M.A.S.H.

The TV show M*A*S*H proves that laughter really is the best medicine to cure any wounds. This movie provided humorous insight to an otherwise overlooked time in American society. Every character provided a different perspective on the evils of war with their uses of satire. The script writers use satire to provide a look at the evils of war. I have seen the re-runs of this American classic series and I still find them hilarious to this day. I am so pleased that television stations decided to re air this otherwise forgotten show. I am glad that the directors and producers of this show depicted an otherwise forgotten time in American history. And I am sure that the veterans of the Korean War are happy that this show was made to show their experiences in this war and made their trials known to the public.

MASH is still remarkable - funny, poignant, moving, occasionally schmaltzy - but always well scripted, acted and often directed by the actors who really know the players. Alan Alda at his best, with a magnificent equal billing cast. Watch MASH often!!

I've read several recent (2019) reviews of MASH here on IMDB. Many of them take a political slant, calling the show "anti-war", "left-wing", or (and this is my favorite) an "Evil Mockery of all good things and American Values". Frankly, every word of those comments is partisan hooey, colored by the divisive political landscape we live in at present.

I'm a 19 year, career military member and am currently deployed to Iraq. I just watched the entire-run of this show at a rate of 2 episodes per night and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can want some of the topics it presents to be political, but they're not. The overwhelming majority of them are simply the musings of people who seem to have an incisive and witty understanding of what it means to be deployed far away from home.

Those insights are what keep the show watchable. Being critical of war doesn't make the show liberal. It makes it rationale. Broaching progressive subjects doesn't make it left-wing. It bases it in reality. Arguing that war should be the absolute last means of persuasion doesn't make it a mockery of American values. It makes it a commentary on what those American values have historically been.

The years have been rough on MASH insomuch as portrayals of sexism and alcoholism are concerned. Outside of that, the show holds up as a commentary on war at large-be it in Korea, Vietnam, or Iraq. Simply put, it's still funny.

Without any doubt, this is the best show ever made. The writing is incredible, and the plots are very relevant to any society. Showing the worst of man to the very best of man, this show very well described the human condition. With deep drama, and good comedy, this show takes the audience through the ups and downs of life, while showing us the horror of war, yet leaving us with hope, knowing that there is good in humanity after all. The interaction between the characters is amazing, everyone becoming a family, and something wonderful being birthed in the midst of something horrible: war. Yet, even with the anti-war message, they refrain from bashing on soldiers (as most anti-war people tend to do) and they express pride in the bravery of them, while hating the need to fight.

All in all, this is the best show ever made, and I am deeply sorry that it did not run a few years longer.

This is still one of the funniest shows on television, especially the first four seasons when they still had a broad sense of humor. To me the glory days of M*A*S*H ended with the departure of Larry Linville (Major Frank Burns). After his departure, especially in the final three years, the show became more and more issue oriented and pretty much lost me until the classic finale. Other than that, it was still a great show.