M*A*S*H- the series

[Wynton]

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As I recall the killing off of Col. Blake was due to the producers being PO'd that McClean Stevenson wanted to leave the show. Their response was to kill his character.

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They killed him off because he actually decided to leave the show. The following year he was starring in the much-maligned "Hello Larry."

[mrkilla]

I'm going to have to agree with DB here and say that the first years were more my favorite then the later. I do love both.

The Hawkeye and Trapper were very similar in the movie and thus the slapstick was pretty funny. (like when trapper pulls out the olives for the martini in the movie) thats gold.

I mean I like the movie a lot and thus why I like the first years better because it was more shaped around the movie. All that drama, hawk eye's breakdown etc was a little to much.

[JJNJustin]

Hello Larry, named as such to predict Larry Linville's showing up on the sitcom in the near future. Also following in the great tradition of spin-off failures such as:

Grady
Gloria
Joanie loves Chachie
Three's a Crowd
The Ropers

probably many more.

Yeah, the drama of the later years was a little too cheesy for me. For example, BJ turning on Hawkeye and actually punching him when the letter from Peg about Erin calling Radar daddy. However, the writers did do a good job in making sure all the characters changed slightly over the years, showing the effects of the war.

Hawkeye: carefree clown--->sober cynic
BJ: naive complaisent--->mature and multi-dimensional
Winchester: Pompous stereotypical--->unpredictably human
Hotlips: sexpot, rigid army----> human sympathetic flexible mature

As the show went on and more of the old stereotypes faded and the new dimensions took place, some of the old plot stand-by's became strangely inappropriate. For exmaple, Hawkeye's standard sarcastic lines in OR. The basic "formula" that worked for the early seasons didnt work for the later seasons. The later seasons were still good episodes, but they were different and didnt always have that comedic slapstick punch. Sometimes, in fact, they were depressing and a real drag.

-J

[ChipWrecked]

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The later seasons were still good episodes, but they were different and didnt always have that comedic slapstick punch. Sometimes, in fact, they were depressing and a real drag.

-J

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This in my opinion also reflects the power Alan Alda gained over the show in later years.

[andyfox]

Could be. Alda wanted the show to "say something." (I was lucky enough to get to talk to him about it on one of his Sunday night flights backs from the east coast to L.A.) Comedy shows with a "message" tend to get more serious over time, as they want their main characters to have more gravitas than to simply remain clowns. All in the Family, for example, comes immediately to mind; even a silly show like Happy Days went down that route.

[ChipWrecked]

I read an interview with Wayne Rogers once in which he gave his reason for leaving the show. He realized Trapper's role would always be "...to stand around and offer Hawkeye a drink."

Looking over the course of the show that was probably true. BJ's character started with the potential to develop more depth.

[youtalkfunny]

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Also following in the great tradition of spin-off failures such as:

Grady
Gloria
Joanie loves Chachie
Three's a Crowd
The Ropers

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Hey, how about a little love for the show that introduced us to "Hey Now!" Hank Kingsley?

For the rest of you Alda lovers, here's a YouTube link of Alda at a bookstore, hyping his book. I never would've had any interest in reading an Alan Alda autobiography, but he's pretty good at telling a story, as he shows here. I might pick this up some day.

(The video is in five parts, about 15 minutes total, before the batteries in the camera died mid-story. Still worth a watch, next time you have a few minutes to kill.)

[goofball]

Excellent show. I can't really say enough about it. I like the funny episodes and the semi serious episodes. The one where the guy thinks he's jesus christ. The one where hawk and trap go up the ranks in search of an incubator ("holy cow! look at these charges... altering salute by placing thumb on nose?!) are two that come to mind. So many great characters.

Frank Burns: I don't need you guys to make me look stupid!

[Five-Star]

I just rewatched probably my favorite episodes of the series: "Aprils Fools". I've watched 3.5 seasons in the past 72 hours (give or take). As for the discussion eariler, there are a few one hour shows mixed into the later series. The more notable is "Fade In, Fade Out", where Winchester arrives and Burns leaves.

My tribute to M*A*S*H as well:

Created on Adobe Illustrator while I watched