| M*A*S*H | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | |
| Developed by | Larry Gelbart |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Johnny Mandel (written for thefilm) |
| Opening theme | "Suicide Is Painless" (Instrumental) |
| Ending theme | "Suicide Is Painless" (Big Band Version) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 256(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations | Los Angeles County, California (Century City,Malibu Creek State Park) |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 24–26 minutes; except "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (2.5 hours) |
| Production company | 20th Century-Fox Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 17, 1972 (1972-09-17) – February 28, 1983 (1983-02-28) |
| Related | |
| |
M*A*S*H is an Americanwarcomedy drama television series that aired onCBS from September 17, 1972, to February 28, 1983. It was developed byLarry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970film of the same name, which, in turn, was based onRichard Hooker's 1968 novelMASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The series, produced by20th Century-Fox Television, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077thMobile Army Surgical Hospital" inUijeongbu, South Korea, during theKorean War (1950–1953).
Theensemble cast originally featuredAlan Alda andWayne Rogers as surgeons Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper" John McIntyre, respectively, as the protagonists of the show; joined byLarry Linville as surgeon Frank Burns,Loretta Swit as head nurse Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan,McLean Stevenson as company commander Henry Blake,Gary Burghoff as company clerk Walter "Radar" O'Reilly,Jamie Farr as orderly Maxwell Klinger, andWilliam Christopher as the chaplain, Father John Mulcahy. Over the run of the show, several members of the main cast were replaced: Wayne Rogers was replaced byMike Farrell as B. J. Hunnicutt, McLean Stevenson was replaced byHarry Morgan as Sherman Potter, Larry Linville was replaced byDavid Ogden Stiers as Charles Emerson Winchester III, and, when Gary Burghoff left the show, the Maxwell Klinger character moved into the company clerk role. Longtime supporting cast members includedKellye Nakahara,Jeff Maxwell,Johnny Haymer,Allan Arbus,Edward Winter andG. W. Bailey.
The series varied in style and tone – including broad comedy and tragic drama – which can be attributed to fluctuating writing staff over the life of the show and the variety of sources contributing to the stories, such as actor Alan Alda and surgeons who served in the Korean War.[1] The show'stitle sequence features an instrumental version of "Suicide Is Painless", the original film's theme song.[2]
The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel,M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, failed. The television series is the best-known of theM*A*S*H works and one of the highest-rated shows inU.S. television history and is regarded by many as one of thegreatest television shows of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8] Its final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", was themost-watched television broadcast in the United States from 1983 to 2010,[9] and it remains both the most-watched finale of any television series and the most-watched episode of a scripted series.[10]
M*A*S*H aired weekly on CBS, with most episodes being a half-hour in length. The series is usually categorized as a situation comedy, though it has also been described as a "dark comedy" or a "dramedy" because of the often dramatic subject matter.[A]
The show is an ensemble piece revolving around key personnel in aUnited States ArmyMobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–53). The "4077th MASH" was one of several surgical units in Korea. Theasterisks in the name are not part of military nomenclature and were creatively introduced in the novel and used in only the posters for the movie version, not the actual movie.
Early seasons aired on network prime time while theVietnam War had not ended; the show was forced to walk the fine line of commenting on that war while at the same time not seeming to protest against it. The show's discourse, under the cover of comedy, often questioned, mocked, and grappled with America's role in the Cold War.
Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several narrated by one of the show's characters as the contents of a letter home. The show's tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the unwilling civilian draftees of 4077th – CaptainsPierce, McIntyre, and Hunnicutt and the "regular Army" characters, such as Major Houlihan and Colonel Potter, who were commissioned as regulars. Other characters, such as Lieutenant Colonel Blake, Major Winchester, and Corporal/Sergeant Klinger, help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward Army life, while guest characters played by actors such asEldon Quick,Herb Voland,Mary Wickes, andTim O'Connor also help further the show's discussion of America's place as Cold War participant and peace maker.
Reviewing the series in 1980 for theBBC,Ludovic Kennedy observed "...its humour derives mainly from the layman's delight in finding that members of the medical profession (traditionally totem figures) can in their social lives be just as venal and silly as the rest of us."[11]
Through changes of personnelM*A*S*H maintained a relatively constantensemble cast, with four characters –Hawkeye,Father Mulcahy,Margaret Houlihan, andMaxwell Klinger – on the show for all 11 seasons. Several other main characters departed or joined the program during its run, and numerous guest actors and recurring characters were used. The writers found creating so many names difficult, and used names from elsewhere; for example, characters onthe seventh season were named after the1978 Los Angeles Dodgers.[12][unreliable source?]
For the first three seasons, the show'sensemble cast includedAlan Alda as surgeon CaptainBenjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce,Wayne Rogers as surgeon CaptainTrapper John McIntyre,McLean Stevenson as company commander Lt. ColonelHenry Blake,Loretta Swit as head nurse MajorMargaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan,Larry Linville as surgeon MajorFrank Burns,Gary Burghoff as company clerk CorporalWalter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly,Jamie Farr as combat medic CorporalMaxwell Klinger, andWilliam Christopher as chaplain 1st LieutenantFather John Patrick Francis Mulcahy.
At the end of the third season, Rogers and Stevenson left the show, with their characters written out, and they were replaced byMike Farrell as surgeon CaptainB. J. Hunnicutt andHarry Morgan as surgeon ColonelSherman T. Potter as the new commanding officer.
After season five, Linville left to be replaced byDavid Ogden Stiers as surgeon MajorCharles Emerson Winchester III.
Early in season eight, Burghoff left the show; Klinger (Farr) was moved to company clerk to replace Radar, whileG. W. Bailey joined the cast to playStaff Sergeant Luther Rizzo, the unit's motor pool sergeant. Other long-serving actors on the show includeKellye Nakahara asNurse Kellye,Jeff Maxwell as PrivateIgor Straminsky,Johnny Haymer asSergeant Zelmo Zale, the supply sergeant,Allan Arbus as psychiatristMajor Sidney Freedman, andEdward Winter as intelligence officerColonel Sam Flagg.
As the series progressed, it made a significant shift from being primarily a comedy with dramatic undertones to a drama with comedic overtones. This was a result of changes in writing, production, and acting staff. Series co-creator and comedy writerLarry Gelbart departed after Season 4. Executive ProducerGene Reynolds departed at the conclusion of Season 5 in 1977, resulting inM*A*S*H being almost fully stripped of its original comedic foundation by the beginning of Season 6.[1]
Whereas Gelbart and Reynolds were the comedic voice ofM*A*S*H for the show's first five seasons (1972–1977),Alan Alda and newly promoted Executive ProducerBurt Metcalfe became the new dramatic voice ofM*A*S*H for Seasons 6–11. By the start of Season 8 (1979–1980), the writing staff had been completely overhauled.
Cast changes also contributed to the greater weighting of drama in later seriesM*A*S*H. The departures of McLean Stevenson, Larry Linville, and Gary Burghoff removed gifted performers ofphysical and verbal comedy.[13] Wayne Rogers's Trapper John had been Hawkeye's partner in high jinks and womanizing, while his successor in Mike Farrell's B.J. gave Hawkeye a more mature best friendship. A gentler characterization made Margaret a less pointed comedy foil, and after Klinger took over Radar's responsibilities he discontinued cross-dressing and other attempts to get aSection 8 psychiatric discharge.
The end of the Vietnam War in 1975 was a significant factor as to why storylines become less political in nature and more character-driven. Several episodes experimented by going outside the sitcom format:
Another change was the infusion of story lines based on actual events and medical developments that materialized during the Korean War. Considerable research was done by the producers, including interviews with actual MASH surgeons and personnel to develop story lines rooted in the war itself. Such early 1950s events asthe McCarthy era, various sporting events, and the stardom ofMarilyn Monroe were all incorporated into various episodes, a trend that continued until the end of the series.[1]
While the series remained popular through these changes, it eventually began to run out of creative steam. Korean War doctors regularly contacted producers with experiences that they thought might make for a good storyline, only to learn the idea had previously been used. Harry Morgan admitted that he felt "the cracks were starting to show" by season 9 (1980–1981).[1] Alda wished to make season 10 (1981–1982)M*A*S*H's last, but was persuaded by CBS to produce a slightly shortened 11th season, coupled with a farewell movie finale, at the request of CBS. In the end, season 11 had 15 episodes (although six had been filmed during season 10 and held over) and a2+1⁄2-hour movie, which was treated as five episodes and was filmed before the nine remaining episodes. The final episode produced was the penultimately aired episode "As Time Goes By". The series finale movie, titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", became themost-watched U.S. television broadcast in history at that time, with 106 million viewers.[1]
The 4077th consisted of two separate sets. An outdoor set in the mountains near Malibu (Calabasas, Los Angeles County, California) (34°5′47.55″N118°44′41.24″W / 34.0965417°N 118.7447889°W /34.0965417; -118.7447889) was used for most exterior and tent scenes for every season. This was the same location used to shoot the movie, although the number of tents was reduced and there were changes made to the positions of several tents for the TV show. The indoor set, on Stage 09 at Fox Studios inCentury City, was used for the indoor scenes for the run of the series. Later, after the indoor set was renovated to permit many of the "outdoor" scenes to be filmed there, both sets were used for exterior shooting as script requirements dictated (e.g., night scenes were far easier to film on the sound stage, but scenes at the helicopter pad required using the ranch).
Just as the series was wrapping production, a brush fire destroyed most of the outdoor set on October 9, 1982. The fire was written into the final episode "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" as a forest fire caused by enemyincendiary bombs that forced the 4077th to move out.
The Malibu location is today known asMalibu Creek State Park. Formerly called the Century Ranch and owned by 20th Century Fox Studios until the 1980s, the site today is returning to a natural state, and is marked by a rustedJeep and aDodge ambulance used in the show. Through the 1990s, the area was occasionally used for television commercial production.
On February 23, 2008, series stars Mike Farrell, Loretta Swit and William Christopher (along with producers Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe andM*A*S*H director Charles S. Dubin) reunited at the set to celebrate its partial restoration. The rebuilt signpost is now displayed on weekends, along with tent markers and maps and photos of the set. The state park is open to the public. It was also the location where the filmHow Green Was My Valley (1941) and thePlanet of the Apes television series (1974) were filmed, among many other productions. Much of this location, including the signpost and markers, was thought to have been destroyed in the 2018Woolsey Fire[14] but subsequently was determined to have survived the fire.[15]
There was an exhibition calledM*A*S*H: Binding Up the Wounds at theNational Museum of American History from July 30, 1983, through February 3, 1985. The exhibition was extremely popular, drawing more than 17,000 in a single week, a record for any Smithsonian display.[16]
The Swamp and Operating Room sets, one of the show's 14 Emmy Awards, early drafts of the pilot script, costumes from the show and other memorabilia were all exhibited. Sets were decorated with props from the show including the iconic signpost, Hawkeye'sstill and Major Winchester'sWebcor tape recorder and phonograph. The exhibit also encouraged visitors to compare the show to real Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals of the Korean and the Vietnam Wars.[17][18]
Series creators Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds wantedM*A*S*H broadcast without alaugh track. Though CBS initially rejected the idea, a compromise was reached that allowed for omitting the laughter during operating room scenes if desired. "We told the network that under no circumstances would we ever can laughter during an OR scene when the doctors were working," said Gelbart in 1998. "It's hard to imagine that 300 people were in there laughing at somebody's guts being sewn up."[19]
Seasons 1–5 utilized a more invasive laugh track; a more subdued audience was employed for Seasons 6–11 when the series shifted from sitcom to comedy drama with the departure of Gelbart and Reynolds. Several episodes ("O.R.", "The Bus", "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?", "The Interview", "Point of View", and "Dreams" among them) omitted the laugh track altogether; as did almost all of Season 11, including the 135-minute series finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen".[20] The laugh track is also omitted from some international and syndicated airings of the show. On one occasion during an airing onBBC2 in the UK, the laugh track was accidentally left on, and viewers expressed their displeasure; an apology from the network for the "technical difficulty" was later released, for during its original run on BBC2 in the UK, it had been shown without the laugh track. UK DVD critics speak poorly of the laugh track, stating "canned laughter is intrusive at the best of times, but with a programme likeM*A*S*H, it's downright unbearable."[21]
On all released DVDs, both in Region 1 (including the US and Canada) and Region 2 (Europe, including the UK), an option is given to watch the show with or without the laugh track.[22][23]
"They're a lie," said Gelbart in a 1992 interview. "You're telling an engineer when to push a button to produce a laugh from people who don't exist. It's just so dishonest. The biggest shows when we were on the air wereAll in the Family andThe Mary Tyler Moore Show both of which were taped before a live studio audience where laughter made sense," continued Gelbart. "But our show was a film show – supposedly shot in the middle ofKorea. So the question I always asked the network was, 'Who are these laughing people? Where did they come from?'" Gelbart persuaded CBS to test the show in private screenings with and without the laugh track. The results showed no measurable difference in the audience's enjoyment. "So you know what they said?" Gelbart said."'Since there's no difference, let's leave it alone!' The people who defend laugh tracks have no sense of humor."[20] Gelbart summed up the situation by saying, "I always thought it cheapened the show. The network got their way. They were paying for dinner."[24]
In his blog, writer Ken Levine revealed that on one occasion, when the cast offered too many nitpicking "notes" on a script, his writing partner and he changed the script to a "cold show" – one set during the frigid Korean winter. The cast then had to stand around barrel fires in parkas at the Malibu ranch when the temperatures neared 100 °F (38 °C). Levine says, "This happened maybe twice, and we never got a ticky-tack note again."[25][unreliable source?]
Jackie Cooper wrote that Alan Alda – whom Cooper directed in several episodes during the first two seasons – concealed what Cooper felt was a lot of hostility toward him, and the two barely spoke to each other by the time Cooper's tenure on the show ended.[26]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank[27] | Rating[27] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| 1 | 24 | September 17, 1972 (1972-09-17) | March 25, 1973 (1973-03-25) | 46 | 17.5 | |
| 2 | 24 | September 15, 1973 (1973-09-15) | March 2, 1974 (1974-03-02) | 4 | 25.7 | |
| 3 | 24 | September 10, 1974 (1974-09-10) | March 18, 1975 (1975-03-18) | 5 | 27.4 | |
| 4 | 25 | September 12, 1975 (1975-09-12) | February 24, 1976 (1976-02-24) | 14 | 22.9 | |
| 5 | 25 | September 21, 1976 (1976-09-21) | March 15, 1977 (1977-03-15) | 4 | 25.9 | |
| 6 | 25 | September 20, 1977 (1977-09-20) | March 27, 1978 (1978-03-27) | 8 | 23.2 | |
| 7 | 26 | September 18, 1978 (1978-09-18) | March 12, 1979 (1979-03-12) | 7 | 25.4 | |
| 8 | 25 | September 17, 1979 (1979-09-17) | March 24, 1980 (1980-03-24) | 4 | 25.3 | |
| 9 | 20 | November 17, 1980 (1980-11-17) | May 4, 1981 (1981-05-04) | 4 | 25.7 | |
| 10 | 22 | October 26, 1981 (1981-10-26) | April 12, 1982 (1982-04-12) | 9 | 22.3 | |
| 11 | 16 | October 25, 1982 (1982-10-25) | February 28, 1983 (1983-02-28) | 3 | 22.6 | |
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" was the final episode ofM*A*S*H. Special television sets were placed inPX parking lots, auditoriums and day rooms of the U.S. Army in Korea so that military personnel could watch that episode, in spite of 14 hours' time-zone difference with the East Coast of the US. The episode aired on February 28, 1983, and was 21⁄2 hours long. The episode got aNielsen rating of 60.2 and 77 share[28] and according to aNew York Times article from 1983, the final episode ofM*A*S*H had 125 million viewers.[29]
When theM*A*S*H finale aired in 1983, more than 83.3 million homes in the U.S. had televisions, compared to almost 115 million in February 2010.[30]
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" broke the record for the highest percentage of homes with television sets to watch a television series. Stories persist that the episode was seen by so many people that the New York City Sanitation/Public Works Department reported the plumbing systems broke down in some parts of the city from so many New Yorkers waiting until the end to use the toilet. Articles copied into Alan Alda's bookThe Last Days of M*A*S*H include interviews with New York City Sanitation workers citing the spike in water use on that night. According to the interviews at 11:03 pm, EST New York City public works noted the highest water usage at one given time in the city's history. They attributed this to the fact that in the three minutes after the finale ended, around 77 percent of the people of New York City flushed their toilets.[31] These stories have all since been identified as part of anurban legend dating back to the days of theAmos and Andy radio program in the 1930s.[32]
The series premiered in the United States on September 17, 1972, and ended on February 28, 1983, with the finale, showcased as a television film, titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", becoming themost-watched and highest-rated single television episode in US television history at the time, with a record-breaking 125 million viewers (60.2 rating and 77 share),[33] according to theNew York Times.[29] It had struggled in its first season and was at risk of being canceled.[34] In season two,M*A*S*H was placed in a better time slot by CBS (airing after the popularAll in the Family, taking the place ofBridget Loves Bernie, which had been canceled after one season despite good ratings due to religious groups protesting against the show's premise of an inter-faith marriage between the title characters); the show then became one of the top 10 programs of the year and stayed in the top 20 programs for the rest of its run.[34] It is still broadcast insyndication on various television stations. The series, which depicted events occurring during a three-year war, spanned 256 episodes and lasted 11 seasons. The Korean War lasted 1,128 days, meaning each episode of the series would have averaged almost four and a half days of real time. Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. Like the movie, the series was as much anallegory about theVietnam War (still in progress when the show began) as it was about theKorean War.[35]
The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, onTV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997.[36] In 2002,M*A*S*H was ranked number 25 onTV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[3] In February 2008, the series was named the number-one smartest TV show of all time by Jim Werdell, chairman ofMensa International, who said that it "had smart repartee and was so much more than a comedy".[4] In 2013, theWriters Guild of America ranked it as the fifth-best written TV series ever[5] andTV Guide ranked it as the eighth-greatest show of all time.[6] In 2016,Rolling Stone ranked it as the 16th-greatest TV show.[7] In 2023,Variety rankedM*A*S*H #24 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.[8]
| Season | Ep # | Time slot (ET) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | Nielsen Ratings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Viewers (in millions) | Rating | ||||||
| 1 | 1972–73 | 24 | Sunday at 8:00 pm | September 17, 1972 | March 25, 1973 | #46[37] | — | 17.4 |
| 2 | 1973–74 | 24 | Saturday at 8:30 pm | September 15, 1973 | March 2, 1974 | #4[38] | 17.02[38] | 25.7 |
| 3 | 1974–75 | 24 | Tuesday at 8:30 pm | September 10, 1974 | March 18, 1975 | #5[39] | 18.76[39] | 27.4 |
| 4 | 1975–76 | 25 | Friday at 8:00 pm(Episode 1) Friday at 8:30 pm(Episodes 2–13) Tuesday at 9:00 pm(Episodes 14–25) | September 12, 1975 | February 24, 1976 | #15[40] | 15.93[40] | 22.9 |
| 5 | 1976–77 | 25 | Tuesday at 9:00 pm(Episodes 1, 3–25) Tuesday at 9:30 pm(Episode 2) | September 21, 1976 | March 15, 1977 | #4[41] | 18.44[41] | 25.9 |
| 6 | 1977–78 | 25 | Tuesday at 9:00 pm(Episodes 1, 3–19) Tuesday at 9:30 pm(Episode 2) Monday at 9:00 pm(Episodes 20–25) | September 20, 1977 | March 27, 1978 | #9[42] | 16.91[42] | 23.2 |
| 7 | 1978–79 | 26 | Monday at 9:00 pm(Episodes 1–4, 6–26) Monday at 9:30 pm(Episode 5) | September 18, 1978 | March 12, 1979 | #7[43] | 18.92[43] | 25.4 |
| 8 | 1979–80 | 25 | Monday at 9:00 pm | September 17, 1979 | March 24, 1980 | #5[44] | 19.30[44] | 25.3 |
| 9 | 1980–81 | 20 | November 17, 1980 | May 4, 1981 | #4[45] | 20.53[45] | 25.7 | |
| 10 | 1981–82 | 22 | Monday at 9:00 pm(Episodes 1, 3–22) Monday at 9:30 pm(Episode 2) | October 26, 1981 | April 12, 1982 | #9[46] | 18.17[46] | 22.3 |
| 11 | 1982–83 | 16 | Monday at 9:00 pm(Episodes 1–15) Monday at 8:30 pm(Episode 16) | October 25, 1982 | February 28, 1983 | #3[47] | 18.82[47] | 22.6 |
M*A*S*H was nominated for over 100Emmy Awards during its 11-year run, winning 14:
The show won theGolden Globe Award for Best Television Series (Musical or Comedy) in 1981. Alan Alda won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) six times: in 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1983. McLean Stevenson won the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series in 1974.
The series earned theDirectors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series seven times: 1973 (Gene Reynolds), 1974 (Reynolds), 1975 (Hy Averback), 1976 (Averback), 1977 (Alan Alda), 1982 (Alda), 1983 (Alda).
The show was honored with aPeabody Award in 1975 "for the depth of its humor and the manner in which comedy is used to lift the spirit and, as well, to offer a profound statement on the nature of war."M*A*S*H was cited as "an example of television of high purpose that reveals in universal terms a time and place with such affecting clarity."[48]
Writers for the show received severalHumanitas Prize nominations, with Larry Gelbart winning in 1976, Alan Alda winning in 1980, and the team of David Pollock and Elias Davis winning twice in 1982 and 1983.
The series received 28Writers Guild of America Award nominations – 26 for Episodic Comedy and two for Episodic Drama. Seven episodes won for Episodic Comedy in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, and 1981.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has released all 11 seasons ofM*A*S*H on DVD inRegion 1 and Region 2.
| DVD title | Ep No. | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | |||
| M*A*S*H Season 1 | 24 | January 8, 2002 | May 19, 2003 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 2 | 24 | July 23, 2002 | October 13, 2003 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 3 | 24 | February 18, 2003 | March 15, 2004 | |
| M*A*S*H Seasons 1–3 | 72 | N/A | October 31, 2005 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 4 | 24 | July 15, 2003 | June 14, 2004 | |
| M*A*S*H Seasons 1–4 | 96 | December 2, 2003 | N/A | |
| M*A*S*H Season 5 | 24 | December 9, 2003 | January 17, 2005 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 6 | 24 | June 8, 2004 | March 28, 2005 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 7 | 25 | December 7, 2004 | May 30, 2005 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 8 | 25 | May 24, 2005 | August 15, 2005 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 9 | 20 | December 6, 2005 | January 9, 2006 | |
| M*A*S*H Seasons 1–9 | 214 | December 6, 2005 | N/A | |
| M*A*S*H Season 10 | 22 | May 23, 2006 | April 17, 2006 | |
| M*A*S*H Season 11 | 16 | November 7, 2006 | May 29, 2006 | |
| Martinis and Medicine Collection (Complete Series, including the Original Movie) | 256 | November 7, 2006 | October 30, 2006 | |
| Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen Collector's Edition | 1 | May 15, 2007 | N/A | |
In January 2015, it was announced that the first five seasons ofM*A*S*H would be available onNetflix's instant streaming service beginning February 1, 2015. This marked the first time the series was made available on an internet platform. As of July 1, 2015, all 11 seasons were available; syndicated versions of hour-long episodes were utilized for streaming, splitting these shows into two parts.[49] In contrast to the DVD sets, the Netflix streams did not have an option for disabling the laugh track on the soundtrack. On April 1, 2016, Netflix' contract to stream the series expired andM*A*S*H was removed from the platform.[50]
In July 2017, it was announced thatHulu had acquired U.S. streaming rights for the entire run ofM*A*S*H, along with several other 20th Century Fox-owned TV programs.[51] All 256 episodes were added to Hulu beginning June 29, 2018. All episodes were scanned in 1080 HD from the original 35mm negatives and are presented in 16:9 widescreen by cropping the top and bottom off the original 4:3 aspect ratio. Outside the U.S., the series is available onDisney+'sStar section and theStar+ service in Latin America.[52]
Two board games were created based on the show. The first came out in 1975 and was published byTransogram, and the second was published in 1981 byMilton Bradley.[53][54]
AM*A*S*H video game was produced byFox Video Games in 1983. It was criticized for trivializing the war, lacking the nuance of the film and TV show.
Finally, there was atrivia game published by Golden in 1984. It was available in two variations, one with a full complement of paraphernalia including game-tray, die, and point value cards and another version that was just question cards.[55]
A trading card set was published in 1982 byDonruss.[56] Also in 1982,Tri-Star International produced a set of MASHaction figures, with vehicles and a play set.[57][58]
The two-season spin-offAfterMASH (1983–1985) inherited the parent show's Monday night time slot and featured a few of its main characters reunited in a Midwestern hospital after the war.[59] The more successfulTrapper John, M.D. (1979–1986) took place nearly three decades after the events ofM*A*S*H and depicted Trapper John McIntyre as chief of surgery at a San Francisco hospital;[60] its producers argued successfully in court that it was based on the earlier movie rather than the TV series.[61] In an unpurchased television pilot,W*A*L*T*E*R (1984), Walter "Radar" O'Reilly joins theSt. Louis police force after his farm fails following his return to the U.S.
Making M*A*S*H, a documentary special narrated byMary Tyler Moore that takes viewers behind the production of the season 8 episodes "Old Soldiers" and "Lend a Hand", was produced forPBS, and aired on January 21, 1981. The special was later included in the syndicated rerun package, with new narration by producer Michael Hirsch.[62]
Three retrospective specials were produced to commemorate the show's 20th, 30th and 50th anniversaries:
Memories of M*A*S*H andM*A*S*H: 30th Anniversary Reunion are included as bonuses on the Collector's Edition DVD of "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen". Also included is "M*A*S*H: Television's Serious Sitcom," a 2002 episode ofA&E channel'sBiography program that detailed the show's history.
In the late 1980s, the cast had a partial reunion in a series ofcommercials forIBM products, including personal computers and theAS/400 system. All of the front-billed regulars (with the exceptions of Farrell and Stevenson) appeared in the spots over time.[63][64]
Although the cast was beginning to think thatM*A*S*H was about to hit its stride, the series was still attracting a very small audience and it ranked 46 in the ratings.
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