Although M*A*S*H's sixth season went Emmy-less despite eight nominations, including for Outstanding Comedy Series, the audience still loved the gang at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. The ratings were consistently high, and at the People's Choice Awards, Burt Metcalfe and Alan Alda walked away with trophies for Favorite Television Comedy Program and Favorite Male Television Performer. And unlike ABC-TV's Happy Days, the quality of the show's writing never came close to a "jump the shark" episode which indicates extreme creative exhaustion.

Instead of losing its creative steam in spite of turnover on both the on- and off-screen fronts as actors, writers, and producers came and went, M*A*S*H simply got better, even though the series had now gone on longer than the the war it was portraying. As time went on, the tone of the show grew a bit more serious and introspective, characters actually evolved a bit, and secondary cast members, including William Christopher and Jamie Farr, were allowed to have a bit more of the spotlight.

In Season 7, for instance, Father Mulcahy gets restless and starts his quest for a long overdue promotion to captain; in the midseason episode, "An Eye For a Tooth," the usually mild-mannered chaplain calmly accepts being passed over for promotion until he gets wind of the exploits of a daring chopper pilot. The good "padre" then goes to the not-too-distant front lines in a death-defying escapade that surprises the entire 4077th.

Radar: Our cow's in labor.
Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III: You held up a phone call to my sister so that he could bless a cow?!
Radar: Well, cows are people, too, ya know.


One week later, for the "Christmas" episode, Mulcahy got more screen time in "Dear Sis," in which he writes a letter to his sister in which he states his frustration at not feeling more useful to the unit.

Perhaps one of the best episodes of the seventh season is "Point of View," which is unusual because it's told entirely from the point of view of a GI as he goes from being wounded on patrol to being discharged from the post-op ward. It's a one-of-a-kind show, since the camera serves as the patient's eyes and thus there are no B (secondary) stories told.

Hawkeye: [Hawkeye tries to get bidding signals from his bridge partner] I'm reminded of a story. You've probably heard it. The, uh, King and Queen of this country were playing golf with five clubs, when their son, Jack, remarked how strange it was they had only two hearts between them. Just then, Deucey and her little dog, Tres, started singing "Four Diamonds are a girl's best friend." Whereupon the entire family beat her to death and buried her with two spades. Did you get it?
Charles: Everybody did.
Hawkeye: Well, I didn't. What do I bid?
Everyone: Two clubs!
Hawkeye: Please! No prompting. I bid two clubs.

When I watch this particular batch of 25 episodes, I tend to watch Gary Burghoff's performance as Radar with some wistfulness, knowing that the actor had grown weary of the role he had originated in the Robert Altman film and played for seven additional years. Not only did the actor not want to get stereotyped, but considering that Burghoff actually aged eight years while Radar had to remain in his teens, it's no wonder that Burghoff was feeling limited as a thespian and wanted to leave the series. Still, he stuck out the seventh season and was given many opportunities to shine, as viewers will note in his performances in "Lil," "An Eye For a Tooth," "The Price," and "They Call the Wind Korea."

Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III: [On the phone with Radar's mother, who is about to deliver a calf] Alright, listen carefully, Mrs. O'Reilly. You're going to have to put your hand inside the cow and turn the calf around.
Radar: [grossed out] OH! OOOH, MAN! Oh, boy! Father.
[Father Mulcahy sits him down]
Radar: WHOA, BOY! OH! OH!

Although the three-disk set issued by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment does have the advantages of presenting the 25 episodes uncut and unaltered for syndication, lovers of extra features will, sadly, have to do without such DVD goodies as audio commentary tracks from cast and crew. If you like canned laughter, you can watch the episodes with laugh tracks. (I, on the other hand, watch M*A*S*H without it; I never did like laugh tracks, so why have to endure them when I don't have to?)

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


M*A*S*H Season Seven: Episode List


1. Commander Pierce
2. Peace on Us
3. Lil
4. Our Finest Hour
5. The Billfold Syndrome
6. None Like It Hot
7. They Call the Wind Korea
8. Major Ego
9. Baby, It's Cold Outside
10. Point of View
11. Dear Comrade
12. Out of Gas
13. An Eye for a Tooth
14. Dear Sis
15. B. J. Papa San
16. Inga
17. The Price
18. The Young and the Restless
19. Hot Lips Is Back in Town
20. C*A*V*E
21. Rally 'Round the Flagg, Boys
22. Preventative Medicine
23. A Night at Rosie's
24. Ain't Love Grand
25. The Party


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older