Talk:M*A*S*H (TV series)/Archive 1

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Archive 1

Spin-offs

This series generated two spinoffs that I'm aware of. One was Trapper John, M.D.. I don't recall the name of the other, but it was set in a VA hospital. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.217.212.46 (talk) 17:14, 26 February 2002 (UTC)

It was "AfterMASH," and it featured Potter, Klinger, and Mulcahy. It was only on the air for one season. Stryteler (talk) 17:34, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Where is the Title/opening scene shot?

Where is the opening/title scene shot located? You know, where the choppers are flying in across the mountains and the "suicide is painless" theme song is playing. I've been to Korea and it sure looks authentic to me but I realise it probably is not actually Korea. I've tried to find out on my own but all the searches came up only mentioning the internal and external shots of the main part of the show and not the title scene so I'm getting kind of frustrated. I will certainly appreciate if someone could clarify this for me. BTW, I am watching M*A*S*H on TV Land as I write this. Thanks!

As far as I can tell, the title sequence was shot at the Malibu ranch, in California, along with the rest of the show - nothing unique about it. It looks as if the actual scenes were shot as part of the pilot episode, and then worked into the title sequence from then on. TheWizardOfAhz (talk) 05:44, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

The One Where Henry Left

Guys, I don't think that episode is written by Alan Alda, as it says in this article. At least, it is not credited to him on the DVD. Anyone know any better?

Well, the article only says Alda wrote the bit at the end. It does not say he wrote th erest o fthe article.--Purpleslog 03:36, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

You know only radar knew that he was gonna die (dispite what the article said) and to make sure their reaction was geniun to make sure the lights were right they used extras, and again, while they did film it twice its actually the 1st shot they used and dubbed it! the actors knew they were gonna get news but they didnt know what

Yeh, as far as I have researched, Alda (like everyone else) knew nothing of the death, as far as they were concerned they were just shooting another scene, possibly saying that Henry had got home ok. Arthur7 (talk) 10:30, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Caption

The "goodbye" caption says "infamous" when it should read "famous". This is elementary word usage, I am going to correct this part. --Derinrob99 18:54, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)


Could someone change this (Ive never edited an article and dont want to mess it up). According to both Mash4077.co.uk and IMDB they both say the episode was written by Everett Greenbaum & James Fritzell. The official site doesn't list the episodes in that much detail.

Laugh Track

Question - did they always have "canned" laughter from the first episode. (Aside from the surgery scenes of course!!) Answers to dunlop.sam@mtvne.com

  • It's on the DVDs (so is the version without it). Because MASH was filmed like a movie they couldn't use a live audience, so the network insisted on a canned laugh track.
  • It was always shown on BBC television without the laughter track; I think it works much better without it and was very pleased to find it could be switched off on the DVDs. jamesgibbon 00:25, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)

On the DVDs we have, the canned laughter is automatically there for the first five seasons (but able to be turned off) and non exsistant after that. My parents say thats the way they remember it on TV too.--The Wizard of Magicland 13:18, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Image

I moved the Season 1 image over to the right, and placed it in a thumbnail. I did that because I thinks it looks better that way.

Also, I don't really remember Maj. Houlihan's "Hot Lips" nickname really getting that much use during the show, certainly not to the extent that it was used in the movie. Even in the first seasons it didn't really seem to me that it got that much use, and once Holihan's character evolved in the later seasons you almost never heard that. From what I remember, most times the doctors would call her Margaret.

JesseG 04:32, 9 Jun 2004 (UTC)


It was still there up until the end really, it's just that it was said less and said more affectionatley, as a nice nick name. --Arthur7 (talk) 10:31, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Hot Lips

Margaret is called "Hotlips" a couple of times in the early seasons (72 - 74), I remember her angrily stamping her foot in the mess tent.

Wasn't Houlihan another gaffe? As I heard the movie, as she gets off the 47, Henry introduces her as Major Margeret O'Houlihan. Confirm? Trekphiler 03:33, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
He does, but since it is Henry Blake it is an error made by the character. Throughout, she is called Houlihan, as well as in the credits.Shsilver 14:03, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
One should probably also bear in mind that the Television Series and the Movie are considered two drastically different continuities.Merle Whitefire 15:32, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

"most watched episode"

The link in Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen which states that it is still the most watched episode of all time pointed to a non-existent page at Reuters. I have replaced it with an article at the Washington Post which mentions it in passing. I'd welcome a slightly more on-topic link. MrItty 16:02, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Format

Should Corporal Walter (Radar) O'Reilly become Corporal Walter O'Reilly or Walter O'Reilly? Should Hawkeye Pierce become Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce, Captain Benjamin F. Pierce, Captain Benjamin Pierce, Benjamin Franklin Pierce, Benjamin F. Pierce, or Benjamin Pierce? Should Trapper John McIntyre be Captain John Xavier McIntyre, Captain John X. McIntyre, Captain John McIntyre, John Xavier McIntyre, John X. McIntyre, or John McIntyre? Should Major Frank Burns be Major Frank M. Burns, Major Frank Marion Burns, Frank M. Burns, Frank Marion Burns, or Frank Burns? - 68.72.119.26 06:39, 1 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Choice 1

Include the full name of the character.

  • Choice 1.1: Include the middle name.
    • Choice 1.1.1: Spell out the middle name.
    • Choice 1.1.2: Use the initial.
  • Choice 1.2: Include only the first and the last names.

Choice 2

Include the title/rank of character.

  • Choice 2.1: Include titles, such as Captain, Major, and Colonel
    • Choice 2.1.1: Spell out the ranks
    • Choice 2.1.2: Use the abbreviations, such as Lt. Col.
  • Choice 2.2: Include other parts of the name, such as III, Jr., or Dr.

Choice 3

Include their nicknames which they are more commonly known by.

  • Choice 3.1: Include it without any marks/signs around it.
  • Choice 3.2: Include it with parenthesis around it.
  • Choice 3.3: Include it with quotation marks around it.

I think that we should leave it as it is because some people might not know that Walter O'Reilly is Radar without that in the middle and same for Hawkeye. Whether or not you say what B.J. stands for isn't as important. I would say use choice 3.3 if I had to choose. ~Isabel123~

Maybe add redirection pages for all of them? MichaelBillington 07:09, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Question

In the pilot episode it reads "Korea, 1950--a hundred years ago" at the bottom of the screen. What's that supposed to mean? The series certainly doesn't take place a hundred years ago.

  • It's a joke. It's also a reference to the fact that the film -- on which this was all based -- was meant to be about Vietnam, by way of analogy. Being tongue-in-cheek about when the Korean war actually happened helps this suspension of disbelief. Or at least, I suspect that that was the thinking. It got far, far too tied into the Korean people, their customs, morals, and society, and became its own animal. User:neilfein 22:35, 1 oct 2005 (EST)

its to show that whoile its set in the korea war it could be any war - and definatly links into the bietnam war ... like the song UNIVERSAL SOLDIER it shows that we know the characters as hawkeye, trapper, BJ, Henry, Radar, etc. and they are fictional but they could be any of millions or billions of soldiers sent to war because 1950 isnt 100 years ago, and it was 197- when it was made ... its symbolloc

Not a continuity error

Harry Morgan appeared on MASH in the episode The General Flipped At Dawn, a guest appearance as Major-General Beford Hamilton Steele (first episode of season 1974-75). Later, Morgan became a regular cast member (beginnig in season 1975-76), as Colonel Sherman T.Potter. As these are two different characters, there's no continuity error. Does anyone agree? GoodDay 00:28, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

I still consider it a continuity error, or an error of some sort. If you want to move it to trivia, that's fine with me, though. Pfalstad 02:50, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
  • I don't see it as a continuity error. Look at it this way: There's two guys in the US Army in Korea who happen to look alike. They have different names, different ranks and different jobs. In the continuity, they look alike, but that's it. It's entirely possible. Hell, maybe they're identical twins, separated at birth. A continuity error would be casting different people in the same role. I dunno if you can really call it an error at all. A quirk, an oddity maybe. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 19:23, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
Can't argue with that.  :) But don't delete it, move it to trivia. Pfalstad 01:16, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
Someone has just edited the Article, regarding Harry Morgan (having played both Steele & later Potter), moving it to the Trivia section. However, I've just notice that this info, is already listed under the Trivia section. GoodDay 17:19, 21 November 2005 (UTC)
  • D'oh... I moved it (see the edit history) but didn't look to see if it was already there. I'll fix it up, as I've also just watched the episode and noted that the ultimate fate of the general isn't quite correct. -Le Scoopertemp [tk] 21:46, 21 November 2005 (UTC)
Great edit "Scoops", that's exactly what happend to Steele. Oh by the way, I've mispelled Steele's first name (Nov.19/2005), it's Bartford not Beford, "What a dance, they all say..." GoodDay 22:58, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

Problems with this article

I'm afraid don't have time to make major edits to this page, so here's a little constructive (I hope) criticism:

For a 36k page, the article could do a better job of explaining what the show is about. The synopsis, for example, isn't a synopsis. It assumes a familiarity with the show, which some readers might not have.

The "Main characters" and "Recurring characters" sections should probably be near the start of the article, with details of each. It makes little sense to list the actors first, since Alan Alda et al are not, in fact, characters in M*A*S*H.

I've made some fairly drastic deletions to the "Trivia" and "Continuity errors" sections. The trivia section, particularly, is too long for a trivia section anyway - about a third of this article. The pieces deleted were badly written and non essential, so please rethink the phrasing before re-instating any of them. TheMadBaron 20:17, 17 December 2005 (UTC)


Does anyone mention the fact that when Potter first arrives he says he's going to be with MASH 4077 for 18 months. Considering the war ends before he leaves that means he joined the unit in mid 1951 at earliest (possible). Yet in series 10 or 11 there is an episode which recounts a year. Potter plays Father Time at a fancy dress party at both new years eve party. The first party celebrates the end of 1950 and the second the end of 1951. Contiuity error methinks!!! But it doesn't matter. I love the show personally but i just like to snigger to myself while im watching the dvds. Wondered if anyone else had noticed. :) --Arthur7 (talk) 10:32, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Continuity Errors

It's fiction! Not everything in the show happened in real life! So the story about the North Korean pilot defecting is not an anachronism. The fact that it didn't actually happen is just trivia. Pfalstad 22:09, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

The 'continuity errors' section of this article contains a variety of gramatical errors and way too many exclamation points.

Oh, amen. That's why I went psycho on it. And this person is STILL posting! Still posting random, useless facts that really just clog up the page, still horrid grammar, and still the excessive exclamation marks. ARGH. Can we excise more of it? Is that all right? Since the page is about the show, and not about how the writers/directors/actors/whatever scored up in continuity? Bouncehoper 05:43, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Question about potters horse

when radar gave the horse to potter....the horse was refered to as "him"

in later shows, the horses name is Sophie...so how did the sex of the horse change?

Er... there were alot of doctors on the show? ...Then again it's probably just a continuity goof. Gohst 06:40, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

I'd put that down as a continuity goof. Either that or the doctors were too busy trying to catch and cure the horse to check! ;)--The Wizard of Magicland 13:25, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

It's just a mistake on Radars part perhaps? like you refer to boats as girls maybe he thinks all horses are guys! though he's from a farm OH WELL it dosnt matter

M*O*S*H

Is this a misspelling or what?

  • Just someone being silly. It's been changed back. Zaui 18:05, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

Obituary

i wonder if anyone can tell me if they know of anyone of the main charatcers who are dead?

all i have is McLean Stevenson. who died of heart attack at 66. if any one could reply or e-mail it would be great!

You didn't sign or date this, but if you're really interested I suggest you try the internet movie database; they should have actor profiles that will tell you when/if they died and so on. That should help for the lesser characters, while http://www.mash4077.co.uk/actor.html ought to help with the main cast. They have profiles and tributes to the ones who have died since they left the show. According to that it's only McLean Stevenson and Larry Linville that have.--The Wizard of Magicland 13:29, 2 May 2006 (UTC)


Yeh, Larry Linville died a couple years ago from a stroke to do with his smoking. --Arthur7 (talk) 10:40, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Jumping the shark

I've taken out the jumping the shark phrase, rewriting it to something less problematic to support. Jumping the shark is very subjective, and as such does not add useful information. The Jumping the Shark, M*A*S*H page, with the reader poll voting for when it jumped the shark, shows rather mixed results for when it jumped the shark anyway. --Carboncopy 04:16, 8 June 2006 (UTC)


M*A*S*H vs. MASH

There doesn't seem to be any consistancy in how this phrase is used - on this page and on others on characters, actors etc. Should M*A*S*H be used in reference to the show, film, and book while MASH is used to identify any mobile army surgical hospital? Or am I simply missing the method of the madness? :-) Any clarification would be appreciated. --JustAGal 17:05, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

  • Unless I'm mistaken M*A*S*H should be used for the show/movie/books while MASH is for the actual facility, yes. Staxringold talkcontribs 17:08, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
    • Well, that's what I would have thought but after reading Talk:MASH (film) I'm more confused than ever! --JustAGal 18:08, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
The original novel was MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. (I just corrected the reference in this article). See covers at Harper Collinsand currently here on Wikipedia at the article linked to above. Wakedream (talk) 20:49, 1 January 2008 (UTC)
Wikipedia should not attempt to reproduce logotypes in text. It should be "MASH" in all cases. --Tysto (talk) 20:12, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

MASH in alternative Timeline

  • Too Bad that MASH tooks place 1950-1953-if it took place in the future-such as Star Trek-there would probably be an alternative timeline epsiode of the 1950's MASH in which Blake/Hawkeye/Trapper John/BJ/Radar and Klinger would find them selves in a Front line aid station with 24 hour casualities/no hot food/no showers/no booze; Burns would be a petulant Army bureaucrat/Potter vs. Winchester taking place in a stateside hospital-and MASH 4077 would be commanded by Houilian!!
    • Or alternatively how "MASH" could have been written with the facts of the Korean War In mind:
  • August 1950 MASH 4077 arrives in Pusan Perimiter after North Korean offense of June 1950.
  • OCt 25, 1950 Chinese enter war
  • Jan-Feb 1951 MacArthur vists MASH 4077
  • April 11, 1951 MacArthur releved of command; Matthew Ridgeway takes over
  • May 1952, Mark Wayne Clark takes command
  • Sept 11, 1952 Blake Killed;
  • Sept 12, 1952, Burns takes command; Trapper John Leaves and B.J. Hunnicut arrives.
  • Sept 19, 1952, Potter takes command
  • OCt 11, 1952, Burns puts Hawkeye on Mutiny charges; Hawkeye cleared
  • OCtober 31, 1952-not 1950 Halloween pranks aginast HOuilhan
  • Dec 1952, Hawkeye accidently declared dead; Eisenhower vists Korea
  • April 1, 1953-not 1950 MASH plays biggist April fools joke on HAwkeye
  • April-May 1953 {not 1950} Chinese exchange wounded with MASH 4077; North Korea propaganda lies against HAwkeye
  • May 1953-{not 1952} Burns wife plans to divorce him; HOuilhan gets married; Burns runs away and is set back to the states as a psychritic case; Major Winchester replaces Burns. Radar and Potter are wounded. Radar goes home and Klinger gives up wearing dresses to get a Section 8
  • July 27, 1953 Hawkeye has a nervous breakdown and Mulcahy goes partily deaf; Korean War ends and everyone goes home.

Of course if had been written this way-there would be no classic epsiodes of Winchester and Klinger losing bets because of the OCtober 1951 world series; or BJ nearly having a nervous breakdown and Winchester complaining because they been in Korea for two years_actually BJ only been in Korea for 11 months and Winchester for 2 months. With this alternative MASH would have lasted only a total of preahps 5 seasons-not 11.

  • By the by, Winchester had already been in Korea in Seaul with that General hadn't he. So, it had been a while. --Arthur7 (talk) 10:44, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

What ep is this?

>or his continuing of a family tradition of anonymously giving
>Christmas treats to an orphanage. The episode featuring this
>tradition is considered by many fans to be the most moving in the
>series (more so >than even the loss of Henry Blake), as Winchester
>subjects himself to condemnation after realizing that “it is wrong
>to offer dessert to a child who has had no meal.” Isolating
>himself, he is saved by Corporal Klinger’s own gift of
>understanding. For the final moment of the episode, Major and
>Corporal are simply friends.

What's the name of this episode? Should be included w/description.

That would be season 9's "Death Takes a Holiday". That's one of my favorites when it comes to the Christmas episodes. Hope this helps, Hotstreets 19:29, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

trivia thought

In the beginning of the series, the helicopter shows a wounded person coming in and an arm hanging down. Sometime in the middle of the series, the arm doesn't hang down. I don't know when the change takes place though. Bekkie 04:12, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Trivia note: The mention that Col. Potter's wife's picture is Spring Byington seems to be a mistake - Larry Gelbart himself said the photo was Harry Morgan's first wife, who would be Eileen Detchon per the IMDb. Site here, from a post by Larry Gelbart on Usenet: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.mash/msg/4c2ca93b990646fd?hl=en&

Anyone mind if I change the trivia note and use the Usenet post and IMDb entry as a source? Clockster 04:45, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

By the way, I did see the rule about not using Usenet posts as a source, so nevermind my previous suggestion. Clockster 19:30, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Question

Was there ever an anaethetist in the OR? It could never have been one of the Doctors as they are often operating at the same time. Matira 10:32, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, the doctors are shown many times doing duty as surgeons but also as anaethetists. Not at the same time of course. Dismas|(talk) 11:08, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
There was a regular anesthesiologist named Ugly John who appeared in the early episodes, but he disappeared quickly. But there was always someone performing anesthesia duties. Kyeo77 03:40, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Nurses were also sometimes assigned this duty

And when Hawkeye (or occasionally Charles) were performing miraculous solo surgery BJ would be the 'gas passer'. --Arthur7 (talk) 10:49, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Jamie Farr error

"After his role in the 1955 film, The Blackboard Jungle, he entered the United States Army for two years serving overseas in Japan and Korea. His tour of Korea was after the war had ended." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Farr

Given his date of birth and dates of Korean War, I'd say that the information in the above link is the more accurate, so I'll remove the inaccurate information under the Trivia section regarding Jamie Farr's Korean War service.Jlujan69 05:30, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

To the user who keeps posting under "134.53.145___"

Yes, we know you're quite up to date on Korea, and history in general. That's great; in fact, good job. But please - not so much minutiae, nor emphasis, nor exclamation points. The page does NOT need every little detail about the show that was different from the actual war. Maybe start a page just for that? That would make more sense. Bouncehoper 06:17, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Some kind of redirect

When you search "M*A*S*H (tv series)" nothing comes up but when you search for "M*A*S*H (TV series)" this article comes up. i suggest adding some knd of redierct like most articles have. 218.186.9.1 10:50, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Done, just for you. Shinobu 02:59, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Episode 'Hepatitis'

I've no source for this, but in this episode Frank Burns hypocontriacly complains to Hawkeye ""I've a lump under my sternum" (something to that effect), tragically Burns actor Larry Linville would have a part of his lung removed (tumour), discovered via a lump under his sternum (he'd pass on in 2000), errie. GoodDay 23:30, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

"Dramedy"

I've taken the liberty of correcting some information about the description "dramedy". This word did not enter popular usage until after the show was cancelled, but in fact it was coined in 1978 as ad copy for the movie The Big Fix. Cactus Wren 23:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Episode notability

I've noticed that, with the exception of the excellent "Abyssinia, Henry", all the existing individual episode pages for MASH fail notability guidelines, including the notability guidelines for television episodes, and have been tagged accordingly. Might I suggest these articles are improved with real-world information (ie. referencing with reliable sources) to assert notability, removing trivia (seeWP:TRIVIA) quotes, overly long plot summaries (a breach of copyright) or consider merging the information onto the season page. Otherwise, when these pages come up for review in fourteen days, they may be redirected, merged or deleted. If you want any help or info, then come to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Television/Episode coverage. I have also excluded Goodbye, Farewell and Amen from the review process as it seems to have good sources, but I encourage you to work on it as another editor may choose to tag it if there seems no move towards meeting guidelines. Thanks. Gwinva 17:33, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

A plot summary is never a copyright violation if it doesn't quote from the script. Short quotes would be fair use. Using characters' names, etc. doesn't make it a violation. Don't be a douche. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.163.65.9 (talk) 08:43, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

format for episodes

are we using "3.6" or "3/6"? . or / ? i'd like to know for continuity's sake. right now it looks like the one used most is "." Bouncehoper 03:12, 27 July 2007 (UTC)


MASH

Could someone with more knowledge of Wiki than I please research and add these important facts to the MASH article? There is no mention of the "swamp", the home of the doctor staff The set of the "swamp" is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. (I know this because I have seen it) The signpost, with all the directional signs and mile markers is also in the Smithsonian. Tristara 11:29, 19 September 2007 (UTC) Patricia Lee Tristara 11:29, 19 September 2007 (UTC) Patricia Lee

  • I added this information for you under trivia. Just finished watching the 30th Anniversary Reunion special where they in fact mentioned this. Nitrowolf 08:17, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
  • The Swamp is not actually on display "to this day" as that Museum of American History is under renovation. However, in the Museum of Air and Space is a temporary exibit called "American Treasures" and that exhibit does have have, among many other wonderful things, the sign post. The Swamp is expected to be in the newly renovated place, in 2 years or so. I don't know how to source that info, I only know I actually visited these places this past summer, so I witnessed it personally. (July 2007)Tristara 18:54, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

American vs. Canadian vs. British

I certainly hope I'm not causing a problem by reversing some of someone's edits. An editor, I'm sure well-intentioned, corrected some spelling and grammatical errors in the article, which is helpful. In the process, however, the editor also changed some grammatical forms that are standard for America to those that are standard for Canada and Britain. I have great respect for British usage--in many ways, I prefer it. However, as this is an article about an American television show, I am changing the Canadian usage back to the American. Wikipedia guidelines suggest that it's preferable to use the grammatical forms that fit the nation of origin of an article, and that it's preferable to keep the usage as it was in an article. Both of these would suggest using American grammar. I welcome anyone's opinion. Wakedream (talk) 04:55, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

I agree; it's an American show, so American usage should be correct. Bouncehoper (talk) 18:34, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Centralized TV Episode Discussion

Over the past months, TV episodes have been redirected by (to name a couple) TTN, Eusebeus and others. No centralized discussion has taken place, so I'm asking everyone who has been involved in this issue to voice their opinions here in this centralized spot, be they pro or anti. Discussion is here [1]. Even if you have not, other opinions are needed because this issue is affecting all TV episodes in Wikipedia, including this one. --Maniwar (talk) 03:54, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Anachronism

This bit of trivia seems unclear,

1.12 (the Christmas episode) shows Hawkeye descending to a foxhole on a summer day. The real Korean War December campaign was not only one of the coldest on record, but the fighting at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir was in North Korea and not near the DMZ-which didn't come into existence until after 1950.

The anachronism note implies that the story takes place during the "summer". Now, while its generally known that all winter episodes were filmed during the hot malibu months. This doesn't mean that the story takes place "during the summer" infact as I recall there are a few lines in the episode that either discuss that its in the middle of winter, or imply that its in the middle of winter. Despite the appearances of the set. The other evidence that it is winter, being that Hawkeye and other characters are wearing sweaters and parkas, and other cold weather gear. Also the ground appears to be iced/wet over in plenty of the shots.

Granted it may not look like a true korean winter, in the location that the series was shot but there is enough in the episode to tell the context that the story wasn't taking place during the "summer". I'm going to remove the reference to summer (or at least put it into better context).132.160.43.102 (talk) 20:04, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Another bit of trivia -- in some of the episodes, civilian registration numbers (i.e. N-numbers) are clearly visible painted on some of the choppers. Military aircraft would not have had those markings. -- RoySmith (talk) 19:50, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Anachronisms and historical errors

Do we need more of this garbage? What is the point? Yes, we get it; it's not "historically correct." Whoopie doo. Please state valid reasons for additions BEFORE you add them. Thank you. Bouncehoper (talk) 08:24, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

You made a valid point in one of your editing comments, in that the "article is getting too long", why not create some spinout articles for some of the longer sections of the article? The anachronism and historical error section would be a good place to start.Splintercell007 (talk) 23:05, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
Mostly cuz I don't give a crap. I don't see the point of hashing out every little thing that could possibly be historically inaccurate in an 11-year series. If someone else wants to, that's fine with me, but I really don't care enough to make a page myself. I just don't want to see any more nitpickiness (word?) on this page. Bouncehoper (talk) 04:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


I think the whole section should come out - M*A*S*H didn't pretend to be a documentary. It's fictitious, so it is not worth a section pointing out every time it deviated from the facts. It is worth a sentence only somewhere else in the article. (Dean B (talk) 21:18, 9 March 2008 (UTC))

Vehicles

Does anyone have any info about the jeep/ambulance vehicles used in the series. If so, please add to the section therein. M173627 (talk) 21:00, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

Article structure

To me the article isn't ordered logically. The "trivia" sections should really move towards the bottom of the structure, and the more meaningful parts about the programme should move up. Specifically the sections within the cast area, 3.2 Actors with multiple roles, 3.3 Character names, 3.4 Notable actors and actor information are really more in the area of trivia and only mildly interesting facts, rather than key information for anyone accessing the article. They are also very long. In comparison, the sections 5 Changes, 6 "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", 7 Change in tone, and 15 Unique and unusual episodes are very well written and informative about the programme. How about this as a revised order (obviously with revised numbering) 

   * 1 Episodes
   * 2 Synopsis
   * 3 Cast - Recurring characters
   * 4 The set
   * 5 Changes
   * 7 Change in tone
   * 15 Unique and unusual episodes
   * 6 "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen"
   * 14 On-set
         o 14.1 Character information
               + 14.1.1 Character injuries
         o 14.2 Vehicles
         o 3.2 Actors with multiple roles
         o 3.3 Character names
         o 3.4 Notable actors and actor information
   * 11 Anachronisms and historical errors
   * 8 Awards
   * 9 Nielsen ratings
   * 12 Spinoffs and specials
   * 10 Popularity today
         o 10.1 Influences on pop culture
   * 13 DVD releases
   * 16 Notes and references
   * 17 External links

I'll wait and see the reaction before attempting this overhaul. (Dean B (talk) 21:34, 9 March 2008 (UTC)) wow, sounds hardcore, but i like it. makes more sense that way. i throw my vote in for yes. Bouncehoper (talk) 11:28, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Point taken. I say do it. 76.189.13.127 (talk) 22:25, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Looking for help writing an article about the spin-offs and crossovers of this series

I am writing an article about all of the series which are in the same shared reality as this one through spin-offs and crossovers. I could use a little help expanding the article since it is currently extremely dense and a bit jumbled with some sentence structures being extremely repetitive. I would like to be able to put this article into article space soon. Any and all help in writing the article would be appreciated, even a comment or two on the talk page would help. Please give it a read through, also please do not comment here since I do not have all of the series on my watch list. - LA @ 17:05, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

What are valid references for George Morgan playing Mulcahy in the Pilot?

I can find lots of other websites that (I think) are not wiki-derived. Are these legitimate sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0638383/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0604680/ http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/mash/mash.htm http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tv/mash/guide/ http://www.bestcareanywhere.net/encyclopedia.htm http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/9348/mash.htm http://www.amazon.com/M-S-H-Season-Collectors/dp/B00005QVVC http://epguides.com/Mash/guide.shtml --DAW0001 (talk) 11:24, 2 June 2008 (UTC)


Notes and References

There's a large chunk of trivia, at the end of the article under 'Notes and References'. The problem, for me anyway, is that it ends up in footnote font -- small and with an extra margin, and I don't care to read it that way. What can I say, if it's important, make it a section, and give it normal type. If the consensus is that it's cruft, cut it out. I just don't think the current status is much of a compromise. FWIW, I only came to this page as part of a search for the character of General Hammond, what episodes the character appears, etc. So the content was interesting to me. 64.252.180.241 (talk) 18:57, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

apparently fixed, since it's not like that now. Bekkie (talk) 14:58, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

BILLY RAY CYRUS

I SAW A EPISIDE LAST NIGHT OF COURSE RE-RUN BUT THRER WAS A SEEN WHERE A SARGENT ASK KLINGER IF HE HAD A PACKAGE TO I CORP AND IF IT WAS NOT BILLY RAY CYRUS HE HAD A TWIN BROTHER BUT OF COURSE HE HAD SHORT HAIR AND HE WAS VERY YOUNG IF SOME ONE COULD ANSWER THIS FOR ME PLEASE DO . —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.172.185.162 (talk) 14:14, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Merge Lt. Dish

Lieutenant Dish's article was prodded, but I thought it would be better merged than erased altogether. Thoughts?--SarekOfVulcan (talk) 05:11, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Vietnam-nOt Korea

  • ON the outside of the door of the "Swamp" in a early epsiode is the 1970s' Peace Sign-common in Vietnam-but not in Korea! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.53.145.110 (talk) 03:39, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

I've always wondered

Hi:

Who is that handsome nurse who gets in a few running strides in the opening credits? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.157.178.143 (talk) 03:08, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

5 O'clock Charlie

The episode 5 O'clock Charlie was almost certainly based on a real Japanese pilot during World War II who was known to harrass the U.S. marines on Guadalcanal. He would fly over marine encampments at night in order to keep the marines from getting much needed sleep. On some of his runs he would drop a bomb, and on others he would only fly over the marine's positions. The marines nicknamed this pilot Washing-machine Charlie, and like 5 O'clock Charlie in MASH, his airplane engine was out of timing. 

  Johnhenney (talk) 01:39, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Anachronism

With America being raised mostly on television, MASH deliberately portrayed the Korean War as unpopular and construed disrespect for authority which did not exist before the Vietnam War/Baby Boomers. One the lead sentences says:

"Like the movie, the series was as much an allegory about the Vietnam War (still in progress when the series began) as about the Korean Conflict.[1]"

More truthfully, this should read "...the series was more about the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War (still in progress when the series began) and not about the Korean Conflict which had the support of the American people."

Not about to do this without a WP:RELY reference BUT it is still the truth. I was alive then. Student7 (talk) 22:39, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

An editor on another talk page mentioned that "...author Hooker was an avowed right-winger and was disgusted with the leftist stance of the TV show." If this can be verified, shouldn't it be in here? Student7 (talk) 13:18, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Yes, I read pretty much the same thing about Richard Hooker and his reaction to the TV series in some magazine article, maybe 15 to 20 years ago, but unfortunately I can't remember which magazine. It is an interesting piece of trivia.

Possible addition

Sorrel Brooke is the other actor who was in the movie and in the TV Show. His initial appearance on the show was almost identical to his appearance in the movie. I do not remember the name of the episode but Brooke's biggest scene is when the on-duty hospital staff are playing cards with a severly wounded patient waiting in pre-op. The General explodes with something to the effect of "what are you doing?" Hawkeye informs him that they are waiting for the patient's condition to become stable enough for them to operate on him with a chance he would survive the surgery.

The interesting part is that the above dialog is almost identical in the movie and the TV show and is lifted directly from the book. The book is more a series of related episodes than a true novel. The only other episode that I can remember that appeared in all three was the one that I call, again because I do not remember its name, "The Pros From Dover".

JimCubb (talk) 02:53, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Roy

Nowhere in this wikipedia talks about Roy Goldman...why? He was a character

even though he used his real name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Justmashfan (talk • contribs) 19:25, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

bobbie mitchell

Appeared numerous times as at least 5 different characters. Why is she not listed anywhere? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.102.161.75 (talk) 15:59, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

No Black Surgeons in Korea

I've heard the quote as both "No Black Surgeons in Korea", or "No Black Surgeons in Korean M*A*S*H units. Which was the original quote exactly?

While I haven't been able to confirm it, there is someone on Koreanwar.org who claims his father "Captain Frank "Doc" Woodson", was a black surgeon in both Tokyo and Korea. However even if he helped in Korea, it doesn't necessarily mean he was ever stationed in a M*A*S*H unit, it is unknown if he ever visited a M*A*S*H unit. Apparently he was mainly stationed in Tokyo.

http://www.koreanwar.org/html/units/8167med.htm

I highly doubt the person would make up stories about his own father, but it would be nice if we had more history on this surgeon.

Also I found some info on another black surgeon in Korea; Dr. W. Ferguson Reid http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/civilrights/freid01.html

Who was also apparently a surgeon in Korea(again apparently never stationed in a M*A*S*H unit). Though he uses the term "Medical Unit". What kind of Medical unit is he referring to exactly?

"One year in Korea with the 1st Marine Division and another year at the United States Naval Hospital at Bethesda...when I was in Korea I was the only black surgeon in the group, in the medical unit that we were in."

It seems to mean that the whole "no blacks surgeons in Korea" thing may be the innaccurate paraphrase of what was actually said(the phrase stated in the Wiki being more accurate). That being said if there were black surgeons who were stationed or visited Korea during the war, I would be interested in knowing where they were stationed or were visiting during the war. Did any ever visit M*A*S*H units at all during the war?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.239.30.104 (talk) 23:33, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

monster mash

why isn't there a link to the mash wiki, monster mash ?

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.167.107.207 (talk) 01:16, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Emotional breakdown

In the references to characters suffering from emotional breakdowns, I removed the examples concerning B.J. and Potter. Why? Because an emotional breakdown is a serious psychological disorder, in a whole other league from B.J. missing his family or Potter getting upset over nearly losing a patient. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.218.119.25 (talk) 09:56, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Other errors

  • MASH had a Japanese American Nurse in the series-ignoring the fact that Korea was just emerging from being explioted by Japan as a second class country from 1910 to 1945. Did the 4077 actually have Japanese AMericans on Staff???
    • The character of Spearchucker was removed from the series on the basis that there were no Negro surgeons in the Korean War; the character of Nurse Kellye was retained to the end. Presumably, the producers did their research equally well for both cases.
  • Also Hawkeye was from MAine and C.E.W. III was from Massachusetts-where are their NEW ENGLAND ACCENTS??
    • David Ogden Stiers certainly affects a Boston accent for his character. I find it more strange that he derides the American League when following the baseball scores in A War for All Seasons. As a Bostonian, he would cerainly be aware of the Red Sox (American League champions in 1946 and one-game-behind runners-up for the pennant in 1948 and 1949. The Red Sox are, of course, an AL team.
      • Well, he did say "Who cares about the Red Sox" in "Rally Round the Flagg, Boys." Something tells me Winchester considered baseball a subject beneath his interest--unless he could make money on it.Kyeo77 03:46, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
  • LAstly Lt. Col H. Blake- the only reference he makes to prior Korean war sercive is a remark that "In command School they taught me young men die" -a real military Surgeon of his rank and age would have had ACTIVE WORLD WAR II SERVICE.
    • And he probably did. The selected quote is "All I know is what they taught me in Command School. Rule Number One is Young Men Die (etc)". Nothing in that either confirms or denies active service in WWII. Just because he served in WWII does not mean he was a Lt-Col at that time or that he commanded at that time - those things were probably given to him upon his reactivation for Korea. There is no reference anytime to Col.Blake or Maj.Burns having been drafted, unlike the captains.

In fact, it is likley given their ages, that BJ/Trapper/Hawkeye were given deferments in WW2 for medical schools and had army reserve obligations. The "drafted" part was just angry words. --Purpleslog 03:42, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Well, once or twice (I can't remember the episode) but Hawkeye refers to himself, BJ, and Frank all being draftees. Frank had his own practice at home, and despite loving regulation did moan that he was away from his beloved practice and that his patients may be being stolen!!! --Arthur7 (talk) 10:39, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

  • ALso in regard to Colonel Potter-a real mismash. He was either born 1890 or 1901; lives in ether Nebraska or Missouri (where is his accent?}; always wants to be a doctor yet joins the army during World War I and becomes a POW; after the war still wants to be a doctor yet joins the Horse Cavalry; in the mid 1930's retries from the army and becomes a doctor in 4 years; in World War II is in two different battlefields in the same year 1944 in either Guam in the PACIFIC or Battle of the Buldge in EUROPE.

In regards to the "accent" you mention; depending upon one's viewpoint, pert' near everybody else has an "accent." Ponder this: one reason Omaha Nebraska was selected by so many firms involved with the 800 toll-free telephone number enterprises wherein people from across the USA call to order goods, seek information, etc. is that the "accent" of the denizens in that portion of the "midwest" (Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas) are considered to have the most "neutral accent," on the whole, of the several accents within the USA.68.13.191.153 02:21, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

  • There is a simpler explaination for Potter's lack of an accent. He was an Army lifer. He spent his career moving from post to post, domestic and abroad, surrounded by people from the whole spectrum of the nation. People tend to lose accents when they move from areas and surrounded by people who don't have one. They'll often adopt the local accept through osmosis. (and I am speaking in generalities. It's not an absolute). Niteshift36 (talk) 07:24, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

I always assumed he was downsized outo fthe army after WW1 (it shrunk big-time) became a MD afterward and then rejoined the Army. If he was attached to calvary unit as a surgeon that would work.--Purpleslog 03:42, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Potter only mentioned Nebraska in 2 early episodes. All other references are to Hannibal, Missouri. He did his residency in St. Louis and began his practice in 1932. Awhislyle 03:14, 09 January 2007 (UTC)

Actually, some episodes quote his medical decree being in the early 20's, which he went through with some big shot general who failed. Also see what i've put further up!!! --Arthur7 (talk) 10:39, 14 December 2007 (UTC) Bobbie Mitchell was a recurring actor with no mention, she played at least 4 nurses, Nurses Baker, Gage, Gilbert and Mitchell.

"MASH had a Japanese American Nurse in the series-ignoring the fact that Korea was just emerging from being explioted by Japan as a second class country from 1910 to 1945. Did the 4077 actually have Japanese AMericans on Staff???" If you are referring to Nurse Kellye, she states in one episode that she is part Chinese and part Hawaiian.

Frank was a draftee. The Lieutenant Colonel who presided over the preliminary hearing in which Frank tried to have Hawkeye court-martialed said, "If you hadn't been drafted as a doctor, I think you would have been assigned as a pastry chef." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.218.119.25 (talk) 09:50, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Post-MASH cast appearance

Does anyone have information about the episode of "Diagnosis Murder" in which several M*A*S*H actors appeared? As I recall, they all ended up at Community General hospital for various reasons--Loretta Swit as a visiting nurse, Jamie Farr as a patient. I think a couple of other actors from the show appeared, in addition to either Elliot Gould or Donald Sutherland (not both). This might belong in the Pop Culture References section, but I don't know enough about the wiki or the episode to write it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.230.194.42 (talk) 08:22, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

The episode is called "Drill for Death" and featured Swit, Farr, William Christopher, Sally Kellerman, and Gould. It originally aired on 22 January 1998. Shsilver (talk) 14:27, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

All M*A*S*H first season articles are currently up for deletion, including pilot

All first season MASH articles are up for deletion, nominated on 15 May 2009, closing on Friday, 22 May 2009:

Ikip (talk) 15:16, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

More:

M*A*S*H pilot up for deletion
Second season

Ikip (talk) 22:56, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

The amount of forum shopping on this matter is disgusting. Please choose ONE location, and provide links at all other locations to that ONE discussion. ThuranX (talk) 01:26, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
I would be happy to provide policy and precendents for what I am doing, if you could hold in your disgust, we can talk about it civily. Ikip (talk) 01:36, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
This is FORUM shopping, please direct all interested editors to a single discussion location. I've taken the time to notify Gwinva, who originally tagged all these articles. ThuranX (talk) 03:43, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
Just my opinion, but I think that going through and tagging all of the articles at the same time isn't playing fair either. It would seem more appropriate to me to tag one or two at a time, let them run their course, then move to the next. It gives me the impression that one might hope that some will get by unchallanged because individual articles aren't read as frequently. But Ikip putting it here in the main article doesn't seem inappropriate to me. Niteshift36 (talk) 04:11, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
It is appropriate.
I see that the editor who ThuranX is contacting is the person who tagged all of these articles 2 years ago, attempting to delete them, so this editor will probably be symapthetic to ThuranX. I couldn't see any note about this on her/his talk page though. Isn't contacting someone from two years ago fall in your defintion of "forum shopping", how about thanking every editor who voted delete in the AfD?
ThuranX, another editor posted about 16 of these AfDs on a deletion sorting page, and there is no accusations of forum shopping. Is this because this editor supports your position?
Procedure:
Wikipedia:Guide_to_deletion#Nomination
Place a notification on significant pages that link to nomination
"Place a notification on significant pages that link to your nomination, to enable those with related knowledge to participate in the debate."
Precedence:
To take an average one day total, there were 114 notices like the notice I posted, on April 20, 2009 list of Afd discussions,[2] and 151 on May 4, 2009.[3]
An example from two days of AfDs:
Three notifications by the same author:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Greeks in Poland May 4, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Greeks in Ireland May 4, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Greeks in Kyrgyzstan May 4, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Greeks in Cuba May 4, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Public reactions to death of Rachel Corrie May 3, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of music videos shot in Iceland May 3, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/DJ Talent May 3, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Emi_Gal May 3, 2009
Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Eanna_Cullen May 3, 2009
Five notifications by the same author:
Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Barack_Obama_Supreme_Court_candidates_(2nd_nomination) May 3, 2009
I wish you would have discussed this at the episode first and reached a consensus.
Ikip (talk) 05:24, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Laughter track not used in the UK

It's worth pointing out in this article that when the show was shown in the UK on the BBC the laughter track was completely omitted. If you want a cite for this - see http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/reviews/review.asp?Index=4536&User=35366 - also they report that it was accidentally broadcast with the laughter track once. It reports this as an urban legend. But I'm pretty sure it's true. Jooler (talk) 21:12, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

I can't remember which episode it was - it was a repeat on BBC2 in about 1988 - the episode in question was broadcast on BBC 2 with the laughter track - the announcer apologised for "the technical problems they had".

I added that to the main article.

It was policy at the time that all comedy programmes on the BBC had to have a laughter track - oddly enough, they removed it from MASH/M*A*S*H (whatever you call it). The policy was changed when The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy (slightly OT) was adapted for telly - they didn't do it in front of an audience, as each episode took about a month to make - it would have been inconsistent to put a laughter track on it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Arthurvasey (talk • contribs) 19:22, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

I don't see a cite for that statement, and since the BBC recorded most of its comedy shows in front of a live audience, it would be extremely unlikely that they insisted on a laugh track. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:40, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Although I can't remember the episode in question, I definitely remember this happening - it was even brought up on the next week's edition of Points of View! Jay Firestorm (talk) 00:02, 8 November 2009 (UTC)

I remember it happening too. Talk of the school playground the next day. It's worth pointing out that on UK repeats on Sky and currently Comedy Central, the laughter track appears.

Gary Burghoff's left hand

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gary_Burghoff#His_left_hand

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Belasted (talk • contribs) 03:42, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

mash

this deals with history —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.99.216.18 (talk) 23:20, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Correct, but how is that relevant?Le Rusecue (talk) 08:00, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Lots of POV in article

Although very well detailed... is it just me, or does a lot of the main article have a lot of POV? Commenting on "classic" episodes with no citations, commenting on "how successful" changes were, again with nothing cited... am I alone in feeling this? Jay Firestorm (talk) 00:09, 8 November 2009 (UTC)

Duke Forrest character

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why, when Wayne Rogers left the show, and the producers brought in Mike Farrell, why didn't they name his character "Duke Forrest" (a character in the novel and movie who did not appear in the series) instead of going with BJ? Azariah Marvel (talk) 20:43, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a forum, but, because I love the show so much, I will tell you. It's because early on in the M*A*S*H series, before Rogers decided to leave, they mentioned Forrest in passing, saying he had been discharged.Le Rusecue (talk) 08:03, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

The wikia

Would it be okay to put the Wikia as one of the links? Since it does have a fair amount of articles, and if we give attention to it by putting it in the links section, then maybe we can increase the number of articles it has.63.164.225.56 (talk) 10:57, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Who the Heck is Wiggum?

"Wiggum regularly hurts his hand watching this show" in section "Vehicles" Kid Bugs (talk) 00:38, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

Viewership

In the lede, it stats that the viewership of the final episode was 121.5 million. In the section on the final episode, it cites 106 million. If the former, that episode is still the most watched television event. If the latter, it is now second to Super Bowl 2010. Shsilver (talk) 19:47, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Social Impact

Mash was viewed by millions of Americans for eleven years. It was a cultural phenomenon which began during the Vietnam war. I would like to initiate s bit of discussion about it's effects.

It's success was undoubtedly in its ability to treat a very serious subject with both gravity and humor. But one thing thing that struck me is the rate of success of the operating theatre. The patients are more than not "sewn up and sent to recovery". But my instinct tells me that it must have been a much bleaker situation, with many more O.R. fatalities, post-op fatalities, D.O.A. and certainly more severe injuries than those depicted. Of course this was a prime-time program and perhaps that was about as far as they could have gone given the format. But I would like to hear from anyone who has some insight into the actual MASH conditions and perhaps decisions that were made by or imposed upon the producers regarding the OR scenes and types of injuries depicted. I can't help but imagine that if more realistic conditions had been scripted, the actors p@erformances would have been much different. I wonder if any claim has been made against the show, for all it's elegance, about avoiding the actual conditions of mechanical warfare.

--APDEF (talk) 05:48, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

AFAIK, the record of MASHes was pretty good. And IIRC, there was an actual MASH with a comparable record. (Might be the overall record for all MASHes was over 90%.) Don't forget, the 98% survival quoted in the show is for those leaving the outfit, not the overall rate tracked back through the evac or the DOAs. I do know they used real stories (tho IDK if all were KW, or if they used WW2 & 'nam), so could be Gelbart &c kept it faithful. It would be interesting to know how closely they followed reality.TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 13:05, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

largest viewing figures inconsistency

The intro says "In 2010, the Super Bowl XLIV came close to beating the record with 121.6 million viewers." yet the "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" sections says "On February 7, 2010, Super Bowl XLIV surpassed the number of viewers as 106.5 million viewers" - which is right? --C Hawke (talk) 13:57, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Color line

Looking at older episodes, I'm struck by how the show changed as it went on. Ginger & Spearchucker disappeared, & the show seemed to get "whiter". Anybody know why? I'd like to see somethng added on the reason. TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 13:08, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

I know spearchucker was removed becsause they realized that there were no black surgeons during the korean war, but im not sure about ginger, she was around for awhile maybe she just left the show? 99.249.173.240 (talk) 18:42, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

TV Tommy

I haven't seen the episode in awhile, so it's unclear whose best friend Tommy Gillis is/was... Can somebody clarify? TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura 01:55, 26 March 2010 (UTC)


---Sydney Freidman quote---

"Ladies and gentlemen take my advice, take off your pants and slide on the ice"........What episode is this from???? Why isn't it listed in with all the other quotes??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ded 96 (talk • contribs) 13:14, 28 March 2010 (UTC)

Differences between the book and the series...

Richard Hooker (whose real name was Richard Hornberger) based the novel MASH on his experiences as a doctor in Korea. Ironically, he supported the Korean War. The attitudes in the film and TV show are more typical of the Vietnam era than the early 1950's.76.4.66.164 (talk) 16:36, 28 May 2010 (UTC)

tv ratings

I notice M*A*S*H was never number 1 in the ratings. can anybody tell me what shows were rated no 1 for the years in question —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.42.121.120 (talk) 19:14, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

Keye Luke added

I added Keye Luke to to the "Actors with multiple roles" section. Elsquared (talk) 01:32, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

Recurring Characters

Removed this portion from Allan Arbus's bio: "Arbus also appeared in later episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man as Dr Rudy Wells." He never played Rudy Wells. The only actors to have that role were Martin Balsam, Alan Oppenheimer and Martin E. Brooks. Ssosmcin (talk) 16:07, 17 December 2010 (UTC)

Soon-Tek Oh

Soon-Tek Oh also appeared in the Goodbye, Farewell and Amen as a musician. This is not mentioned in the Reappearing guest section — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.175.13.67 (talk) 11:00, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

PA Guy

I notice that this guy appears in about 150 episodes (more than Charles, Trapper, Henry or Frank). Shouldn't he be mentioned somewhere? — Preceding unsigned comment added by TheMovieManiac (talk • contribs) 21:41, 8 October 2011 (UTC)

Character injuries?

Isn't having that sub-section sorta overdoing it? Are we gonna start pointing out which episodes have the Swamp next to the hospital complex & which has it far away? GoodDay (talk) 03:27, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Not moved Consensus appears to be against the move at this time. Alpha_Quadrant (talk) 05:02, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

(moved discussion from M*A*S*H which created by mistake.) M*A*S*H (TV series) → Mash (TV series) – The punctuation used for decoration should not be used per MOS:TM. --180.183.120.181 (talk) 06:11, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

  • Oppose. It is an acronym (for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). --DAJF (talk) 09:47, 25 February 2012 (UTC)
  • Current Oppose- If proposal changed to → MASH (TV series) as pronounced acronym stylization, Support in line with WP naming guidelines, with greater functionality, no longer expecting users to type the asterisks. Dru of Id (talk) 11:12, 25 February 2012 (UTC)
  • Oppose - ermm... "M*A*S*H" is how I remember this series and I am sure plenty of other people do as well. "Mash" is just what's left when you crush a potato. I think MOS or no MOS, this is one occasion when we should keep the decoration. There is no reason why the proposed location cannot just be a redirect. Green Giant (talk) 20:38, 25 February 2012 (UTC)
  • Comment. Like Dru of Id, I would support MASH (TV series). Jenks24 (talk) 10:16, 27 February 2012 (UTC)
  • Oppose. MASH (TV series) would be in line with our guidelines, but I'm also not going to get fussed with the asterisks, since they're almost universally present in reliable sources. Powers T 21:57, 27 February 2012 (UTC)
  • Oppose as well. As an acronym, lowercase letters are pretty much out of the question, and I kinda fail to see how asterisks fall under WP:TM. Reliably sourced as is. Nolelover Talk·Contribs 16:35, 2 March 2012 (UTC)
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Laugh track

In the current article, there's a brief mention of the conflict between the show's producers and the studio over the laugh track, and the compromise on a "chuckle track". Another interesting part of the compromise was that no laugh track (or chuckle track) would ever be played during surgery scenes in the hospital, out of respect for wounded veterans. I think this might be documented in Mike Farrell's book "Just Call Me Mike", but I don't have a copy, so I can't source it. 137.254.4.9 (talk) 21:29, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

Potter's "conversion"

"Colonel Sherman Potter converts during the series. When he first arrives at the 4077 he asks Father Mulcahy if he does a Methodist service and whether there are other Methodists on the camp, as he hates to sing alone. In a later episode, when he is having trouble with Klinger's efforts as company clerk, Father Mulcahy relates the story of when Radar first arrived at the camp. Potter replies, "You wouldn't lie to an old Presbyterian, would you?""
This seems more like an error on the writers' part than an actual "conversion" on the character's part, but in any case it is more relevant to Potter than to the show as a whole and should probably be moved to his article. --Khajidha (talk) 20:48, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

You are absolutely correct, of course. Powers T 22:37, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

Trivia etc.

Today I was going to read a passage (or several passages) on this page about trivia/miscellaneous information and continuity errors regarding the series. Disappointing, I could not find it. If it has been removed I'd like to see it replaced. Any supporting or opposing views? ~~ ÅVM. 3/12 2012. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.164.212.47 (talk) 20:15, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

The Phantom Announcer

Can someone please solve the mystery of the phantom announcer? Radar makes announcements over the camp's PA, but Radar is also shown listening along with the others to some of these announcements, and of course it's another voice speaking. Who is the announcer? (I mean, who is the MASH character? Not 'What is the the name of the actor.) Radar is the only one of the camp's office/headquarters clerical personnel ever shown, apart from (later) Klinger. So, who makes announcements when Radar is away from his desk? This happens in many episodes, not just one or two. Bluedawe 08:41, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress

There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:M*A*S*H which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 16:44, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Title of series

Shouldn't this article mention why the show's title is spelled so unusually (with the three asterisk symbols between the letters M, A, S, and H)? Or, is that already in the article and I missed it? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 23:48, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

Suggestion

There's probably quite a good article hiding inside this bloated mess of fancruft. I suggest removing anything that breaks WP:V in the first instance. --John (talk) 17:01, 16 May 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure if I am in the right place to make a suggestion but here it is anyway: Under the character section you can change the order value by choosing ascending or descending but in the rank sub-section the orders are wrong. Choosing ascending order Colonel would be the highest rank of the charaters, Lieutenant Colonel would be next, then Major, then Captain... I would suggest using the Wikipedia page linked below to correct the order that the auto function arrows places them in. I'd do it myself but I do not know how. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_officer_rank_insignia — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.136.114.175 (talk) 17:20, 5 October 2013 (UTC)

Edit to John Orchard's entry

Someone previously has stated this, concerning his 'Australian' accent: "Orchard's attempts at an Australian accent were a dismal failure as he was unable to disguise his Cockney origins."

My understanding is that this would be considered an opinion rather than a fact and therefore shouldn't be included. It also cites no reference to anyone saying that, such as John himself, furthering my belief it's opinion only.

I'm an Australian and actually find the accent quite believable. It's quite possible the person who wrote that is American and doesn't realise that for many years, Australians continued to have British accents mingled with the emerging "Aussie" accent. A man of that age at that time could quite easily have had a blended English-Australian accent. As a young person, I often noticed that many of our older citizens who'd been born and raised in Australia, as often as not by parents who'd been born here, had a "flavour" of British accent. Mathsgirl (talk) 13:45, 15 October 2013 (UTC)

The Gary Burghoff BP commercial

I'm going to remove this paragraph: In 1990, Gary Burghoff appeared in several locally aired BP television advertisements in the United States, explaining that certain local filling stations, such as Sohio, will soon become BP filling stations.

It has nothing to do with M*A*S*H. Burghoff was not appearing as Radar, and the commercial is as irrelevant to the history of the show as Alan Alda's run on ER.

M. Maxwell

167.29.8.5 (talk) 21:26, 27 February 2014 (UTC)

burghoff hand

unless something weird was done in syndication, radar is not "trying to lift weights" at any point during episode s05e14/the most unforgettable characters. the episode ends with radar doing MAGIC TRICKS.

the hand is a BIT visible there, but nothing like in the pilot. is the comment in the article actually referring to some DIFFERENT episode? i'm gonna go looking for "nearby" eps (s05e13, s05e15, say), but i just don't get this comment. 209.172.25.241 (talk) 06:41, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

turns out it's a totally diff ep from a year later! i dunno what the guy who wrote that line was thinking, but i have now fixed it, having finally found and viewed the correct episode.
either way, tho, i think this should be moved to burghoff's page, not MASH itself. thoughts? 209.172.23.173 (talk) 02:33, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

"Change in Tone"

Is that really the right name for that section? Tone, per se, does not seem to be explored therein.Jcejhay (talk) 12:31, 6 April 2014 (UTC)

I don't think that the name is the problem, but I do object to the opening line, "While the series remained popular through these changes, it eventually began to run out of creative steam." Since it follows the cast changes section, it seems to suggest that the alleged lack of creativity in the final seasons of the show is due to the cast changes. IMO, the reverse is true. I think every cast change deepened the show. Col. Blake's boozing incompetence could only be funny for so long; Col. Potter blended military competence with realistic common sense. Similarly, Trapper was a Hawkeye clone while BJ was differentiated better, especially as a faithful married man. Frank as an adulterous hypocrite and incompetent surgeon was likewise a one-note punching bag, while Winchester as the pompous overly competent surgeon provided a better foil to Hawkeye and BJ. (How funny is an incompetent surgeon in a medical show, really, when you think about it?) These cast changes were completed by the end of the fifth season; the creative fatigue mentioned in the article didn't set in until the late seasons.
I'd like to see an opening paragraph talking about the series progressing from a farcical tone similar to the movie to a more dramatic tone in later seasons; at that point one could add in the paragraph about creative fatigue in the final seasons. I don't know of any supporting sources but I don't think the above is simply my perception. Schoolmann (talk) 12:43, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

Removal of timeline chart

I disagree with the recent removal of the timeline in the "Character" section. Although the same information is presented verbally in the graph that introduces the section, the chart provided a visual depiction of the tenure of various characters that was easy to grasp at a glance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Schoolmann (talk • contribs) 14:34, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

I also disagree with it's removal - it provide superb clarity. It should be discussed before any draconian move like removal is actioned. Reinstated! :: Kevinalewis : (Talk Page)/(Desk) 15:07, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

Not just wrong

This article claims that it was filmed during the Vietnam War and makes several comments about how careful the dialog had to be to avoid problems because of that. Well, since I can actually count, I note the series premiered in September 1972 and that direct US military involvement had essentially ended by August, 1973, so this only explains a small fraction of the show's tone over 11 years. Note that by '73, a large majority of the American audience was anti-War. (Incorrect/misleading remarks are made in Synopsis section). Abitslow (talk) 00:02, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

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The second archive URL didn't work, so I replaced it with a different one. DH85868993 (talk) 08:51, 28 May 2016 (UTC)

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Has someone been at this article with a chainsaw?

Any reference to the Spearchucker Jones character gone, the entire sections on notable guest appearances gone. The small section that had actors who played multiple roles eg Harry Morgan gone?

Yet a massive 2 paragraphs about what models of jeeps and ambulances they used during filming complete with photos?

And 3 paragraphs on a 2 year exhibition that was 35 years ago?

It has turned into a hash

--TheMightyAllBlacks (talk) 22:22, 30 September 2018 (UTC)

Correction Needed

In the section 'notable actors ..etc', the blurb about Ron Howard in the ep. "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" has incorect info regarding the end of the show. The first correction needed; "Hawkeye immediately reports the young soldier to the MPs....", should state that Hawkeye reports the kid to Margaret to keep him under guard until the MPs can take him home". The next part that needs correcting states ".....with the Purple Heart Frank Burns put in for after his back pain". This does not happen in this season or episode. Ron Howard's character states he'll never forgive Hawkeye, who replies that he hopes its a long healthy hate. The show in which someone receives Burns' Purple Heart, is season 4 ep 9 entitled "The Kids", Alda directed. Frank Burns recv's a Purple Heart for shell fragments he recv'd during an enemy attack a month earlier... eggshells in his eye... This is the Purple Heart given to an infant born after his mother was hit in the abdomen, putting her in labor, staff operating, discovering the child was nicked by the bullet....etc. Another time a patient is given a citation is a red haired soldier that almost dies, he's in a coma until he hears Marilyn Monroe's going to visit. B.J. gives him the Bronze Star he recvd for "not" saving an injured soldier while in a helicopter. There is a show where a youg soldier recvs Frank's Purple Heart for his 'appendix' issue. I cannot locate that episode. Maybe if THAT had been on I could tell you. hehe This is all fresh in my mind since all these shows were just on recently on various tv stations.... could someone correct where needed? I cannot. 76.99.239.77 (talk) 03:18, 2 May 2017 (UTC) BrattySoul

Ron Howard's character IS rewarded Franks Purple Heart for his appendix. I just checked the DVD version. You probably watched one of the cut syndicated versions.

2001:5B0:2222:C24C:38C8:9F20:DEB4:8B6F (talk) 14:31, 19 October 2018 (UTC) bmillham

How was M*A*S*H anti-war?

Why is M*A*S*H listed in WikiProject Anti-war? The television show ran for 11 years and the setting was the Korean war. The actual history of the Korean war isn't presented nor is any realistic presentation of the actual conflict. (Of course this was television.) Aside from the slapstick earlier years - approximately prior to Linville's exit, M.A.S.H became a drama, a television show about an actor, or a group of actors who struggle and condemn the way things are but are limited to do much about them other than the occassional sober victory each episode.

Propaganda that persuasively establishes acceptance of a paradox: War is bad but it's something we've got to do so we better get on with it. Millions who saw this program might therefore believe resistance is useless, or alternatively that father knows best, whether it's the Government or an actor like Harry Morgan or Alan Alda. If the USA goes to war they might believe (correctly) that they can't do too much about it, especially after the 1960s. I'd argue that the series was generally supportive of war. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.153.140.254 (talk) 17:24, 18 March 2020 (UTC)

Even though a clear part of it's message was that "War is bad"? HiLo48 (talk) 02:19, 17 April 2020 (UTC)

Citation to book mentioning finale

Beyond My Ken, I removed this mention of the finale because it does not seem WP:DUE for an article about the TV show, especially since it is sourced to the book itself and does have any independent sourcing to show its significance. Maybe it would be more relevant for the article about the finale, but it seems very trivial for this article without some kind of secondary source explaining why it is noteworthy. – wallyfromdilbert (talk) 06:38, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

(ec)The content is about characters in the book watching the series finale, so it's absolutely pertinent to the subject of the article. As for sourcing, WP:Verifiability requires that information on Wikipedia be verifiable. This information, which is a straight-forward presentation of some of the contents of the book, without analysis or interpretation, is easily verified by reference to the book itself. No secondary source is required unless the material analyzed or interpreted the information, which it does not do. Beyond My Ken (talk) 20:27, 30 January 2021 (UTC)
Beyond My Ken, the issue is not verifiability or general relevance, but about the significance/noteworthiness to this article subject, which is why I linked to the WP:DUE policy. Since this article is about the TV show M*A*S*H, and not the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower, there should be some sort of secondary sourcing showing that the content is due or appropriate for inclusion in this particular article. The WP:V policy also discusses how "verifiability does not guarantee inclusion", and please note that per WP:ONUS, the "onus to achieve consensus for inclusion is on those seeking to include disputed content". In the future, it would probably be more appropriate to use the talk page to reach consensus for inclusion before restoring material more than once, especially when the material does not have independent sourcing. – wallyfromdilbert (talk) 23:15, 30 January 2021 (UTC)
Agree with the removal. This is just trivia, and not notable enough for inclusion, unless other third party sources disagree.
Note that I'm not saying the source or claim is invalid (ie that the claimed event doesn't happen,) only that unless there are other sources pointing out notability - it's not worthy of inclusion. Chaheel Riens (talk) 20:26, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

Editing Plans

Over the next couple weeks I plan to implement a number of changes to this article, mainly structurally. This is my first big editing project on here, so I thought I would post my intentions. If there is anything that has been done a certain way for a reason or you think I am making a mistake, feel free to reach out to me. Some bold changes I'm planning:

  • Change "Plot" to "Premise" to better reflect the contents there in
  • Change "Characters" to "Cast and characters"
  • Remove the section "Cast pictures" and move the images to the top of this section
  • Move the paragraph in the lead about the casts' time on the show to the "Cast and characters" section as well (although it basically is just a detailed description of the timeline and I considered deleting it)
  • Change "Production" to "Background and production" and rearrange some of the contents
  • shorten or delete the bulky paragraph on vehicles. While it is great information, the show doesn't really get into details like this so I do not think the article should either. They pretty much just say things like "jeep" or "chopper" throughout the show in reference to vehicles. The info is unencyclopedic and I am tempted to call it trivia MOS:TVAVOID.
  • Any rework necessary in the lead to reflect the changes

I am basing my decisions mostly on the WP:MOSTV and using some GA articles as reference. Most other changes I plan on making are more minor.YehLikeJazz? (talk) 04:07, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

"M*A*S*H(tv series)" listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has identified a potential problem with the redirect M*A*S*H(tv series) and has thus listed it for discussion. This discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2022 March 23#M*A*S*H(tv series) until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Steel1943 (talk) 21:53, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

Department of Unnecessary and Inconsistent Redundancy Department

BMK justified his second revert with the edit summary "Because there is only one commander of a unit, other character changes were not direct replacements". This is both 1) incorrect and 2) missing the point. 1) Regardless of whether they had unique job titles, BJ and Charles were very explicitly identified in the series as "direct replacements" for Trapper and Frank on the unit roster: one left, so the other was brought in. Hawkeye even did a monologue about it. Also, while the unit has more than one "surgeon" it has only one "company clerk", but the chart doesn't spell out that Klinger was the "direct replacement" for Radar in that position. Which is fine, because doing so would be unnecessary. The only problem is the inconsistency of belaboring that explanation for a single character: Potter. 2) But ultimately, it comes down my original edit summary: "unnecessary". The comment is simply not needed. And it's especially unnecessary because the chart already states in the first column that Potter "replaced Henry Blake". Spelling that out again in the fourth column is literally redundant. Jason A. Quest (talk) 03:13, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

Trapper and BJ may have served the same dramatic purpose in the series, but one did not replace the other -- in fact, they crossed in the mail, so to speak - BJ was just another surgeon assigned to the unit, and Trapper happened to leave at the same time - in terms of the "reality" of the show, again, not the dramatic necessity. Charles coming had nothing to do with Frank leaving, he was hornswaggled into staying while Frank was on a bender in Tokyo, still on the unit's roles. Again, dramatically they servied much the same purpose (initially) as an antagonist to Hawkeye, but one did not -- in the "reality" of the unit, literally replace the other. Similarly with Radar and Klinger - Klinger was already there as a well-defined character who got strecthed and warped into become a more Radar-like cleark, but he wasn;t a direct replacement.
No, the only direct replacement in the series was when Henry died and a new CO was assigned to the unit. It's a clear-cut replacement and also marks a distinct change in the tone of the show. Beyond My Ken (talk) 03:56, 19 September 2022 (UTC)
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