The final episode, a special two-and-half-hour episode of M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), which was watched by 77 per cent of TV viewers in the USA, made it the highest percentage to watch a single TV show at that time, underlining its immense popularity. For viewers like this writer, and we are sure there were many like us, who watched the show much later, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, after satellite television had arrived in India, it came as a breath of fresh air. The 14-Emmy-Award-winning show directed by Robert Altman, introduced humour and drama through an empathetic lens, against the backdrop of the Korean War (1950-53), thanks to its brilliant ensemble cast, and screenwriter Larry Gelbart and his team.
(Left to right) Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, and Harry Morgan
The team of surgeons, nursing and support staff at a fictional camp in South Korea captured our imagination, with leads, Captain Benjamin Franklin ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce (played by Alan Alda) and Captain John ‘Trapper’ McIntyre (Wayne Rogers). Trapper later made way for Captain BJ Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell). Their other key characters included Major Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan (Loretta Swit), the ranking nurse; Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville) who was replaced in the later seasons by Major Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers).
The commander was Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson), followed by Colonel Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan) in the later seasons. Other characters like Corporal ‘Radar’ O’Reilly (Gary Burghoff) and Corporal Max Klinger (Jamie Farr) and Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) were equally memorable. It’s title song, Suicide is Painless, composed by Johnny Mandel, became a cult track, and went on to top the UK charts at one point. To find reasons to smile amidst the helplessness of war was its overarching theme that remained at its core till the last episode.
Old-timers will never tire of watching reruns. We suspect the show’s vintage appeal might pique the interest of first-time viewers, including later Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Alpha generations. Sit back and enjoy its crisp and seamless writing that balanced hilarity with poignant storytelling in the time of war.
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