I just watch on Hallmark or my local FOX station when I can. I've seen quite a few episodes from the early, middle, and later years.

Klinger, Radar, and Charles are definitely my favorite characters. I find all the characters enjoyable, even Ferret Face. My least favorite is Hawkeye. (I don't hate him. I just like the others better.)

Col. Flagg is definitely the craziest recurring character I've ever seen on a TV show.

I think the early seasons are the funniest, but the later episodes are great too.

Trapper is much funnier than BJ.

If Radar is psychic, then why didn't he predict Henry's death and try to rescue him?

I feel bad for Frank because the other guys pick on him all the time, but then he goes and says something stupid.

Frank is funnier, but I like Charles better.

I can picture the Parents' TV Council getting all up in arms over Klinger and his cross-dressing.

I gotta hand it to Klinger; he never gave up on trying to get that Section 8!

Trapper never should have left.

Potter made a better C.O. than Blake.

Radar's teddy bear and pets were cute.

I can be laughing one minute and crying the next.

MASH truly is a great TV show and I'm kicking myself hard for never watching it before.

That's all for now :D

I just watch on Hallmark or my local FOX station when I can.

Wait until you get around to getting the DVDs. Without the laugh track, the show is 1,000 times better!

I think the early seasons are the funniest, but the later episodes are great too.

I agree. That doesn't mean I like the later episodes any less. The show just changed its tone, and that's fine with me. Eleven years worth of practical jokes and womanizing wouldn't have worked, anyway.

Trapper is much funnier than BJ.

Amen.

If Radar is psychic, then why didn't he predict Henry's death and try to rescue him?

His "psychic" sense seems only to give him the ability to look seconds into the future, or to know what people are going to say before they say it.

Frank is funnier, but I like Charles better.

I agree. Frank was a very funny character, but he was one-dimensional (though Larry Linville did a great job portraying him. Charles was a much more well-rounded, and though he's a snob, he's easier to like than Frank.

Potter made a better C.O. than Blake.

Blasphemy! ;) I love Potter, but I'm much more of a Blake fan.

MASH truly is a great TV show and I'm kicking myself hard for never watching it before.

Don't feel too bad. I didn't get into the show until a few years ago.

I agree that Potter was a much better and certainly more believeable character...unfortunately, we seem to be in the minority here

Winning fans over one at a time.

That's the M*A*S*H way.

I'm willing to overlook your feelings about Hawkeye my dear. For now...

I agree that Potter was a much better and certainly more believeable character...unfortunately, we seem to be in the minority here

I believe Potter was better at his job than Blake, but for a sitcom, I'd much rather have Henry Blake at command.

Who knows how Henry would have changed with the show. I mean, most of the characters evolved throughout the show. However, Blake, Trapper and Frank didn't. If they had stayed till the end, I wonder how they would have changed.

"I think the early seasons are the funniest."



They're not only the funniest, they're the BEST!!! I wish Trapper & Henry never left, and the show didn't turn dramatic & preachy. Not that much at first, but by the last 3 seasons (after Radar left-another character who I wish had stayed) it was mostly "Oh, we're doctors, and we're so good,and we're so this and so that, and death is such a bummer, and war is hell!" Whenever it wasn't "The Alan Alda show."

GIVE ME A BREAK, ALREADY!!! :crazy:


That's why I just own the first 3 seasons on DVD!

"I think the early seasons are the funniest."



They're not only the funniest, they're the BEST!!! I wish Trapper & Henry never left, and the show didn't turn dramatic & preachy. Not that much at first, but by the last 3 seasons (after Radar left-another character who I wish had stayed) it was mostly "Oh, we're doctors, and we're so good,and we're so this and so that, and death is such a bummer, and war is hell!" Whenever it wasn't "The Alan Alda show."

GIVE ME A BREAK, ALREADY!!! :crazy:


That's why I just own the first 3 seasons on DVD!

Hallmark is showing the last couple of seasons right now and while I still like them, I do agree that the earlier episodes are the best. There are still some pretty funny moments, especially with Charles, but the preachiness and dramatics really get on my nerves. They never should have let Alan Alda take so much control over the show. I just want to tell Hawkeye to shut the :censored: up sometimes.

I just want to tell Hawkeye to shut the :censored: up sometimes.
:lol:

[QUOTE= I just want to tell Hawkeye to shut the :censored: up sometimes.[/QUOTE]

MAD Magazine did a parody of the show in 1982 and when "Squawkeye" went into one of his "I hate this damn war" rants, someone shouted out "Quick! Someone stop him before they start flashing the telethon numbers across the screen!" :D

I liked the earlier, less serious Hawkeye myself.

And Homerrific, welcome to the wonderful world of M*A*S*H. I strongly suggest renting and/or buying the DVDs and watching them in chronological order by season, preferably with the laugh track disabled. You'll get to see how the show progressed and the many changes it underwent during its 11 year run.

I love this show until Radar left. That's why I won't be buying anymore of the season sets. I have one through seven. I love Col. Potter. He is a more believable character, though Blake made me laugh out loud. What a dolt! Still, it is one of my all time favorite shows and I never tire of watching the DVDs.

Lolac
:wave:

a few thoughts from my self.....

My brother prefers Trapper over B.J. too, but so what if their personalities were different. B.J. wasn't so serious that he didn't have fun and make fun (see the "Dear sigmund" episode), but he was the straight man to Hawkeye's cut-up. Col. Potter was different, mainly that he wasn't lax like Henry. as for Radar's failing to know about Henry's death beforehand, it was written that way to show that war causes death to the good guys as well!
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Hawkeye (to B.J.): "Morning, Beauregard. How's the mint julep coming?" B.J.: "A real Louisville slugger! Taste it yourself." Hawkeye (after tasting it): "needs more julep." B.J.: "Un-huh." Hakeye: "By the by what are you using for the mint?" B.J.: "Green cough syrup." Hawkeye: "Mmmmh! antiseptic, and antebellum."

If Radar is psychic, then why didn't he predict Henry's death and try to rescue him?


I don't think his powers were that great. Otherwise they would have made more of that fact.

It's possible he did sense some danger. But so does anyone who has a loved one travelling by air. He would have dismissed his feelings as just that.

I don't think his powers were that great. Otherwise they would have made more of that fact.

It's possible he did sense some danger. But so does anyone who has a loved one travelling by air. He would have dismissed his feelings as just that.

This was discussed before. Radar could sense things that were just about to happen. And they were always things that he was near, like other people saying things or choppers flying in. He never had any premonitions of anything outside the camp.

I love Col. Potter. He is a more believable character, though Blake made me laugh out loud.

And that was precisely the point. Sherman Potter was a no-nonsense, career military man. However, he wasn't exactly by-the-book. He allowed unimportant things to slide, like Klinger wearing dresses or the occasional impromptu bonfire. He was more like a father figure.

Henry Blake, was not believable as a commanding officer. And he would have been the first to tell you he was a doctor, not a military man. He was indeed in over his head, which was part of the reason those first three seasons were so damn funny. About the only person Henry served as a father figure to was Radar.

I liked both colonels - I just prefer the comedic tone of the first three seasons. When Harry Morgan played General Steele in the third season opener, it was like getting to see the two colonels together in a way. It also served as an unwitting audition for Harry Morgan because when McLean Stevenson left, they knew who they wanted to replace him. There were no auditions for the part of Col. Potter.

Radar may not have sensed things outside of camp, but it's possible he may have sensed danger regarding the person who was closest to him at that point in his life.

Many people without special abilities have experienced that. It wouldn't have been unreasonable for Radar (who had an ability, though minor) to have experienced something like that.

This was discussed before. Radar could sense things that were just about to happen. And they were always things that he was near, like other people saying things or choppers flying in. He never had any premonitions of anything outside the camp.



And that was precisely the point. Sherman Potter was a no-nonsense, career military man. However, he wasn't exactly by-the-book. He allowed unimportant things to slide, like Klinger wearing dresses or the occasional impromptu bonfire. He was more like a father figure.

Henry Blake, was not believable as a commanding officer. And he would have been the first to tell you he was a doctor, not a military man. He was indeed in over his head, which was part of the reason those first three seasons were so damn funny. About the only person Henry served as a father figure to was Radar.

I liked both colonels - I just prefer the comedic tone of the first three seasons. When Harry Morgan played General Steele in the third season opener, it was like getting to see the two colonels together in a way. It also served as an unwitting audition for Harry Morgan because when McLean Stevenson left, they knew who they wanted to replace him. There were no auditions for the part of Col. Potter.
acctualy, that part of the show-along with many other parts of it-was realistic. They'd let things "slide" with the doctors, etc. because they simply couldn't afford to disipline them, since there was a shortage of medical personel in Korea, and more as the war dragged on.

Actually, that part of the show - along with many other parts of it - was realistic. They'd let things "slide" with the doctors, etc. because they simply couldn't afford to disipline them, since there was a shortage of medical personel in Korea, and more as the war dragged on.

Potter himself pretty much said the same thing in an episode, more or less.

Great minds think alike!:cool:

Man, I really hate it when people pull the "preachy and dramatic" line. Everyone who ever says that is just copying what family guy said. And what's funny about Family Guy is that they make fun of everything, they're not serious. For example, Stephen King is a great, and very original author, he has just written a ton of books. They made fun of this concept by having Stephen King present a story to a publisher about a killer lamp monster because he was running out of ideas. This is funny because it's exagerrating the reality but still holds a little bit of truth.

I laughed so hard when Peter said the remark about how Alan Alda got behind the camera and got all preachy and dramatic. It's funny because first of all Peter is an idiot and wouldn't see the importance of the show becoming serious or evolving in any way and it's funny because it holds a little truth, but ignores other important factors, just as the Stephen King joke ignores the fact that he comes up with very good and original ideas for his books.

If the show would have stayed the same as the first 3 seasons all the way through, then I probably wouldn't have ever really gotten into it like I did. The thing about the show that enraptured me was the characters and how they evolved so much throughout the show, in the end showing their good-hearted sides that I think were true to the actor's true personalities. I've never had such a feeling of fullfilment after watching a sit-com as I do M*A*S*H. When I watch shows that are just plain funny, it's good, but the way that M*A*S*H captured such a wide range of emotions in each episode of the later seasons is fantastic and much better to watch than a show that just makes you laugh, which there are plenty of already.

The early seasons are way too kind-heartedly silly for me to find really funny in any way. In fact I thought a lot of the later episodes were funnier than most early episodes. The serious milieu of the show surrounding the jokes would make it much funnier, because what I find really funny are things that are more true to life.

I'd also like to say that when I was young and I first started watching M*A*S*H my fav. character and sort of role model was Hawkeye. Now I still kinda like him, but find him to be whiny and a little too self-righteous. But what's great about his character is that he has very apparent faults that he's confronted with, just like any other person.

Man, I really hate it when people pull the "preachy and dramatic" line...

I hear what you're saying, but I think it did get a little preachy at times in the later years. The dramatic aspect was always there, even in the early years, which were more satirical in tone. The characters grew and matured and as a result of their experience, were scared into being a little more grown up than they would have under normal circumstances.

I personally like satire better myself (which is probably why I prefer the early years), but you know what?? It's all MASH and it's all good. Very good.;)