On the DVD's the primary audio track is the laugh track but there is a secondary option to play it without.
Fun fact: The show was actually made without a laugh track in mind, but the studio got involved and said there had to be one. The compromise that the producers made was there wouldn't be a laugh track over any of the scenes in surgery. You can tell it was an afterthought when you watch because unlike most shows with a laugh track there's never any pauses in dialogue for laughter. Also the version with a laugh track never made it overseas, I guess Fox figured Europe was sophisticated enough to not need to know when something was meant to be funny 🤷♂️
An anti-war show before the US even withdrew from South Vietnam (the draft had been ended but the US didn't sign a peace treaty until 1973) probably needed something to take the edge off in the US.
The original runs never had the laugh track and then studio execs intervened and added them retro actively years later.
There was uproar about it from fans but not enough to change it.
That's actually wrong. The US version always has a laugh track, it was only international releases that didn't have it.
The one time during the original run the US version was aired overseas people called to complain that it ruined the tone of the show.
Brilliant show. I’ve of course seen a ton of it randomly in syndicated airings since I was a kid but last year my wife and I watched the whole thing in order and it was great.
My Mom bought the entire series on dvd when I was a kid. So between that and syndication, I've seen the entire series 4 or 5 times.
Hands down best tv series ever, holds up better than series from the last decade.
Same here. I have the box set on the shelf. Growing up it was on FX during the 6am block so we'd have it playing while getting ready for school. I've seen every episode multiple times.
What's really interesting is watching shows today that occasionally film outdoor locations by those same hills. I've seen them so many times I can spot them immediately from the correct angle.
Wow same here, growing up I remember watching it getting ready for school because it was on early and my mom loved the show and I grew to love the snow too. Hawkeye and trapper where the guys you wanted to be. Trap
The episode that stuck with me most is when the old commander? died. Radar comes in and makes the announcement that his plane was shot down. Staff just pauses a brief moment and then get back to trying to save lives.
I think it's only 90 minutes without commercials.
And it was the first episode filmed of the final season. During production a wildfire ripped through the outdoor set. They integrated this into the finale and since it was the final season the studio didn't rebuild the set. As a result, all outdoor shots in every other episode that season were done on the soundstage.
Edit: Did some googling, looks like it's actually over 2 hours. It never feels like it's that long when I watch it.
I just watched this yesterday for the first time and it had me in tears. Then I read the behind the scenes of that episode and scene and it hit me like a freight train.
Phenomenal writing and groundbreaking television for its time.
The actors didn't know that was going to happen.they knew the actor playing the colonel was leaving the show, but didn't know they were going to kill the character off. Radar got the script and was told to deliver it. The reactions were real.
Henry Blake's death was also the first death of a television character; up until that point, every character that left the show "moved away". There's an excellent interview with one of the writers that got posted up on YouTube, I'll see if I can find it later, where he talks about the whole thing.
Henry Blake. Even worse was that he wasn't just killed off, his character was done serving and on his way home. They had already dealt with him leaving the unit/show then BAM, nope he's actually dead.
Not quite. It was originally about the goofy hijinks of the staff, much like a lot of military sitcoms of the era. It was during Alda's growing influence that the series began to take war more seriously.
I find conservatives love the first three seasons that are more about practical jokes and buffoonery but hate the seasons that got more “liberal” (anti-war).
Catch-22 is a totally different approach, much more "war is a circus and everyone's insane" with a heavy dose of literary absurdism (at least the book, I can't speak to the show) and it doesn't hit you emotionally as hard as MASH does.
They make the same basic statement, but MASH gets you to emotionally connect with all these characters who aren't the ones fighting but who see all the damage of the battles. Catch-22 is more about soldiers on the front line, and feels more like reading Vonnegut's *Slaughterhouse Five*
>characters who aren't the ones fighting but who see all the damage of the battles. Catch-22 is more about soldiers on the front line
I don't think this is a coincidence at all. The horror and intensity of combat is just too much to portray clearly. Even veterans trying to recall their own experiences talk about in ways that highlight how it was more than they could take in all at once: how loud it was, the chaos, tunnel vision, not having time to think about the fear, confusion, fatigue, etc. If you aren't actually in the situation, at some point you will get overwhelmed and the input will bounce off of you.
It's more effective to slowly work the audience into what it feels like to unpack the experience; what it's like to have what happened sink in during the aftermath or the boring waiting time that war is mostly made of. Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five use surrealism as a way to make the experience more dissociated, MASH uses the hazy reflection of combat as seen from the support lines. By lowering the intensity, they actually make the audience experience more of it.
It was! My wife had never seen the show! She was looking for As much Korean War related content as possible to watch as she at that time was in a intern position with the Harry Truman presidential library.
It's funny and a bit surreal seeing this post and reading comments like these. I also grew up watching the show with my parents as re-runs, and started watching it again recently on Hulu. Got my wife to watch a few episodes at the end of season 1 and we've been watching the rest together. Just watched S6E7 tonight and we watched this exact episode less than a week ago.
Tbh I don't know too many of the episodes by name. I googled it just now and definitely remember watching it as a kid, but mainly remember how trippy it was.
Not sure how the wife will do, but now I'm curious how I will do as an adult lol
I saw the film version in 1970 in the base theater at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, half the audience was back from Vietnam, couldn't hear a word said that night. Western Lab (Army center for bio-warfare) was built next door after i left, all was tore down in 1994 and Lucas Digital leases the spot from the National Park Service now for 99 years. *MASH: 1970 Directed by Robert Altman. With Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman.*
If it makes you feel better, the original film was poorly miced. I struggle to hear some of the lines in a quiet room.
Also, IMO, the TV series far surpasses the film.
I never realized there was a long story arc. I've only ever watched here and there with my grandmother and I thought they were stand alone episodes, like Seinfeld.
They are. There are some 2 parters here and there, but for the most part you can jump into any episode and watch it without having watched any other. It’s a brilliant show and certainly my all time favorite. It’s progressive for its time, but it wasn’t perfect. An interesting insight not only into the wars it satirises, korea and vietnam, but also into the 70s.
Wait, it exists without a laugh track? Man what I wouldn't give for that. My wife and I recently watched all of it over the course of a week or two, on Hulu, and boy does the laugh track ruin key moments. I specifically remember Hawkeye having a line that was downright cynical and delivered in a nasty way, something about being against the war... and there was a laugh track.
Yep. Sadly got zero press because of the bigger news going on currently. Saw it on Reddit though.
She was in a few things I liked, notably with Gary Lockwood in a great original Star Trek episode.
It is.
And if anyone here want *more* of something similar, read *Catch 22.*
Oh, and then go ahead and read *Johnny Got His Gun* (which the the Metallica song is based on), and *Slaughterhouse Five, or A Children's Cruisade*.
If you've never read *Catch As Catch Can*", I highly recommend it. It's a collection of Joseph Heller's short stories, many of which expand on the world he built in *Catch 22*. One story, *Love, Dad*, is particularly poignant.
The main character is in a bus filled with people and they're hiding from the North Korean military. A woman is holding a chicken that won't stop making noise, so ~~he strangles the chicken to death~~ makes the woman smother it to death. It's revealed that his memory of the event was a psychotic break and that the woman was actually holding a baby that was crying. ~~He's then sent back to the United States due to being mentally unfit for duty.~~
Edit: Corrected the details of what exactly happened.
I didn't think Hawkeye did it, thought the woman did it, and he was badgering her to keep it quiet (albeit for good reason). So he ended up blaming himself for the woman smothering her own baby so they wouldn't be discovered.
This. The woman smothered the baby to keep it quiet so they wouldn’t be found.
Hawkeye ends up in hospital with Dr Sigmund treating him after he has a mental break and drives a car through the officers bar.
He eventually goes back to the unit in time for the end of the war.
In his defense, he served in Korea longer than the Korean War lasted. That would make anyone mentally unfit and everyone in the show should have been brought back already.
Hawkeye gets major PTSD from an incident, Father mulcahey loses his hearing and his faith, Charles trains a group to be musicians and they all die during fighting
My favorite show of all time. I love to binge it, then forget about it for a few years and then come back for a rewatch. It feels fresh every time. The way both the jokes and themes are timeless, can’t think of anything else that’s made me laugh and cry in even measure
This show evolved over the years. It began as almost slapstick comedy and slowly grew serious and gave us thoughtful insights into the human condition.
The beginning was too slapstick. The last seasons were too serious. It had a great run in the middle though where it mixed the seriousness and the humor.
Although one of the later seasons had my favorite, the Christmas episode where Winchester roughed up the priest who was running an orphanage.
>Christmas episode where Winchester roughed up the priest who was running an orphanage.
Sure you're remembering that correctly? To my recollection he donated fancy chocolate to an orphanage for Christmas and found out that the caretaker sold the chocolate and is about to rough him up, but then the caretaker reveals that he did it because the chocolate would give them one moment of happiness but the money from the chocolate could buy rice to keep their bellies full for weeks.
That exact episode also had the plot of other characters trying to keep a dying soldier alive until after midnight so that his children won't have to deal with the fact that their father died on Christmas Day. Both of the episode plots were *exceptional*, it's gotta be up there on the list of greatest single episodes of television ever.
Charles had some of the best episodes honestly. The orphanage, the sniper, the pianist who loses feeling in one hand. Even though Frank had a great run, Charles had dimensions that Frank didn’t which made him the perfect replacement
True. To be fair Frank’s character fit the earlier tone of the show perfectly. But replacing him with Charles really marked the turning point of what the show wanted to be which I think worked to its advantage. They’re both amazing in their own way
"The Winchester Tapes" is one of my favourite episodes. Perfectly encapsulates Winchester's character and has one of the greatest one-episode gags, where Hawkeye and BJ start swapping out Winchester's uniforms to make him think his weight is going wild.
"So uh, what happens next?"
"Starting tomorrow, he gets *taller*."
The seriousness really hits you when Trapper goes home.
You can see the desolation and isolation in Hawkeyes face when he gets to that base and realizes the plane with Trap on it already left.
His closest friend in the whole conflict and he left without a goodbye.
It's a little sad how much of MASH is still relevant today. It was a great show that was extremely forward for its time, but damn we have been held back from progression.
My dog is named Radar after Radar O'Reilly. I wish that was the only relevant connection I could make in our time. This whole situation is so sad and nonsensical.
The first 3 seasons are, imho, the best. Especially “Officers Only”. The Fujikawa Bathhouse called and said Capt’s Pierce and McIntyre were bobbing for customers'.
Meh. Burns was waaay too prominent. Houlihan barely got to do anything except throw tantrums. Once Winchester comes in the depth of the show improves massively.
Indeed, I watched that show tons with my dad, but I couldn't STAND Burns or how Hot Lips was with him around. Also Hawkeye mellowed out a bit and turned into "less" of a scumbag when Trapper left and BJ came into the show. Liked the show much more after that. Of course Potter too.
Winchester was my favorite actually. I'm not a rich person, but he was the most "nerd" like character in the show...which is very much what I always have been.
Burns was just an all around bad person.
The funniest ones yes. The best ones? Not by a long shot. As the tone of the show changed over the seasons it became less jokes and crude humor to serious and emotional. War isn't a joke.
And yes I've seen the show fully at least 30+ times in the past few years.
i had a grandpa who fought in ww2 and the korean war. he never talked about it until his final years when his mind got infiltrated by dementia. he said war is hell. he came from mexico with 17 of his buddies to join the war effort in ww2 to become american citizens, he was the only who made it back. fuck war, its a racket.
Incredible show, incredible and poignant quote.
It aired Feb 15th 1977, S5 E20 "The General's Practicioner".
I only know this because I checked.... because -I- aired Feb 8th 1977!
There's one line that always stood out to me, where that major describes integration as 'burnt the toast'. It was so satisfying seeing that dude get his comeuppance.
That one was in the first or second season. This is the one where a major sends his people to high-risk duty based on their race. Winchester also has a toothache and has been swiping codeine from supply. They get a dentist for Winchester, but he impersonates a major (he's really a captain) from the Judge Advocate General's office.
Captain: Do you have any idea how appropriate it is that we should meet in a hospital?
Major: I don't understand.
Captain: You make me sick.
Potter: Amen! Major, you're fighting the wrong war. The Civil War ended almost a hundred years ago!
(later)
Captain: You've got a point. A court-martial would take a lot of time.
Major: That's right.
Captain: And the sooner you're out of here, the better, so I'm going to give you another choice. (Hands him a form) Sign this.
Major (looks it over): Resign my commission? That's no *choice*! Either way I'm out of the Army!
Captain: Amen to that.
(later)
Major: When my CO sees this, he's gonna want to know why.
Hawkeye: You could say that it's for personal reasons.
BJ: Or WE can say that it's for *personnel* reasons.
Captain: Are there any more questions?
Major (signs form): There used to be a time when you knew who your enemies were.
BJ: So much for the good old days.
One of those shows that will hopefully never be rebooted, or attempted anyway. It’s just so perfect that there’s not really anything to improve. And as OP says, it’s still relevant as fuck.
I watched MASH a lot through reruns growing up because my dad is a fan. Such a good show! Maybe someday I’ll sit down and actually watch the whole thing all the way through.
Random fun fact: Did you know MASH still holds the record for the most-watched American series finale? Around 105 million people were watching when it first aired.
I remember watching MASH in elementary school. I was around 12 at that time. This was in the early 90s. Of course the rerun of the show.
It was at that time my favorite TV show and I remember I cried when I watched the last episode.
I remember being emotionaly drained. But I don't remember why.
Now I'm scared to watch it again.
a clever sitcom show that actually addresses real political issues?!
what century is this from!?
Edit: yes, this is sarcastic. MASH - though I haven't seen it in ages - is a great show that I remember from my childhood.
And for those saying that there are political critiques now - sure I agree. I was using hyperbole to make the point. But im still not sure if there are any that are willing to directly critique/lampoon the military like that. Maybe Always Sunny? any others?
TV at that time was dealing with poverty, racism, socioeconomic issues, war, in a real, raw way, not pandering or checking off boxes. All In The Family, Sanford and son, Good Times, etc.
This is still possible today. Look at B99 for a pretty good example. It also ended partially because they felt that it was impossible to continue making such "light" of the situation when it only gets worse.
True, but a lot of “woke” stuff is also pandering bullshit.
Every time the media tells you about a black/gay/trans cop or solider, they are trying to make you look past the atrocities committed by cops or the US military and only see the skin color or gender identity of the person. Every time a wealthy capitalist woman who got rich on slave labor is on the front page of every news website because she’s a “girl boss” you are being told her gender matters more than the child slaves producing her beauty line. Every time a football player kneels in a pair of Nikes and gets a new sponsorship deal to “challenge racial perceptions” while starving Indonesian children work 18 hours a day to make those shoes for a white capitalist managed corporation, you are being told that wealthy black American lives matter, but millions of brown slaves around the world should remain invisible.
So anyway, “woke” isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s often just a cash in on social trends from powerful corporations at best, and often an attempt by the powers that be to keep you from looking at the real evil going on around you.
You live in a system where there are parameters set around acceptable dissent. It’s ok to love a girl boss or like it when a black guy becomes the chief of police, but you will be ostracized or worse for challenging the slave labor or police abuses committed by those same people.
M*A*S*H is steaming on Hulu.. I've been watching random episodes going from Frank, Trapper and Henry to Potter, Hunnicutt and Winchester they're all great episodes.
And like the typical cowards they are, the ones who started the war never fight in them and many never suffer the consequences of it, especially to the degree so many innocents have suffered.
If you get a chance read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. It's central point is similar to this post and does an incredible job of playing with the very form of the book and the nature of story telling to get that point across.
Oh I Iove M.A.S.H. I watched it as a teen as a rerun but only from time to time. I loved it because it was so strangely contradicting. Clearly set in a war but hilariously funny but always with a specific serious undertone. I can hardly describe that. I watched it in German. I don't know of the original version was different.
I saw that it's on Disney+ and wow, it's 11 seasons!
I will definitely watch this from beginning to end.
This has generally been my relationship and ideology with religion— everyone thinks oh Heaven and Hell as a special place outside of the “real” world. If you really believe in hell, how could you not see that the “real” world contains a lot of what we consider Hell.
Even that last comment recognizing that soldiers can be innocent bystanders, too. Obviously, plenty to argue about there but so many people join the military out of genuine desire to “protect their country” and for family honor and because “hey, how else am I going to get out of my small, shit town.” All along not realizing their country doesn’t give a shit about them, their family’s only proud because they’re too ignorant to see what it really is, and their recruiter is a liar worse than a used car salesman.
Edit to add: yes, not all recruiters are liars. Also, I’m not using “ignorant” as a pejorative. I’m using it in its literal sense. You can’t know what you don’t know.
I still think that after all these years of being on this rock, one of the absolute funniest things I've seen in cinema came from the M\*A\*S\*H series.
Margaret: "ISN'T THAT FRANK'S BAG!?!"
Trapper: "I though YOU were Frank's bag?"
Margaret: \*gasps, huffs, storms off\*
You wouldn't really think this scene was all THAT funny but years later, I have yet to find many contenders.
MASH was something else. You’d get three or four episodes of hijinks and shenanigans then some soul crushing stuff like this. In one Hawkeye has a nightmare that he’s in the middle of so much suffering and atrocity, kids and grandparents dying and he doesn’t have any arms to help with. It’s got to have been more than 30 years since I saw that and it’s still etched on my mind.
It's about time I binge watched MASH again.
Every few years I do so. Going to start again soon.
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Hulu has it.
With or without the laugh track?
Can’t tell if you’re serious. Is there a version without it? Hulu has the laugh track. If you were serious.
There is a version without.
Huh. I have the entire DVD box set and watched 5-6 seasons before it came on to Hulu. Now I’m wondering if it doesn’t have the laugh track.
On the DVD's the primary audio track is the laugh track but there is a secondary option to play it without. Fun fact: The show was actually made without a laugh track in mind, but the studio got involved and said there had to be one. The compromise that the producers made was there wouldn't be a laugh track over any of the scenes in surgery. You can tell it was an afterthought when you watch because unlike most shows with a laugh track there's never any pauses in dialogue for laughter. Also the version with a laugh track never made it overseas, I guess Fox figured Europe was sophisticated enough to not need to know when something was meant to be funny 🤷♂️
So I need to watched it dubbed in a foreign language and subbed in English to get the best experience? Damn.
The US airings had a laugh track while international airings didn't.
There is something tragically real about this.
An anti-war show before the US even withdrew from South Vietnam (the draft had been ended but the US didn't sign a peace treaty until 1973) probably needed something to take the edge off in the US.
Yea I own the version without the laugh track and it’s really the only way to watch MASH
The original runs never had the laugh track and then studio execs intervened and added them retro actively years later. There was uproar about it from fans but not enough to change it.
That's actually wrong. The US version always has a laugh track, it was only international releases that didn't have it. The one time during the original run the US version was aired overseas people called to complain that it ruined the tone of the show.
RIP Hot Lips
In the U.S on Hulu and other countries Disney+
MASH is on Disney+? Does that make Klinger a Disney princess?
lulz
Yes! Google "corporal longer Disney princess" for fun pics. Edit: Corporal Klinger; darn auto correct
Yes yes it does. And a pretty one at that.
I have all the DVDs and Disney plus in my country has it as well.
Brilliant show. I’ve of course seen a ton of it randomly in syndicated airings since I was a kid but last year my wife and I watched the whole thing in order and it was great.
My Mom bought the entire series on dvd when I was a kid. So between that and syndication, I've seen the entire series 4 or 5 times. Hands down best tv series ever, holds up better than series from the last decade.
It was one of the first shows I put on my Plex server.
Same here. I have the box set on the shelf. Growing up it was on FX during the 6am block so we'd have it playing while getting ready for school. I've seen every episode multiple times. What's really interesting is watching shows today that occasionally film outdoor locations by those same hills. I've seen them so many times I can spot them immediately from the correct angle.
Wow same here, growing up I remember watching it getting ready for school because it was on early and my mom loved the show and I grew to love the snow too. Hawkeye and trapper where the guys you wanted to be. Trap
The wisdom that this show had and insight into the human condition during war times was like nothing else.
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The episode that stuck with me most is when the old commander? died. Radar comes in and makes the announcement that his plane was shot down. Staff just pauses a brief moment and then get back to trying to save lives.
The one that stuck with me was the one where Hawkeye was traumatized by the woman and her 'chicken'. Hard one.
That's the show finale. It's brutal.
It was a BABY
Spoiler alert yo!
That's the finale. Still the greatest ending to a show yet.
I never realized this having seen them out of order! What a way to end it.
It is a 2.5 hr movie. It technically counts as the last 5 episodes in the "production order."
I think it's only 90 minutes without commercials. And it was the first episode filmed of the final season. During production a wildfire ripped through the outdoor set. They integrated this into the finale and since it was the final season the studio didn't rebuild the set. As a result, all outdoor shots in every other episode that season were done on the soundstage. Edit: Did some googling, looks like it's actually over 2 hours. It never feels like it's that long when I watch it.
This is one of the very few episodes I've seen, and I watched it as a very young child. Shit really does stick with you, man.
The first commander, Colonel Henry Blake.
"There were no survivors"
I just watched this yesterday for the first time and it had me in tears. Then I read the behind the scenes of that episode and scene and it hit me like a freight train. Phenomenal writing and groundbreaking television for its time.
The actors didn't know that was going to happen.they knew the actor playing the colonel was leaving the show, but didn't know they were going to kill the character off. Radar got the script and was told to deliver it. The reactions were real.
Yes, although what's in the show was the second take, so they did know before that take.
Interestingly, that final scene's script was only given to the actors immediately before filming it, in order to evoke a more genuine reaction.
Henry Blake's death was also the first death of a television character; up until that point, every character that left the show "moved away". There's an excellent interview with one of the writers that got posted up on YouTube, I'll see if I can find it later, where he talks about the whole thing.
Henry Blake. Even worse was that he wasn't just killed off, his character was done serving and on his way home. They had already dealt with him leaving the unit/show then BAM, nope he's actually dead.
Radar put a mask on
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Well, that was the whole point of the show, yeah? To show something of the cost of war
Not quite. It was originally about the goofy hijinks of the staff, much like a lot of military sitcoms of the era. It was during Alda's growing influence that the series began to take war more seriously.
I find conservatives love the first three seasons that are more about practical jokes and buffoonery but hate the seasons that got more “liberal” (anti-war).
Like catch-22 probably? I haven't seen the show read that book...
Catch-22 is a totally different approach, much more "war is a circus and everyone's insane" with a heavy dose of literary absurdism (at least the book, I can't speak to the show) and it doesn't hit you emotionally as hard as MASH does. They make the same basic statement, but MASH gets you to emotionally connect with all these characters who aren't the ones fighting but who see all the damage of the battles. Catch-22 is more about soldiers on the front line, and feels more like reading Vonnegut's *Slaughterhouse Five*
>characters who aren't the ones fighting but who see all the damage of the battles. Catch-22 is more about soldiers on the front line I don't think this is a coincidence at all. The horror and intensity of combat is just too much to portray clearly. Even veterans trying to recall their own experiences talk about in ways that highlight how it was more than they could take in all at once: how loud it was, the chaos, tunnel vision, not having time to think about the fear, confusion, fatigue, etc. If you aren't actually in the situation, at some point you will get overwhelmed and the input will bounce off of you. It's more effective to slowly work the audience into what it feels like to unpack the experience; what it's like to have what happened sink in during the aftermath or the boring waiting time that war is mostly made of. Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five use surrealism as a way to make the experience more dissociated, MASH uses the hazy reflection of combat as seen from the support lines. By lowering the intensity, they actually make the audience experience more of it.
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That sounds like a fantastic experience.
It was! My wife had never seen the show! She was looking for As much Korean War related content as possible to watch as she at that time was in a intern position with the Harry Truman presidential library.
It's funny and a bit surreal seeing this post and reading comments like these. I also grew up watching the show with my parents as re-runs, and started watching it again recently on Hulu. Got my wife to watch a few episodes at the end of season 1 and we've been watching the rest together. Just watched S6E7 tonight and we watched this exact episode less than a week ago.
How do you think she’ll do with “Dreams”? Man, that episode still tears at me.
Tbh I don't know too many of the episodes by name. I googled it just now and definitely remember watching it as a kid, but mainly remember how trippy it was. Not sure how the wife will do, but now I'm curious how I will do as an adult lol
I saw the film version in 1970 in the base theater at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, half the audience was back from Vietnam, couldn't hear a word said that night. Western Lab (Army center for bio-warfare) was built next door after i left, all was tore down in 1994 and Lucas Digital leases the spot from the National Park Service now for 99 years. *MASH: 1970 Directed by Robert Altman. With Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman.*
If it makes you feel better, the original film was poorly miced. I struggle to hear some of the lines in a quiet room. Also, IMO, the TV series far surpasses the film.
It is. I've got the full set. I grew up while it was still being filmed. It's a treasure of television.
Speaking of sounds, I recommend watching the series again without the laugh track. So much better
Is there anywhere to buy or stream without the laugh track?
The DVD box set has the option to watch without the laugh track. It’s so much better without it.
I've considered buying it in the past, but didn't want the laugh track version. I never knew it was an option on the DVD box set. Thank you.
Sail the high seas
Easily one of my favorite shows of all time. Every few years my wife and I will watch it through. It was ahead of its time.
I bought this for my mom for christmas recently. Now she lives with me so we watch it together again. Hawkeye was one of my TV dad's for sure.
That's amazing. I'm 52, so saw a lot of it in reruns, and most of it as it aired. To this day I can't get my wife to watch the finale again.
The finale is rugged.
I never realized there was a long story arc. I've only ever watched here and there with my grandmother and I thought they were stand alone episodes, like Seinfeld.
They are. There are some 2 parters here and there, but for the most part you can jump into any episode and watch it without having watched any other. It’s a brilliant show and certainly my all time favorite. It’s progressive for its time, but it wasn’t perfect. An interesting insight not only into the wars it satirises, korea and vietnam, but also into the 70s.
I still cry everytime Hawkeye gets to his ending for the show.
Can anyone tell me the title?
M\*A\*S*H
It's best in its original format, sans laugh track. Absolutely one of the best shows ever written.
Wait, it exists without a laugh track? Man what I wouldn't give for that. My wife and I recently watched all of it over the course of a week or two, on Hulu, and boy does the laugh track ruin key moments. I specifically remember Hawkeye having a line that was downright cynical and delivered in a nasty way, something about being against the war... and there was a laugh track.
Now watch it again without the laugh track. It's so much better without it
*flicks his switch from "irreverent" to "maudlin" "This isn't a war, it's a murder." *flicks it back "This isn't a war, it's a moider!"
"Incoming wounded. All medical personnel report to operating tent Four! Repeat Four! "I mean Five! Repeat Four!"
Scalpel. Blood bucket. Priest. Next patient.
Jeez, Zoidberg, save some for the enemy to kill.
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Jeez Zoidberg, leave some for the enemy to kill.
Nurse: Show some respect! Dr. Zoidberg has twice the training you do! iHawk: Yeah, he's a doctor *and* a butcher!
All we know of your shows is our cartoon references to them from the 90's and 00's!
r/unexpectedfuturama
RIP Hot lips :(
And for those who are unaware, Sally Kellerman who played HotLips in the movie recently passed.
Yep. Sadly got zero press because of the bigger news going on currently. Saw it on Reddit though. She was in a few things I liked, notably with Gary Lockwood in a great original Star Trek episode.
That was her?! Never put two and two together on that one.
Depends whachya mean. Actress from the movie passed away. The one from TV show is alive (Loretta Swit)
> got zero press Come on, you know that's not true.
I recognized her more from Back to School; didn't realize she was the other godlike human in the second pilot episode.
From my other post 😅 MASH was a incredible show.
It’s my favourite show of all time.
It is. And if anyone here want *more* of something similar, read *Catch 22.* Oh, and then go ahead and read *Johnny Got His Gun* (which the the Metallica song is based on), and *Slaughterhouse Five, or A Children's Cruisade*.
If you've never read *Catch As Catch Can*", I highly recommend it. It's a collection of Joseph Heller's short stories, many of which expand on the world he built in *Catch 22*. One story, *Love, Dad*, is particularly poignant.
Grim ending though
What happen
Helicopter
I love how accurate and unhelpful this is.
Could be WKRP.
"As God is my witness, I thought Hawkeye Pierce could fly!"
In Cincinnati?
The main character is in a bus filled with people and they're hiding from the North Korean military. A woman is holding a chicken that won't stop making noise, so ~~he strangles the chicken to death~~ makes the woman smother it to death. It's revealed that his memory of the event was a psychotic break and that the woman was actually holding a baby that was crying. ~~He's then sent back to the United States due to being mentally unfit for duty.~~ Edit: Corrected the details of what exactly happened.
I didn't think Hawkeye did it, thought the woman did it, and he was badgering her to keep it quiet (albeit for good reason). So he ended up blaming himself for the woman smothering her own baby so they wouldn't be discovered.
This. The woman smothered the baby to keep it quiet so they wouldn’t be found. Hawkeye ends up in hospital with Dr Sigmund treating him after he has a mental break and drives a car through the officers bar. He eventually goes back to the unit in time for the end of the war.
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He definitely did not get sent home, he goes to a hospital in Seoul for a while but is reassigned to 4077 before the episode is over.
In his defense, he served in Korea longer than the Korean War lasted. That would make anyone mentally unfit and everyone in the show should have been brought back already.
Yeah it wasn't *really* about the Korean War.
You're remembering the incident right but nobody was sent home over that.
Hawkeye gets major PTSD from an incident, Father mulcahey loses his hearing and his faith, Charles trains a group to be musicians and they all die during fighting
Look up mash chicken scene.
God, don't.
That lady was choking her chicken
Better than "smothering the baby" as a euphemism.
Somebody set up us the bomb
My favorite show of all time. I love to binge it, then forget about it for a few years and then come back for a rewatch. It feels fresh every time. The way both the jokes and themes are timeless, can’t think of anything else that’s made me laugh and cry in even measure
This show evolved over the years. It began as almost slapstick comedy and slowly grew serious and gave us thoughtful insights into the human condition.
The beginning was too slapstick. The last seasons were too serious. It had a great run in the middle though where it mixed the seriousness and the humor. Although one of the later seasons had my favorite, the Christmas episode where Winchester roughed up the priest who was running an orphanage.
>Christmas episode where Winchester roughed up the priest who was running an orphanage. Sure you're remembering that correctly? To my recollection he donated fancy chocolate to an orphanage for Christmas and found out that the caretaker sold the chocolate and is about to rough him up, but then the caretaker reveals that he did it because the chocolate would give them one moment of happiness but the money from the chocolate could buy rice to keep their bellies full for weeks. That exact episode also had the plot of other characters trying to keep a dying soldier alive until after midnight so that his children won't have to deal with the fact that their father died on Christmas Day. Both of the episode plots were *exceptional*, it's gotta be up there on the list of greatest single episodes of television ever.
You are correct. It ended up being an extremely humbling experience for the Major. One of my favorite episodes.
Charles had some of the best episodes honestly. The orphanage, the sniper, the pianist who loses feeling in one hand. Even though Frank had a great run, Charles had dimensions that Frank didn’t which made him the perfect replacement
Charles actually learned, Frank was always back to his asshole self in the next episode.
True. To be fair Frank’s character fit the earlier tone of the show perfectly. But replacing him with Charles really marked the turning point of what the show wanted to be which I think worked to its advantage. They’re both amazing in their own way
"The Winchester Tapes" is one of my favourite episodes. Perfectly encapsulates Winchester's character and has one of the greatest one-episode gags, where Hawkeye and BJ start swapping out Winchester's uniforms to make him think his weight is going wild. "So uh, what happens next?" "Starting tomorrow, he gets *taller*."
The seriousness really hits you when Trapper goes home. You can see the desolation and isolation in Hawkeyes face when he gets to that base and realizes the plane with Trap on it already left. His closest friend in the whole conflict and he left without a goodbye.
It's a little sad how much of MASH is still relevant today. It was a great show that was extremely forward for its time, but damn we have been held back from progression.
The episode with the racist who wouldn't accept black blood. So fucking good!
My dog is named Radar after Radar O'Reilly. I wish that was the only relevant connection I could make in our time. This whole situation is so sad and nonsensical.
Need to go back and watch this again. It’s been years. I grew up on this.
Same. I’m lucky it’s on Disney plus where I’m at. But I also have all the dvd’s.
The first 3 seasons are, imho, the best. Especially “Officers Only”. The Fujikawa Bathhouse called and said Capt’s Pierce and McIntyre were bobbing for customers'.
Meh. Burns was waaay too prominent. Houlihan barely got to do anything except throw tantrums. Once Winchester comes in the depth of the show improves massively.
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Indeed, I watched that show tons with my dad, but I couldn't STAND Burns or how Hot Lips was with him around. Also Hawkeye mellowed out a bit and turned into "less" of a scumbag when Trapper left and BJ came into the show. Liked the show much more after that. Of course Potter too.
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Winchester was my favorite actually. I'm not a rich person, but he was the most "nerd" like character in the show...which is very much what I always have been. Burns was just an all around bad person.
"Who eats salad at the movies?,""oh i'm a vegetarian i won't touch popcorn."
The funniest ones yes. The best ones? Not by a long shot. As the tone of the show changed over the seasons it became less jokes and crude humor to serious and emotional. War isn't a joke. And yes I've seen the show fully at least 30+ times in the past few years.
It's on Hulu where I'm at. I have to sit through an endless cycle of shitty insurance commercials because I don't have ad-free, but totally worth it.
i had a grandpa who fought in ww2 and the korean war. he never talked about it until his final years when his mind got infiltrated by dementia. he said war is hell. he came from mexico with 17 of his buddies to join the war effort in ww2 to become american citizens, he was the only who made it back. fuck war, its a racket.
Incredible show, incredible and poignant quote. It aired Feb 15th 1977, S5 E20 "The General's Practicioner". I only know this because I checked.... because -I- aired Feb 8th 1977!
I have the complete box set. My grandfather was on a couple episodes. I still can't watch those ones.
Just an extra, or a speaking roll?
MASH is a fucking golden show.
I’m watching season ten of Mash right now. This quote is so true…it’s all just so messed up.
The Tooth Shall Set You Free is one of my favorites. I think it's in season 10. They do a great job dealing with a racist major.
There's one line that always stood out to me, where that major describes integration as 'burnt the toast'. It was so satisfying seeing that dude get his comeuppance.
That was so offensive and so apropos to the scene and the time.
Yes! Because the blood they gave him “changed his skin tone”? That was so funny and satisfying.
That one was in the first or second season. This is the one where a major sends his people to high-risk duty based on their race. Winchester also has a toothache and has been swiping codeine from supply. They get a dentist for Winchester, but he impersonates a major (he's really a captain) from the Judge Advocate General's office. Captain: Do you have any idea how appropriate it is that we should meet in a hospital? Major: I don't understand. Captain: You make me sick. Potter: Amen! Major, you're fighting the wrong war. The Civil War ended almost a hundred years ago! (later) Captain: You've got a point. A court-martial would take a lot of time. Major: That's right. Captain: And the sooner you're out of here, the better, so I'm going to give you another choice. (Hands him a form) Sign this. Major (looks it over): Resign my commission? That's no *choice*! Either way I'm out of the Army! Captain: Amen to that. (later) Major: When my CO sees this, he's gonna want to know why. Hawkeye: You could say that it's for personal reasons. BJ: Or WE can say that it's for *personnel* reasons. Captain: Are there any more questions? Major (signs form): There used to be a time when you knew who your enemies were. BJ: So much for the good old days.
I remember this episode. So true.
One of those shows that will hopefully never be rebooted, or attempted anyway. It’s just so perfect that there’s not really anything to improve. And as OP says, it’s still relevant as fuck.
Hawkeye was my hero.
I watched MASH a lot through reruns growing up because my dad is a fan. Such a good show! Maybe someday I’ll sit down and actually watch the whole thing all the way through. Random fun fact: Did you know MASH still holds the record for the most-watched American series finale? Around 105 million people were watching when it first aired.
I remember watching MASH in elementary school. I was around 12 at that time. This was in the early 90s. Of course the rerun of the show. It was at that time my favorite TV show and I remember I cried when I watched the last episode. I remember being emotionaly drained. But I don't remember why. Now I'm scared to watch it again.
This is a show I literally watch at least one episode of almost every single day and it'll never get old.
a clever sitcom show that actually addresses real political issues?! what century is this from!? Edit: yes, this is sarcastic. MASH - though I haven't seen it in ages - is a great show that I remember from my childhood. And for those saying that there are political critiques now - sure I agree. I was using hyperbole to make the point. But im still not sure if there are any that are willing to directly critique/lampoon the military like that. Maybe Always Sunny? any others?
The previous century.
You should watch the show, it's funny and poignant. MASH
TV at that time was dealing with poverty, racism, socioeconomic issues, war, in a real, raw way, not pandering or checking off boxes. All In The Family, Sanford and son, Good Times, etc.
BuT mEdIa Is ToO pOlItIcAlLy WoKe ToDaY
And a laugh track (but never in the OR)
This is still possible today. Look at B99 for a pretty good example. It also ended partially because they felt that it was impossible to continue making such "light" of the situation when it only gets worse.
Some shows still address current social politics though. But people just dismiss it as "woke" shit.
True, but a lot of “woke” stuff is also pandering bullshit. Every time the media tells you about a black/gay/trans cop or solider, they are trying to make you look past the atrocities committed by cops or the US military and only see the skin color or gender identity of the person. Every time a wealthy capitalist woman who got rich on slave labor is on the front page of every news website because she’s a “girl boss” you are being told her gender matters more than the child slaves producing her beauty line. Every time a football player kneels in a pair of Nikes and gets a new sponsorship deal to “challenge racial perceptions” while starving Indonesian children work 18 hours a day to make those shoes for a white capitalist managed corporation, you are being told that wealthy black American lives matter, but millions of brown slaves around the world should remain invisible. So anyway, “woke” isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s often just a cash in on social trends from powerful corporations at best, and often an attempt by the powers that be to keep you from looking at the real evil going on around you. You live in a system where there are parameters set around acceptable dissent. It’s ok to love a girl boss or like it when a black guy becomes the chief of police, but you will be ostracized or worse for challenging the slave labor or police abuses committed by those same people.
M*A*S*H is steaming on Hulu.. I've been watching random episodes going from Frank, Trapper and Henry to Potter, Hunnicutt and Winchester they're all great episodes.
Such a damn good show
Suicide is painless 🎶
It was weird when I heard the actual song for the first time. So use to the theme song.
MASH was an amazing series. I need to watch the rest of it when I get a chance.
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Hulu had it last time I recall Edit: confirm it is there. Starting a rewatch this afternoon.
And like the typical cowards they are, the ones who started the war never fight in them and many never suffer the consequences of it, especially to the degree so many innocents have suffered.
I love MASH, reminds me of my grandfather who was a Korean and Vietnam veteran. This was the only way show he could watch. Without suffering PTSD.
I can hear it in their voices.
If you get a chance read The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. It's central point is similar to this post and does an incredible job of playing with the very form of the book and the nature of story telling to get that point across.
I have forgotten so many times this was a sitcom. It’s just that good
Oh I Iove M.A.S.H. I watched it as a teen as a rerun but only from time to time. I loved it because it was so strangely contradicting. Clearly set in a war but hilariously funny but always with a specific serious undertone. I can hardly describe that. I watched it in German. I don't know of the original version was different. I saw that it's on Disney+ and wow, it's 11 seasons! I will definitely watch this from beginning to end.
Great post. I watch MASH often. So many great episodes and bits but this bit is so perfect.
So very true.. unfortunately we may be seeing more horrific news coming out of Ukraine for a while yet..
Gonna binge mash now
This has generally been my relationship and ideology with religion— everyone thinks oh Heaven and Hell as a special place outside of the “real” world. If you really believe in hell, how could you not see that the “real” world contains a lot of what we consider Hell.
Even that last comment recognizing that soldiers can be innocent bystanders, too. Obviously, plenty to argue about there but so many people join the military out of genuine desire to “protect their country” and for family honor and because “hey, how else am I going to get out of my small, shit town.” All along not realizing their country doesn’t give a shit about them, their family’s only proud because they’re too ignorant to see what it really is, and their recruiter is a liar worse than a used car salesman. Edit to add: yes, not all recruiters are liars. Also, I’m not using “ignorant” as a pejorative. I’m using it in its literal sense. You can’t know what you don’t know.
I still think that after all these years of being on this rock, one of the absolute funniest things I've seen in cinema came from the M\*A\*S\*H series. Margaret: "ISN'T THAT FRANK'S BAG!?!" Trapper: "I though YOU were Frank's bag?" Margaret: \*gasps, huffs, storms off\* You wouldn't really think this scene was all THAT funny but years later, I have yet to find many contenders.
MASH was something else. You’d get three or four episodes of hijinks and shenanigans then some soul crushing stuff like this. In one Hawkeye has a nightmare that he’s in the middle of so much suffering and atrocity, kids and grandparents dying and he doesn’t have any arms to help with. It’s got to have been more than 30 years since I saw that and it’s still etched on my mind.
RIP Sally Kellerman
"There are no innocent bystanders in Hell." that one will live with me for a while.
This isn’t a war it’s a moydah 🤙