Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are many enjoyable episodes in this season. Though this season is the last for Radar, aside from his final episode in season 8, MASH went on. This show, for better or worse, survived on through the many changes in cast. Radar was no exception.

Commander Pierce - Much to his own dismay Hawkeye takes charge and finds that the grass isn't greener on the other side of command.

Peace on Us - Hawkeye goes to the peace talks when they change the rules on discharge for doctors. Margaret's marriage to Donald hits a real rough patch, prompting her to get a divorce.

Our Finest Hour - The second of the documentary style shows that are shown in black and white and color. This one looks more deeply at the characters and their feelings about the war, family, and being away from home.

The Billfold Syndrome - A talented medic forgets his own name and Sydney is called in. Charles stops talking to B.J and Hawkeye after being turned down for a prestigeous post back in Boston. This gets a minor war going on between the Swamprats.

Major Ego - Charles' ego gets much higher when he saves a patient, and Stars and Stripes sends a reporter.. He sees a chance to get home. Klinger shows some of his more extravagant flair when the reporter shows up to interview Charles.

Point Of View - This show is shown from the view of a patient, for the entire show. You see a distracted Potter, and an enraged Charles. This episode was very very well done.

An Eye For A Tooth - Hawkeye, B.J, and Margaret trade a series of practical jokes, with Charles helping both sides. This series of jokes include a lemon pie, a full sized dummy, and a special mail delivery. Father Mulcahy goes on a mission of mercy after being passed over again for premotion.

Dear Sis - Father Mulcahy writes his sister over a Christmas holiday and tells of how he feels lost in the middle of a war zone.

The Young And Restless - A young brilliant surgeon bruises a few egos upon his visit displaying new surgical techniques.

C*A*V*E - A serious barrage of fire at the camp sends them to a cave, much to the dismay of Hawkeye, who suffers from clausterphobia. He an Margaret head back to camp under heavy fire to save patient who needs emergency surgery.

Rally Round The Flagg, Boys - Colonel Flagg goes way over the top and thinks everyone is a commie symp. He is copiously aided by Charles. Hilarious ending. This is the last show in which we get treeted to Flagg's raving paranoia. He left the show with some real flair.

A Night at Rosies - Hawkeye escapes a long night of surgery, and a horrid breakfast at the mess tent by heading for a drink at Rosies. He gets beer and then pours it over cereal. Then B.J follows, then Radar, Charles, and many others. Klinger heads to a floating crap game. The crowd pulls an all night binge to escape the war. This gets into Potter's craw, but he relents when he realizes that it's just what they all really need. This is also where we meet Scully, who's AWOL. He later becomes a love interest of Margaret.

The Party - B.J works hard on getting the loved ones of the main cast members together for a huge party. This happens after Radar offers his mother's help, and Potter hands him his home address. Peggy, his wife, had recently ruined the stove while canning. Radar says that his mother puts something special in it to keep it from boiling over. Potter talks about how good a canner Mildred is. This happens in the middle of a bug out, and return to camp when the Chinese pull of a huge offensive. This also happens while B.J has a patient that may never walk again, or have no feeling.

I prefer M*A*S*H after season four. I wasn't as crazy about the first few years. I enjoy the later episodes, because they got away from the slapstick humor and touched upon many many issues from suicide, blindness, love, hate, envy, infiltration, peace talks and so so much more.

The seventh season of M*A*S*H in known for the first season where the character B.J. Hunnicut wears a bushy mustache.

This was an all-right season, but it was Radar's final season. The character came back for his final episode (a two-part one) in the following season: season eight. A touching episode it was.

Here are some highlights, eight of the 25 from the season:
"Commander Pierce" - Hawkeye is left in charge of the camp, while Col. Potter is away, and realizes how hard the job is.

"Peace on Us" - After peace talks are stalled in Panmunjon, Hawkeye travels there himself to help out.

"Our Finest Hour" - A newscaster returns to the 4077th to do a follow-up interview with the leading characters, which in done in a documentary-style. This is a sequel to the season four episode "The Interview". This episode acts as a 'clip show' for the series (which means we see famous moments from older episodes). The highlight clips are in color, the rest of the episode is shot in black & white. The episode is an hour long.

"Major Ego" - After Major Winchester revives a dying patient with a heart massage, a photojournalist from the 'Stars and Stripes' newspaper arrives to publicize the already arrogant surgeon.

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" - Where Winchester receives a polar suit on a cold winter week, making everyone else jealous.

"Point of View" - an infamous episode where the camera throughout the entire episode is meant to be from the eyes of one of the wounded at the M*A*S*H unit. We see what he sees: arriving by helicopter, examined, being operated on, and being treated in the Post-Op unit.

"Hot Lips is Back in Town" - Colonel Potter becomes concerned over Major Houlihan, who is celebrating her just granted divorce; Radar becomes infacuated with a new nurse, and asks Hawkeye (who seems to be the pro) for help.

"Rally Round the Flagg, Boys" - The psycho CIA agent Col. Flagg arrives (in his final M*A*S*H episode) accusing Hawkeye of being a communist sympathizer.

So check this season out, and wish Radar a good-bye with his final season, not counting his season eight farewell episode.

The success of the 1970 film "MASH" (directed by Robert Altman) inspired the production of one of the most successful and longest running TV series of all time: "M*A*S*H". While most of the main characters from the original film were portrayed in the TV series, only one of the film's actors reprised his role for the TV series: Gary Burghoff. Like the film, the show was about the men and women working in a fictitious U.S. Army "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" (or MASH unit) known as the 4077th during the Korean War in the early 1950's.

Having been on the air for so many years, it was not surprising that some of the original characters/cast members were no longer part of the show. This included Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson, 1929-1996) and Capt. "Trapper John" McIntyre (Wayne Rogers) following the show's third season, and Major Frank Burns as played by Larry Linville (1939-2000) at the end of the show's fifth season. Coming into its sixth season, the original characters/cast members still part of "M*A*S*H" included Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit), Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher), Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff) and Cpl. Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr). Col. Sherman T. Potter (Harry Morgan) had replaced Lt. Col. Henry Blake and Capt. B.J. Hunnicut (Mike Farrell) replaced Trapper at the beginning of the show's fourth season and to begin the show's sixth season, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers) had replaced Maj. Burns.

Unlike Major Burns, Maj. Winchester was a good surgeon, but annoyed eveyone with his pompous attitude due to being an heir of a wealthy Boston family. The arrival of Maj. Winchester changed the flavor of the show, but similar to how they treated Maj. Burns, Hawkeye & B.J. enjoyed playing a number of practical jokes on Maj. Winchester.

Though the cast had changed, as in the original 1970 film and the first six seasons of the TV series, "M*A*S*H" continued to demonstrate a total lack of respect for the U.S. military by portraying many of its officers as being inept and incompetent. However, with the departure of Maj. Burns, Maj. Houlihan, who got married at the end of the fifth season, was more focused on her troubled marriage to her husband stationed in Tokyo. Col. Potter was not particularly fond of Maj. Winchester, but appreciated his medical skills. The special bond that had developed between Col. Potter and the 4077th's lowly company clerk, Radar, continued and, as always, it was essentially Radar's responsibility to help keep things running smoothly. Father Mulcahy was always polite and helpful while Cpl. Klinger continued to wear women's clothes in an attempt to get a "Section 8", which would give him a discharge from the Army.

The seventh season of "M*A*S*H" that aired between 1978 and 1979 featured the following 25 episodes:

1. "Commander Pierce". Hawkeye gets to experience what it's like to be in command of the 4077th when Col. Potter is away.

2. "Peace On Us". Disgusted with the war and the stalled peace talks at Panmunjon, Hawkeye impulsively drives to Panmunjon to give the representatives at the peace talks a verbal thrashing.

3. "Lil". When a visiting nurse (Carmen Mathews, 1914-1995) about the same age as Col. Potter catches the Colonel's eyes, Radar gets upset and has the Colonel get a phone call from his wife.

4. "Our Finest Hour". A visiting reporter, Clete Roberts (himself, 1912-1984), returns to the 4077th for a follow-up series of interviews. Archive footage of Trapper & Col. Blake is included.

5. "The Billfold Syndrome". Hawkeye & B.J. send Charles a phony telegram to cheer him up after he is rejected from getting a position at a prestigious Boston hospital. Sidney Friedman (Alan Arbus) also pays a visit.

6. "None Like it Hot". When Hawkeye & B.J. obtain a portable bathtub to get relief from a heat wave, everyone in camp eventually finds out and wants to use the tub too. Meanwhile, Klinger uses the heat as another ploy to get a "Section 8" and when Radar has to have his tonsils removed, everyone wants some of his strawberry ice cream.

7. "They Call the Wind Korea". A wind storm makes everything difficult at the 4077th.

8. "Major Ego". Frustrated with her husband tying up their joint bank account, Margaret contemplates an affair with a visiting captain (Greg Mullavy).

9. "Baby, it's Cold Outside". Charles upsets everyone when he enjoys a winter suit that keeps him warm while everyone else is freezing.

10. "Point of View". In a very wonderful episode, events at the 4077th are shown from the eyes of an unknown wounded soldier.

11. "Dear Comrade". Charles enjoys the attentions given to him by a hired servant, Kwang (Sab Shimono), who is really a North Korean spy. When the 4077th doctors don't know how to treat a strange rash, Kwang provides them with a smelly but highly effective folk remedy.

12. "Out of Gas". Charles accompanies Father Mulcahy to obtain much-needed Pentothal from black marketeers.

13. "An Eye for a Tooth". Father Mulcahy gets upset when he's passed up for promotion until he hears about a chopper pilot's promotion and does something very unexpected.

14. "Dear Sis". Father Mulcahy writes a letter to his sister, who is a nun, and recounts various things going on at the 4077th.

15. "B.J. Papa San". B.J. starts to spend a lot of time with a Korean family that he substitutes for his own back home.

16. "Inga". Hawkeye is captivated by a visiting Swedish doctor named Dr. Inga Helversen (Mariette Hartley) until she upstages him in the operating room.

17. "The Price". Col. Potter gets upset when his horse disappears, until he finds out who has her.

18. "The Young And The Restless". Winchester gets upset when a young visiting doctor (James Canning) upstages him.

19. "Hot Lips is Back in Town". Upon getting her divorce, Margaret drives Col. Potter nuts as she tries to improve everything in celebration of her new-found freedom.

20. "C*A*V*E". Hawkeye has to face his claustrophobia when 4077th personnel must seek refuge in caves during a heavy artillery barrage.

21. "Rally Round the Flagg, Boys". Winchester gets his first taste of Col. Flagg (Edward Winter, 1937-2001) when he accuses Hawkeye of being a communist sympathizer.

22. "Preventive Medicine". Klinger turns to voodoo to try and get out of the army.

23. "A Night at Rosie's". An excellent episode in which just about everyone at the 4077th ends up spending a lot of time at the nearby Rosie's Bar.

24. "Ain't Love Grand". Charles tries to woo a Korean woman (Sylvia Cjang) that he meets at Rosie's, but she quickly tires of him. In the meantime, a nurse (Kit McDonough) finds the cross-dressing Klinger attractive until he puts on his uniform.

25. "The Party". When the 4077th has to bug out, B.J. tries to get all of the 4077th personnel to have a reunion party for all of the families back home in the states.

Overall, I rate the seventh season of "M*A*S*H" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. In its eleven years of production, "M*A*S*H" was one of the best TV shows of its day and remains one of the best TV shows of all time.

Season Seven was Gary Burghoff's last full season, although there are a few in this season that he does not appear in. For his last season, none of the episodes really focus on Radar. The next episode to really feature him is his early season eight departure in the two-parter "Goodbye Radar". The rest of the case gets great material this season; Klinger especially gets the focus in some of these seasons episodes.

As to the packaging, the discs are still the boring "army green" color. That was OK for maybe one set, but they now done for seasons 4 to 7. The first three seasons were packaged far more attractively, which have the beautiful color photographic artwork. I liked these better because, not only were they more attractive, but it made it easy to instantly identify which disc was which.

The packaging itself could use some work. For example, the outside of the case should list what episodes are on each disc; this would make it much easier and faster to locate a favorite episode. The booklet is good, and somewhat better than previous ones in its content and episode synopsis, but could still be better. Some more information would be nice. For example, a little more spotlights on guest stars and other tidbits of trivia would add to its value.

As in all previous seasons, there are no extras at all. I hope Fox adds this to future releases. I'd like to see cast interviews, bloopers, and some behind the seasons content. You still have the option of watching sans laugh track, which is nice (Alan Alda hated laugh tracks!).

M*A*S*H itself is great! The picture and sound are better than ever, and what a joy it is to see scenes that for years have been edited out for syndication! This season, Dr. Winchester's character is expanded upon in some classic episodes like "They
Call the Wind Korea", and "Major Ego". This season also has the outstanding episodes "Point of View", in which all the action is seen through the eyes of a wounded soldier, and the season finale "The Party" where the gang's families get together in NYC for a reunion to talk about those whom they love and miss. Also included here is "Our finest Hour" parts 1 and 2. You have the option of watching it as one hour-long episode, as it originally aired on October 9, 1978. Unfortunately, the original masters of this episode had apparently deteriorated to the point of making them unsuitable for conversion to DVD, so this episode was done using the copies that had originally been used for use by syndicated stations. I don't think this episode is completely intact, but it doesn't seem to be missing more than perhaps a minute or so. It has flash backs of both Henry and Trapper, the only episode that has the entire cast represented.

Season eight arrives in June 2005, and season nine likely in December 2005. At this pace, the series should be complete by December 2006 with the release of season 11. I don't know about you, but this release schedule of a season every six months is much too slow for me. I'd prefer to see it changed to every four months, but it doesn't seem like that will happen.

Season seven it a definite winner with not a bad episode in the bunch! Great comedy mixed with poignant drama. No show ever did it better nor is likely to be repeated as well in the future.

Based on a Richard Hooker novel of the same name, MASH was released in 1970 as a full-length feature film by 20th Century Fox before experiencing widespread success as a groundbreaking television sitcom in the Fall of 1972. The show's brilliant integration of drama and comedy made it one of the most celebrated shows in TV history, culminating in an eleven year prime time series stint. The 1983 series finale of MASH made history as the program with the single largest audience in television history, beating out several SuperBowls and the fabled "Who Shot J.R." episode of Dallas. With the proliferation of new television mediums, it's a record likely to never be broken...

The sitcom is set in South Korea during American involvement in the Korea War (with M*A*S*H standing for "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital"). Buffered from the front lines by a mountain range and a minefield, the men and women of MASH were tasked with patching up wounded American soldiers. Unique to its genre, the cast of MASH was unusually large. Surgeons Dr. Benjamin Pierce (Alan Alda) and Dr. "Trapper" John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers) play the roles of excellent doctors who enjoy women and booze, while Dr. Frank Burns (Larry Linville) and Nurse Practitioner Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) play foil to the two men's shenanigans (due to a contract dispute, Rogers' character was later replaced by Dr. B.J. Hunnicutt - played by Mike Farrell). The character of Frank Burns was also later replaced by Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers)...

Corporal Max Klinger (Jamie Farr) provides comic relief with his early attempts to procure a discharge by dressing in women's clothing, and Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher) adds flavor to a diverse cast of characters. Also rounding out the cast are Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson), Corporal Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff), and Col. Sherman Potter (Harry Morgan)...

The MASH (Season 7) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Commander Pierce" in which Hawkeye becomes temporary commanding officer for the 4077th MASH unit. Only when forced to deal with the rampant bureaucracy and other problems does he come to establish a newfound respect for Colonel Potter's day-to-day job... Other notable episodes from Season 7 include "Major Ego" in which Charles become insufferably arrogant after he saves a dying patient via heart massage, and "Inga" in which Hawkeye becomes smitten with a beautiful visiting physician named Inga (at least until she upstages him in the O.R.)...

Below is a list of episodes included on the MASH (Season 7) DVD:

Episode 145 (Commander Pierce)
Episode 146 (Peace on Us)
Episode 147 (Lil)
Episode 148 (Our Finest Hour)
Episode 149 (The Billfold Syndrome)
Episode 150 (None Like It Hot)
Episode 151 (They Call the Wind Korea)
Episode 152 (Major Ego)
Episode 153 (Baby, It's Cold Outside)
Episode 154 (Point of View)
Episode 155 (Dear Comrade)
Episode 156 (Out of Gas)
Episode 157 (An Eye for a Tooth)
Episode 158 (Dear Sis)
Episode 159 (B.J. Papa San)
Episode 160 (Inga)
Episode 161 (The Price)
Episode 162 (The Young and the Restless)
Episode 163 (Hot Lips is Back in Town)
Episode 164 (C*A*V*E)
Episode 165 (Rally Round the Flagg, Boys)
Episode 166 (Preventive Medicine)
Episode 167 (A Night at Rosie's)
Episode 168 (Ain't Love Grand)
Episode 169 (The Party)

The DVD Report

I'm one of the MASH fans that enjoys the entire 11-year run of the series from begining to end. For me, the serious, drama episodes that came at the end are just as funny and meaningful as the early episodes from seasons 2 and 3.

That said, season 7 feels pretty weak in comparison to the material that came before and after it in seasons 6 and 8. I think part of the reason is that this is the first year in a long while where there are no significant cast changes. While Radar leaving in season 8 was unfortunate, it did provide some new directions for the show to go in, and further mix up the interactions a bit by promoting Klinger to company clerk. But in season 7, everything feels...stale. Potter and BJ have been long established, acd Charles also feels pretty integrated. There's nothing new to shake things up, and as a result the stories feel kinda flat.

And I love a good drama laced with comedy, but I also know a bad melodrama when I see one, and MASH stumbles into this territory quite a bit during this season, with sappiness and preaching. When reading the episode summaries doesn't spark your interest to watch the episode, you know theres a problem.

If you've been collecting all the MASH sets, there's nothing *wrong* with buying season 7. It's not that the show jumped the shark, just that it doesn't really feel memorable this year. But there's enough goodness that the completist will feel satisfied, so chalk this season up to a slight misfire and look forward to season 8.

I bought the entire series and it has been Exellent up to Season 7 Episode (Our Finest Hour). When you go to watch it, It says it is The Syndicated Version because the Original Print was Destroyed over time. And was Deemed Unworthy for this DVD release.
This really upsets me, let ME decide what's Unworthy and what's not.
Use both versions and let WE the buying public decide for ourselves.
Also, what they are telling us is that only the Cut out scenes were destroyed, I find that a little hard wo swallow. There were at least 5 minutes cut from each Half Hour. So they are saying that 95% of the show has survived the wrath of time but those few scenes cut from different parts of the show (For Syndication) did not. Feed me something else cus i'm not buying their story, Especially after what Lionsgate did to ALF.

To ALL of the DVD companies i say, If a show exists, put it on DVD in the Uncut and Syndicated versions. Let WE the buying Public decide if it's Worthy or Unworthy.

In The Words Of Colonel Sherman T. Potter, I Say, "This is Grade A, 100% Bull Cookies."

Some people may prefer one season to another. I do have some slight preferences. Throughout it all Season 7 remains very strong with many compelling episodes.

Commander Pierce has an interest tone as its intriguing to see how Pierce changes when he is in charge. All of sudden even the slghtest nosie during OR drives him bonkers. He even behaves a little bit like......Frank Burns his former nemesis.

In Peace On Us Pierce returns to his rebel self when points are taken off his discharge situation. The jokes return as he fights for justice. Even Margaret and Charles(under the influence of alcohol) praise his efforts.

Major Ego is another standout episode as Major Winchester flaunts the good publicity he is getting from Starfs and Stripes. However it turns out that he makes a mistake, indirectly he earns some partialy respect from Pierce because of his honesty.

The Party and Surrogate Father episodes give BJ(Mike Farrell) a chance to shine. Its nice to see BJ show his tender gentle side which he plays oh so well. Some good episodes centered around Rosie's Bar where Margaret takes a shine to Sgt Scully.

Very worthy indeed.

Some people only swear by the early cast of MASH. Some people only swear by the later cast of MASH. Some people don't appear to care and are willing to take any of the multitude of seasons at their value independant of what came before or after. I just like MASH, so to that end I'm biased to like it regardless. The only dissapointment was "Our Finest Hour," which is a somewhat weak episode to begin with, but is not offered as remastered. Instead you get the dirty, and cut syndicated version. Blech.
Otherwise the package is pretty much the same as the rest of the DVD sets. Quite nice.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

The seventh season of "MASH" is mostly airtight. Following a fairly dull season premiere called "Commander Pierce," it returns to its creative strong points that highlight overall cast versatility.

The main problem I have with "Commander Pierce" is that it's a thinly veiled excuse to put perrenial Army malcontent Hawkeye in charge of the 4077th. The script is completely predictable, even down to the supposed twist of Hawkeye liking the power of being C.O. a little too much. In the follow-up show, "Peace On Us," a disgruntled Hawkeye drives to the peace talks in a move that's more personal rebellion than actually effective. One of the truly noteworthy parts of this episode is the party at its climax. The use of the color red must be seen to be believed!!

"Peace On Us" also begins a more significant development as Margaret makes a decision to divorce Donald Penobscott. Her heartfelt declaration of these intentions to Hawkeye have a significant emotional impact, as much from her sense of failure in the marriage as from a sense of intimacy with her colleague.

"Lil" sees Colonel Potter falling into a close friendship with a visiting female colonel, the law of proximity tempting him to be unfaithful to his beloved wife Mildred. Harry Morgan's acting ability and a humane treatment of this storyline keeps the episode from being tawdry.

One great episode even revolves around a character who doesn't say a word. "Point of View" is simply primal, as the voiceless 'Private Rich' registers but doesn't respond to the doctors around him. The character's vocal cords were damaged in battle, but anyone who has been through surgery can relate to what he goes through. The episode captures a sense of helpless claustrophobia that accompanies waking up from many types of surgeries.

Also featuring great stories for second-year "MASH" doctor Charles Winchester("Major Ego," "They Call The Wind Korea"), and a very good season finale("The Party")the seventh season of "MASH" is still classic television. Mike Farrell's B.J. Hunnicutt features his trademark moustache, to boot.