Well, this snuck up on me. You too, I’ll bet. I remember watching this show every night at 7pm on our not-so-trusty B&W portable. My parents, of course, were watching ABC News on the big colour telly. So a lot of my MASH memories are black and white. It seems appropriate.
Today, “M*A*S*H” also feels both like ancient history and entirely current, but for different reasons.
On the one hand, in an era that’s saturated with pop-culture nostalgia yet rarely looks back further than “The Sopranos” or maybe “Seinfeld,” “M*A*S*H” is often AWOL from discussions of TV history. Sure, we know it as a title and a statistic: The 106 million viewers for its 1983 finale is a number unlikely to be equaled by any TV show not involving a kickoff. But it also gets lost in the distant pre-cable mists, treated as a relic of a time with a bygone mass-market TV audience and different (sometimes cringeworthy) social attitudes.
Yet rewatched from 50 years’ distance, “M*A*S*H” is in some ways the most contemporary of its contemporaries. Its blend of madcap comedy and pitch-dark drama — the laughs amplifying the serious stakes, and vice versa — is recognizable in today’s dramedies, from “Better Things” to “Barry,” that work in the DMZ between laughter and sadness.
I saw a post on the socials, Alan Alda (Hawkeye) and Mike Farrel (BJ) now very old actors, celebrating the anniversary. And because it was the socials and we can’t have nice things anymore, one of the first comments was from some MAGA loon screaming at them for betraying America. Or something.
Anyway, makes me nostalgic is all. I might see if I can find the Captain Tuttle episode.
I remember watching this as a kid and thinking "is this what the military is really like?" My veteran relatives all laughed along with it- back then most families had real contact with the military. When I grew older and put on the uniform myself, I realized that yes, the Army is chock full of asshats and numbskulls. But there were also real heroes and quiet professionals, just like the show. MASH was great.
The early episodes with Col Blake and Frank were the best. I. Can’t remember the episode name but Blake was looking for contraband in Hawkeyes tent and shook the stove flue and was covered in soot. That still sends me into a fit of laughter every time. The early episodes were politically incorrect now but they were funny as hell. We need more laughter these days
I can watch any ep of MASH and enjoy it. I think the closest modern show (ie in the golden era of tv) for laughter and sadness was Scrubs, and hasn't that aged waaaayyyy faster than MASH?
Not anymore, I think. At the time, the in-jokes, meta scenes and thematic episodes were great.
The comedy can be seen for punching down, with quite a bit of homophobic and sexist that didn't seem problematic 20 years ago but watched today is more than a bit cringey.
I can't help focusing on laughs tracks to distraction these days. I wonder how it would have gone without them. I saw some boffin who took laughs tracks out of the big bang theory, as he had an absolute hatred for it, and wanted to show how unfunny it was and undeserving of its accolades. But i'm not sure MASH comes under that category by a long shot. I seem to remember the serious bits more than i do the comedy but i was watching reruns by the time i got to it and not something i watched with regularity as it was more a soundtrack in the background (as well as Happy Days and the like)
The NYT article has an interesting point about the producers arguing against a laugh track for MASH. In the end they compromised by taking it out of the surgery scenes.
I remember watching this as a kid and thinking "is this what the military is really like?" My veteran relatives all laughed along with it- back then most families had real contact with the military. When I grew older and put on the uniform myself, I realized that yes, the Army is chock full of asshats and numbskulls. But there were also real heroes and quiet professionals, just like the show. MASH was great.
MASH came in at 16 in the best TV shows of all time. I would have gone a lot higher.
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-lists/100-greatest-tv-shows-of-all-time-105998/mash-102138/
Colonel Flagg will never be forgotten.
"one of the first comments was from some MAGA loon screaming at them for betraying America".... of course they made that comment.
The early episodes with Col Blake and Frank were the best. I. Can’t remember the episode name but Blake was looking for contraband in Hawkeyes tent and shook the stove flue and was covered in soot. That still sends me into a fit of laughter every time. The early episodes were politically incorrect now but they were funny as hell. We need more laughter these days
I can watch any ep of MASH and enjoy it. I think the closest modern show (ie in the golden era of tv) for laughter and sadness was Scrubs, and hasn't that aged waaaayyyy faster than MASH?
I’ve never watched Scrubs but often wonder if I should
Not anymore, I think. At the time, the in-jokes, meta scenes and thematic episodes were great.
The comedy can be seen for punching down, with quite a bit of homophobic and sexist that didn't seem problematic 20 years ago but watched today is more than a bit cringey.
"the in-jokes" ... like when they kept calling Dr Beardface, Beardface, when it was pronounced Beardface. Oh how we laughed and laughed.
I can't help focusing on laughs tracks to distraction these days. I wonder how it would have gone without them. I saw some boffin who took laughs tracks out of the big bang theory, as he had an absolute hatred for it, and wanted to show how unfunny it was and undeserving of its accolades. But i'm not sure MASH comes under that category by a long shot. I seem to remember the serious bits more than i do the comedy but i was watching reruns by the time i got to it and not something i watched with regularity as it was more a soundtrack in the background (as well as Happy Days and the like)
The NYT article has an interesting point about the producers arguing against a laugh track for MASH. In the end they compromised by taking it out of the surgery scenes.
How good did they do in inferring the Vietnam War, the BIL and nephew thought that was the war it was set in.