M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H was a TV show based around the Korean war in the 1950's. It starred Alan Alda in the main role of Captain Hawkeye Pearce, the chief surgeon of the 4077th mobile army surgical hospital.

The series ran for longer than the war itself and attracted the acting talents of Wayne Rogers (Trapper), Loretta Switt (Hotlips), Mike Farrell (BJ), Gary Burghoff (Radar) , Larry Linville (Frank Burns) and many others too numerous to mention.

Even though it was a comedy, MASH also brought home the realities of war complete with the constant arrival of injured people. It did not glamourise war at all and did remind the viewer that these kinds of things were part of the reality of war.

I always remember watching MASH the first time round with my Dad and brother when it came on BBC 2 but now I enjoy the re-runs on satellite.

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Author of this article:

Michael Johnson

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Do You Remember M*A*S*H?

Chris T on 2007-08-10 20:49:49

MASH is one of the greatest comedies ever made. But it never shied away from the horrors of war. One episode that sticks in my mind is the Season 3 finale "Abyssinia, Henry" in which the well liked man in command, Col Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson), finishes his tour of duty. At the end of the episode, Radar goes into the OR and reads the message that Blake's plane had been shot down and there were no survivors. It still brings a lump to my throat even now.