M*A*S*H is an American war comedy drama television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1972, to February 28, 1983. It was developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970 film of the same name, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The series, produced by 20th Century-Fox Television, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–1953).
The ensemble cast originally featured Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers as surgeons Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper" John McIntyre, respectively, as the protagonists of the show. They were joined by Larry 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, and William 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 by Mike Farrell as B. J. Hunnicutt, McLean Stevenson was replaced by Harry Morgan as Sherman Potter, Larry Linville was replaced by David 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 included Kellye Nakahara, Jeff Maxwell, Johnny Haymer, Allan Arbus, Edward Winter and G. W. Bailey.
The series varied in style and tone—including broad comedy and tragedy—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. The show's title sequence features an instrumental version of "Suicide Is Painless", the original film's theme song.
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 the M*A*S*H works and one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history and is regarded by many as one of the greatest television shows of all time. Its final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", was the most-watched television broadcast in the United States from 1983 to 2010, and it remains both the most-watched finale of any television series and the most-watched episode of a scripted series.
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.
The show is an ensemble piece revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–53). The "4077th MASH" was one of several surgical units in Korea. The asterisks 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 the Vietnam War had not ended; the show was forced to walk the fine line of reflecting 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—Captains Pierce, 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 as Eldon Quick, Herb Voland, Mary Wickes and Tim 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 the BBC, 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."
Through changes of personnel M*A*S*H maintained a relatively constant ensemble cast, with four characters—Hawkeye, Father Mulcahy, Margaret Houlihan and Maxwell 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 on the seventh season were named after the 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers.
For the first three seasons, the show's ensemble cast included Alan Alda as surgeon Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, Wayne Rogers as surgeon Captain Trapper John McIntyre, McLean Stevenson as company commander Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, Loretta Swit as head nurse Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, Larry Linville as surgeon Major Frank Burns, Gary Burghoff as company clerk Corporal Walter Eugene "Radar" O'Reilly, Jamie Farr as combat medic Corporal Maxwell Klinger, and William Christopher as chaplain 1st Lieutenant Father 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 by Mike Farrell as surgeon Captain B. J. Hunnicutt and Harry Morgan as surgeon Colonel Sherman T. Potter as the new commanding officer.
After season 5, Linville left to be replaced by David Ogden Stiers as surgeon Major Charles Emerson Winchester III.
Early in season 8, Burghoff left the show; Klinger (Farr) was moved to company clerk to replace Radar, while G. W. Bailey joined the cast to play Staff Sergeant Luther Rizzo, the unit's motor pool sergeant. Other long-serving actors on the show include Kellye Nakahara as Nurse Kellye, Jeff Maxwell as Private Igor Straminsky, Johnny Haymer as Sergeant Zelmo Zale, the supply sergeant, Allan Arbus as psychiatrist Major Sidney Freedman, and Edward Winter as intelligence officer Colonel 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 writer Larry Gelbart departed after season 4. Executive producer Gene Reynolds departed at the conclusion of season 5 in 1977, resulting in M*A*S*H being almost fully stripped of its original comedic foundation by the beginning of season 6.
Whereas Gelbart and Reynolds were the comedic voice of M*A*S*H for the show's first five seasons (1972–1977), Alan Alda and newly promoted executive producer Burt Metcalfe became the new dramatic voice of M*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 series M*A*S*H. The departures of McLean Stevenson, Larry Linville and Gary Burghoff removed gifted performers of physical and verbal comedy. Wayne Rogers' 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 a Section 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: