Although M*A*S*H had already had two successful incarnations as a best-selling novel by Richard Hooker (real name, Richard Hornberger) and the hit film adaptation by director Robert Altman, it is the 1972-1983 TV series that most of us are familiar with. No matter how well Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, and Roger Bowen portrayed Hawkeye, Trapper John, Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, Maj. Frank Burns, and Lt. Col. Henry Blake, it's hard to shake off the indelible identification of those same characters with Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Loretta Swit, Larry Linville, and McLean Stevenson.

After the successful theatrical run of the bloody-yet-funny Altman feature film, 20th Century Fox approached Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart and asked them if they could somehow adapt for television the premise of the Korean War-set comedy about the staff of a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and its attempts to stay sane amidst the horrors and boredom of war. Because it had to be offered to one of the Big Three networks (cable was still in its infancy then), its violent and sexual content had to be toned down, of course, but could Reynolds and Gelbart somehow keep the irreverent sensibility of the novel and film alive, even in a slimmed down and cleaned up version of M*A*S*H?

Luckily, the creative team behind the TV series, which included Reynolds, Gelbart, and casting director/associate producer Burt Metcalfe, channeled the inspired lunacy of the film and created one of television's most succesful series.

Premiering on CBS in the fall season of 1972, M*A*S*H's first 24-episode run is a case study of how the series evolved gradually as the writers got their "groove" right and the cast underwent changes, with characters from the film (Spearchucker Jones, Lt. Dish) appearing in only one or two episodes, Father Mulcahy's then-recurring role going from George Morgan in the pilot episode to William Cristopher in "I Hate a Mystery," and the creation of Section 8-seeking, cross-dressing Cpl. Max Klinger (Jamie Farr) for "Chief Surgeon Who?"

The nature of the characters, as seen in this 3-disk set, also took some fine-tuning as the cast and writers found their "voice." In this first season, Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers (Hawkeye and Trapper John) are more or less co-equals. although Alda tends to get a few more lines per episode. Swit's "Hot Lips" is not very likeable in this first year of the series, since she's (a) a very Regular Army type and (b) Major Frank Burns' on-the-spot lover. Although in later seasons her character evolved and became very likeable, here she's a by-the-book martinet who wants a more gung-ho commanding officer and to get rid of Hawkeye and Trapper.

Margaret: Those two, they're ruining this war, for all of us!

Gary Burgoff's Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly also underwent a personality change in this first year. Burghoff, the only actor from the film to reprise his role as a series regular, was a bit more knowing and sardonic in Altman's movie; some of those traits are still evident in "Yankee Doodle Doctor," in which he is a partner-in-crime to Hawkeye and Trapper. Later, we see him becoming the more naive, Andy Hardy-like "kid" who drinks grape Nehi, cares for a menagerie of animals, and looks up to Hawkeye as a big brother-figure.

The first season's 24 episodes tend to be, far and large, less politically correct than those of later years. Most of them echo the Altman film's anti-military attitudes (not surprising considering that America was still fighting a war in Vietnam), and one episode in particular, "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet," is a case in point. In the episode's A (main) storyline, one of Hawkeye's childhood friends from Maine arrives in Korea as a war correspondent. After a joyous reunion, Hawkeye is forced to mourn for his friend, who's killed by an enemy sniper on the front lines. (This episode also features A Beautiful Mind director Ron Howard as an underage Marine who appeals to Hawkeye to not turn him in.)

Henry Blake: Look, all I know is what they taught me at command school. There are certain rules about a war and rule number one is young men die. And rule number two is doctors can't change rule number one.

M*A*S*H: The Complete First Season presents all 24 episodes in their original, uncut for syndication versions, with eight episodes per disk. As noted above, the quality and tone of the shows vary greatly, with some less-than-great episodes ("Major Fred C. Dobbs," "Requiem for a Lightweight") tossed in among great ones like "Chief Surgeon Who?" and "Sometimes You Hear The Bullet."

All in all, this is a great introductory set to begin collecting all 11 seasons' of one of the best TV comedy series of all time.





Episode List for Season One, 1972-1973

1. M*A*S*H Pilot Episode (Written by Larry Gelbart)
2. Henry...Please Come Home (Written by Laurence Marks)
3. To Market, To Market (Written by Bud Styler)
4. Germ Warfare (Written by Larry Gelbart)
5. The Moose (Written by Laurence Marks)
6. I Hate a Mystery (Written by Hal Dresner)
7. Chief Surgeon Who? (Written by Larry Gelbart)
8. Requiem for a Lightweight (Written by Bob Klane)
9. Cowboy (Written by Bob Klane)
10. Yankee Doodle Doctor (Written by Laurence Marks)
11. Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts (Written by Burt Styler)
12. Edwina (Written by Hal Dressner)
13. Dear Dad (Written by Larry Gelbart)
14. Love Story (Written by Laurence Marks)
15. Tuttle (Written by Bruce Shelly and David Ketchum)
16. The Ringbanger (Written by Jerry Mayer)
17. Dear Dad...Again (Written by Sheldon Keller and Larry Gelbart)
18. Sometimes You Hear the Bullet (Written by Carl Kleinschmitt)
19. The Longjohn Flap (Written by Alan Alda)
20. Major Fred C. Dobbs (Written by Sid Dorfman)
21. Sticky Wicket (Written by Laurence Marks and Larry Gelbart)
22. The Army-Navy Game (Written by Sid Dorfman)
23. Ceasefire (Written by Larry Gelbart)
24. Showtime (Written by Robert Klane and Larry Gelbart, story by Gelbart)



DVD Features:
Available Subtitles: Spanish
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older