Product Details

• Actors: Alan Alda, Wayne Rogers, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Loretta Swit
• Directors: Alan Alda, Harry Morgan, Burt Metcalfe, Charles S. Dubin, Don Weis
• Format: Box set, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 1.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: June 8, 2004
• Run Time: 367 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001ZJ1HW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,098 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #13 in	Movies & TV > Comedy > Television > M*A*S*H
  #73 in	Movies & TV > Television > Medical Shows

• For more information about "M*A*S*H - Season Six (Collector's Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 6 in The M*A*S*H (English, Français) Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From a human standpoint, things are pretty tight at the 4077th. But adding a new character to a long-embedded, close-knit ensemble is a delicate operation. By M*A*S*H's sixth season, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and BJ (Mike Farrell) were partners in outrage against the war and army bureaucracy. With the departure of Larry Linville's Frank Burns, the much decorated series was in need of some new blood. Enter David Ogden Stiers as Charles Emerson Winchester III. Just as Henry Morgan's authoritative Col. Potter was the anti-Henry Blake, so was Charles just what the doctor ordered to give Hawkeye and BJ a worthy foil. Charles was pompous and arrogant, but, unlike Frank, he was Hawkeye's equal in the operating room. And he gave as good as was given to him, as witness the conclusion of his inaugural Emmy-nominated episode, "Fade Out, Fade In," in which he turns the tables on one of Hawkeye and BJ's reptilian practical jokes. In season 6, Gary Burghoff's Radar is mostly missing in action (he would transfer out of the series in season 8), but he figures prominently in "Fallen Idol," one of Burghoff's and Alda's finest half-hours, in which Hawkeye lashes out at Radar's "Iowa naivete" and hero worship.

The season's primary dramatic arc is Margaret's (Loretta Switt) marital woes, culminating in the Emmy-nominated two-parter, "Comrades in Arms," in which Hawkeye and Margaret, trapped by enemy fire, engage in a little close-order drill. The humanization of Margaret continues in "Temporary Duty," which also features one of the most memorable visitors to the 4077th, George "Goober" Lindsey, as the wild and wooly Roy Dupree, a temporary transfer who drives BJ and Charles crazy. Alan Arbus's psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman, one of the series' most welcome recurring characters, makes a memorable return in "War of Nerves," one of his most dramatic episodes, in which a soldier Freedman sent back into combat, is unforgiving in blaming Sidney for his injuries. Two excellent ensemble episodes are "The Light That Failed, "in which the reading-starved camp shares a mystery novel, but doesn't have a clue what happens after the last page is missing, and "Mail Call Three," in which the camp reacts to news from home. Demerits again for no cast commentary, but this set once again offers viewers of the option of watching the episodes with or without a laugh track. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description

As the sixth season opens, Margaret’s marriage has finally driven Frank Burns over the edge. Unfortunately, his subsequent replacement, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III, soon drives B.J. and Hawkeye over the edge as well. From his fur-trimmed coat to his shiny French horn, he almost makes B.J. and Hawkeye wish Frank were still there. Almost.

But as Winchester slowly finds his place within the OR, things get back to normal – or as normal as they ever get. Radar goes off in search of the perfect tattoo. Black marketeers steal all the unit’s penicillin. Hawkeye and B.J. refuse to shower unless Charles stops blowing his horn. And Hawkeye and Margaret find comfort in each other’s arms...if only for one night.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars still the best, May 4, 2004

By	Jeffrey D. Messer (Asheville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

MASH survived many casting changes, and did so with style and grace. Season 6 brought the final "new" cast member to the show -- Winchester. And it breathed new life into the series in it's 6th year. Remember, the war itself only lasted 3, and the show nearly got cancelled early on. No one expected it to be this successful. So here they were, six years in and looking at many more. Sure, eventually the stories got a bit too serious and hokie, but for now, they still kept a fine balance between the serious and the silly. this season finds an almost pitch perfect balance.

Early seasons had more characters and lots of silliness, but as time went on, they whittled things down to a more managable size. This season shows that at it's finest.

And of course we get Sid Freedman back this year, as well as the infamous Hawkeye and Hotlips romantic encounter. Plus more glimpses at the chinks in Hawk's humor-armor.

A great show that will never be outdone.

They should release the seasons more than two a year though.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out with Frank, in with Charles, June 11, 2004

By	Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

In the opening episode, "Fade Out, Fade In," we learn that Frank Burnes has gone totally bonkers and won't be coming back to the 4077th. He is replaced by Charles Emerson Winchester III (played by David Ogden Stiers), an intellectual Bostonian snob. Like Frank, Charles is also a class-A jerk, but he's a jerk with more sophistication. For example, in "The Smell of Music" (one of my all-time favorites), he insists on playing his French horn [badly], to the annoyance of Hawkeye and BJ, who, in turn, refuse to bathe until the music stops. A feud ensues. Charles doesn't rant and rave like Frank -- he just calmly goes on playing through it all. The wit here is more subtle than in previous seasons, but still hilarious.

Frank was basically a schoolyard bully, and he never outgrew that role. When he left the 4077th he was pretty much the same jerk he had been when he arrived. Charles, on the other hand, will grow and mature as the series progresses. He learns in "The Light that Failed" that he is capable of making mistakes like anybody else. In "Dr. Winchester and Mr. Hyde" his self-abuse of amphetamines to keep up with the hectic pace (and his facade of perfection?) has disastrous results. By the end of the season, he comes down off his high horse a bit and joins the team -- but never loses his upper-crust dignity.

Other characters also begin to grow in new directions during this season. Margaret becomes more humanized, and is no longer merely a foil for sexist jokes. Much of this was due to Alan Alda having his own consciousness raised on feminist issues. This season aired in 1977-78, remember, and the times they were a'changing. Frankly speaking (pun intended), much of the crude humor in the early seasons was based on jokes that would now be considered sexual harrassment. After "Comrades in Arms" in this season, Margaret and Hawkeye reach a truce of sorts, and treat each other with more respect.

While some fans deplore the sixth-season switch from heavy comedy to more serious drama, I applaud it wholeheartedly. Had the show continued with its original form of verbal slapstick, it would probably have gone off the air long before it did. As the actors and audience matured over the years, so did the show -- and that was its strength. I love this season, and look forward to the rest.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the BEST seasons of M*A*S*H, April 17, 2004

By A Customer

The SIXTH SEASON of MASH is, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best season of all!

It contains one of the best episodes, "Fallen Idol", where Hawkeye and Radar's friendship is transformed.

I believe that the arrival of David Ogden Stiers as Major Charles Emerson Winchester, brought a new life and energy to the show. Not to diminish the efforts and contribution of the Larry Linville. But I believe he took the Frank Burns as far as it could go.

I am a fan of all eleven seasons of the show - a show which I believe was the classiest and most consistently high-quality of any television dramatic/comedy series. The show and its characters grew over time. Each season, impressive in its own right.

I anxiously await season six - as well as the rest!