Customer Reviews

M*A*S*H - TV Season Two - 3 Tape Boxed Set [VHS]

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The success of the 1970 film "MASH", which was 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. For the first three seasons, the U.S. Army personnel stationed at the 4077th included Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson, 1929-1996), Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville, 1939-2000), Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit), Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), Capt. "Trapper John" McIntyre (Wayne Rogers), Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher, except for the first season pilot episode), Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff) and Cpl. Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr).

As in the film, the TV show often demonstrated a lack of respect for the U.S. military by portraying many of its officers as being inept and incompetent. This was the formula used for Maj. Burns and Lt. Col. Henry Blake, but whereas Lt. Col. Blake had a very likeable personality, Maj. Burns wanted to see a more disciplined command and was often quite the little stool pigeon. Also, while being married and regarding himself as being a devout Christian, Maj. Burns maintained a romantic affair with Maj. Houlihan. (In the film, it was while Majors Burns & Houlihan were passionately kissing with the entire MASH unit listening to them that Maj. Houlihan earned the nickname "Hot Lips".) Whereas in the film Maj. Burns (played originally by Robert Duvall) was whisked away in a straightjacket, in the show, this never occurs; but the film's two primary characters and pranksters, Captains Hawkeye Pierce (played originally by Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (played originally by Elliott Gould), were portrayed equally well in the TV show. Though typically disrespectful of the Army, Hawkeye and Trapper were completely honest about themselves, which is probably the main reason why they despised the hypocritical Maj. Burns so much. And, as in the film, they both found Maj. Houlihan particularly attractive, but weren't particularly friendly towards her because, like Maj. Burns, she wanted to see greater military discipline. This often set Major Burns & Houlihan at odds with Hawkeye, Trapper and Lt. Col. Blake. So, with the officers preoccupied, it was essentially up to the 4077's lowly company clerk, Radar, to keep things running smoothly; but even with the interesting personalities among the officers, the MASH 4077th had the best rate of survival for any wounded soldiers treated there. Hawkeye was an especially gifted surgeon, as was Trapper; while Maj. Burns had probably barely made it through medical school. Father Mulcahy was polite and helpful, but Cpl. Klinger's main objective was to get a "Section 8" from the U.S. Army so that he'd be discharged. To get his precious "Section 8", Klinger wore women's dresses instead of his uniform. As a side note, the only major character from the film that was not included in the TV series was another doctor named Capt. Augustus Bedford 'Duke' Forrest (played originally by Tom Skerritt).

The second season of "M*A*S*H" that aired between 1973 and 1974 had the following 24 episodes:

1. "Divided We Stand". Thanks to reports filed by Majors Burns & Houlihan, General Clayton (Herb Voland, 1918-1981) sends a psychiatrist (Anthony Holland) to check out the 4077th.

2. "5 O'Clock Charlie". In one of the show's most memorable episodes, a bumbling North Korean pilot tries to bomb a ammunition dump located next to the 4077th with everyone betting daily on how close his bomb falls. Maj. Burns, of course, wants to take matters into his own hands with an anti-aircraft gun.

3. "Radar's Report". Radar writes his weekly unit report that includes Dr. Freedman (Allan Arbus) coming to examine Klinger.

4. "For the Good of the Outfit". Hawkeye & Trapper try to get the Army to apologize for bombing a civilian village.

5. "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde". After working non-stop for three days with no sleep, Hawkeye has a bit of a nervous breakdown.

6. "Kim". Trapper wants to adopt a seemingly orphaned Korean boy, but his mother finally shows up.

7. "L.I.P.". A soldier that is going to be sent home wants to marry a Korean girl so that she can go with him to the states.

8. "The Trial of Henry Blake". Majors Burns & Houlihan take Henry to court in an effort to oust him from command, including having Hawkeye & Trapper falsely arrested to prevent them from helping him.

9. "Dear Dad... Three". Hawkeye writes to his father again, telling him about an enemy soldiered operated on that had a grenade on his body among other things.

10. "The Sniper". An enemy sniper has all 4077th personnel in hiding.

11. "Carry On Hawkeye". The entire camp comes down with a flu, except for Margaret & Hawkeye who must do everything.

12. "The Incubator". Hawkeye & Trapper do everything they can to try and get an incubator to help diagnose pathogens, and Radar saves the day.

13. "Deal Me Out". Dr. Freedman visits to play poker while Radar accidently hits an old Korean man, among other things.

14. "Hot Lips and Empty Arms". Margaret decides to break up with Frank and asks for a transfer, then she gets a little drunk.

15. "Officers Only". The gift of a new officer's club at the 4077th doesn't set well with everyone when enlisted personnel are denied entry.

16. "Henry in Love". Henry falls in love with a much younger woman, but Radar places a call between Henry and his wife back home.

17. "For Want of a Boot". Hawkeye creates a bizarre series of trades just to get a new pair of army boots.

18. "Operation Noselift". Hawkeye & Trapper help a soldier get a nose job while trying to keep Frank & Margaret from finding out.

19. "The Chosen People". A displaced Korean family sets up home in the middle of the 4077th and one of them claims that Radar is father to one of their children.

20. "As You Were". Trapper & Hawkeye put Frank in a crate and ship him out, then the camp comes under a barrage of shelling from the American side.

21. "Crisis". When supply lines are cut, Radar has to force everyone to double-up in their tents to save what little supplies are left.

22. "George". Frank tries to get a soldier dishonorably discharged for what he told Frank, thinking that Frank was a priest.

23. "Mail Call". A sad letter makes Trapper want to desert.

24. "A Smattering of Intelligence". Col. Flagg (Edward Winter, 1937-2001) and another intelligence officer battle their wits.

Overall, I rate the second 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.

The ability to watch every episode without the laugh track is a major bonus. It adds a completely new dimension to each show. For me it actually expands on each character, such as sarcasm is sarcasm instead of a funny or dumb line. If you've ever watched a sitcom without a laugh track that originally aired with a laugh track, you'll know what I mean. The laugh track is ON by default, meaning you'll need to turn it off if you change discs (at least on my 5-disc player).

The DVD set, through the original release of the season two DVD set, does not contain any extras, such as behind the scenes commentary.

The 3-disc DVD set comes in a wonderful keep-case; all plastic. It includes a booklet with all episode chapters, but no extra documentation.

As of this date, there is a long period between the release of each season's DVD set.

I would have liked a "Play All Episodes" option to keep from having to start each episode manually. You may have seen this option on other DVDs where you can play all deleted scenes automatically.

Remember, always release the DVD by pushing on the center post to keep from bending or cracking the disc.

Qualitywise the second season saw a huge improvement in the scripts & the total consistency of the series. "Hawkeye," was clearly the heart & Soul of the show. Larry Linville was exceptional as the awful snitch Major Frank Burns, who did not appear to have any redeeming qualities. He may be the most loathsome character on 1970's TV? Indeed, he & Major Houlihan's-Loretta Swit battles with Colonel Blake-McLean Stevenson, & Captains Hawkeye-Alan Alda, & Trapper John-Wayne Rogers respectively provided the bulk of the humorous plots. Episode-8, "The Trial Of Henry Blake," was exceptional.

Here all the diverse characters blended their distinctly different natures into a fine ensemble. Other well balanced message based episodes were 19-"The Chosan People & 6-Kim." These two focused on the relationships between the local South Korean's & the Americans. The vignette types of episodes like "Dear Dad...Three, & Letters Home," added more balance & continuity, while the additions of recurring characters like compassionate Psychiatrist Sidney Freedman-Allan Arbus & Paranoid Colonel Flagg-Ed Winter {the latter being a brave version of Frank Burns with a Hero complex}, widened the breadth & depth of the season. For me, "The Incubator," was the funniest episode of the season. Trapper & Hawkeye go to great lengths in pursuit of an Incubator for the 4077. They run into burauecracy, corruption, & incompetance along the way. This season had it all. Heartbreaking poignancy, moral outrage, growing characters, & hilarity.

To rehash a bit of my introduction to the M*A*S*H series....When I was in college, M*A*S*H reruns came on at 10:30PM, right after the local news. Religiously, I would watch the news, then M*A*S*H, then study (like I supposed to)...and definitely in that order! Luckily, my M*A*S*H habit didn't interfere with my school work but truly, this is one of my fondest memories during my college days. Quite a routine indeed. At that time, when all we had were VCRs, I seriously considered attempting to record each show and create my own library of M*A*S*H episodes. Well, procrastination has paid off...in spades! 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has finally realized that the incredible syndication calls for this show could easily be capitalized on via DVD sales. This stroke of marketing genius will soothe the savage beast for many of us M*A*S*H-crazed zealots.

I purchased Season One in January and my copy of Season Two arrived just this week (and, I'm happy to report, I've stayed up way too late and watched all three discs....nuts!). Consequently, I've been the fortunate beneficiary of two full seasons within a six-month period, something many other reviewers have mentioned. All-in-all, I agree that Fox should consider releasing as many as three seasons per year but I'm quite certain their marketing machine has determined that pent-up demand generates increased sales. Regardless, I'm thrilled that someone has finally seen the light relative to this classic series. Kudos to Fox.

Season Two is, without doubt, one of my favorites. While Season One was sensational, Two has a more familiar feel to it. In other words, the actors were perhaps more comfortable within their respective characters than in Season One thus allowing them to stylize a bit more, less mechanical. . Regardless the minutae of difference, Two is smashing!

While there are many episodes that still have me laughing out loud as I rewatch them, perhaps one of the very funniest in Two is "Deal Me Out." This episode has a variety of stories within including the infamous poker game. This is our first introduction to Flagg, played by Edward Winter, an incredibly funny addition to the M*A*S*H family. Frank refuses to operate on a wounded soldier who happens to be a CID officer. Frank's rationale? Another CID officer must be present during the operation in case the wounded man "tells a bunch of secrets." Hawkeye and Trapper look at the wounded soldier and determine that waiting could be fatal to the CID man. Any fan of this show will have some idea of the hijinxs and bellybusters that follow.

The episodes by disc: DISC ONE - 1) Divided We Stand, 2) Five O'Clock Charlie (hilarious), 3) Radar's Report, 4) For the Good of the Outfit, 5) Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde, 6) Kim, 7) L.I.P., 8) The Trial of Henry Blake. DISC TWO - 1) Dear Dad...Three (the neverending letter), 2) The Sniper, 3) Carry On, Hawkeye, 4) The Incubator, 5) Deal Me Out (must see!), 6) Hot Lips and Empty Arms, 7) Officers Only, 8) Henry in Love. DISC THREE - 1)For Want of a Boot, 2) Operation Noselift, 3) The Chosen People, 4) As You Were, 5) Crisis, 6) George, 7) Mail Call, 8) A Smattering of Intelligence.

The picture quality is absolutely incredible particularly given the technology available at the time of taping. As with Season One, the viewer has the option of watching with or without the laugh track. A nice feature only available on DVD.

If you love the syndicated reruns, pick up BOTH seasons on DVD immediately.

This DVD, as far as the episodes go, is great. I had never seen these episodes unedited before. So for those of you (which is probably most of us) who have been watching it in Syndication, you are in for a real treat. The picture and sound are, well, DVD quality! The original didn't look and sound this good!

However, as far as the "packaging" and extras go, it leaves a LOT to be desired. The only extra to speak of is the ability to delete the laugh track. There are no bloopers, no cast interviews, no "behind the scenes" nor any other of the "extras" almost all DVD's come with. The insert is plain and boring. The episode descriptions are extremely limited, and look as though they were written by someone who had never even watched the show. There is little or no additional information about, for example guest cast or directors, etc.

As for the release schedule, well, come on FOX ... get with the program. Your loyal M*A*S*H fans do not want to wait six or seven years for the last season to finally come out. Take a lesson from Paramount and how quickly they got the entire series of Star Trek: The Next Generation out on DVD. Make it your resolve to get out all 11 seasons of M*A*S*H by the end of 2003 and give us the DVD we really want.. no, deserve!

And, make sure you include the final episode "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" as part of the package!

As I said in my previous review of Season One, I am absolutely DELIGHTED to finally have the MASH episodes uncut and in order. I'm collecting the whole set. However, at the rate they are releasing these, I'll probably be on Social Security before I fnally have all eleven seasons. Come on, production folks, let's speed things up!

The DVD set itself is pretty bare-bones. There are 3 disks in a nice plastic case, but no extra whistles and bells. There's not even a sound track for the menu -- a minor complaint, but, since each episode goes back to the menu at the end, it would be nice to have something else besides silence to fill the gap while I decide what to watch next. I would also like a "play all" option so I could watch continuously without having to reach for the remote. On the other hand, the price is very reasonable, compared to a lot of other TV shows. That could be why there's no extra material. So, I'm still giving this five stars, because MASH is THE BEST sitcom ever produced!

Hopefully a sales representative from Fox will see and heed our reviews. Two seasons per year for such a popular TV show (one that ran for 11 years) is just too long a wait for M*A*S*H fans. Perhaps a better solution would be including two seasons per release. The world has been waiting for this example of the best in American television to come out on DVD, and I don't think Fox need worry about flooding the market.

Initially the second season was supposed to be released in May, which was already too long to wait, and now it's not for another two months - July 23rd. At this rate it'll be 6 years before all the seasons are out on DVD! What's with the slow release plan?

Regardless, I am very excited about this amazingly wonderful show being available for purchase. You would have had to have been living in a cave to not know about it, and whether you enjoyed the show or not, you still have to respect it's pioneering in the way of television. Each Season is better than the one before it as the charaters are further developed and made real. Season Five is when it starts to get the best for me, so I guess I'll write a review about that one... in about 3 years!

Yeah, my family and I actually tried to record every MASH episode on VHS. After 12 (!) six hour tapes were filled we discovered that it wasn't worth it. Editing out commercials is hard and leads to missing chunks of the show, too many episodes got recorded twice, I had no idea what order the episodes were supposed to air, and tapes get destroyed very easily. These DVDs are almost too good to be true, though they have some flaws for us hardcore MASHers.

First, every show is in order and I found that there are four shows in the first two seasons that I have never even seen. For some reason, I had missed those shows through all these years. Seeing them now was like Christmas for a five year old.

Then, imagine my surprise to discover that every episode has additional footage. Each episode had a couple of minutes of footage shortened or removed before being aired. Now, we get them back. Some of that footage is excellent and gives each show added depth, extra laughs, and makes some of those remarks in later shows really funny. Remember how the characters make casual, almost under-their-breath references throughout the shows? Well, some of those references will only make sense if you see the additional footage on the DVDs. That alone makes them worth buying for us MASHophiles who revell in minutae.

On top of it all, the audio options are great. Turning off the laugh track is a great idea. There are remarks that you could miss because of the laughter. Plus, it just seems more natural for the sardonic wit of the show. Then, if you're feeling a little adventerous, watch your favorite episodes again with french or spanish dubbing! That'll get a laugh just on it's own. The first time you hear Hawkeye with a french accent, you'll wet yourself. OK, maybe that's just me.

My only complaints are what everyone seems to be missing: no "Play All" feature and no real extras of any kind outside of the extra scenes and audio options. I imagine that after all these years, cast commentary would be nearly impossible (or possibly too expensive), but I can't help but wonder what it would be like to hear Alan Alda doing commentary. I guess I can dream.

I was thrilled when M*A*S*H season two was FINALLY released. Afterall this season has the classic episode titled "Five O'Clock Charlie". Just like the previous season we get 3 disks with 8 episodes on each disk for a total of the full 24 episode season. (M*A*S*H had 24 episodes per season instead of the normal 13). Other than scene and episode selection you get no special features which is fine and dandy with me since seeing the un-cut episodes of one of the greatest shows of all time is special feature enough.

The ONLY problem period is Fox's release schedule. The little piece of paper that the set came with said "Continue Your Collection With Season 3 AVAILABLE WINTER 2003!" 2003? Are they kidding me? I need to get like Father Mulchahy and calm down and pray. But that is an insane amount of time to wait. I could see Winter 2002 but 2003 is just WAY to long for me. Fox needs to get back on track here.

At least we can watch M*A*S*H about four hours a day (if you have no life) since its on a lot. I f you are a fan you need to own this set at almost any cost. But if you are an executive of Fox you need to get back on track!