Posted on 11/15/2008 4:55:18 PM PST by Nitro
TVland begins the M*A*S*H series
“That’s highly significant.”
Despite being a left leaning show I do respect one thing: they NEVER put down the soldiers. I watch it all the time, smart writing and besides, I can personally identify with some of the feelings the medical team had. It does strike home for me!
I loved that show. Rarely did the anti-war message cross the line into true nuttiness.
“Five O’Clock Charlie” is the best M*A*S*H episode ever.
I honestly don’t believe that TVLand is just starting to air the series, they’ve had it on for a few years I thought.
MASH is one of my all-time faves.
It’s also (IMHO) one of those rare cases where a tv series is better than the movie that spawned it.
“Five o’clock Charlie, his airplane, and his astigmatism!”
That poker game with Colonel Flagg is my favorite ever.
Over the years I really started to like the character of Major Winchester, although it took some time, but he definately was the best thing about the latter years of series, Hawkeye became a sanctimonious bore.
LOL!
Agreed. Winchester improved over the seasons. Colonel Potter was great from the day he walked on the scene, though.
I hate that show...if anyone cares. lol.
“I think I’ve been slaked!”
Canceled my cable since I do not want to support those liberal news networks like MSNBC and CNN. I bet you can buy the entire MASH series on DVD. My brother got it when they were selling them as VHS.
JoMa
The show was great until they dumped Col. Blake and Trapper; then it was down the tubes....
And Winchester stole the show in the Finale, when he was attempting to teach the North Koreans how to play Mozart, and when he learned of their fate, and seeing his reaction was gut-wrenching, just a great performance by Stiers.
My real name is John....
I worked on Wall St....
everyday I went to the mens room with the newspaper...
my nicckname was “Crapper John!”
Although I was quite a fan when the show was on, I can’t stand to watch the re-runs. Haven’t figured out why.
I respect other FReepers saying they respected the soldiers on the show (maybe the enlisted, they certainly had no respect for officers), my combat veteran husband (Vietnam) hated the show and wouldn’t watch it. I think he always saw the latent (and sometimes not so latent) anti-war message as a slap in the face of those who did their duty.
I only watch the Trapper shows.
A very fine actor in a lot of parts. It can be jarring to see him in a role without the Boston accent!
I think the later characters - Winchester, Potter, Hunnicutt - were more subtly written than the earlier ones, especially Burns. Trapper John’s part got better before his departure, just as Radar and Father Mulcahy grew past stock figures. Hawkeye didn’t develop much ... but he did have good lines!
Frank Burns eats worms...
My kids finally got to go to Tony Packo’s two weekends ago.
They actually sell the fake hot dog buns to sign.
Of course, Jamie Farr stuff everywhere. Obama signed bun too, by the door.
You tell them Ferret Face!
-- Radar
I’ve always liked the one where Hawakeye and Trapper John steal Col. Blake’s prized antique desk to exchange it for some sort of antibiotic.
“The show was great until they dumped Col. Blake and Trapper”
****
I’m with you, my friend. And that’s always been my beef with any network that’s syndicated MASH. They seem to show a handful of the first season episodes, and then jump right into the latter Potter-Hunicutt endless seasons. And yes, also agree the later seasons became way too preachy.
Favorite episode-The take out order from Adam’s Ribs.
Henry: Radar, do you know what kind of wood is this?
Radar: Oak, sir.
Henry: No, it’s oak.
WOW.... Woo Hoo! We need to put this in the Breaking News! /SARCASM
“That poker game with Colonel Flagg is my favorite ever.”
Flagg was my favorite character!
I used the “that’s highly significant” line a few times. What was the name of the shoes Radar was selling, high style wingtip shoes?
I wonder if TV Land will ever show W*A*L*T*E*R?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W*A*L*T*E*R
Did I mention, that I only accept the Trapper John episopes?
jocularity
One of my staples here on FR is when any thread references Bach, I post a pic of Radar saying, “Ahhhh Bach!”
My personal favorite was “The Interview”. Done in black and white with no laugh track. Great episode. Another fave was the one where an operation had to be done in a certain time frame. There was a clock placed on-screen to show the “real time” feeling of the epi. Another great epi.
I respect other FReepers saying they respected the soldiers on the show (maybe the enlisted, they certainly had no respect for officers)
*****
That aspect always made me think of Bill Maudlin’s creations, Willie and Joe, the two ‘dog-faces’ in the cartoons he drew during WWll. The sympathy in those cartoons were always for the enlisted guys, and critical about the sometimes questionable decisions of the officers. I think Maudlin even drew the ire of Patton with one of his drawings.
He was really funny. I read somewhere (TV Guide?) years ago that he was meant to be a single-episode character, but everyone on the show liked the actor so much that they decided to bring him back.
Notice Sidney will not be the first name!!
“They sure invited a lot of empty chairs...”
Another one I remember was "Point of View" where the entire episode was from the view of a patient.
It that Bach?
I’m partial to the fugue.
Towards the end of the series, when Alan Alda wrote and directed the show, he gave his own character loooooong, draaaaawn out preach speeches.
That's how MASH jumped the shark.
of all add ons I hate BJ
cool - glad it's still there! I used to date a guy from Toledo and when my folks went out there to meet his family, we went to Tony Packo's (we were all crazy MASH fans).
Ended up not marrying him, but glad we got the Tony Pack experience!
They see the sign when I drive home from Cleveland (my home)
They wanted to go there since seeing it on “Unwrapped”
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