Rebuilding Rob

This might be the most anti-Gen X thing I’ve ever done; but last week, I began watching M*A*S*H for the first time in my life

Growing up, I remember reruns of the show airing , on channel 50 of Detroit concurrently, while the series was still in first run on CBS.

I was familiar enough with a show. In fact, I actually saw the movie from which the TV show was adopted a few years back. I knew that the show was about a army hospital during the Korean War. I knew that the show was supposed to be funny. I also caught on that in later seasons there were some more serious episodes. And I remember hearing the instrumental version of “suicide is painless“ playing as the opening and closing theme for the show. But it never really sat down and actually watched it. Like so many people of my generation, I think I equated MASH with old people.

Even with my indifference toward the series, I remember the series finale airing a 1983. Up until 2010, it was the most highly watched television program of all time, at 103 million viewers. As it stands today, it is still the most highly watched episode of any scripted television show ever. And given the state of our 500 channel TV universe, and the way that streaming continues to expand, I don’t believe we will ever see another scripted show even come within scratching distance of these numbers.

The first thing I noticed watching season one via Hulu on my Roku box was the fact that the show looks like it could’ve been made yesterday! Season one originally aired in 1972, making the show 52 years old this season. I’m not a big video file, but I have to assume that the is was being presented in high definition via the Roku device.

Also, much like the Seinfeld reruns on Netflix, the picture has been re-cropped and formatted to fit our current wide stream TVs; as opposed to presenting the show in its original format with vertical black bars, running up the left and right hand sides of our screen. As much as I prefer the widescreen look of the show, I think I would like to see the series and its original 4:3 format, as it was originally presented.

For those unfamiliar with the show, or the movie upon which it was based; or the novel, upon which the movie was based, MASH, follows “Hawkeye” Pierce and “trapper John“ McIntyre; two civilian doctors, who are drafted into service during the Korean War. They serve in the 4077th, a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, from which the show gets its name.

Hawkeye & Trapper John’s irreverent style brings them into conflict with the career military officers of the main cast. To the enlisted personnel, Hawkeye and trapper are disrespectful, obnoxious, cardplaying, drunks. To the common person, they are simply two guys are trying to make day-to-day wartime life a little bit easier

Many of the season’s episodes see Hawkeye and Trapper coming up with a new schemes to outwit their main nemesis on the show, Major Burns. Standing between the three of them is the company’s ditzy commanding officer, Colonel Henry Blake. In spite of the duos shenanigans, it is their work ethic, and their skills in surgery that make them an invaluable part of the 4077.

Also, it’s important to mention that in addition, to the aforementioned characters, there are several, colorful minor characters, whom I already know, will be explored in more depth as the series continues including

• Major “hot lips” Houlihan – Burns’ love interest, and another foil for Hawkeye
• Corporal “radar “O’Reilly“ – Colonel Blake’s clerk:
• Father Mulcahy – company chaplain, who adds both lighter and more serious moments to the show
• Corporal Maxwell Klinger – an orderly, who were resorts to cross dressing in the vain-attempt to be declared unfit for duty

Of course, looking at the show through 2024 eyes, one can see a few cringe worthy moments in it. Minority characters and persons of color are ideally relegated to recurring rules, at best. Perhaps the greatest example of this was the neurosurgeon nicknamed “spear chucker“ who appeared in the first 11 episodes of season one. Without knowing the history of the novel, or of the 1970 movie, my trigger alarm went off. It is explained in the novel that this character, in addition, to being a neurosurgeon, was formally a pro football player, as well as a javelin thrower in track and field; a “spear chucker“ if you will.

After reading this article, I found out that the character was removed from the show, due to the misconception that black surgeons played a limited role in the Korean War. This idea was simply not true. It’s unfortunate that this character was removed from the show, a la Chuck Cunningham. Otherwise, MASH could’ve been an even more ground- breaking series than it would eventually be .

FINAL TAKE: Watch it! MASH is on a short list of the most beloved American television shows of all time. One season in, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the show evolves over the remaining 10 seasons; as characters moved in and out of the show, and the tone would shift between drama and comedy.

M*A*SH* is currently streaming on Hulu

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• Thoughts that keep me up at night
• Requiem for a mall
• what makes a great teacher
• The O.R. Virgin
• A Day in the Life of Rob

The article “Rob Reviews… M*A*S*H* season 1” originally appeared on Rebuilding Rob