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4.0 out of 5 stars
"M*A*S*H" starts off as more of a standard military sitcom, May 27, 2003
This review is from: M*A*S*H - The TV Series, Season 1, Vol. 1 [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"M*A*S*H" would become one of the classic situation comedies in the history of television, although when it hit its peak it was more properly a dramedy. But it did not start off as a great comedy. In the beginning of its first season "M*A*S*H" was more a military comedy in the tradition of "Sgt. Bilko" and "Hogan's Heroes"; in fact, writer Laurence Marks, who wrote "The Moose" and "Yankee Doodle Doctor" of the eight episodes collected on this first video tape for Season 1, was the main writer on the bizarre sitcom set in a German P.O.W. camp during World War II. Anyhow, on that first season of "M*A*S*H" set during the Korean War, Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda) and Trapper John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers), spent more time chasing skirts than treating the wounded in the O.R. But by the last third of that season co-creator Larry Gelbart and producer Gene Reynolds would turn the bawdy sitcom into a legitimate black comedy, arguably the first on television. You can see the low point from where they started with these first eight episodes from Season 1:
(1) "M*A*S*H" Pilot (Writer: Larry Gelbart, Aired: September 17, 1972). Hawkeye and Trapper throw a party to raise money to send their Korean houseboy Ho-John to a U.S. college. Notice that one of the Swamp's inhabitants is Spearchucker Jones (Timothy Brown), who failed to survive more than a few episodes. Grade B+: Despite its faults, this establishes the sense of irreverence towards military authority.
(2) "To Market, to Market" (Writer: Burt Styler, Aired: September 24, 1972). The 4077th needs medical supplies so Hawkeye trade's Henry Blake's desk to a Korean black-marketer (Jack Soo). Grade C-: Hawkeye as Bilko is old hat and at this point the North Koreans are comic relief.
(3) "Requiem for a Lightweight" (Writer: Bob Klane, Aired: October 1, 1972). Hawkeye and Trapper are both after Nurse Margie Cutler (Marcia Strassman), which explains why Trapper ends up in a boxing ring facing a really big guy. Grade C-: Substandard military comedy with no one wondering why Trapper knocks out his opponent without actually punching him.
(4) "Chief Surgeon Who?" (Writer: Larry Gelbart, Aired: October 8, 1972). Hawkeye is appointed chief surgeon and a jealous Frank Burns (Larry Linville) brings in a general (Sorrell Booke) to set things right. But Hawkeye shows the general a thing or two about meatball surgery. The first appearance of Corporal Klinger (Jamie Farr) is in this episode. Grade A-: You can tell the quality of a Gelbart script from the start and at the end of Act II the show finds its serious voice.
(5) "The Moose" (Writer: Laurence Marks, Aired: October 15, 1972). The first story drawn from actual historical detail, a Korean family sells their teenage girl to be the servant ("moose") of a G.I. An outraged Hawkeye tries to get her emancipated. Grade B: Attention to historical accuracy would become one of the show's strengths and would make it harder to do the standard sitcom stuff.
(6) "Yankee Doodle Doctor" (Writer: Laurence Marks, Aired: October 22, 1972). The army wants to make a propaganda film glorifying the doctors as "saints in surgical garb." However, Hawkeye has his own ideas about what the film should be like. Grade B+: Another first season episode where there is lots of shtick (Hawkeye as Groucho Marx, Trapper as Harpo), but a totally compelling bit where Hawkeye talks to the movie camera about what war is really all about.
(7) "Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts" (Writer: Burt Styler, Aired: November 5, 1972). Hawkeye is denied a weekend pass to Tokyo and decides to go off the deep end. Eventually Henry has to send for a shrink (Stuart Margolin). Grade C+: More shtick, which would come back to haunt the character where he really does crack up in the final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen."
(8) "Cowboy" (Writer: Bob Klane, Aired: November 12, 1972). A shell-shocked helicopter pilot (Billy Green Bush) becomes violent when Henry (McLean Stevenson) denies him a discharge to go back home. Grade C-: Another reminder that there was a serious side to the war and the impact it had on families, but it is hard to take the kidnapping of the bumbling Blake seriously.
Overall this collection grades out as a solid B, purely on the strength of the two scripts each by Gelbart and Marks. The other episodes just get in the way of what "M*A*S*H" would ultimately be in the end and look worse in comparison to what is to come. Of course, the pilot episode is of primary historical importance, but there are a few nice moments on this first volume.
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