I still choke.

I read that apparently only very few people had the end of the script of that show. Only "Radar" and obviously everyone involved with the production, but none of the other actors. So when they filmed people's reactions to Radar's announcement their shock was sort of real.... as real as you can get in a TV show, I guess.



On the way to the MASH site. 1.5 mi in 95 degrees feel twice as long.




In an original MASH jeep.




Replica at the exact spot of the original sign post.

[Magnum T.]

Yes, M*A*S*H ran for 11 seasons. As far as I know the term dramedy was coined for that series.

It is sometimes cheaper to get the box on Amazon if they have it in offer

I gave a look on Amazon and Play, they have the complete-series box, but it's quite expensive (around $150) and I don't know for sure if I would like it. Besides, as I said, there are many (too many maybe) series I'd like to buy first.
The series has been released on DVD in Italy too (one box per season) but, again, they are too expensive.

...the quality of the box isn't very good as you slide the individual disks into cardboard slots, which can scratch the disks. No good for die hard fans who take them out a lot.

Really a good package!
Anyway I backup all the DVDs I own so that I don't have to handle the original discs.

The film MASH and the TV series MASH are quite different. The film was very anarchic, for TV they "cleaned" it quite considerably. The first season still has lots of references to the film, but they get less as the series progresses and gets a life of its own.

So the series came after the movie.
I thought contrariwise.

Again Starsky's shoes and shorts huh?

[KENJI]

Great pics V.S.!!! I've made it to Robin's Nest, but not here (yet). Thanks for posting them!

The death of Henry still gets me too!
That was clever to keep a lot of them in the dark to get the shock value, as it still works on us today.

[KENJI]

I think you should've added an arrow sign to the bottom of the pole with Hawaii or Robin's Nest on it......joking!

[Visiting Stewardess]

So the series came after the movie.
I thought contrariwise.

Yes, the movie was made in 1970, the series started in 1972.

Again Starsky's shoes and shorts huh?

You noticed! I practically live in them, they are so comfortable. The shoes by the way were also from 1972. (well, not these particular ones, they are from 2010, but the model first came out in 1972 )

And 1972 happens to be my birth year....

[Magnum T.]

You noticed!

Yep!

I practically live in them, they are so comfortable. The shoes by the way were also from 1972. (well, not these particular ones, they are from 2010, but the model first came out in 1972 )

And 1972 happens to be my birth year....

1972 was a great year.
Just one year before THE best year!

[Visiting Stewardess]

There's quite a lot of MASH stuff on YouTube.
One particularly nice clip has just been forwarded by a friend of mine, where the actors introduce their favourite episodes (the epsiodes themselves are obviously cut out).
http://youtu.be/eb5-FsLt9_0

[J.J. Walters]

M*A*S*H is an absolute classic television show! One of the all-time greats! Havn't seen an episode in ages! Need to see one soon!

[Frodoleader]

Loved MASH also, but to be honest, I thought the show got a little too preachy at times.

[Visiting Stewardess]

Yes, that's what a lot of people say, and even I as a die hard fan admit that.
But then again... you can't say it too often that people die in wars and it is such a waste of human life.
They raised awareness for various cases of discrimination (blacks, gays, women), the plight of the children that were the result of relationships between American soldiers and Korean women, and several other things too.

I personally don't like the preachy side so much either, but there are very few episodes I skip when I am on a run-through of the series.

[Majordomo]

Gotta love MASH!

I few years back they had it on TBS or some similar station and you could actually watch about 3 - 4 episodes daily. This went on for a couple years. I remember not ever liking MASH before that, but after being blasted by it for hours a day, it really became a staple in my retro-life.

[N1095A]

Fond farewell to the GREAT Harry Morgan. Morgan was one of those actors who when you saw him on the screen, just gave you a warm feeling. Sadly today we don't have much of that in actors.
He was truly a national treasure. RIP.