I can’t remember how or when it happened, but I’m glad it did, because it changed my life for the better. It doesn’t matter that I can’t remember the story behind my beginnings as a M*A*S*H fan, the fact that I discovered the show is what’s important.

I do, in fact, remember that when I was a little tyke (from as early as five years of age, I think), my parents would always have M*A*S*H on every week day afternoon, religiously devouring the reruns, that I’m sure they would have seen at least ten times over, while I’d sit with them, totally disinterested in the show. I guess you could attribute my boredom with the show to immaturity, not being old enough to appreciate the dramatic comedy that it is. I was too young to understand these life lessons the show challenged me with, and still much too young to understand the sexual innuendo that was on display thanks to Hawkeye’s undying mission to play doctor with the nurses, and not to mention all the sexual debacles ‘Trapper’ John, ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan & Frank Burns found themselves in.

The best I can do is guess, but I think I would’ve been somewhere in the neighborhood of thirteen years old when I actually took an interest in M*A*S*H. Having just hit the terrible teens, all these new and exciting parts of life were becoming more and more apparent to yours truly. I’d grow to better understand the way the world runs and more importantly (well to my overactive teenage mind at least), learn what a beautiful piece of art the female was. No longer were girls ‘cootie machines’, they were objects of mental and physical desire. I wanted reality (but not that lame-a$$ Survivor show), because there is only so much an impressionable little boy can learn from trash like Pokemon. It would have been around this time (like I said, I’m guessing, here.) that the superbly crafted show, M*A*S*H, appealed to my need of guidance in a cruel world. Not only did I learn from the show, I found myself laughing up a storm every time it was on. Boys and girls, remember, M*A*S*H is seen as a comedy more then anything, but I beg to differ. Anyone who really loves the show would agree that its biggest strengths’ are the superbly developed characters, the fine acting & THEN the comedy elements.

To this day, M*A*S*H is like a member of the family to me, I turn to it when I need perking up, guidance or a reality check. There really is something or, a character rather, for everyone. From a naïve teenager curious about the world and its occupants, to an experienced, sixty something, regular army surgeon who’s greatest pleasures are writing his wife & riding his horse. But, I’m sure you overdosed on my personal viewpoints two paragraphs back, so as they say, ‘let’s get on with the show!’.

Let’s start with the basics, M*A*S*H (Moblie Army Surgical Hospital), started as a book, which was made into a film, then the 11 season T.V series starting in 1972, ending in 1983. The show is based in, you guessed it, a M*A*S*H unit 4077th somewhere in Korea, during the Korean War. And an interesting fact for you, the series went nearly five times longer the war itself. Of course, the show is based on the turbulent lives of the medics and personnel living in the M*A*S*H unit. Tragedy, joy, sorrow & love pass through the 4077th like clock work, leaving the inhabitants nerves as stable as an apprentice stilt walker.

By Season 7, characters have come, grown, went home or died. Just like real life. Trapper John & Henry Blake left at the end of Season 3, this brought two new characters into the mix, but they can hardly be called ‘replacements’, for BJ Hunnicut was a devoted family man as opposed to a cheating womanizer. Sherman Potter was a regular army career man as opposed to an unmilitary civilian put in charge of a surgical team. These new characters took little time establishing where they were coming from, and unlike in most other shows, they proved to grow remarkably and only assisted the ratings in staying strong. The same can be said for original antagonist Frank Burns’ replacement (if you insist on using that word), Charles Emmerson Winchester III. In fact, Winchester offered the most contrast in regards to Frank Burns. Where Frank was deathly loyal to the military and a terrible surgeon to boot, Winchester was superior with a scalpel and only gave an order if it suited his needs. And to top it off, Charles, more often then not would get the last laugh when Hawkeye & B.J tried to pull a prank on him.

The Cast
Alan Alda as Captain Benjamin Franklin Peirce (Hawkeye)
Mike Farrell as Captain B.J Hunnicut
David Ogden Stiers as Major Charles Emmerson Winchester III
Loretta Swit as Major Margaret Houlihan (Hot Lips)
Gary Burghoff as Corporal Walter Eugene O’Reilly (Radar)
Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter
Jamie Farr as Corporal Max Q. Kingler
William Christopher as Lieutenant John Francis Patrick Mulcahy

Season 7 is notable for a few reasons. It was Radar’s last full season before he went home. The characters of Charles and Margaret were beginning to soften (to be fair, the seeds for Margaret’s soft side were planted long before Season 7), and several unique episodes and essential character growth occurred. The show was beginning to take on a more serious direction, slightly casting a shadow over the zany antics of the characters in favor of making the show a more emotional experience by close examinations of key characters and a stronger focus on the cruelties of war. This split the fans, some wanted the straight out, down and dirty tomfoolery that M*A*S*H had become known for, and others wanted to see the characters grow and let their most intimate feelings be highlighted to the audience. I guess I was a fence sitter on this matter. I loved the zany antics of the early years, and the emotional experience of the later years. It worked out for me because in Season 7 and onward, you get both these elements combined, which made for a better program in the long run, anyway.

There are a few episodes from Season 7 that I’d like to draw your attention to, some funny, some unique & some serious. So on that note, we’ll start by having a quick run through of the previously mentioned, rib tickler of an episode entitled An Eye For A Tooth. This is one of the quintessential ‘prankster’ episodes which started out innocently enough with Margaret sugaring up Hawkeye’s coffee with about ten heaped tea spoons. Hawkeye responds by flinging a blob of oatmeal smack dab into the middle of Margaret’s forehead. Later in surgery, the real magic begins, when Charles starts a snowball effect of practical joking by stirring Margaret about gaining revenge, then casually egging on the boys to do the same. Interestingly enough, Charles involves himself in the planning of pranks by both sides and it all climaxes with B.J, Margaret & Hawkeye staging a fake fight to scare Winchester into ‘fessing up to his devious pulling of the strings.

Proving that the 4077th M*A*S*H isn’t filled with goof balls who have nothing better to do then one up each other, Inga is an episode that was inspired by real events in Alan Alda’s life, that played on his mind until he realized that he might be able to make a story out of them for M*A*S*H. Being based in the 1950’s, there were even more sexist issues running rampant then there are today, and this insightful episode addresses that and shows a new side to Hawkeye and allows Winchester to reach new heights in his pomposity.

Originally giddy with joy upon hearing about a Swedish nurse coming to the 4077th, Hawkeye makes early plans to put the moves on her. While friendly, Inga shows little interest in Hawkeye’s advances and soon upstages him in the O.R (Operating Room) which gives his ego a bashing. This troubles Hawkeye, and Margaret chews him out for not being willing to settle for second place to a woman. A similar experience happens to Charles, and upon witnessing Winchester’s reaction, Hawkeye visits Inga’s tent to apologize for himself, and ends up Swedish dancing with her.

Always ahead of it’s time, M*A*S*H frequently tried out new approaches to keep the show fresh, as you will witness in Point Of View. Unique because the entire episode is shot in a first person perspective of a soldier who gets a neck wound and is unable to speak during his stay at the 4077th. To this day, the episode still comes across as innovative and superbly done, showing the doctors and staff at work through the eyes of the soldier as he recovers and lends an ear to Colonel Potter who happens to be going through a crisis of his own at the time. This episode you really must see for your self. Prior to seeing it, I had heard about it, but nothing does it justices quite like viewing it yourself.

Truthfully, there isn’t a dud episode in the bunch, in fact, each one deserves its own paragraph. But, considering that there are twenty five episodes in Season 7, that may sound a little bit daunting for you, my dear reader. And god willing, if my writing hasn’t put you to sleep by now, twenty five paragraphs later you’d be just another resident in the land of nod.

Episodes
Commander Pierce
Peace On Us
Lil
Our Finest Hour (2 part episode)
The Billfold Syndrome
None Like it Hot
They Call the Wind Korea
Major Ego
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Point of View
Dear Comrade
Out of Gas
An Eye for a Tooth
Dear Sis
B.J. Papa San
Inga
The Price
The Young and Restless
Hot Lips is Back in Town
C*A*V*E
Rally Round the Flagg, Boys
Preventive Medicine
A Night at Rosie's
Ain't Love Grand
The Party

Simply put, there is no T.V series, or movie, that has touched me the way M*A*S*H has. Every main actor/actress, bar none, are masters of their art and can send the deepest of emotions through you, then make you laugh within seconds. It isn’t just the acting, everyone who worked on M*A*S*H strived for the same goal, and that was ‘good entertainment’, as Alan Alda once put it. The writing of the show is unbelievable, and manages to stay true to the characters consistently. This is thanks to the fact that input from the cast was encouraged, and if a cast member felt that a line was unfit for their character, they could throw around suggestions and more often then not, they were listened to.

DVD Special Features
The only part of the DVD set that stinks are the so called ‘Special Features’. All we get is the usual scene selection feature, and the option to turn the laugh track on and off. If you are French, you are in luck because you can switch the audio to French if you don’t understand English, or if you just can’t stand to hear the arrogant yet sophisticated voice of Charles Emmerson Winchester.

Season 7 shown new sides to Hawkeye, reinforced Winchester’s pomposity, displayed Margaret’s growing compassion for her comrades and painted a picture of how badly B.J missed his family. The gags were still there, but they had taken on a new subtlety as to not overshadow the seriousness of the war.

Now that M*A*S*H is being released season by season on DVD, there is no reason for you to have not enjoyed the show before. And for the longtime fans that lived through the series, you can finally own every moment from Hawkeye’s famous ‘river of liver, ocean of fish’ hissy fit in the mess tent to the emotional departure of Radar and Henry Blake.

"You've gotta understand, I'm not working on sick people here. I'm working on hurt young people, with essentially healthy bodies that have been insulted by ammunition." – B.J Hunnicut

"Sex happens to be one of the most important things in life in as much as each one of us is one or the other gender of it once we're born, which is the direct result of the act of it." – Henry Blake

Recommended:
Yes

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