Watching M*A*S*H (1 Viewer)

[GregR]

"You sent all the way to Chicago for ribs, and no cole slaw?"

"Forgive us, we're draftees."

 

[wikkidpissah]

In retrospect, Hawkeye was a misogynistic a hole.

interesting take. paternalist feminists certainly look pathetic enough now, but patronization was better than what they were getting. there were (and are) men who simply could not see women as anything more evolved than accessories, sharksuckers, lessers not suited for autonomy and few who saw them past mere objects of conquest.

as a man of that era, i've looked at my own motives and found some of them wanting. pretty much every woman i had dealings with in my youth would have to say they found me very encouraging. i do wonder, however, if they find the directions toward which i encouraged them as having been better for me or them.

i find men & women's gifts entirely complimentary and i think, one day, we'll sort that out, but getting people who had to fight to be free to agree to a complimentary role for their trouble is unrealistic.

 

[Mr. Ected]

I was in Boy Scouts as a kid and MASH was on the same night as our troop meetings. I rarely saw the show in season but watched it in syndication later. For me, the show doesn't hold up well.

My parent's loved that show, so we went out the night of the last episode to buy our first VCR. Bought it at a Caldor (for those from the NE).

 

[Herb]

To me the sweet spot was the Potter, Winchester, Honeycutt period prior to Radar leaving. 

Potter > Blake

Winchester >> Burns I liked Burns but as mentioned prior, he was cardboard, and Winchester was nuanced

Trapper = Honeycutt

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen was undoubtedly the greatest final episode of a series ever. Basically perfect.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

To me the sweet spot was the Potter, Winchester, Honeycutt period prior to Radar leaving. 

Potter > Blake

Winchester >> Burns I liked Burns but as mentioned prior, he was cardboard, and Winchester was nuanced

Trapper = Honeycutt

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen was undoubtedly the greatest final episode of a series ever. Basically perfect.

Agree with the bolded and I'd flip your ranking of Honeycutt & Trapper. BJ was way deeper than Trapper John was.

 

[GregR]

My parent's loved that show, so we went out the night of the last episode to buy our first VCR. Bought it at a Caldor (for those from the NE).

Spoiler

It wasn't a chicken...

 

[Herb]

Agree with the bolded and I'd flip your ranking of Honeycutt & Trapper. BJ was way deeper than Trapper John was.

I had Trapper and Honeycutt equal as far as how much I liked them. But yes, BJ was a more well rounded character than Trap.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I had Trapper and Honeycutt equal as far as how much I liked them. But yes, BJ was a more well rounded character than Trap.

Oops. My bad. I thought you had one ranked over the other. I must have been sober when I originally misread it.

 

[Tusken Raider]

My love affair with this show began when I was a kid, when it ran in syndication after the local 10pm news. I’d get to watch it with my mom before I had to go to bed. Today, hearing that theme song gives me that Pavlovian response to lay in bed and watch MASH before calling it a night.

Today, Mom is gone, but my 7-year old son watches it with me on the DVR. I call him Radar when we watch (he’s short for his age). He hits me back with “ok, Frank Burns.”

We went to a fair this fall with some friends and their kids, and my son commented that the helicopter ride looked like the MASH chopper. My buddy’s wife asked him, “what do you know about MASH?”, to which he responded to by naming half the cast and saying that there’s no laughing when the doctors are working on hurt soldiers in the O.R.

Oh, and any episode with Colonel Flagg was gold. “Intelligence? I have nothing to do with intelligence....” 

 

[D in the D]

i think i might still have the Joe Friday speech you PMed to me years ago in my mailbox

I hope it was the one where he rattled off a bunch of drug references in rapid fire fashion.

 

[jamny]

MASH was a family favorite in our house when I was a kid. I've tried watching it a few times recently but just don't feel it. Maybe I should try from the beginning.

While the replacement cast were all great, I still like the original cast more. I was 8 when the show started and Henry, Frank and Trapper were much sillier and funnier to me at that age.

 

[jwb]

Loved this show, and have seen every episode multiple times. 

I agree that some of those "middle" periods between long term character changes/departures were really good (e.g., Potter/BJ/Burns,  Winchester/Radar)

For me, I don't necessarily like any original characters/replacements better - they are different. The originals got the show going with a certain vibe, and the replacements helped the show evolve. The replacements (Potter / BJ / Winchester) were all more well-rounded characters with a lot more depth to them, but had they stayed, maybe some of those originals might have seen significant growth. Particularly Trapper - Henry and Frank were probably too deep into their stereotypes to change much, but I could see Trapper growing into a more gentle, sensible BJ-type character. Look at Margaret as an example of a character that really changed as the series matured.  

 

[wikkidpissah]

I hope it was the one where he rattled off a bunch of drug references in rapid fire fashion.

no, but that was hilarious. couldnt find it in my mailbox after all, but (correct me if i'm wrong @Encyclopedia Brown) i'm pretty sure it was this'n, surprisingly insightful, if in a ridiculously hard-bitten way, for 50 yrs ago and sumn every millenial should probably hear.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

11 years is too much for any comedy. Most should quit after 7.

Actually Cheers best season may have been it's last (11th) - but otherwise I agree.