Several characters came and went from this hit sitcom, I am curious to know which of the many departures hurt the show or yourself the most?

http://www.retro-cafe.com/70s/images/cast-mash.jpg

The loss of the character, Col. Henry Blake, affected me the most, but none of the losses of other characters ultimately hurt the show in my opinion because M*A*S*H was good at introducing new and colorful characters with their own personalities and quirks, which made things more realistic, then, let's say trying to replace a character with the same character played by a different actor. Plus, it kind of fit in with the military. People leave, get reassigned and so forth. So it seemed natural.

I'm referring to regular characters, of course. Long before Harry Morgan took on the role of Col. Potter, didn't he make a one-time appearance in an earlier episode, as some sort of eccentric general?

I agree, the show actually got STRONGER after most of the cast departures, except for Radar's, and they didn't try to replace him (which was a good idea).

The loss of the character, Col. Henry Blake, affected me the most, but none of the losses of other characters ultimately hurt the show in my opinion because M*A*S*H was good at introducing new and colorful characters with their own personalities and quirks, which made things more realistic, then, let's say trying to replace a character with the same character played by a different actor. Plus, it kind of fit in with the military. People leave, get reassigned and so forth. So it seemed natural.

I'm referring to regular characters, of course. Long before Harry Morgan took on the role of Col. Potter, didn't he make a one-time appearance in an earlier episode, as some sort of eccentric general?

The third season opener, "The General Flipped At Dawn," featured Morgan as a crazy general, General Bartford Hamilton Steele. It ended up being an unintentional audition, because when McLean Stevenson left, they knew they wanted Morgan to play Potter. No auditions were held.

I don't think any of the departures hurt the show. They were able to bring in some very strong replacement characters which gave the writers lots of new stories to write. So the departures may have actually helped the show by giving the writers new characters and new stories to explore.

The third season opener, "The General Flipped At Dawn," featured Morgan as a crazy general, General Bartford Hamilton Steele. It ended up being an unintentional audition, because when McLean Stevenson left, they knew they wanted Morgan to play Potter. No auditions were held.

Thanks for the details. Great information. :)

Yooch (a.k.a. a big M*A*S*H fan)

I don't think any of the departures hurt the show. They were able to bring in some very strong replacement characters which gave the writers lots of new stories to write. So the departures may have actually helped the show by giving the writers new characters and new stories to explore.

Excellent point. I think you're right.

"No auditions were held", as you said Dr. Thong. That really says a lot about the wise choice of Morgan. He was such a credible character. 'All army' and definitely in command, but with a human side to him. He still remains one of my favorite M*A*S*H characters.

The third season opener, "The General Flipped At Dawn," featured Morgan as a crazy general, General Bartford Hamilton Steele. It ended up being an unintentional audition, because when McLean Stevenson left, they knew they wanted Morgan to play Potter. No auditions were held.
yea, and the scene in that episode where the two of them are talking about a tounge depresser; was the scene where they DEFINETALY decided to make Harry Morgan McLeans replacment.

"No auditions were held", as you said Dr. Thong. That really says a lot about the wise choice of Morgan. He was such a credible character. 'All army' and definitely in command, but with a human side to him. He still remains one of my favorite M*A*S*H characters.

When he played General Steele, the producers were surprised at how funny Morgan was. I think it was Gary Burghoff who said, "Who knew he was so funny?"

I think the general perception of Morgan was from his role on Dragnet, where he played a stone-faced, deadpan role.

The producers were worried that viewers might be confused by seeing the same actor in a different role, but only one person responded that way.

Without a doubt, they made the best choice, imo.

From a personal standpoint I think Col Henry Blake and Capt Macintyre leaving turned the show in another direction and at the time I was hesitant to like the Col Potter character or BJ. Over their first season I grew to like Henry Morgan very much, not so much the BJ character, and as the saying goes the show went on. When Larry Linville left I was quite upset and I never liked the Winchester character even though he brought a different element to the interaction between Hawkeye and BJ. I never missed an episode with the original cast, missed a few when McLean left and started missing them more so once Charles Emerson Winchester joined the show.

Probably Henry Blake - and I think Trapper was more realistic as Hawkeye's partner-in-crime than BJ, but I digress. Forgive my ignorance - I'm nowhere near as familiar with M*A*S*H as I am with other shows, but who stayed from start to finish? Alan Alda, Jamie Farr and Loretta Swit are the only ones I can think of who did.

Actually Jamie Farr started part way through the first season on what was supposed to be a one time appearance. They liked his work so much they kept him around as a recurring character and then eventually as a regular cast member. The only cast members who were there from start to finish were Alan Alda, Loretta Swit , and William Christopher. Although another actor(George Morgan) played Father Mulcahy in the pilot.

OK - thanks for clearing that up!

OK - thanks for clearing that up!
You're welcome!

I thought that Radar's departure hurt the show the most. As I once read in an article about the show, when Klinger was promoted from within the camp to Company Clerk, it stopped the relationships that could have been formed with the existing characters and this new character. I thought that the other replacements, especially Charles for Frank, actually helped the show. Charles was a better surgeon than Frank, as well as a better adversary for Hawkeye & B.J.

I think they should of pulled the plug on the series when Gary Burghoff left. The show was getting stale and too (melo) dramatic. The show was on so long that one could see the characters physically age (Alda was growing grey by then).

On one late 10th or 11th season episode, the main characters were having coffee in the mess tent when Klinger brought up Trapper from "the old days".

Radar's leaving would have had the most impact to me.

I never really cared for Henry Blake's character. He was too unprofessional. I'm not even saying that he was that unrealistic because I've seen managers like that. But I don't like them in real life either.

I just don't have much respect for superiors who just want to be your "pal" and don't try to set a standard of leadership. Yes, I know that sounds corny, but it's how I feel.

I think they should of pulled the plug on the series when Gary Burghoff left. The show was getting stale and too (melo) dramatic. The show was on so long that one could see the characters physically age (Alda was growing grey by then).

On one late 10th or 11th season episode, the main characters were having coffee in the mess tent when Klinger brought up Trapper from "the old days".

I agree. With the exception of a few episodes here and there, the show was unwatchable after Radar left in season 8.

I thought the Col. Blake and Frank departures hurt the worst, even though their replacements were good actors. The show just wasn't as funny as it used to be by season 5 or 6.

I think Radar leaving had the most impact. I thought it was a good time though because in Season 8 he started to show his age and his voice sounded serious. Heck Burghoff missed a lot of Season 6 and I think Season 7.

Mash might of jumped the shark as soon as Hunnicut grew the mustache! Lol!