Mash (DVD) Review

Based on a Richard Hooker novel of the same name, MASH was released in 1970 as a full-length feature film by 20th Century Fox before experiencing widespread success as a groundbreaking television sitcom in the Fall of 1972. The show's brilliant integration of drama and comedy made it one of the most celebrated shows in TV history, culminating in an eleven year prime time series stint. The 1983 series finale of MASH made history as the program with the single largest audience in television history, beating out several SuperBowls and the fabled "Who Shot J.R." episode of Dallas. With the proliferation of new television mediums, it's a record likely to never be broken…

The sitcom is set in South Korea during American involvement in the Korea War (with M*A*S*H standing for "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital"). Buffered from the front lines by a mountain range and a minefield, the men and women of MASH were tasked with patching up wounded American soldiers. Unique to its genre, the cast of MASH was unusually large. Surgeons Dr. Benjamin Pierce (Alan Alda) and Dr. "Trapper" John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers) play the roles of excellent doctors who enjoy women and booze, while Dr. Frank Burns (Larry Linville) and Nurse Practitioner Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) play foil to the two men's shenanigans (due to a contract dispute, Rogers' character was later replaced by Dr. B.J. Hunnicutt - played by Mike Farrell). The character of Frank Burns was also later replaced by Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers)…

Corporal Max Klinger (Jamie Farr) provides comic relief with his early attempts to procure a discharge by dressing in women's clothing, and Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher) adds flavor to a diverse cast of characters. Also rounding out the cast are Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson), Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff), and Col. Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan)…

The MASH DVD offers a number of hilarious episodes including the series premiere in which Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre learn that their houseboy, Ho-John, got accepted to Hawkeye's alma mater. In order to raise money for Ho-John's trip to the United States, the two auction off a weekend pass to Tokyo with Nurse Dish and celebrate the college acceptance with a lavish party… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "The Moose" in which a GI arrives at camp with a Korean female slave he purchased, and "Cease-Fire" in which the MASH camp prematurely celebrates a purported cease-fire which never takes place…

Below is a list of episodes included on the MASH (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (The Pilot) Air Date: 09-17-1972
Episode 2 (To Market, to Market) Air Date: 09-24-1972
Episode 3 (Requiem for a Lightweight) Air Date: 10-01-1972
Episode 4 (Chief Surgeon Who?) Air Date: 10-08-1972
Episode 5 (The Moose) Air Date: 10-15-1972
Episode 6 (Yankee Doodle Doctor) Air Date: 10-22-1972
Episode 7 (Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts) Air Date: 11-05-1972
Episode 8 (Cowboy) Air Date: 11-12-1972
Episode 9 (Henry, Please Come Home) Air Date: 11-19-1972
Episode 10 (I Hate a Mystery) Air Date: 11-26-1972
Episode 11 (Germ Warfare) Air Date: 12-10-1972
Episode 12 (Dear Dad) Air Date: 12-17-1972
Episode 13 (Edwina) Air Date: 12-24-1972
Episode 14 (Love Story) Air Date: 01-07-1973
Episode 15 (Tuttle) Air Date: 01-14-1973
Episode 16 (The Ringbanger) Air Date: 01-21-1973
Episode 17 (Sometimes You Hear the Bullet) Air Date: 01-28-1973
Episode 18 (Dear Dad, Again) Air Date: 02-04-1973
Episode 19 (The Long-John Flap) Air Date: 02-17-1973
Episode 20 (The Army-Navy Game) Air Date: 02-25-1973
Episode 21 (Sticky Wicket) Air Date: 03-04-1973
Episode 22 (Major Fred C. Dobbs) Air Date: 03-11-1973
Episode 23 (Cease-Fire) Air Date: 03-18-1973
Episode 24 (Showtime) Air Date: 03-25-1973

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Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the MASH (DVD).

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