Agreed!

I do every night on hulu. I purchased a set of martinis and medicine at a great price this week

Mash is nothing like Seinfeld it was actually funny

Only the 1st 3 seasons!!!

Unless channels like MeTV just play the same 20 episodes over and over.

Problem with people that make millions pretending to be someone else, they listen to the "YES" people/hangerons that are attracted to the $$$$!

@@Capohanf1 - Another problem is those who make judgements about others that they do not know personally, based upon their income. Jealousy may factor in.

The change in the comedic tone and lightheartedness that viewers detected at that time was actually due to the loss of series co-creator, writer, and director Larry Gelbart after season 4, one season after MS and WR departed. He was the comedic voice of MASH in its first four seasons.

The tone definitely changed for sure with the departures of McLean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers after Season 3 was done and Season 4 started. Could even darker tone when Larry Linville departed after season 5 and Burghoff after season 7 only to return for season 8 to film his two part episode of Radar leaving the 4077. Although I liked Trapper more then BJ I liked the characters of Potter and Charles more then Henry and Burns. I am a big fan of the show and have seen every episode and season. Radar could get annoying at times and felt they did a good job developing Klinger from the beginning as a Corporal wearing dresses and doing other antics to get himself a section 8 to be being a established clerk replacing Radar and eventually the writers giving up the dresses to get out of war gig.

WRONG! The show was better when he left, still funny, but more realistic and Colonel Potter was the adult in the room.

First three seasons with Trapper and Henry were the best.

​@@TheCactusTom❤

Thanks for sharing.

I really loved this episode, everyone wants to go home. I was glad he made it, I was shocked along with others when I died 😢. I know it wasn’t the writers intent, but it shows everyone didn’t come home.

I have difficulty watching it. I was like losing a family member

@@dorothycoker8830 If it wasn't the writer's intent, it should have been. It's a face of war that people die. Even more important, that they often die pointless and unheroic deaths.

The cast had no clue Radar was going to say that. They kept it a complete surprise so they could get honest reactions.

no one else in the ER knew they had last minute added Radars walk into the ER with the bad news- Alda had just stormed up front and told them "Henry cant leave for a vacation you have to kill him"--really considered himself the main boss on the show - i still watch it an hour a day, many of the Potter era are wayyy to sappy for me , and when Alda monopolizes the show with his monolog which hes sure everyone wants to see, i did love when he and Margaret got to make out, not sure if they were going to die - she was hotttttt in that scene

"there weren't no survivors"

That scene was especially rough on my father-in-law. When he was an infant, his father died in a plane crash between Japan and Korea during the war.

I still get choked up whenever I watch "Abyssinia, Henry"😢

Not just America !

It was a TV show - made up. Nobody really died.

In the early seasons of MASH there was more comedy than drama in the show.

The show with those two one of the great TV comedies of all time, the show after was not worth watching. Shouldve been canceled after they left.

Yep..it sucked

@@renohightower6248 it was way better after they left.

@@michaelratliff905 it got way better after Potter, Honeycut, and Winchester where added.

Yep. I've heard he was friendly to fans.

I love to hear stories like this. Nice to know that the actors I believe are nice people actually are! So many actors have huge egos, it’s good to hear a few can be regular guys.

@@cowpuddles4851 Back in the 70s, I worked at a MIlwaukee TV station where we did a noon time, one hour show "Dialing For Dollars". I had the chance to meet dozens and dozens of big names from movies and TV. Most were very nice. The one name that comes to mind is Shelley Winters. We also did a cooking segment on the show, that day they made a huge strawberry torte. Shelley left the studio with the entire desert. Apparently didn't think sharing was very important.

Was he working there or dining there?

Wayne Rogers left because he was a successful money manager. He was making so much that it outshined what he was making as an actor. Some of his fellow cast mates even allowed them to invest for them.

Agreed! Hawkeye and Frank are my two least favorite characters. Trapper and Charles are my most favorite on the show. Too bad they never appeared together.

I think Trapper John and Hawkeye were terrific as a team. Too bad actors have such enormous egos.

Kristen S I’ll go with Charles and Klinger. Two complete opposites that I absolutely loved.

@@Dajuggernaut74 Also going back to the day when actors acted the characters instead of just walking around saying their lines.

True. But I suspect by the time he left, he WAS unhappy with money. It would be different if he were just a struggling actor looking for his first break - then you'd be willing to put up with a lot more. But an established actor who is financially secure can be a bit more picky. It often doesn't work out (just ask Jim Nabors), but at least you aren't going to be financially crippled for trying.

The thing is, he had money whether he worked or not. His cousin was Governor of Illinois and twice the Democratic nominee for President and his great-grandfather's brother was Vice President. The Stevenson family was super prominent in Illinois (and the U.S.) So he didn't have to do anything he was unhappy with.

@RenaissanceRecorders Water of Life --the name of the character is Uhura--and the spelling is role--Not roll---and I am glad Dr. King counseled here to stay!!

@@lawrence142002 Just because he had a relative with a government job and made lots of money doesn't necessarily mean McClean got any of it. Not unless your name is Biden.

If we're going to talk military perspective and forget it was just a TV show, it always struck me as a little odd that a regular army 0-6 was brought in to fill a billet previously occupied by a reserve 0-5, but I guess it could have happened. Seems like an AD bird colonel with the time Potter had behind him would have been on staff at HQ level if not up at I Corps, rather than being stuck down at a lowly MASH unit. That much horsepower and experience should have been overseeing several MASH units, if not occupying a cushy IG slot or similar.

@@TS-ef2gv Well he had been at iCorps I think prior to arriving at MASH. If I remember correctly.

@@TS-ef2gv at ease! Troop, you’re not back in garrison! It was just a COMEDY TV SHOW!

@@TS-ef2gv Except that Potter was a surgeon, and maybe he pulled some weight to get into that job.

@@TS-ef2gv Remember Potter was close to retirement when he got billeted and had come out of a staff job. Totally plausible to put him there to finish out his time Doctors have always been in short supply, so putting a full bird into a light colonel spot with such specialized training is not really a stretch

@@floogelhornzzz4770 Ha ha ha, got to love a good laugh my friend. Cherish M*A*S*H the rest of our life's. Always remember the good. God bless!

Me too, two beer!

What would Blake be like had MASH turned from a comedy to drama show.

@@KevinDavis338 Blake had some serious moments in those first three seasons and I think that he would have made the transition very well.

You know general, I don't even know if they can sterilize wood. - Dr. Henry Blake.

@@jdsundstrom I did like Colonel Potter too, but it was the Burns and Houlihan duo that was the fuel for the comedy fire...

MASH got better in 1975. The writing was superior. Harry Morgan and Mike Farrell enabled the show to make a seamless transition, following the departures of McLean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers. Stevenson did what he felt was right by leaving. NBC was dangling the possibility of being Johnny Carson's successor, and he would be the star of the show that was developed for him. That had to look pretty good on paper. Stevenson knew that he was taking a major gamble. He lost.

@@davidsamuels9557 that is why in America everyone gets an opinion even one completely wrong like yours. Mash peaked in Season 3…..no doubt about it

@@astrosjer822 You're trying too hard. You're just a fan like the rest of us. Get over yourself.

@@davidsamuels9557 Avant Garde Clue

@@astrosjer822 Time to take your meds.

ThankYou ThankYou ThankYou... for typing that You Are Absolutely Correct

That's a true fact. Morgan would have simply been a crazy general!

And you only have to see an interview with Morgan to see how much that show and those people meant to him.

True.

@@Trainwheel_Time Totally. And he to us.

I've always been torn on this. While I certainly enjoyed BJ Hunnicut more than Trapper John, and I liked the character of Charles Winchester a, LOT more than Ferret Face, I've always been at even keel between Blake and Potter. I think it worked out perfectly the way it went down, and Potter certainly was the better leader to the crazy mess that was the 4077, which also lent him to be the father figure they had needed all along. (my apologies to Father Mulcahe (sp?)). Until Potter came along, Hawkeye had nobody smart enough or stern enough to keep him in line. Morgan was awesome, and I'm glad we can remember him as the Colonel instead of the ridiculous general from that one episode.

They were based in Portland and Seattle. Those aren't small cities.

Frasier was a spin-off from Cheers. Frasier was well established on Cheers so it wasn’t like he had to build an audience. Kelsey tried to do several shows after Frasier that never caught on, one where he played a TV news anchor with Patricia Heaton I think in Pennsylvania. It was only on one season and I thought it had potential because it was basically Frasier on TV but he left to do another series that failed. Now Frasier is getting a reboot.

I always wait for the clang very sad moment on a show that had quite a few of them tbh, just an amazing tv show though

Larry Gelbart mentioned the "clang" in an interview. He said it was an accident that was not planned. But it added to the scene so perfect the left it in.

@@razter6678 Yes! That clang was a perfect accident! We both saw the same interview.. Kool. Time froze. You could hear a pin drop... CLANGG! A startle was better than the intended tense fade out. McLean was great in mash. I didn't recall his other shows though.

@@razter6678 the scene was not rehearsed and only Alan Alda knew the script so the genuine reactions were real as the cast were like a family.

Thanks for sharing your memories, Richard!

The brilliance of the evolution of M*A*S*H was that they never tried to replace the characters that left, but rather they filled the void by introducing entirely new characters. When Stevenson left the show, they didn't try to come up with a new Henry Blake-type, but in a stroke of pure genius went in a fresh direction with Col. Potter. It was a gutsy call that ultimately make a great show even better.

@@michaeltuz608 I like potter's character a tad bit more. That's because he was the old, gruff, straight to the point kind of man that served in the last war.

Same with replacing Frank Burns with Charles Emerson Winchester..."I do not sweat, I perspire" There were times when Hawkeye and BJ got the better of him, but also times when he displayed a compassionate side, like trying to motivate the pianist who lost an arm to keep playing, and the stuttering soldier who loved comic books and Winchester gave him a leather-bound copy of "Moby Dick" to expand his literary horizons.....and the kicker in that scenario was his sister Honoria was a stutterer....masterful writing, that only became known at the very end of the episode

It definitely has its spot on the top ten list for epic tv scenes.

A yeast roll?

@@bobroberts3891 He lived a long life...

A year before MASH premiered, 1971, Rogers was the heavy in a first-season episode of 'Cannon.' The guy could act!

Well said... and the bumbling doc Frank Burns... for the Great Pompous Bostonian Surgeon, Charles Emerson Winchester... BRILLIANT!!!

Agreed. Replacing Frank with Charles was the best move the show made, in my opinion. Charles was probably the most complex character on the show.

And they got the right actors to play those roles.

To be honest I preferred Charles Winchester over Frank Burns. I also like Colonel Potter over Colonel Blake.

It was definitely time for Burns to go, and Larry Linville saw it. Burns was just too one dimensional, and while the Margaret Houlihan character continued to evolve, Burns would never be anything other than what he was. Winchester was a far more complex, interesting character.

He was also burnt out with the show and sick of the demanding schedules with the show he felt took him away from his family. Gary Burghoff was not like his character Radar at all, he was known on set to be rude, unfriendly, complained constantly and would show up late to rehearsals. He was very difficult to work with work where actors David Ogden Stiers and Larry Linville were very well liked on set in contrast to their unlikeable characters.

And then his wife divorced him!

@@scottknode898 The "time with family" bit is what they ALL say. Meanwhile, according to reports, Gary now spends his demanding-free schedule in a Florida motorhome.

Thanks for sharing, Phil!

Yep...a real tearjerker!

Sorry to hear that it's been so difficult, Michael!

" I learned how tough and brutal acting can be for a career choice" Determination and frankly, luck. I know everyone wants to think it was their determination, skill and that alone if they become a famous actor, artist or whatever, but there is a heaping helping of right place, right time. I will add to that, that includes people that already have connections into the business. It's difficult to be a total hollywood outsider and actually have a career as an actor. SO MANY actors and actresses had some sort of "in" that didn't involve their individual talent. Look at any young A Lister. I can almost guarantee they had parents that were in the business, are the relative of another actor or someone in the business. So few are actually stories of someone packing up moving to hollywood and making it.

@@jdsundstrom I started too late -in my 40s. I saw early on I would not make it.

@@tsdobbi You are right, and I research actors all the time. A few broke in on their own -- Renee Zellweger, Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt come to mind. I did a 2 day workshop with the late Cathy Henderson Martin. She helped Renee and Billy Bob Thornton early in their careers. She was an LA casting director. She told me the best I might do would be supporting roles, but she said I'd be "difficult to cast..She also said when she first saw me perform --"when I met you, I wondered can this guy act?" I also did an audition for Bob Luke from NYC, he managed Sarah Michelle Geller -- he said after my audition "I didn't see any energy there." He then tossed my headshot and resume on the floor in front of a lot of people. It was very humiliating to pick it up and leave the room. I don't need abuse, and I gave up in June 2004 after doing Houston theater audition in front of 25 directors. No callbacks -- I'm out, but glad I tried.

@@michaelsix9684 " I'm out, but glad I tried." Honestly really important imo. You at least know you took your shot even if it didn't work out instead of never trying and having regrets later in life.

His timing was the result of the director, the writers, and the editor doing their jobs well. You wanna talk about timing... analyze stand up comedy.

Being happy probably doesn’t pay as well.

Sooo... "Success"is STILL avoiding you huh?.....😂🎸

happiness is vapid and very shallow -- -it comes and goes, depending on circumstances. contentment is far more important.

@Harvey Dustin Self-absorbed people ultimately end up being miserable with themselves.

Wise words, Stephen!

That's what I've always said! When they left, the writing and direction deteriorated; the dialogue became ridiculous, lots of over-stuffed hambones delivering these smug, unrealistic, Shakespearean lines. With Hawkeye & Trapper it was like Groucho & Sonny Corleone---greatness! Then they had two Hawkeyes and it became a soap opera. But the first season after Trapper & Henry left, in all fairness, was not bad... the mechanism was still in place, for a little while. Like a chicken with its head cut off; still runs around a minute.

I get where you are coming from but I think seasons 4 and 5 are just as funny. I can't watch anything after 5.

@@kennethlatham3133 agree 100%. The 1st 3 are great. 4 is still pretty good. 5 is kinda watchable. After that, no. It just wasn't funny anymore. Radar left. Klinger wasn't krazy anymore. Colonel flagg never showed up. Yuk

Then you missed the best of MASH. Henry blake was fun but he wasn't that important.

@@privatecitizen1246 that's just your opinion...

Yep. We've all goofed up from time to time. The thing is, even though McLean never again had a hit TV show, I'm not sure he made a mistake!

jaspr1999 One of the biggest mistakes people make is not recognizing they have a really good thing until they walk away from it.

Well said. Thanks for sharing your memories, Jared!

The fact they made Blake's demise a part of that episode is one thing that really gave MASH some serious clout. I think that was so heart-wrenching to the cast and the audience that it brought some real seriousness to the "sit com" and made it more than just a comedy. This was serious drama!

@@jdsundstrom ... That cut really pissed me off. I saw it as a snarky slap at an actor who opted to try other things. Pernell Roberts left Bonanza, but they didn't kill off the character. He was mentioned occasionally and probably could have made guest starring appearances if he'd wanted to. It's a nasty business, Hollywood.

An interview with Larry Gelbart (here on KZfaq) who is the creator/writer of MASH said that it was actually the Second take that was used in the episode and that the dropped item was an accident that they decided to keep in. He also said that, contrary to everyones belief that no-one knew it was going to happen, that the actors read it before hand in theri script run through. The extras didn't know.

@Projekt:Kobra ... Sean Young in Blade Runner was the most gorgeous actress I'd ever seen. Makeup and hair were flawless. Jennifer Connelly in The Rocketeer is a close second. It's cool when you feel it in your chest, instead of a little lower.

Thanks for the great comment!

Thank you kindly!

Thanks Rachel!

Thanks Dave. I appreciate the kind words!

Me too, Helane. I had no idea that moment was coming!

It was powerful. Like being punched in the gut!

@@jdsundstrom The actors didn't know it either. Only Alan Alda knew.

Totally agree, Ralph!

I recall an SNL skit in which John Belushi played an NBC executive, and whenever he had an idea for a bad series, he'd tell his colleague, 'We'll give it to McLean!'

I remember watching hello larry as a kid and Loved it. McLean was always my favorite character on mash, he was so personable and I could just relate to him. His humor, I got it. Even as a kid.

I'm glad you enjoyed the video, Paul!

@TheBrabon1 the hindsight I speak of refers to Stevenson.

Paul of Iowa , I agree with your points and I remember that same quote from McLean too. He was not the first or the last star to leave a show prematurely.

@@phalynwilliams4119 Exactly. And the structure of the military/war setting worked perfectly for characters to come and go.

@@Paul876 His very own (supposed) quote is basically facing up to the pointlessness of trying to sugarcoat the decision, it seems...

Well stated, Michael!

No one knew that MASH was going to last a long time.

I'll bet Fred Silverman considered it a Huge Win when he got McLean Stevenson, The Star of MASH, to switch sides and come over to NBC. Too bad it was for Hello Larry.

Fred Silverman was giving everybody a Show back then. He even gave a Show to those two Japanese Singers Pink Lady, even though neither of them spoke a word of English.

@@unclegilbert-5865 And as result, poor McLean found himself living in the land of the lost...

Thanks for sharing the link!

When Henry read the script for the show, he wanted the part of Hawkeye. Don't think he could have pulled it off, they made the right choice...

CONDO WAS A GOOFY SHOW IN 1983

Its "Hello, Larry"

As did I. Not to your son, but my own. 🙂

Exactly!

Good point.

I have always wondered if there were more episodes than there were days of the actual war.

Hey, truth be told , Wayne Rogers never signed his contract. He had issues w/management and Walked away and never looked back becoming a very successful stockbroker. I last remember seeing him on CNBC as a guest analyst.For my$ mash was the true loser after Rogers and Blake left after season 3. I think the show lost its witty originality N spontaneity. Sadly mash became predictable and politically correct.

@@rabbit251 No. There were more years of the show than there were of the war, but 3 years would be 1, 095 days, without a leap year. 1,096 days with one. M*A*S*H had 252 episodes over 11 years.

Honestly, I really don't think MASH would have stayed on as long if it had kept Henry, Frank, and Trapper. There was really no room for them to grow as characters and you need to do that to stick around. I think that's why Larry Linville left, because Frank was just getting worse as time went on and he didn't want to be typecast. The show got better when Potter, BJ and Charles came around. They were deeper, more complex characters than their predecessors were, or could ever have been. Having them around allowed the show to grow, and the characters to bond. You know how they were always saying on the show that they were family, both pre and post cast changes? It became more believable with Potter, BJ and Charles than it was with Henry, Trapper and Frank. All the later characters were able to treat each other decently, and become close while also go against each other now and then. I couldn't really see that happening without the recasts.

I talk a little bit about "Hello Larry" in the video. We're just a couple of hours away from the premiere!

I'm glad you enjoyed the video, Megan.

I think that was the case.

Sharp observation.

Ha! I hadn't thought about that! But, you're right Mark, there were some similarities. :)

Frasier was much better.

It's a small club. James Arness and Milburn Stone portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for 20 consecutive years. Mariska Hargitay has portrayed her character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for over 21 consecutive years to date. That doesn't even count the cast of the Simpsons.

@@keithjohnson2863 I think there's one major reason for it. The studios have found out its more profitable to beat a dead horse. Why pay writers and actors gobs of cash to take a chance that out of three to five shows will prove to be a hit? Plus, a lot of producers are the actors of the shows they are in. Another savings for the studios. Also, I inclined to believe a lot of today's actors who are in hit television shows knows a steady paycheck as long as it's still popular enough to bring in the ratings and they know it would be career suicide to leave such a successful show unless they strongly feel they have more than enough money to persue other interests for whatever the reasons are. But the main reason I firmly believe is that they aren't putting out shows after three to five years is that everything has been done to death. I think this is why you're slowly hearing, "Did you see this ep of The Munsters?" or "I really love The Andy Griffith Show. This stuff is so much better than what's on now." This is coming from teens and young adults. I know first hand cause I got one nephew hooked on The Twilight Zone and Route 66. Have another who got hooked on Branded and the Rifleman. It is clearly evident it's getting harder for television networks to fill in the prime time slots for seven days a week. Just look at CBS bringing back Sunday Movie Night and Twilight Zone to name a couple . If CBS is already doing this how long will it take the other networks to follow suit. And now add Covid-19 into the mix you may not see any new shows for the upcoming Fall season. As for the others shows they'll still be going cause they trust each other to be very careful outside the studio. This is why why your sixty minute shows will continue to go well beyond fifteen plus years once they achieve popularity.

@@keithjohnson2863 Mark Harmon may get to that with Gibbs on NCIS.

I always liked-- "oh rats, I have to go to the sandbox"*

Yeah, when it was so cold they used his office furniture for firewood...one of my favorites.

@@thomaskemer8109 I loved that line also...he had to get up and walk over others to get to the latrine just right after he laid down...funny stuff.

cardio0007 I like the end of that one when he's on the phone and there's nothing left in his office and he says I'm talking to you from deep inside a great big empty.

My favorite was “I’m not even sure you can sterilize wood.”

@@floogelhornzzz4770 That was so long ago, I don't remember the national reaction, I didn't live in the Continental US back then!!

I agree. I love the original cast, but Potter and Charles both brought so much to the show and are two of my favorite characters.

@@Summer_Reigns I agree 100%

Barney Miller and Cheers fall in that category too.

Thanks for subscribing, Andy!

Absolutely!

In the Beginning was supposedly based in Baltimore.

Well said, poetcomic1!

You're most welcome Geoffrey B! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Actually its "The road NOT taken"

Thank you! You too!

Me too. The early seasons (with Blake and Burns) are the best!

I totally agree Raw Bacon!.... ... "Raw Bacon".. I like that name! ; )

I agree too. I wasn't crazy about the last few seasons at all, especially when they went through a phase of making "clever" episodes, like the one where the whole episode was seen through the eyes of a dying soldier and the one where you saw all the main characters' dreams. It was sort of like "look at what innovative thing we've come up with this week" and it became experimental melodrama, somewhat self-indulgent and with little or no humor. Mclean Stephenson and Larry Linville were hilarious 😂

It was the B.J. effect. The worst main character in the show's run, unfortunately, and the source of the worst of the maudlin scripts. Winchester was perhaps the best and most interesting of the characters throughout, so there was certainly something to work with after losing some of the other characters. Another contributing factor was that a number of the episodes were directed by the actors themselves, rather than the pros who directed earlier on. If you look at the "innovative" episodes, I think you'll find that Alda and a couple other actors directed.

@@jdsundstrom i agree. First three seasons were a comedy show, subsequent five seasons were basically dramas.

Copy that; I DESPISED what it turned into. A soap opera with unrealistic dialogue.

@@kennethlatham3133 Exactly!!

Alda became really preachy.

Still, if you're making the equivalent today of tens of thousands of dollars per episode, you can afford your own lunch.

@@joeschembrie9450 as i recall the first few years on the show,cast members like Radar and Klinger were making a few hundred bucks a week. Not exactly '10's of thousands of dollars' in todays terms. Those tv shows from the 70's didn't make regular cast members rich most of the time. Salaries on The Love Boat and Happy Days didn't get big until years after the shows became a hit due to contracts previously signed.

Thanks for the clarification, Stephen E!

You are most welcome!