When Good Shows Go Bad: M*A*S*H

[TMC]

http://www.wewantinsanity.com/am2/pu..._M_A_S_H.shtml

The following program is considered by many to be one of the best TV shows of all time. Honestly I consider this a bigger sacred cow than some other shows I've done, since unlike Star Trek, for example, it was a recognized hit at the time. Furthermore, M*A*S*H is probably one of the most important television shows in the history of sitcoms for reasons I'll be going into. If anyone takes offence to the fact that I'm even saying this show 'went bad', I can assure you I'm not about to rip the show to shreds, just call a few things out.

- See more at: http://www.wewantinsanity.com/am2/pu....VGT5boyX.dpuf

[jehobden]

I agree the show became much more preachy as Alda gained more control in the later years. Highway to Heaven did so even worse due to Michael Landon's influence in the later years of that show as well. The final episode of that series, set at Christmas time but burned off in August (after Victor French's death actually) was as depressing as any series finale I've ever seen.

[RetroGuy2000]

Yes. Near the end, every episode of MASH became an opportunity for Alan Alda to rail against the problem of the week. It became too formulaic, and too centered on Alda. They forgot it was supposed to be an ensemble.

[Dude111]

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by TMC

http://www.wewantinsanity.com/am2/pu..._M_A_S_H.shtml

- See more at: http://www.wewantinsanity.com/am2/pu....VGT5boyX.dpuf

Very good article, and I wound up reading others at the site for most of last night... to the point I never made it back here at all! The studies of variou Star Trek series are good there also.

[Dr. Thong]

M*A*S*H is my favorite show of all-time, but I do agree with some of the writer's points.

The character of Hawkeye got away with stuff that would have gotten him in a lot of trouble in real life: The way he would mouth off to visiting Generals and officers of higher rank and his editorials about the war, etc.

The "Hawkeye" episode from season 4 is one of my least favorite because of the one-man-show aspect. It made me realize that it was the ensemble part of the show I liked. I missed the other characters. I wouldn't be surprised if it was done that way for budgetary reasons. Maybe the show was over budget and by doing it that way, they didn't have to pay the other actors.

My favorite years were the first three, where there was a better balance between the satire and the anti-war sentiment. I still continued to enjoy the show through the rest of its' run, but there were times when Alda's influence over the stories did get overbearing.

But, he also wrote and directed some great episodes as well.

[Will Dockery]

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

M*A*S*H is my favorite show of all-time, but I do agree with some of the writer's points.

The character of Hawkeye got away with stuff that would have gotten him in a lot of trouble in real life: The way he would mouth off to visiting Generals and officers of higher rank and his editorials about the war, etc.

The "Hawkeye" episode from season 4 is one of my least favorite because of the one-man-show aspect. It made me realize that it was the ensemble part of the show I liked. I missed the other characters. I wouldn't be surprised if it was done that way for budgetary reasons. Maybe the show was over budget and by doing it that way, they didn't have to pay the other actors.

My favorite years were the first three, where there was a better balance between the satire and the anti-war sentiment. I still continued to enjoy the show through the rest of its' run, but there were times when Alda's influence over the stories did get overbearing.

But, he also wrote and directed some great episodes as well.

Yes, the early seasons clicked with me, but of course I was ready and waiting, already a fan of M*A*S*H from the Altman movie and the novel. And the television version nailed the characters, Hawkeye, Trapper, and Blake were often the /best/ versions on the tube, good chemistry, with a touch of Marx Brothers zaniness that improved on the book and movie in ways. Then Trapper left, and like Andy when Barney left, Hawkeye just got more and more serious and dour... they lost the basic characters, or maybe they did just eveolve, grow so "war weary" that there was less and less time for smiles, as they fit in enough living for 11 years in the space of the Korean War... those times aged Hawkeye and the others beyond their (chronological storyline) years.

Or that's my quick take on it all... I have to add that I enjoyed the show until the end, it just became a different stage of the epic.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by jehobden

I agree the show became much more preachy as Alda gained more control in the later years. Highway to Heaven did so even worse due to Michael Landon's influence in the later years of that show as well. The final episode of that series, set at Christmas time but burned off in August (after Victor French's death actually) was as depressing as any series finale I've ever seen.

Perhaps Alan Alda (in the later seasons) felt that since he's been there since the beginning and everyone else has been replaced then he could do pretty much what he wanted.

[king of comedy]

Originally Posted by TMC

Perhaps Alan Alda (in the later seasons) felt that since he's been there since the beginning and everyone else has been replaced then he could do pretty much what he wanted.

That pretty much sums it.

[treky]

CBS made a HUUUGE mistake by letting Alan Alda take over the typewriter and directors chair and making it "oh we're doctors and we're nurses and we save lives which makes us so good...and death is such a bummer...and war is hell..." And on and on and on...
Then they made another mistake by letting it run for 4 more years after Radar left.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by treky

CBS made a HUUUGE mistake by letting Alan Alda take over the typewriter and directors chair and making it "oh we're doctors and we're nurses and we save lives which makes us so good...and death is such a bummer...and war is hell..." And on and on and on...

YEP!

[Retro4Life]

I guess I'm in the minority here, as I think I have stated before.

For me, the show got MUCH better after the first three years. Trapper was just a Hawkeye clone, while B.J. was his own distinct character. Frank was basically a cartoon doofus/villain, while Charles had some shading. And while I did like Henry, Potter came in as a different kind of character but still strong and sympathetic.

And I liked the more serious episodes; there were (and are) tons of throwaway comedies with no weight to them. A show about the Korean War should NOT be all hijinks and pratfalls.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

The problem is that it addressed heavyweight subjects with literally no substantial discussion. Such discussion is the burden of sitcoms that decide to instruct rather than entertain, and MASH failed at it miserably. It's hard for people to understand because they [I]wanted[I] to be engaged in something groundbreaking or serious, but the content they were seeing was something that could be pulled out of an 800 word op-ed piece in a middling newspaper.

"It's hard for people to understand"...that's just a tad condescending, don't you think?

I disagree that M*A*S*H "failed miserably". It certainly made me look at things in a new light. Beyond any political discussions, war is Hell. The depth of that hell was illustrated quite well in this show, in my opinion.

What, may I ask, would you have done to make the episodes actually "groundbreaking and serious"?