M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H is an American film and a television sitcom. The television series ran from 1972 to 1983, including spin-offs. It was owned by 20th Century Fox, and based on the semi-autobiographic fiction of Richard Hooker.
The film and following TV series concerned a group of fictional characters who served at the fictional "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M*A*S*H)" during the Korean War. Some events of the series were loosely based on the historic 8055th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH). Hawkeye Pierce was featured as the main character, played by Donald Sutherland. Later spin-offs involve characters who appeared in the series, but were set after the end of the war. Almost all versions of the series fit into the genre of black comedy or dramedy; the lead characters were doctors or nurses, and the practice of medicine was at the center of events.
The franchise effectively ended with the conclusion of Trapper John, M.D. on September 4, 1986. A large fanbase for the series exists and 20th Century Fox has had notable success selling the film and seasons of the TV series on DVD.
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Novels [edit]
Richard Hooker wrote MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors (1968), based on his experiences as a surgeon at the 8055th MASH in South Korea. He published several other novels based on that group.
Film [edit]
MASH was a 1970 feature film adaptation of the original novel. The film was directed by Robert Altman and starred Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye Pierce and Elliott Gould as Trapper John McIntyre. Although the title had no punctuation onscreen, in posters for the movie it was rendered as M*A*S*H.
Television [edit]
M*A*S*H, a spin-off of the novel, ran from 1972 to 1983, more than three times as long as the war it chronicled. It starred Alan Alda as "Hawkeye" Pierce and Wayne Rogers as "Trapper" McIntyre.
After the third season, Rogers left the show and was replaced by Mike Farrell as B. J. Hunnicutt. Another change was the addition of Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter, , a veteran character actor and former Universal contract player, who replaced McLean Stevenson the same year. This series is the most popular and well-known version of the franchise and was ranked #25 in TV Guide's "TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time."
Trapper John, M.D. featured the character of Trapper John McIntyre, played by Pernell Roberts, twenty-eight years after the events of the M*A*S*H film and television series. It was the first spin-off to feature a character from the series in civilian life after the war. Legally, Trapper John, M.D. is a spin-off of the MASH film rather than the television series due to licensing issues. The pilot episode briefly shows a photograph of Rogers and Alda.
AfterMASH was a successor to the original M*A*S*H television series, featuring Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr and William Christopher after the war, as the same characters they played in the original television series. Gary Burghoff and Edward Winter also appeared as guests. The series was cancelled after two seasons.
W*A*L*T*E*R was the pilot for a television series that was not picked up. It would have featured Gary Burghoff reprising the role of Walter O'Reilly. The pilot was shown as a "CBS Special Presentation" on July 17, 1984. For details of the TV series, see M*A*S*H (TV Series).
Plays [edit]
In 1973 a play by Tim Kelly, based on the book, television show and movie, was published in both one-act and full versions.[2][3] The play incorporates many of the characters but omits more of the dark comedy aspects. It is occasionally produced by community theater and high school theater companies.
M*A*S*H elsewhere [edit]
The crew from the M*A*S*H series appeared in advertising for IBM products, such as the PS/2 line that introduced the PS/2 connector for keyboards and mice.
A M*A*S*H video game was released for the Atari 2600 in 1983. In the game, players alternate between controlling a helicopter picking up wounded soldiers from the front, competing with a computer-controlled or player-controlled rival helicopter, and a surgeon removing shrapnel from a soldier, similar to the board game Operation.
List of characters [edit]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "M*A*S*H Signpost". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=59zSC4Gw7AMC
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=HzcyhCUk6y8C
External links [edit]
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