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Like the TV incarnation of The Odd Couple, the M*A*S*H series has supplanted the original film in the public's consciousness. Legendary comedy writer Larry Gelbart (Your Show of Shows) deserves a medal for developing Robert Altman's bloody, funny 1970 classic for television with much of its anti-establishment spirit intact. These 24 first-season episodes--bracingly less politically correct than the shows in the final seasons--chart the program's sometimes bumpy evolution as it tried to remain true to the film's anarchic spirit while finding its own voice. The most memorable episodes include "The Pilot," which establishes the characters in broad strokes; "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet," in which a friend of Hawkeye's (Alan Alda) dies on the operating table (look for "Ronny" Howard as an underage soldier); "Cowboy," in which someone is trying to kill clueless commander Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson); and the pivotal "Dear Dad," the first of what would be a series of multistory episodes in which Hawkeye writes to his father about life at the 4077th. It is interesting to note film characters who made early exits from the series, including Timothy Brown's Spearchucker and Karen Philipp's Lt. Dish (George Morgan, who plays Father Mulcahy in the pilot, we hardly knew ye). Klinger (Jamie Farr), bucking for his Section 8 discharge, doesn't appear until the fifth episode, "Chief Surgeon Who?" And Gary Burghoff's Radar is a much more wily and savvy partner in crime to "Yankee Doodle Doctors" Hawkeye and Trapper John (Wayne Rogers) than in later seasons. In its 11-year run, M*A*S*H earned 14 Emmy Awards, and it remains one of TV's most beloved series. Though it is a staple of syndication, the episodes are presented here uncut, probably for the first time since their original broadcast. For M*A*S*H devotees, this three-disc set is just what the doctor ordered. --Donald LiebensonKorea, 1950. They were a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit stationed three miles from the front. Incoming helicopters full of wounded brought the horrors of war to them daily and sometimes bullets flew right outside the operating room door. Occasional hilarity and constant hijinks were all that kept them sane.
Loosely based on real-life MASH unit 8055, life at the 4077 revolved around the day-to-day routines of Captain "Hawkeye" Pierce, Captain "Trapper" McIntyre, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake, Major Margaret Houlihan, Major Franklin Burns and Corporal "Radar" O'Reilly. Through these characters, viewers traveled beyond the long hours and the horrors of the operating room to a place where friendships were forged, laughter was found and drinks were served. Read more
Television, Friends, New York, Street,11x17 Poster, Portrait, 11" x 17" Item ships rolled in a protective tube Read more
The life and times of a moody junk dealer Fred G. Sanford and his son Lamont. Read more
Television, Friends, New York, Street,11x17 Poster, Portrait, 11" x 17" Item ships rolled in a protective tube Read more
A recently widowed father raises his three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 12-DEC-2006
Media Type: DVDThe fifth season marks several firsts for the Full House gang. In the pilot ("Double Trouble"), Michelle (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) starts kindergarten, D.J. (Candace Cameron) enters high school, and Jesse (John Stamos) and Becky (Lori Loughlin) find out they're having twins. Then, after D.J. gets her own room, Michelle and Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), now in fourth grade, become roommates. After the twins are born (two-part episode "Happy Birthday, Babies"), the Tanner household expands to nine--10 if you count D.J.'s best buddy, Kimmy (Andrea Barber), who practically lives in the spacious townhouse--11 if you count family pooch Comet.
There are other firsts. In "Easy Rider," Michelle learns to ride a bike and in "Driving Miss D.J.," D.J. gets her learner's permit. In one respect, year five represents a return to the show's roots as the ad agency is no more. Jesse is fronting a band again, while Joey (Dave Coulier) has returned to stand-up, a development that leads to a dream gig in "The Legend of Ranger Joe." Other episodes of interest include "Gotta Dance," in which Danny imagines Stephanie on Broadway (the whole family sings and dances along), and "Play It Again, Jesse," in which Danny's new relationship resembles a certain classic film with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Guest stars include June Lockhart ("Matchmaker Michelle"), Whitman Mayo ("The Volunteer"), and Mike Love and Bruce Johnston from the Beach Boys (season finale "Captain Video"). With Barber now a regular, the new recurring character is Michelle's pal, Teddy (Tahj Mowry, future star of the WB comedy Smart Guy). --Kathleen C. Fennessy Read more
M*A*S*H's fifth tour of duty finds the 4077th operating at peak efficiency. Harry Morgan, as Colonel Sherman Potter, and Mike Farrell as BJ Hunnicutt, pumped new blood into series, and in this, their sophomore year, became integral parts of the ensemble. Gary Burghoff joined the Emmy elite for his role as company clerk Radar O'Reilly. William Christopher was also promoted, finally earning his opening-credit stripes for his role as Father Mulcahy. This season was also pivotal for Loretta Switt's Major Margaret Houlihan. "The Nurses," one of Switt's finest half-hours, humanized her rigid, by-the-book character. Margaret's engagement provided the season with its dramatic arc, and set the stage for the departure of Larry Linville's Major Burns, who by this time had wrung all the music he could from his one-note character. In addition to "The Nurses," another episode that looms large in the show's legend is the Emmy-winning "Dear Sigmund," in which weary and depressed psychiatrist Sidney Friedman sought refuge at the 4077th. This episode further fleshed out BJ, and established him as the camp's practical joker. The episode "Hanky Panky," in which a compassionate BJ consoles a nurse whose marriage has fallen apart, ranks as one of his best.
Alan Alda's Hawkeye suffers physical and psychological crises in two of his most effective episodes, "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," in which he is temporarily blinded, and "Hawk's Nightmare," in which the war haunts his dreams. We also see the first warning signs of sanctimony that would infect the show in later seasons. Tell us, Hawkeye--and he does, in "The General's Practitioner"--why war is worse than hell. Whereas Hawkeye and Trapper in earlier seasons were partners in crime, Hawkeye and BJ become tireless (and sometimes tiresome) crusaders to right all wrongs in their "little corner" of the world, as witness their shutdown of a heartless junk dealer in "Souvenirs." One cure is "Movie Tonight," an ensemble episode in which camp members bond during a much-interrupted screening of My Darling Clementine. --Donald LiebensonAs the fifth season opens, the Chinese are getting too close for comfort and the 4077 has been ordered to bug-out. Unfortunately, Hawkeye, B.J. and Margaret are in the middle of critical surgery and have to keep going even as the bombing starts. The rest of the 4077 find themselves in an equally dangerous situation upon discovering that the new location that HQ has chosen for them is actually in occupied territory. Luckily the Chinese are driven back and the 4077 get to bug back to their old location.
But the real bomb, as far as Frank Burns is concerned, is when Margaret returns from a medical conference in Tokyo engaged to Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscott. "How'd Burns take it?" a concerned Colonel Potter asked. "Hard," Hawkeye replied. "He was clucking like a chicken last night. For nine straight hours." Potter shook his head. "He's heading for a Section Eight." As expected, Klinger was green with envy. Read more
M*A*S*H redux. Sign up for another stint with the 4077th. This three-disc set contains all 24 episodes from the superb second season (1973-74) of the series ranked by TV Guide as among the top 25 television shows of all time. The season opener, "Divided We Stand," is a deft reintroduction to these now iconic characters: bleeding-heart surgeon Hawkeye Pearce (Alan Alda in his signature role), kindred misfit spirit Trapper John (Wayne Rogers), clueless administrator Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson), buttoned-up Frank Burns (Larry Linville), and unbuttoned head nurse "Hot Lips" (Loretta Swit). In this episode, a visiting psychiatrist evaluates the 4077th to determine whether the unit "can function as a team." His evaluation can serve as this series' mission statement: "These impossible people are in an impossible place doing totally impossible things. They're mad--quite mad." M*A*S*H experienced no sophomore slump from its Emmy Award-winning first season. It continued to subvert sitcom convention with multiple-story episodes such as "Radar's Report." Scenes in the operating room play without a laugh track (this DVD gives viewers the option of watching entire episodes minus the intrusive chuckles and guffaws). M*A*S*H also tackled such issues as racism ("Dear Dad... Three," "L.I.P.--Local Indigenous Personnel"), homophobia ("George"), and war atrocities (Hawkeye and Trapper try to get the Army to take responsibility for the accidental shelling of a South Korean village). Not that M*A*S*H forgot how to be funny. "Five O'Clock Charlie" and "For Want of a Boot" are strictly for laughs. Hawkeye and Hot Lips memorably exchange flu shots in "Carry On, Hawkeye." Loyal viewers will note the emergence of several supporting characters, including Jamie Farr's Klinger and William Christopher's Father Mulcahy. One also sees the (to some) unfortunate transformation of Gary Burghoff's savvy, crackerjack clerk Radar into a naïve innocent. Allan Arbus makes his first appearance as compassionate psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Friedman in "Radar's Report." This second-season set is representative of why M*A*S*H was a cut above. --Donald LiebensonAfter a first season in which M*A*S*H barely rated among television's top fifty shows, the show received a boost in its second season when CBS switched their time slot to Saturday nights right after "All in the Family."
Knowing a lot of new people would be tuning in to the second season, creator/writer Larry Gelbart reveals, "We wrote the first episode as a sort of second pilot to introduce all the new viewers to the characters." Almost immediately after the second season began, the show became a hit—and the actors became household names.
Little did they know the show was going to last longer than the war itself. Read more
