In 1968, Richard Hooker published a novel called MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors about his experience in the 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. A movie version came out in 1970. Many better, however, know the television series better than the book or the film.

The series follows the lives of the staff of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital; the MASH concept was relatively new in the Korean War, with the idea being to treat the wounded as close as possible to the battlefield. This required placing doctors and nurses in makeshift, mobile camps, with wounded being brought in by Jeep, trucks, and helicopters. That meant putting entire camps of basically non-military people, training-wise, right in a war zone, in the hope that they will be able to cope, and be able to save more of the wounded by seeing them faster than otherwise possible.

The series focuses heavily on several themes. The relationships between the staff-members is one main topic, especially the strong friendship between two surgeons, Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) and Trapper John (Wayne Rogers), and the pseudo-secret romance between Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Hoolihan (Loretta Swit) and Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville). Another interesting relationship is the almost father-son bond between Colonel Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) and his company clerk, Corporal Walter “Radar” O’Reilly (Gary Burghoff).

Another theme is using extreme humor to combat the horrors of war. A prime example is in the episode "Yankee Doodle Doctor" where a government-employed movie producer comes to make a documentary on the 4077th MASH, but Hawkeye believes it will be used recruiting tool, so he sabotages it. Most of the resulting “documentary” is pure Vaudeville slapstick, but there is a powerful message at the end.

Another theme that is visited periodically is the clash between the different United Nations cultures and the Korean people. “The Moose” episode is an excellent example.

Hawkeye often used his letters to his father back home, or rare phone-calls, as a way to summarize the absurdity, the tedium, and the horrors they experience.

"Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" is probably the best episode of the bunch on this set. A boyhood friend of Hawkeye’s shows up as a soldier who is documenting his experiences in a book. The war makes the completion of that book impossible, and wonderful guest performance by Ron Howard adds a perfect accompanying story.

Alan Alda, for all practical purposes, became Hawkeye Pierce, through this series, for many viewers. He was irreverent, brilliant, passionate, unpredictable, a prankster, and a reluctant anti-hero. Wayne Rogers was a great nice-guy comic sidekick as Trapper John. Loretta Swit gave us a Hot Lips Hoolihan who was all military correctness and seething passion. Gary Burghoff gave us a Radar straight out of the cornfields of Iowa, who was not medically knowledgeable or educated much at all, but he was a decent, nice guy, who understood how the Army works and how to make the bureaucracy of the military yield what the unit needed.

The weaker performances, in my opinion, came from McLean Stevenson, as Henry Blake, and Larry Linville as Frank Burns. McLean Stevenson’s Blake was too inept and goofy, much of the time, for me. He could give us moments of brilliance, though, as he did near the end of the "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" episode. Larry Linville was just too inept and absurd for me. He was a good target for Hawkeye and Trapper, but that was about it.

Most of the time, the series could be categorized as dark comedy, with elements of slapstick humor, gallows humor, and the horrors of war intermixed. Sometimes, the show juxtaposed everyday life in United States with the ugliness of battle, thus creating an anti-war message. The episode "Showtime" was a good example.

This set of videotapes or DVDs covers the entire first season of the series. I have the videotape version, that include a pack of three tapes. It includes all twenty-four episodes, listed here:

(1) "M*A*S*H-The Pilot"
(2) "Henry, Please Come Home"
(3) "To Market, To Market"
(4) "Germ Warfare"
(5) "The Moose"
(6) "I Hate A Mystery"
(7) "Chief Surgeon Who?"
(8) Requiem for a Lightweight"
(9) "Cowboy"
(10) "Yankee Doodle Doctor"
(11) "Bananas, Crackers and Nuts"
(12) "Edwina"
(13) "Dear Dad"
(14) "Love Story"
(15) "Tuttle"
(16) "The Ringbanger"
(17) "Dear Dad...Again"
(18) "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet"
(19) "The Long John Flap"
(20) "Major Fred C. Dobbs"
(21) "Sticky Wicket"
(22) "The Army-Navy Game"
(23) "Cease-Fire"
(24) "Showtime"

Trivia Piece: The theme song of this eleven-year series became one of the most recognizable pieces of music in this country. The name of the song is not as well-known: Suicide is Painless. The meaning of that title is not what it appears to be, as it is a double-entendre and partially hearkens back to the movie version of M*A*S*H. The dentist for the unit was very depressed and often spoke of suicide; "Suicide" became his nickname. "Suicide" the dentist was an excellent dentist, though, and known to . . . not inflict pain on his patients. Thus, Suicide is painless.

Personal Notes: After watching the series for years, mainly as reruns in syndication, it is fun watching these uncut episodes and catching segments that were cut from the syndicated versions. Also, watching how this motley crew of professionals, with different people fitting different roles, has led me to think about my role in the agency where I work. I hope that my colleagues see me as somewhat of the nice-guy Trapper John and the witty rebel, Hawkeye. I hope I am not seen as a Frank Burns!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12