"Rule #1 is young men die. And Rule #2 is doctors can't change Rule #1."
February 22, 2018 6:40 PM Subscribe
'M*A*S*H' Finale, 35 Years Later: Untold Stories of One of TV's Most Important Shows
When the series launched in September 1972, CBS executives thought they had greenlit a comedy. Series creators Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart instead gave the network seriocomic vignettes of universal truths about the human condition. "We helped break the boundaries of the boss coming to dinner and burning the roast," series star Alan Alda (aka Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce) tells The Hollywood Reporter.
I remember watching the series finale the night it aired as a kid let’s see I was born 1974 and I watched it growing up, so I was 9 years old and I cried so so hard at the very end. I just remember the helicopter taking off at the end and feeling it all. MASH was good people. I tried to find the same thing with China Beach and Tour Of Duty later and those shows kinda fit, China Beach I think was overall a better drama but neither of them could match the brilliance of MASH.
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:18 PM on February 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:18 PM on February 22, 2018 [5 favorites]
I also grew up on this show. At some point, I remember I asked my mom if everyone knew it was really about the Vietnam War, even though they were pretending it was about the Korean War.
It had such humanity and empathy. It still stands out.
posted by rtha at 7:25 PM on February 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
It had such humanity and empathy. It still stands out.
posted by rtha at 7:25 PM on February 22, 2018 [2 favorites]
(No shit though Klinger kinda fucked me up as a little trans kid, I was sneaking around in my mom’s clothes and no doubt playing up Klinger for laughs as a cross dresser absolutely made me feel ashamed, but on the whole the show was brilliant for its time)
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:27 PM on February 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:27 PM on February 22, 2018 [10 favorites]
I was born one year after the show premiered. My whole family adored it and we all watched it faithfully every week. It's so inexorably linked to my childhood.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:27 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:27 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
M*A*S*H was one of the few things my Dad and I could share with each other. He had a robe just like Hawkeye's, and he'd let me squeeze into the recliner with him and watch.
I noticed the final episode on YouTube the other day, but I won't try to link it in case that calls too much attention to it.
I think M*A*S*H and Star Trek: The Next Generation had the same secret ingredient: mad chemistry among an ensemble cast. And they managed to keep it up after replacing several key players, which is damn rare.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:30 PM on February 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
I noticed the final episode on YouTube the other day, but I won't try to link it in case that calls too much attention to it.
I think M*A*S*H and Star Trek: The Next Generation had the same secret ingredient: mad chemistry among an ensemble cast. And they managed to keep it up after replacing several key players, which is damn rare.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:30 PM on February 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
I was so fucking traumatized by Hawkeye's breakdown in the finale (which I saw in grad school) that I can still hardly bear to watch Alan Alda in ANYTHING. (Which is a shame as he is both charming and very good!)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:01 PM on February 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:01 PM on February 22, 2018 [13 favorites]
I watched reruns off and on as a child, but didn’t see the original film until I was deployed in Iraq (as a combat surgeon).
We watched it as a group movie night, and it felt very authentic.
Mind you, that wasn’t the night we had to abandon movie night due to random local gunfire, bit still mostly on point. (I still cringe at treatment of HotLips).
posted by maryrussell at 8:11 PM on February 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
We watched it as a group movie night, and it felt very authentic.
Mind you, that wasn’t the night we had to abandon movie night due to random local gunfire, bit still mostly on point. (I still cringe at treatment of HotLips).
posted by maryrussell at 8:11 PM on February 22, 2018 [11 favorites]
I can still hardly bear to watch Alan Alda in ANYTHING
If you can bear to *hear* him in something then I must suggest the audiobook of World War Z. The whole book, and all the narrators, are outstanding but his chapter is really good too. Perfect fit and performance, just like M*A*S*H.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:18 PM on February 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
If you can bear to *hear* him in something then I must suggest the audiobook of World War Z. The whole book, and all the narrators, are outstanding but his chapter is really good too. Perfect fit and performance, just like M*A*S*H.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:18 PM on February 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
Klinger became Lebanese because of Danny Thomas.
My wife did her internship at St. Jude. That's it. That's my six degrees of Kevin Bacon to M*A*S*H. Eureka!
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:24 PM on February 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
My wife did her internship at St. Jude. That's it. That's my six degrees of Kevin Bacon to M*A*S*H. Eureka!
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:24 PM on February 22, 2018 [6 favorites]
"We helped break the boundaries of the boss coming to dinner and burning the roast," series star Alan Alda (aka Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce) tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Did... did Alan Alda just... ooohhhhhhhhhhh... I almost fainted but then I didn't.
posted by BiggerJ at 8:26 PM on February 22, 2018
Did... did Alan Alda just... ooohhhhhhhhhhh... I almost fainted but then I didn't.
posted by BiggerJ at 8:26 PM on February 22, 2018
M*A*S*H was family watching at my house growing up as well. I still watch it occasionally on the old people's channel (the one with all the westerns) and it's really amazing how much it holds up.
posted by Sphinx at 8:38 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Sphinx at 8:38 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not only was it family watching at my house, at one point it was on 5 times a night, if you caught the right stations. We had a rule in my family - we considered it a “new” episode if we hadn’t seen it 3 times. In retrospect, the show was awful to Major Houlihan, and to trans people. But it was so much more than a stupid comedy. That finale, as a single data point, was life-changing. And seeing those doctors have to deal episode after episode with patients dying, and somehow having to get past it and help the next person. It taught me a lot about perseverance. There are a lot of things that shape us as children into the adults we are. There’s no way this show wasn’t a major factor in the adult I became. In fact, I think I’ve just realized where my humor as defense mechanism came from.
posted by greermahoney at 8:52 PM on February 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by greermahoney at 8:52 PM on February 22, 2018 [8 favorites]
No shit though Klinger kinda fucked me up as a little trans kid
I'm trans, and never had a problem with Klinger. He was never actually trans, for one thing, but was only doing it because it might get him out of the army. But that being said, he really got into it and was trying to look as good as he could. He even had a kind of a fun, genderqueer-y, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence vibe, with the pretty dresses and big bushy body hair all over. (I do recall one episode where he questioned his sexuality based on all the dressing up, but if they botched that one it's been too long for me to recall it.) I recall plenty of instances where the gang treated his cross-dressing with casualness and even a kind of respect, complimenting his hats or helping zip him up. It was just part of who he was, until he stopped doing it. The early seasons can be kind of bro-y and I know they made cracks about him making an ugly girl, but generally I think even then they were reacting to his dressing in the appropriate spirit. They knew he wasn't trans, he was trying to pull a fast one, and everybody was like, "Sure, buddy." As time went on he DID get kind of into it, and the camp adjusted to that. If anything I think the character may be due for a reappraisal. His portrayal was kind of ahead of its time in many ways.
(If you want a childhood comedy fave that REALLY doesn't stand up to modern thinking about trans people, check out the "Loretta" scene in Life of Brian. It's a great movie from a peerless comedy troupe, and then there's just this ghastly anti-trans turd in the middle of it.)
Alan Alda is truly just the best. The man was woke before woke was a thing. And to find out that that "We want something ELSE!" routine was pretty much improv'ed, it only makes me love him more.
I think the worst and most valid criticism of the show came from one of my ex-girlfriends, who said that it seriously misrepresented the realities of the Korean war and the country was nowhere near as rural as the show portrayed it. But I'd counter that the show was really set deep in a kind of Warsville, in the year 19-mumble-mumble. If you wanted a history lesson it was all wrong, but it was much more a show about war itself, not so much the Korean War.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:57 PM on February 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
I'm trans, and never had a problem with Klinger. He was never actually trans, for one thing, but was only doing it because it might get him out of the army. But that being said, he really got into it and was trying to look as good as he could. He even had a kind of a fun, genderqueer-y, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence vibe, with the pretty dresses and big bushy body hair all over. (I do recall one episode where he questioned his sexuality based on all the dressing up, but if they botched that one it's been too long for me to recall it.) I recall plenty of instances where the gang treated his cross-dressing with casualness and even a kind of respect, complimenting his hats or helping zip him up. It was just part of who he was, until he stopped doing it. The early seasons can be kind of bro-y and I know they made cracks about him making an ugly girl, but generally I think even then they were reacting to his dressing in the appropriate spirit. They knew he wasn't trans, he was trying to pull a fast one, and everybody was like, "Sure, buddy." As time went on he DID get kind of into it, and the camp adjusted to that. If anything I think the character may be due for a reappraisal. His portrayal was kind of ahead of its time in many ways.
(If you want a childhood comedy fave that REALLY doesn't stand up to modern thinking about trans people, check out the "Loretta" scene in Life of Brian. It's a great movie from a peerless comedy troupe, and then there's just this ghastly anti-trans turd in the middle of it.)
Alan Alda is truly just the best. The man was woke before woke was a thing. And to find out that that "We want something ELSE!" routine was pretty much improv'ed, it only makes me love him more.
I think the worst and most valid criticism of the show came from one of my ex-girlfriends, who said that it seriously misrepresented the realities of the Korean war and the country was nowhere near as rural as the show portrayed it. But I'd counter that the show was really set deep in a kind of Warsville, in the year 19-mumble-mumble. If you wanted a history lesson it was all wrong, but it was much more a show about war itself, not so much the Korean War.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 8:57 PM on February 22, 2018 [27 favorites]
So the article includes an entire episode as embedded video from Dailymotion or some similar site, with all visuals flipped to avoid copyright. Odd to see the genial acceptance of bootleg video in a mainstream publication like that.
It was also odd to hear the show with the laugh track switched off. I mean, TT he track was an abomination, but it really changes the rhythm of most episodes.
posted by maudlin at 9:26 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
It was also odd to hear the show with the laugh track switched off. I mean, TT he track was an abomination, but it really changes the rhythm of most episodes.
posted by maudlin at 9:26 PM on February 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was born the day after the episode aired where Henry Blake died. Grew up watching it, mostly in syndication.
Hawkeye was my first crush. I've had a thing for brilliant, passionate, kind men ever since. :)
posted by luckynerd at 10:05 PM on February 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
Hawkeye was my first crush. I've had a thing for brilliant, passionate, kind men ever since. :)
posted by luckynerd at 10:05 PM on February 22, 2018 [4 favorites]
And they managed to keep it up after replacing several key players, which is damn rare.
This. After Season 3 the show lost Trapper John and Col. Blake, but replacing them with BJ and Col. Potter actually shifted the emphasis and it became more "human" (for lack of a better term), if less lunatic, but overall just as strong and funny. A few years later, Winchester replaced Burns - the show stumbled a bit while the new actor and his character found their voice, but came back strong again.
However, IMHO it lost something when Radar left - perhaps some of its heart, and the innocence that all the other characters had lost that Radar symbolized? I think everybody agreed - cast crew, and viewers - that the final episode came at the right time.
posted by e-man at 10:11 PM on February 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
This. After Season 3 the show lost Trapper John and Col. Blake, but replacing them with BJ and Col. Potter actually shifted the emphasis and it became more "human" (for lack of a better term), if less lunatic, but overall just as strong and funny. A few years later, Winchester replaced Burns - the show stumbled a bit while the new actor and his character found their voice, but came back strong again.
However, IMHO it lost something when Radar left - perhaps some of its heart, and the innocence that all the other characters had lost that Radar symbolized? I think everybody agreed - cast crew, and viewers - that the final episode came at the right time.
posted by e-man at 10:11 PM on February 22, 2018 [12 favorites]
Well, that made me cry.
I watched M*A*S*H in syndication every afternoon with my little brother while we ate our pre-homework snack after getting home from school. I'm so glad they let Margaret become a more serious and respected character as the show progressed.
posted by ChuraChura at 11:16 PM on February 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
I watched M*A*S*H in syndication every afternoon with my little brother while we ate our pre-homework snack after getting home from school. I'm so glad they let Margaret become a more serious and respected character as the show progressed.
posted by ChuraChura at 11:16 PM on February 22, 2018 [3 favorites]
Ooh yes, I watched this, and I think my parents still watch the show in syndication. I sent them a link to the article.
The MASH finale was the most watched tv show in history, for decades, until the 2010 Super Bowl.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:27 PM on February 22, 2018
The MASH finale was the most watched tv show in history, for decades, until the 2010 Super Bowl.
posted by Pronoiac at 11:27 PM on February 22, 2018
I still tear up at the loss of Henry.
.
posted by drnick at 1:23 AM on February 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
.
posted by drnick at 1:23 AM on February 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
I started watching the show in the UK in the mid-late 80s, I guess around halfway through the run, and didn't get around to watching the earlier series until later. The change in tone with the original cast was fascinating, but I had a simpler appreciation of TV back then and just enjoyed it for what it was. It took a while longer to realise quite how good it was, and a while longer again to see quite how brilliant it was. It'll be appreciated for centuries.
It was also odd to hear the show with the laugh track switched off. I mean, TT he track was an abomination, but it really changes the rhythm of most episodes.
The UK broadcasts were sans laugh track so I didn't hear a show with it on until YouTube turned up and I saw US clips. Incredibly jarring. When they first put out the DVD boxed set, ISTR a lot of discussion about this and in the end it was a playback option. Not an option at all, of course: who'd choose it? I was a bit surprised not to see this mentioned in the article. You have incredible people doing incredible work, and it gets graffiti'd all over with that stuff - must have rankled.
posted by Devonian at 2:00 AM on February 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
It was also odd to hear the show with the laugh track switched off. I mean, TT he track was an abomination, but it really changes the rhythm of most episodes.
The UK broadcasts were sans laugh track so I didn't hear a show with it on until YouTube turned up and I saw US clips. Incredibly jarring. When they first put out the DVD boxed set, ISTR a lot of discussion about this and in the end it was a playback option. Not an option at all, of course: who'd choose it? I was a bit surprised not to see this mentioned in the article. You have incredible people doing incredible work, and it gets graffiti'd all over with that stuff - must have rankled.
posted by Devonian at 2:00 AM on February 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Not only was it family watching at my house, at one point it was on 5 times a night, if you caught the right stations.
It me.
posted by infini at 2:10 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
It me.
posted by infini at 2:10 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Do yourself a favor and watch the Harry Morgan/Colonel Potter toast scene, embedded about three quarters of the way down the page. Nothing like a good cry at 11am in the middle of the office.
posted by Optamystic at 3:17 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Optamystic at 3:17 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
It was also odd to hear the show with the laugh track switched off. I mean, TT he track was an abomination, but it really changes the rhythm of most episodes.
They never had a laugh track during the operating room scenes which always made for a weird tonal shift in the middle of an episode.
posted by octothorpe at 3:28 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
They never had a laugh track during the operating room scenes which always made for a weird tonal shift in the middle of an episode.
posted by octothorpe at 3:28 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
M*A*S*H was part of my TV education growing up. I was an infant when the final episode aired, but Nick At Nite brought it and so many other memorable shows from my parents era to my eyes when I was in my teens. Now, with decades of time in the military, I look upon the show so differently than I once did, and it only makes it better. My wife and I have that as one of only a few shows that the two of us sit and re-watch together.
posted by mystyk at 3:30 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mystyk at 3:30 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I hadn't seen much of Alan Alda recently until I caught him in Horace and Pete. Not fun to watch, but holy crap he's amazing in this cause he plays such an awful person to absolute perfection.
posted by parki at 4:11 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by parki at 4:11 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Do yourself a favor and watch the Harry Morgan/Colonel Potter toast scene, embedded about three quarters of the way down the page.
That scene is actually referenced in "The Simpsons". I remember seeing that episode and when Mr. Burns asks everyone if they know what a tontine is, it brought back so many memories.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:25 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
That scene is actually referenced in "The Simpsons". I remember seeing that episode and when Mr. Burns asks everyone if they know what a tontine is, it brought back so many memories.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:25 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I didn't start watching M*A*S*H until I was in college, in the late 90s. Once I was in, I was hooked. Luckily for me there were reruns on multiple stations, so I could watch 5 or 6 episodes a day. I wish I had gotten into the show earlier, but I'm mostly grateful I got into it at all.
posted by odd ghost at 4:25 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by odd ghost at 4:25 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
And they managed to keep it up after replacing several key players, which is damn rare.
I kind of have to sort of disagree on this point. My experience with the show was, at some point around halfway (two-thirds? three fifths?) through its run, it became less a strong ensemble show and more of an "Alan Alda and guests" show, which took a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me. I mean, I like Alda, but, to me, the show became much more in-your-face preachy, with Alda leading the choir.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:39 AM on February 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
I kind of have to sort of disagree on this point. My experience with the show was, at some point around halfway (two-thirds? three fifths?) through its run, it became less a strong ensemble show and more of an "Alan Alda and guests" show, which took a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me. I mean, I like Alda, but, to me, the show became much more in-your-face preachy, with Alda leading the choir.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:39 AM on February 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
... at some point around halfway (two-thirds? three fifths?) through its run, it became less a strong ensemble show and more of an "Alan Alda and guests" show ... much more in-your-face preachy, with Alda leading the choir.
Agree.
posted by StephenB at 5:03 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Agree.
posted by StephenB at 5:03 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I mean, the show still had a good couple of seasons in it after swapping out Burns for Winchester and Blake for Potter, though it did of course jump the shark well before it actually ended.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:06 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by tobascodagama at 5:06 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I love the first few seasons with Potter the best, so maybe 4 - 6.
posted by octothorpe at 5:08 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:08 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
M*A*S*H was derivative of a 1953 Humphrey Bogart film, Battle Circus.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:16 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Set in Korea and made during the war, this is the love story of a hard-bitten Army surgeon, and a new nurse ready to save the world.M*A*S*H was better, but the amount of stuff it borrowed from the Bogart film is amazing.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:16 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
M*A*S*H was derivative of a 1953 Humphrey Bogart film, Battle Circus.
I had no idea, but it is also heavily inspired by Catch 22.
Whatever it is, it is my favorite TV series ever, I often watch it on youtube when I feel the world is too much for me. I think I learnt about being human from it.
posted by mumimor at 5:23 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
He was never actually trans, for one thing,
You’re explaining the obvious to a 43 year old person who shared how she felt as a 7 year old kid...
Like what?
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:31 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
You’re explaining the obvious to a 43 year old person who shared how she felt as a 7 year old kid...
Like what?
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:31 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
M*A*S*H was based on a book by Richard Hooker, a doctor who had served in a MASH unit in Korea.
posted by octothorpe at 5:31 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:31 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
swapping out Burns for Winchester and Blake for Potter
It's often heresy to certain M*A*S*H fans but I enjoyed these changes. I agree that the last few seasons got a tad too preachy but Potter and Winchester were solid casting choices for me and made the show far better.
posted by Fizz at 6:07 AM on February 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
It's often heresy to certain M*A*S*H fans but I enjoyed these changes. I agree that the last few seasons got a tad too preachy but Potter and Winchester were solid casting choices for me and made the show far better.
posted by Fizz at 6:07 AM on February 23, 2018 [14 favorites]
10ish years ago I came downstairs and found my then pre-teen daughter watching M*A*S*H. As long as we have war that show will remain relevant.
posted by COD at 6:08 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by COD at 6:08 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
I'm gonna have to come back to read this later, but I do believe the article writer is wrong. Hawkeye's robe was maroon, not purple. #ThisIsTheHill
posted by tilde at 6:20 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by tilde at 6:20 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I didn't see the original movie until long after the TV show debuted, and was utterly bewildered. Like OMG THE OPENING THEME SONG HAS LYRICS. And where are all the cast members?...Oh, ok, there's Radar. Whew.
posted by Melismata at 6:23 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 6:23 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
M*A*S*H* was fucking HUGE when I was an undergrad at Northwestern. It was still in first-run, but had also gone to syndication, so it was possible to watch it two to three times a day, five days a week, and we did. There were M*A*S*H* parties at dorms and frats on the regular. The finale was one of those moments where everything stopped for a couple of hours while every single person you knew was watching it.
posted by briank at 6:27 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by briank at 6:27 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
...but Potter and Winchester were solid casting choices for me and made the show far better.
Burns' character didn't grow along with the show, so there was this pull back to the bro-y stuff of the first season. Actually, his character regressed, becoming more infantile. He had become a real dissonant note, and even he and Margaret didn't work anymore. Replacing him with Winchester, an arrogant ass of a completely different kind, offered far richer possibilities, particularly with Margaret. (If you missed Burns, you still had those Col. Flagg episodes, I guess.)
The same is probably true with Blake, to a lesser extent, that there were real limits to the character, and they probably went as far as they could with that.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:37 AM on February 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
Burns' character didn't grow along with the show, so there was this pull back to the bro-y stuff of the first season. Actually, his character regressed, becoming more infantile. He had become a real dissonant note, and even he and Margaret didn't work anymore. Replacing him with Winchester, an arrogant ass of a completely different kind, offered far richer possibilities, particularly with Margaret. (If you missed Burns, you still had those Col. Flagg episodes, I guess.)
The same is probably true with Blake, to a lesser extent, that there were real limits to the character, and they probably went as far as they could with that.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:37 AM on February 23, 2018 [11 favorites]
When I was young and taking piano lessons, I was very excited to see the theme song from M*A*S*H in my lesson book. I was also surprised to learn that it had its own title, and that this was Suicide is Dangerous. This made no sense to me, and I couldn't work out how it fit into the show, but I shrugged and moved on.
It wasn't until I was a teenager that I watched the film (and if you want to analyse Klinger's gender expression from a modern standpoint, boy oh boy stay away from the film for its straight-up pathologising of homosexuality), and I saw the scene where the song originates, and the penny dropped:
It wasn't until I was a teenager that I watched the film (and if you want to analyse Klinger's gender expression from a modern standpoint, boy oh boy stay away from the film for its straight-up pathologising of homosexuality), and I saw the scene where the song originates, and the penny dropped:
some editor must have objected to the phrase Suicide is Painless being printed in a children's music book.posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 6:49 AM on February 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
I love Robert Altman in general and the cast is great but the movie really doesn't hold up today.
posted by octothorpe at 6:59 AM on February 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 6:59 AM on February 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
And Klinger's antics are based in reality. My mother's friend said that when young men were drafted for Vietnam, they had to show up somewhere and get physical exams. Many of them wore frilly pink underwear, he said.
posted by Melismata at 7:05 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 7:05 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
The best 30 Rock joke of all time was a scene in "Kidney Now!" where Tracy breaks down crying and says "There is no baby. I was chicken! I was chicken!" then Alan Alda says "A guy crying about a chicken and a baby? I thought this was a comedy show."
posted by elsietheeel at 8:04 AM on February 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
posted by elsietheeel at 8:04 AM on February 23, 2018 [21 favorites]
My mother's friend said that when young men were drafted for Vietnam, they had to show up somewhere and get physical exams. Many of them wore frilly pink underwear, he said.
I don't believe it, and I went through that physical. If it were that easy to fail, evryone would do it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:25 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I don't believe it, and I went through that physical. If it were that easy to fail, evryone would do it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 8:25 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
This was a great read. I'm another person who was raised on this show. Thank you The Underpants Monster for mentioning that the final episode is on YT; I watched it again last night. God, the whole thing still holds up.
posted by vignettist at 8:26 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by vignettist at 8:26 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
He didn't say that they failed the test, only that they wore the underwear.
posted by Melismata at 8:28 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 8:28 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I was so fucking traumatized by Hawkeye's breakdown in the finale ...
Teenaged me called in sick to my part-time job just to stay home that night and watch the MASH finale. I think the big reveal was one of the few times I've ever audibly gasped at a TV show.
I've watched MASH nearly all my life and I continue to do so, but I think it's a mixed bag in retrospect: a lot of great gags, a stellar cast, some ambitious storytelling, very of-its-day sexual politics, all wrapped around a central conceit that was always a little grotesque in the first place; namely, that life at a wartime Army hospital is fine material for a (largely) family friendly sitcom. The brilliance of the show probably lies in how cleverly (and for how long) the show managed to negotiate that conceit while cognizance of its implications drove it to a tragicomic ethos the 30 minute sitcom wasn't capable of exploring. If the later seasons start to feel somewhat exhausted and overly earnest (and I think they do), that's probably due to the near impossibility of writing a show about war which was in any way honest, funny, and still a sitcom acceptable to 1970's TV networks.
Looking back on it, I think I'm most fascinated by how MASH was so obviously a balm for the post-Vietnam American audience. War is hell, but not unthinkable hell. Heroism lies in the mending and when that's impossible, in the enduring, and when that's impossible in a quick wit.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:30 AM on February 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Teenaged me called in sick to my part-time job just to stay home that night and watch the MASH finale. I think the big reveal was one of the few times I've ever audibly gasped at a TV show.
I've watched MASH nearly all my life and I continue to do so, but I think it's a mixed bag in retrospect: a lot of great gags, a stellar cast, some ambitious storytelling, very of-its-day sexual politics, all wrapped around a central conceit that was always a little grotesque in the first place; namely, that life at a wartime Army hospital is fine material for a (largely) family friendly sitcom. The brilliance of the show probably lies in how cleverly (and for how long) the show managed to negotiate that conceit while cognizance of its implications drove it to a tragicomic ethos the 30 minute sitcom wasn't capable of exploring. If the later seasons start to feel somewhat exhausted and overly earnest (and I think they do), that's probably due to the near impossibility of writing a show about war which was in any way honest, funny, and still a sitcom acceptable to 1970's TV networks.
Looking back on it, I think I'm most fascinated by how MASH was so obviously a balm for the post-Vietnam American audience. War is hell, but not unthinkable hell. Heroism lies in the mending and when that's impossible, in the enduring, and when that's impossible in a quick wit.
posted by octobersurprise at 8:30 AM on February 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
I don't believe it, and I went through that physical. If it were that easy to fail, evryone would do it.
The Fall 2017 Paris Review published youthful diaries of the artist Duncan Hannah, including a description of his draft board examination in the early 1970's. He said that the Army was harder to trick by then, and he had to exert himself considerably to persuade a psychiatrist that he was unfit by reason of promiscuous homosexuality (which was untrue).
posted by thelonius at 8:33 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
The Fall 2017 Paris Review published youthful diaries of the artist Duncan Hannah, including a description of his draft board examination in the early 1970's. He said that the Army was harder to trick by then, and he had to exert himself considerably to persuade a psychiatrist that he was unfit by reason of promiscuous homosexuality (which was untrue).
posted by thelonius at 8:33 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
I bawled my eyes out at the finale because Potter had to leave his horse (Sophie) behind. Even though she went to the orphanage, I couldn't deal. I was 10.
posted by kimberussell at 8:34 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by kimberussell at 8:34 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
Oh, kimberussell, I have some bad news about that orphanage...
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 9:22 AM on February 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 9:22 AM on February 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
The M*A*S*H* complete boxed set and very affordable and I highly recommend it. We've been lightly introducing our son to the show, uncut (in syndication the episodes are often cut) and there is an option to watch without the laugh track.
It looks like from the cast Alda, Switt, Farr, Farrell, Burghoff, and Nakahara participated in the interview. Christopher, Morgan, Linville, Stevenson, and Rogers have all passed away. I find myself wondering why David Ogden Stiers didn't participate.
posted by anastasiav at 9:27 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
It looks like from the cast Alda, Switt, Farr, Farrell, Burghoff, and Nakahara participated in the interview. Christopher, Morgan, Linville, Stevenson, and Rogers have all passed away. I find myself wondering why David Ogden Stiers didn't participate.
posted by anastasiav at 9:27 AM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
FRANK BURNS EATS WORMS
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 9:40 AM on February 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by Aya Hirano on the Astral Plane at 9:40 AM on February 23, 2018 [10 favorites]
And Klinger's antics are based in reality. My mother's friend said that when young men were drafted for Vietnam, they had to show up somewhere and get physical exams. Many of them wore frilly pink underwear, he said.
The reality that a boy wearing a woman's clothes meant you were mentally ill.
Think about how that affected an entire generation of trans kids growing up. But oh I get it, he wasn't really into wearing women's clothing, he only trying to trick people into thinking he was something he wasn't but y'all keep on telling me that what I experienced wasn't what I experienced, implying that I was somehow too stupid to see what I was experiencing with my own young eyes at the time.
That it was based in reality is the actual point. Reality sucked for people like me back then.
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:42 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
The reality that a boy wearing a woman's clothes meant you were mentally ill.
Think about how that affected an entire generation of trans kids growing up. But oh I get it, he wasn't really into wearing women's clothing, he only trying to trick people into thinking he was something he wasn't but y'all keep on telling me that what I experienced wasn't what I experienced, implying that I was somehow too stupid to see what I was experiencing with my own young eyes at the time.
That it was based in reality is the actual point. Reality sucked for people like me back then.
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:42 AM on February 23, 2018 [6 favorites]
My favorite episode is when it's incredibly cold, so they resort to burning stuff to keep warm. At the very end you see Henry on the phone in an empty office, they guys having burned his desk and everything else.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:45 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 9:45 AM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
Thanks for this link, I would never have stumbled across it.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:46 AM on February 23, 2018
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:46 AM on February 23, 2018
(I say all this about Klinger not even really wanting to talk about it really because I love MASH with the heat of a thousand burning suns and I got over it sometime around 1987)
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:49 AM on February 23, 2018
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:49 AM on February 23, 2018
I watched it with my dad growing up back in the 70's, and it probably molded my young brain (sense of humor, distrust of large bureaucracies, antiwar) even more than I suspect. Then again, we also watched Monty Python, The Prisoner and Hee Haw together, so I was probably doomed from the start.
Jesus, that tontine scene...
posted by sapere aude at 10:14 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Jesus, that tontine scene...
posted by sapere aude at 10:14 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
My favorite episode is when it's incredibly cold, so they resort to burning stuff to keep warm. At the very end you see Henry on the phone in an empty office, they guys having burned his desk and everything else.
Leading to one of the very best lines in the whole series. Henry is lamenting the fact that his wooden desk has been vandalized and says "but to cut off a man's legs and steal his drawers..."
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 10:29 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Leading to one of the very best lines in the whole series. Henry is lamenting the fact that his wooden desk has been vandalized and says "but to cut off a man's legs and steal his drawers..."
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 10:29 AM on February 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
You learn to tune out the laugh track; I never notice it anymore.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:57 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:57 AM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Just to drop weird trivia in here, are folks aware there was a whole series of M*A*S*H novels?
posted by rmd1023 at 2:38 PM on February 23, 2018
posted by rmd1023 at 2:38 PM on February 23, 2018
Ken Levine, one of the writers on M*A*S*H (and also Cheers), has a blog, and here are some of his entries relating to M*A*S*H.
posted by blueberry at 2:42 PM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by blueberry at 2:42 PM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Okay, guys, for real, I dreamt last night that I accidentally killed a baby, thinking it was a lamb. I mean, I didn't mean to kill the lamb, either. Someone asked me to change his diaper, but it wasn't dirty, and when I zipped his onesie back up I caught his skin in the zipper. But I didn't know it until they showed me the body and it wasn't a lamb anymore.
That's what this show is doing to me, forty years later.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:46 PM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
That's what this show is doing to me, forty years later.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:46 PM on February 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh, and there was Mozart in the background, of course, and today I started proofing a manuscript about Mozart.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:48 PM on February 23, 2018
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:48 PM on February 23, 2018
Am I mistaken, or was there never a laugh track in the OR?
It really added to the environment of the show, making such a conscious directorial choice.
I can't even think about the Henry leaving episode without crying...
Woo, do that Voodoo, that you do...
posted by Windopaene at 2:57 PM on February 23, 2018
It really added to the environment of the show, making such a conscious directorial choice.
I can't even think about the Henry leaving episode without crying...
Woo, do that Voodoo, that you do...
posted by Windopaene at 2:57 PM on February 23, 2018
Wow, the internet strikes again.
For some odd reason I was just thinking about this a couple of days ago, specifically Hawkeye's breakdown, and trying to figure out if that was the final episode or not, and that I should track it down and watch it. Weird, because I haven't watched the show in many years.
That episode, and Henry's dying, really stunned me as a kid. I didn't know you could get upset about TV shows like that. I feel like this show probably had a pretty big effect on people my age.
posted by bongo_x at 4:05 PM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
For some odd reason I was just thinking about this a couple of days ago, specifically Hawkeye's breakdown, and trying to figure out if that was the final episode or not, and that I should track it down and watch it. Weird, because I haven't watched the show in many years.
That episode, and Henry's dying, really stunned me as a kid. I didn't know you could get upset about TV shows like that. I feel like this show probably had a pretty big effect on people my age.
posted by bongo_x at 4:05 PM on February 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Get up, Radar, you'll get dirt in your nose" is still my favorite line of all time.
posted by hearthpig at 5:34 PM on February 23, 2018
posted by hearthpig at 5:34 PM on February 23, 2018
We have the box set, but a couple of years ago we watched the whole run of the series in syndication twice (the kids finally said "can we not watch it all the way through again?" They loved it, but...)
I didn't really know MASH from its original run; I was in high school then college the busy young adulthood. But my wife's family was passionate about it, so she dragged me along into the cult of MASH after we married in the early 80s.
I thought every version of the cast was great, but I was so glad when Larry Linville left. Burns was always an awful character, but his exit gave Margaret room to grow, and seeing her become a human being was one my favorite arcs of the series.
posted by lhauser at 7:00 PM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
I didn't really know MASH from its original run; I was in high school then college the busy young adulthood. But my wife's family was passionate about it, so she dragged me along into the cult of MASH after we married in the early 80s.
I thought every version of the cast was great, but I was so glad when Larry Linville left. Burns was always an awful character, but his exit gave Margaret room to grow, and seeing her become a human being was one my favorite arcs of the series.
posted by lhauser at 7:00 PM on February 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
y'all keep on telling me that what I experienced wasn't what I experienced, implying that I was somehow too stupid to see what I was experiencing with my own young eyes at the time.
Your experience is your experience and I'm not trying to invalidate that. Many trans people would agree with you. But that's not the only way to see the character, and all these decades on I think his portrayal is more nuanced and progressive than it's been given credit for.
Reality sucked for people like me back then.
I'm trans too and reality still sucks for us. By disagreeing with you I'm not trying to imply you're stupid. I just have a different take on it.
Burns was always an awful character,
I think Burns was a fantastic character. I don't think I've ever seen a weaselly conservative hypocrite creep captured better. They even got that George W-esque word salad thing, "absotively," and all that. The problem was that he belonged in a more heightened, satirical story, and the show was becoming increasingly realistic. His character did get some more depth and a kind of pathos ("Stop laughing without me!") but he just didn't fit what the show was becoming. Winchester was never a political conservative or a comic buffoon, and I think the show did lose something by not having that aspect anymore. Mind you, I think Winchester was great in his own way and he was a much better fit for the show's later years. But while I don't feel the show ever jumped the shark, those last few seasons are definitely less... urgent. There was really no bad guy to push against, other than the war itself, and it became more of a hangout show.
I can't even watch the Altman movie. It feels all wrong, watching people pretending to be these characters I love but being all weird and surly, and then there's this football scene that goes on forever. And that horrible, rape-y shower thing with Margaret! Just, ick.
Somebody was saying he knew he was getting old when nobody got his MASH references anymore. Show this show to your kids, folks! It's too great to fade away!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:52 PM on February 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
Your experience is your experience and I'm not trying to invalidate that. Many trans people would agree with you. But that's not the only way to see the character, and all these decades on I think his portrayal is more nuanced and progressive than it's been given credit for.
Reality sucked for people like me back then.
I'm trans too and reality still sucks for us. By disagreeing with you I'm not trying to imply you're stupid. I just have a different take on it.
Burns was always an awful character,
I think Burns was a fantastic character. I don't think I've ever seen a weaselly conservative hypocrite creep captured better. They even got that George W-esque word salad thing, "absotively," and all that. The problem was that he belonged in a more heightened, satirical story, and the show was becoming increasingly realistic. His character did get some more depth and a kind of pathos ("Stop laughing without me!") but he just didn't fit what the show was becoming. Winchester was never a political conservative or a comic buffoon, and I think the show did lose something by not having that aspect anymore. Mind you, I think Winchester was great in his own way and he was a much better fit for the show's later years. But while I don't feel the show ever jumped the shark, those last few seasons are definitely less... urgent. There was really no bad guy to push against, other than the war itself, and it became more of a hangout show.
I can't even watch the Altman movie. It feels all wrong, watching people pretending to be these characters I love but being all weird and surly, and then there's this football scene that goes on forever. And that horrible, rape-y shower thing with Margaret! Just, ick.
Somebody was saying he knew he was getting old when nobody got his MASH references anymore. Show this show to your kids, folks! It's too great to fade away!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:52 PM on February 23, 2018 [9 favorites]
To be honest they should have replaced Burns a year earlier (before Margaret's marriage); I'd agree his character was fantastic, but without an ally (i.e. Margaret) at his side, he seemed more pathetic than anything else during his last season.
Winchester was never a political conservative
During the episode where Margaret is accused of being a Commie, Winchester stated that he was so conservative as to make the McCarthyesque senator's aide seem like a New Dealer. However, that never seemed to blind him to reality (e.g. he found the aide's accusations to be absurd), and I doubt his political views were brought up much before/after said episode.
I liked that they managed to humanize Winchester without totally dropping that pompous-assness from his character (still bums me out that, after all the ground they covered in the last few seasons, Winchester's relationship with his bunkmates was pretty much reset to zero in the final episode). One of the show's strengths was that, with a few exceptions (Burns, Flagg), the characters seemed "real", and managed to change and grow as the show progressed. (Another strength is they realized when something might have run its course e.g. finally taking Klinger out of ladies-wear and putting him in army greens).
And a shout-out to Sidney the Shrink as well!
posted by gtrwolf at 11:51 PM on February 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Winchester was never a political conservative
During the episode where Margaret is accused of being a Commie, Winchester stated that he was so conservative as to make the McCarthyesque senator's aide seem like a New Dealer. However, that never seemed to blind him to reality (e.g. he found the aide's accusations to be absurd), and I doubt his political views were brought up much before/after said episode.
I liked that they managed to humanize Winchester without totally dropping that pompous-assness from his character (still bums me out that, after all the ground they covered in the last few seasons, Winchester's relationship with his bunkmates was pretty much reset to zero in the final episode). One of the show's strengths was that, with a few exceptions (Burns, Flagg), the characters seemed "real", and managed to change and grow as the show progressed. (Another strength is they realized when something might have run its course e.g. finally taking Klinger out of ladies-wear and putting him in army greens).
And a shout-out to Sidney the Shrink as well!
posted by gtrwolf at 11:51 PM on February 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
I'd agree that Burns did seem increasingly sad, lonesome and nutty after Margaret left him, which gave the character a weird quality. He was pitiful, but his creepiness also took on a new edge. From there he could either become more sympathetic or swerve into true, no-joke villainy, and neither seemed to suit him so he probably left at the right time. I still missed him, though!
Winchester did give voice to some conservative opinions, but that seemed to be kind of lip service and when the chips were down he was often just as much of a bleeding heart as the other docs. Heck, Margaret and Potter were also originally supposed to be conservatives, but that really didn't fit who those characters became. (Margaret in particular became a 1970s feminist trapped in the 1950s.) It was a really lefty show, God bless it. I'm sure the plan was for Winchester to be a pompous but sharp conservative who'd really mix it up with the other guys, but he ended up going from enemy to frenemy to just kind of a stuffy member of the gang.
And a shout-out to Sidney the Shrink as well!
Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice...
Oh, Alan Alda is Tweeting! It's as Alan Alda as you'd think.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 1:05 AM on February 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
Winchester did give voice to some conservative opinions, but that seemed to be kind of lip service and when the chips were down he was often just as much of a bleeding heart as the other docs. Heck, Margaret and Potter were also originally supposed to be conservatives, but that really didn't fit who those characters became. (Margaret in particular became a 1970s feminist trapped in the 1950s.) It was a really lefty show, God bless it. I'm sure the plan was for Winchester to be a pompous but sharp conservative who'd really mix it up with the other guys, but he ended up going from enemy to frenemy to just kind of a stuffy member of the gang.
And a shout-out to Sidney the Shrink as well!
Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice...
Oh, Alan Alda is Tweeting! It's as Alan Alda as you'd think.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 1:05 AM on February 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
I remember my dad, who'd been in the army a few years before Korea, say that Burns was the most true to life character in the show. He said that the service was full of Frank Burnses.
posted by octothorpe at 5:06 AM on February 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:06 AM on February 24, 2018 [6 favorites]
some editor must have objected to the phrase Suicide is Painless being printed in a children's music book.
Which is nicely ironic. Per Wikipedia -
Mike Altman is the son of the original film’s director, Robert Altman, and was 14 years old when he wrote the song’s lyrics. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the 1980s, Robert Altman said that while he only made $70,000 for having directed the movie, his son had earned more than $1 million for having co-written the song.
I believe the money had a very adverse effect on Mike Altman's life, too.
Also, I can't find the reference but I remember reading an interivew with Alda where he said he picked up so much surgical knowledge during the show that when he was in an accident and broke some bones, he was able to give the correct diagnosis and preferred procedure to the attending medics in the proper anatomical and surgical jargon. Which blew their minds, rather.
posted by Devonian at 7:59 AM on February 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
Which is nicely ironic. Per Wikipedia -
Mike Altman is the son of the original film’s director, Robert Altman, and was 14 years old when he wrote the song’s lyrics. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the 1980s, Robert Altman said that while he only made $70,000 for having directed the movie, his son had earned more than $1 million for having co-written the song.
I believe the money had a very adverse effect on Mike Altman's life, too.
Also, I can't find the reference but I remember reading an interivew with Alda where he said he picked up so much surgical knowledge during the show that when he was in an accident and broke some bones, he was able to give the correct diagnosis and preferred procedure to the attending medics in the proper anatomical and surgical jargon. Which blew their minds, rather.
posted by Devonian at 7:59 AM on February 24, 2018 [5 favorites]
The older I've gotten, the more I've developed a strange sort of sympathy for Frank Burns. But the beauty of the writing was that every time you started to feel sorry for him, he'd do something gratuitously awful to remind you what a jerk he was. It was a brilliant performance.
I've watched the movie a few times, and tried to make myself like it, but the level of misogyny is just. so. toxic. it can get physically painful. Worse than the novel.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:58 AM on February 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
I've watched the movie a few times, and tried to make myself like it, but the level of misogyny is just. so. toxic. it can get physically painful. Worse than the novel.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:58 AM on February 24, 2018 [10 favorites]
I've watched the movie a few times, and tried to make myself like it, but the level of misogyny is just. so. toxic. it can get physically painful.
Having a black neurosurgeon/football player nicknamed "Spearchucker" hasn't really dated that well either, even if it was supposed to refer merely to his javelin-throwing prowess.
posted by gtrwolf at 12:53 PM on February 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
Having a black neurosurgeon/football player nicknamed "Spearchucker" hasn't really dated that well either, even if it was supposed to refer merely to his javelin-throwing prowess.
posted by gtrwolf at 12:53 PM on February 24, 2018 [8 favorites]
For my money if Abyssinia, Henry had been the last episode, M*A*S*H would've been the greatest TV show in the history of civilization.
Afterwords the show gradually lost the edge and the balance of the ensemble cast. And I always thought the finale was unbearably sappy.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:27 PM on February 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Afterwords the show gradually lost the edge and the balance of the ensemble cast. And I always thought the finale was unbearably sappy.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:27 PM on February 24, 2018 [3 favorites]
Worth the save and read, weird backwards youtube inserts and all.
posted by tilde at 6:23 AM on February 26, 2018
posted by tilde at 6:23 AM on February 26, 2018
.
posted by tobascodagama at 5:47 PM on March 3, 2018
posted by tobascodagama at 5:47 PM on March 3, 2018
Oh, no.
His episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of my favorites, and will be even more of a tearjerker now that both he and Majel Barrett are gone.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:21 PM on March 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
His episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of my favorites, and will be even more of a tearjerker now that both he and Majel Barrett are gone.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:21 PM on March 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
He was memorable as the dad in Better Off Dead.
.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:37 PM on March 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:37 PM on March 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
That would certainly explain his lack of participation in the article.
posted by Optamystic at 2:04 AM on March 4, 2018
posted by Optamystic at 2:04 AM on March 4, 2018
MASH was such a constant in my childhood, through reruns and syndication and the rest. I seem to recall that the last episode was broken up in syndication, due to length, and I guess at the age I first saw it, I could really comprehend what all was happening, and for a very long time, I thought there was an entire season of Hawkeye alone, talking to Sidney. For a very long time I believed that, and profoundly disliked that season. It was a big shock when I found out what I had been watching.
Even with all that, the moment I understood it was a single, and final episode wasn't as big a shock as Henry dying. I don't think anything has ever stunned my like that.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:42 AM on March 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
Even with all that, the moment I understood it was a single, and final episode wasn't as big a shock as Henry dying. I don't think anything has ever stunned my like that.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:42 AM on March 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
There was a point in time 20 years or so ago where M*A*S*H ran for hours every morning on the FX channel. To the point where we'd joke about the promo bumpers, "It's all MASH all morning on the all MASH morning channel." We'd all be still awake from the night before because we were having trouble dealing with our several trauma. It was a balm for wounded souls because it was so human.
posted by ob1quixote at 8:00 PM on March 5, 2018
posted by ob1quixote at 8:00 PM on March 5, 2018
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This is wonderful. Thanks so much for posting it!!!
:dying:
posted by zarq at 6:52 PM on February 22, 2018 [33 favorites]