If you've never seen the show and only seen some of the highlight reels showcasing pratfalls and the like, you could be forgiven for thinking it was just a goofy comedy rather than the incredible drama and social commentary it was made smoother with quick witty banter and prat falls as well as other comedic types. This was not a comedy with a war backdrop like McHales Navy or Hogan's Heros. It was going to highlight the horrors of war in a palatable way. To display the irony of a hospital meant for healing in the middle of a war meant for killing.
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Gary Burghoff (Radar) hits the nail right on the head! "You always want to entertain first and deliver the message second..."
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The documentary opens up with a few quick comments by some of the major players and then gives us the intro. The theme from the movie minus the lyrics for the show. I believe if you watch this show at any age you won't be able to skip the intro theme is such a part of the experience. But if you grew up watching this show for decades upon decades, that theme music the INSTANT those few opening chords hit will give you the meaning of nostalgia.
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From novel, to movie, to the show, to say nothing of the rare show that runs ELEVEN seasons, ending with a motion picture length finale that out performed the Superbowl, there never has been and never will be another show like this one.
It's a testament to how times have changed and not for the better. If something isn't immediately productive, it's cut and thrown out. If this was how it was always done we wouldn't have Seinfeld. And we wouldn't have MASH which was running at 51 in the top 100 when it first began airing! It's finale REMAINS the highest rated telecast episode. With streaming that will definitely never be broken.
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Beautifully they have included archived interviews from the many actors who have died over the years. On that grim note, this will probably be the last one they can do before they've all passed away.
The way these actors talk about their characters, the show, each other, the writers and directors is so much more than patting themselves and each other on the back. They acknowledge the work and the art and the good fortune they've received rather than droning on egotistically about who had more lines of dialogue or if they should get what percentage of rerun profits. A few even admit, brutally honestly, how they let their egos affect them at the time.
At times I almost forgot it was a documentary about a show and not a documentary about an actual MASH unit during the Korean war.
On that it's also important to recognize this show is NOT anti military. It's anti war and there is a difference. It deals with the futility of war.
I'm that regard there's an incredible clip they show that the clip ALONE brings tears to eyes due to the performance despite knowing it's the clip they're gonna show and having seen the episode multiple times.
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The show has a wide variety of characters. Everyone wasn't on the same page. Some were drafties that resented being there. Others were drafties that relished being there. Some were enlisted that believed in what they were doing. Some came from humble beginnings others were very poor and some came from great wealth. It adds interactions and ingenuity that they couldn't do if everyone was the same. Which was even more important because they lost, story wise, more than one main character. Several in fact. And it just added new variety. Although Hawkeye is arguably the main character this is an ensemble show through and through with every character getting multiple moments and occasionally episodes to shine.
On top of that the episodes would vary. Not just from the amount of humor or drama but they would take chances. A surreal episode of dreams/nightmares. A b&w documentary double episode about the unit. A POV episode told entirely from a soldiers view getting wounded, transported to MASH and going through recovery. Simply brilliant.
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"Good is good and good lasts forever." Jamie "Klinger" Farr.
