In 1972 America was still embroiled in a lingering
war in Vietnam, a war that had polarized the population.
The climate created by an unpopular war was the perfect
environmnet for an antiwar comedy like M*A*S*H. The
setting was different, Korea in the early 1950s, but
the stories and situations could just as easily
have been from Vietnam in the 1970s.
The cast of characters in M*A*S*H were all members
of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, stationed
behind the lines during the Korean War. Their job was
to treat the wounded being sent to them from the front
lines. The environment was depressing; many of the
doctors could not really believe that they were living
under the conditions to which they were being subjected.
There was an overwhelming sense of futility and insanity
of war that permeated their daily lives. A certain
sense of humor was necessary for survival.
Most of the senior members of the M.A.S.H. unit had
wives and families back home, but that never stopped
them from propositioning every good-looking nurse that
they could con into their quarters. Two of the surgeons
were Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre. Like
virtually everyone else, they were always breaking
regulations. Hawkeye, despite his escapades, was probably
the most intellectual of the doctors and was sometimes
seen musing on the dehumanizing nature of war
and questioning its moral validity.
Among others who were featured was Frank Burns, who
was possibly the worst doctor in the unit, and the constant
butt of practical jokes perpetrated by Hawkeye and
Trapper because of his arrogance and his feigned adherance
to military regulations. Hot Lips Houlihan was the head
nurse who, despite her admonitions to both her nurses
and doctors about fooling around with each other, had
been having an affair with Frank Burns for an extended
period. Henry Blake, the commanding officer whose prime
concern was the work of the doctors in the operating room,
couldn't care less about what they did during their free
time. Radar O'Reilly was the extremely shy and
bumbling young aid to Colonel Blake.
There were changes in cast over the years. The first
significant addition was that of Cpl. Maxwell Klinger,
an aide to the doctors in the operating room. There was
nothing really wrong with him: it was just that he always
dressed in women's clothing in a desparate, though futile,
attempt to get himself discharged as mentally unfit. In
1975 Col. Blake was replaced by Col. Potter, who was
somewhat more sardonic and definitely less silly than his
predecessor. In 1976 B.J. Hunnicut replaced Trapper as
Hawkeye's tentmate and co-conspirator. In 1977 Major
Burns was replaced by an aristocratic Bostonian,
Major Charles Emerson Winchester.
On February 28, 1983, the last original episode of M*A*S*H
was a national event, and was seen by the largest audience
ever to watch a single television program. As the program
came to a close, the men and women of the 4077th departed,
one by one, for civilian life. Col. Potter, Klinger, and
Father Mulcahy would meet again in a sequel the
following fall, called AfterMASH.
(Tim's TV Showcase)
