Customer Reviews

M*A*S*H - Season One (Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(168)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm not going to go into too many details about the series. If you're reading this, you probably already know who the characters are, what the show is about, etc.

The first season (24 episodes) is packaged on three DVDs with eight episodes per disc. The episodes are presented in airdate order. The video quality is quite good for film material from the 70s -- far better than the All in the Family DVDs. The audio is good as well.

As others have pointed out, this DVD set comes with no extras. The only modification that I make when watching this series is to turn off the laugh track. M*A*S*H was such a thought-provoking series that sometimes the canned laughter was a distraction; yet funny enough that I didn't need to be told when to laugh.

For the material itself, I give it five stars (I'd even go higher). For the audio/video quality, four stars and for the lack of extras only one star. Overall, four stars. For this price, the lack of extras is acceptable.

In 1972 America was still involved in the war in an unpopular war in Vietnam, which created an environment in which an antiwar comedy like "M*A*S*H" could thrive. The show was set during the Korean War, but the Vietnam sub-text was obvious from the very beginning. However, what we forget when looking back at the first season of "M*A*S*H" was that it was a traditional situation comedy in the beginning and that it was not, from the start, the great show that it became when it hit full stride. Larry Gelbart gets a lot of credit for creating the series and writing the pilot and the "Dear Dad" episode, but that first season Laurence Marks wrote almost as many episodes. This is of some importance because Marks had been one of the chief writers on "Hogan's Heroes," and there is a sense in which many of these early episodes are more reminiscent of that odd World War II sit-com set in a Nazi P.O.W. camp than "M*A*S*H" in its prime (the show was known as "Hawkeye's Heroes" in some quarters during that first season). Of course, the television series was also burdened with toning down the blood and sex from the Robert Altman movie on which it was based. By this point the original novel by "Richard Hooker" (pen name of Dr. Richard Hornberger) was pretty much completely forgotten except for the names and the places. Today, when you think of "M*A*S*H" you think of Alan Alda, who clearly dominated the show from the beginnig in front of the camera and would have a greater effect behind it as the series progressed.

"M*A*S*H" is one of the 10 best sitcoms of all time, and while I will gladly give the series 5 stars for its entire run, it is simply not that good that first season. Several episodes, such as "Requiem for a Lightweight," are easily dismissed as standard military comedies on a par with "Gomer Pyle." Alan Alda was always embarrassed in particular by "Major Fred C. Dobbs," where Hawkeye and Trapper are forced to actually keep Frank from leaving. There were a few worthwhile attempts to deal specifically with the Korean War, such as "The Moose" and "Cease-Fire," but only sporadic attempts to rail against the insanity of war, most notably at the end of "Yankee Doodle Doctor." The pivotal episode for the series, written by Carl Kleinschmitt, is "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet." You can say that the idea of a television Dramedy, the perfect blending of drama and comedy in a series, can be traced to this specific episode. In it, an old friend of Hawkeye's dies on the operating table. For one of the few times in a television sitcom, a sympathetic and charming character died. One CBS executive literally demanded of Gelbart and director Gene Reynolds, "What are you doing? Is this a comedy or a tragedy?" The pair stuck by their guns and because of that episode M*A*S*H was able to deal with both the dark and the light side of life, which set the foundation for the series' best episodes.

M*A*S*H was hampered in its early years by the character of Frank Burns, another character in a long tradition of comic characters who are incompetent at some important function. Frank is an incompetent surgeon (versus Ted Baxter the inept news anchor and Howard Borden the incompetent airplane navigator). There is a sense in which the greatness of M*A*S*H is defined by the major transformations of "Hot Lips" into Margaret and Winchester into Charles, neither of which is possible until Frank is out of the picture. In the fall of 1972 M*A*S*H aired on Sunday nights at 8:00 EST in between "Anna and the King" and "The Sandy Duncan Show." However, someone at CBS decided it was good enough to give it the choice spot behind "All in the Family" the following year, and the rest, as someone once said, is television history. Final Note: One of the nicest things about this DVD is that the episodes are UNCUT. For example, in syndication, the end of the second act of "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" is used as the tag scene. Pay attention to the difference when you see the entire thing.

Of course, if you are going to watch the entire thing then you need to start with the first season. All television shows evolve and that is certainly the case with "M*A*S*H," as Radar O'Reilly becomes more innocent as the show progresses and Klinger and Father Mulcahy are worked into the ensemble. I think part of the fun of going through this first season on DVD is the anticipation of what lies ahead. After all, you have to understand the initial antipathy between Margaret and Hawkeye to fully appreciate the longest kiss in television history that comes in the grand finale.

FIRST SEASON EPISODES: (1) "M*A*S*H-The Pilot," (2) "Henry, Please Come Home," (3) "To Market, To Market," (4) "Germ Warfare," (5) "The Moose," (6) "I Hate A Mystery," (7) "Chief Surgeon Who?" (8) Requiem for a Lightweight," (9) "Cowboy," (10) "Yankee Doodle Doctor," (11) Bananas, Crackers and Nuts," (12) "Edwina," (13) "Dear Dad," (14) "Love Story," (15) "Tuttle," (16) "The Ringbanger," (17) "Dear Dad...Again," (18) "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet," (19) "The Long John Flap," (20) "Major Fred C. Dobbs," (21) "Sticky Wicket," (22) "The Army-Navy Game," (23) "Cease-Fire," and (24) "Showtime."

This first season DVD set is wonderful - The greatest 'bonus feature' the creators of this DVD series has given us is the option to play the dialogue straight without the laugh soundtrack. According to Alan Alda, the cast and crew never liked the canned laughter but CBS insisted on it. The people involved with the show felt the audience did'nt need to be told what was funny or when to laugh. Now you can watch these pristine quality episodes as they were intended - Without the laugh track (but for those who prefer it, the laugh soundtrack is also an option).
M * A * S * H Season 2 DVD is set to be released in May 2002. We're finally getting a DVD collection with the quality it deserves! THANKS!! (Let's hope more classic shows are on the way...)

The Wayne & McLean Years.

Probably one of the finest comedy/dramas series ever made.

I'm buying the first 4 years.

Wayne Rogers & Mclean Stevenson left after the 3rd year.

The 4th year with Henry Morgan & BJ Honeycutt was terrific as well.

24 Episodes for $30. How can you beat that? The X-File Seasons Cost 5 times as much!

Don't expect any extras on this. I hear it's limited to: viewing with a laugh track or without one.

Grab it! Enjoy it!

I can't tell you how excited I am to have this on DVD. I have the incomplete Columbia House VHS tapes but this collocetion on DVD obviously reigns supreme. The complete and uncut first season with the option to eliminate that pesky and sometimes insulting laugh track is a Godsend. Sure some of the first seasons episodes don't live up to later standards but we all have to start out somewhere. I love "growing up" with the characters and the production alike. The picture quality is great and the sound aint too shabby either. Without that laugh track you are able to hear and catch many subtle things from the actors that were previously ran over by the canned laughter. My only problem with this colection (and I have to say it is a big one in my book)is the same one that "eodguy2" mentioned in his review. You can not run the episodes back to back! That just aint right! You have to go back to the main menu and click the next episode. I love this package and the fact that they are in the order in which they originally aired. I hope that they release all 11 seasons (with the ability to run them all back to back without retuning to the main menu) inclucing the final episode. A few extras, commentary and the like, would be nice too. It would be a crime if they stop before finising this through. It is a blessing and a treasure to have this great piece of television history to enjoy in all it's glory whenever I want. An absolute must for any M*A*S*H* fan.

I can say, without a doubt, that one my favorite TV series of all-time is M*A*S*H. For as long as I can remember, it has been on tv in some way or another, whether it's through syndication or during its original run. To this day, I never get tired of watching it whenever it comes on, even with episodes I've seen at least a dozen times. M*A*S*H the TV series is based on the movie of the same name that tremendously successful back in 1970. While the movie humorously showed a lot of the odd-ball antics that went on at the mythical 4077th M*A*S*H unit during the Korean War, it did not have the kind of heart that made its television counterpart one of the most beloved series ever to grace the small screen. M*A*S*H blended comedy with emotional storylines and strong characters in a way that de-glamorized war, but still honored those that served during it. That is why I am so grateful that the powers that be a Fox Video have decided to release the entire series on DVD. Although, I am critical of how long it is taking them to release the individual seasons.

In Season 1, M*A*S*H was still searching for its identity. There episodes where it seems like its main focus is strictly slapstick comedy with a war background, as in the episode 'Requiem for a Lightweight'. The pilot episode, while not establishing the emotional background that would define the series, did show flashes of the dry wit that would become a hallmark of its run. The episode 'Captain Tuttle' is one of Season 1's funniest examples of this. Later in the season, M*A*S*H began to find it's emotional core with episodes like 'Cowboy' and 'Yankee Doodle Doctor' (A humorous send-up of Army life with an unmistakable anti-war message). The episode where M*A*S*H truly comes into its own, though, is 'Sometimes you Hear the Bullet' where Hawkeye Pierce has to come to terms with losing one of his best friends and not being able to do anything to prevent it. That episode showed why Alan Alda was perfect as the central character of Hawkeye. Though some claim that this role was nothing more than showcase for Alda's vanity, I have to disagree and believe that Alda demonstrated the right mixture of humor, pain, and sympathy in his portrayal of Hawkeye. He was the anchor around which the rest of the show was built. In 'Sometimes...' he shows all those qualities.

M*A*S*H would begin to gain momentum and a fervent fan base in following seasons, but Season 1 shows how it all got started. Fans who are more familiar with later seasons' episodes may notice some things in Season 1 that changed. The character of Spearchucker Jones was dropped after it was discovered there were no black surgeons during the Korean War; Radar O'Reilly seemed to be a bit more savvy and world-wise in Season 1 than in later years; and, both Hawkeye and partner in crime, Trapper John McIntyre, were a bit more misogynistic back then. Season 1 is a welcome addition to any DVD collection and now it's up to Fox Video to get on the ball and start releasing the rest of the seasons on a much faster schedule.

I've watched the first eight episodes thus far, and I can recommend this wholeheartedly for the casual fan up through the serious fan.

It is truly amazing how much is cut from these episodes when they are broadcast in syndication -- I can honestly say that while I've seen all of the episodes from the eleven years of the series that I have definitely not seen all of the scenes.

Each episode runs about 25 minutes, so about 3 minutes are chopped from each episode when you watch in syndication.

Also, I really enjoy watching these episodes without the laugh track. I've found it much easier to appreciate the inflection in the actors' voices and the jokes are even funnier when you don't feel like you are being "forced" to laugh.

Run out and buy it. I can't wait for the other ten seasons.

Quite simply, this is the best TV series I have ever seen. I only saw the last two seasons on their original run, but what I saw impressed me. When the series was re-run in its entirety (I live in the UK) I watched the series from beginning to end and enjoyed it immensely. The characters are well drawn, the stories are well told and its interesting to watch how some characters evolve over the run of the show.

The picture quality of these DVDs is excellent, once again Fox show the way with releasing TV series on DVD. Some have remarked on the lack of extras but I must comment on this.

I watched the series on the BBC - they screened MASH without the laughter track. Although MASH is regarded as a comedy show I have always regarded it as a drama series. A lot of people I know go through life with a smile on their face and trying to find a laugh to make the day go by. Imagine being near the frontline of a war, imagine putting your medical skills to use patching together young men so as they go back into battle again. MASH is far more a drama than a comedy show - I have seen it with the laughter track but the series positively shines without it.

The option to watch this series without the laughter track is an excellent move by Fox and is to be applauded. I believe that this is how MASH was meant to be.

Those who enjoyed the exploits of the Hawkeye, Trapper,Radar, Hot Lips, Frank etc can do so again. Now you have the choice of watching your favourite comedy series or you can watch it for the powerful drama it truly is.

M*A*S*H is certainly one of the best shows in TV history. Every other year or so I find myself watching them again and enjoying them even more. The Colonel Blake years are my favorite and the first season was really great. I like them all though and having them released on DVD means many years of great use and for the price of 24 episodes on one release can't be beat. It would be nice to have a few extras, but the show is good enough for me.

The best comedy series is back, and in the original order and in the original un-cut versions, on many episodes with scenes not seen since they were first aired in the 1970's and 1980's.

But the one thing that always wrecked the episodes for me was the canned laughter telling us when to laugh, sometimes needlessly, so I for one am glad to see that in the DVD version of the episodes, you have the option of turning off the canned laughter.

While Columbia House has collected these episodes in their own collection, it was always out of order, and you had to shuffle through the tapes if you wanted to watch them in order. But with this you can go right through the episodes in order.

The best part about collecting MASH on DVD is that the entire collection won't overpower your collection of tapes. Think about it, 12 DVD boxes (if you count the movie in the collection) about the size of a video tape with all of the episodes accounted for, with 8 episodes per disk or 72 boxes about the size of a video tape with 3 episodes on a tape with about 50 or so episodes missing. I guess it's your choice, but this collection is for me, and I'm getting rid of the Columbia House space takers.

From the way it looks, they'll be doing the entire series from "M*A*S*H: The Movie" all the way up to "Goodbye, Farewell & Amen" in about 4 month intervals, season 2 will be out in May, and by that count season 3 will be out around September and so forth.

I wonder if they'll be doing any of the spinoffs? There were three I think: "Trapper John MD" (the best and most successfull spinoff), there was another with Radar as the main character after he goes home, but I forget the title, and of course "afterMASH".