How MASH is going

[sholio]

I keep meaning to post about this in more detail, but I've mainly just been watching and enjoying it. I've now seen about half of seasons 1 and 4, scattered episodes from 2 and 3, all of 6-8, and assorted episodes from the rest of it, including the finale. I don't normally watch things like this, but I keep deciding to watch straight through and then getting sidetracked by Yet Another Episode that I just have to watch. I really do intend to watch the whole thing; it's just looking like it's going to be all over the place. Then I might have to ACTUALLY watch it straight through to appreciate the evolution of characterization and writing. (One of the ??? of the Abyss is definitely rewatching the 11-season show you just watched to micro-analyze the character arcs in detail.)

It's somehow easier to throw random comments on Tumblr, where I've posted (spoilery) meta rambles about 8x22 "Dreams" and 11x03 "Foreign Affair" and I also got an unexpected amount of reblog traction surrounding this random screencap of Charles and kids.

(I continue to be completely gone on Charles, but I've also gone down a Hawkeye hole at a speedrun, I love Margaret's character evolution, and basically they're just all great.)

In random not-my-stuff, I recced this "Marching On" MASH vid in my previous MASH post, but it really is a brilliant encapsulation of the series, its mood switches, and all its many changes over time without being too spoilery. I've been watching it a lot.

Watch on YouTube

Comments

[timespirt]

Love this video. Mash was one of my favorite shows and still is.The jokes and laughs never get old.

[sholio]

I watched the whole thing as a teenager (probably multiple times) but I haven't seen most of it since then except for sporadic episodes here and there, and it's just such a fascinating experience! I literally remember some things all these years later - the

disturbing spoiler with child harm

dead baby whose mom smothered it to keep it quiet

in particular has stuck with me without my remembering what it was from (I thought it was from something way grittier than MASH!) but also some of the playful jokey stuff; in fact I've realized that some of our childhood games and catch phrases came from jokes on this show. But it's been so interesting to also relate to it as an adult and get a bunch of new things out of it!

[timespirt]

dead baby whose mom smothered it to keep it quiet

I thought I saw an episode on Tour of Duty that dealt with that.

[nocowardsoul]

Like several of the show's plotlines, it was based on real life. Burt Metcalfe mentions it in this interview.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nBnJE2CA3BA&feature=youtu.be

[sholio]

Thank you for the link! Oh, that's really fascinating that the MASH units operated all the way into the 90s, and some of the creative team visited them for ideas.

[sheron]

Enabler.

[sholio]

The resistance I had to overcome .... the fight you put up ....

[scintilla10]

What a great vid, thank you for sharing! Gives me lots of nostalgic feels. <333

[sholio]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I've more or less been watching it on a loop; it's just so nicely done.

[rosanicus]

Such a gorgeous vid! And it reminded me to go and track down one which I lost my copy of when my hard drive died... and is still suitably gorgeous.

All your MASH posts are enticing me into a rewatch, although I may stick to my favourite episodes for now as my partner might object to three straight weeks of 70s telly 😂

[sholio]

Oh, that's a lovely vid, and an absolutely beautiful song. Thank you so much for the link! <3

A "best of" watch sounds like a good idea! (And it's really been fun finding out how many people I know from other fandoms are also into this!)

[sovay]

(spoilery) meta rambles about 8x22 "Dreams"

Until last year, one of the very few episodes of M*A*S*H I had seen was the one with Charles and the pianist and the left-handed music of Paul Wittgenstein. I remembered that plot in detail and absolutely nothing about the morale officer shenanigans.

(I read Potter's dream as sort of normally escapist rather than detached: he'd sure rather be home than in this war; but he is the only person we see deflect the nightmare when it's incoming, so those two previous wars clearly gave him some coping mechanisms which no one else has had time to build.)

Charles has a lot of defenses built up against being a person, which is why it is so desperately endearing that he's terrible at maintaining them and much better at the mortal embarrassment of being a person and an essentially decent one, too.

[sholio]

(I read Potter's dream as sort of normally escapist rather than detached: he'd sure rather be home than in this war; but he is the only person we see deflect the nightmare when it's incoming, so those two previous wars clearly gave him some coping mechanisms which no one else has had time to build.)

Oh, I love that point, and it makes so much sense for him! I hadn't really thought about him deflecting the nightmare and moving into something better, but you're right, that's exactly what he's doing.

Charles has a lot of defenses built up against being a person

I also love this turn of phrase.

which is why it is so desperately endearing that he's terrible at maintaining them and much better at the mortal embarrassment of being a person and an essentially decent one, too.

Yessss. I'm just such a complete sucker for that particular character trajectory, and he does it so well.

[princessofgeeks]

I loved that show. I am old enough to have watched it in real time in its first broadcast. It really was appointment TV.

[sholio]

I'm having a great time with it!

my goodness, Gwyneth Paltrow looks like her mother

[lauradi7dw]

I got to about 1:30 and realized almost immediately that it was Blythe Danner, but had a fraction of a second flash that GP had time traveled to be in an episode of M*A*S*H.

I also watched the entire series as it originally aired.

Re: my goodness, Gwyneth Paltrow looks like her mother

[sholio]

Babies of celebrity parents who really look like their parents are so disconcerting! Maya Hawke is the one who always gets to me like that - she looks exactly like you would expect a cross between Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke to look. I had no idea that actress was Gwyneth Paltrow's mom, but I can see it!

[lunabee34]

Oh that vid. I'm not crying. I just have something in my eyes. LOL

Such a good show, maybe the best show ever made. Love it.

[sholio]

It's really been a delight to watch. I'm impressed how well it's aged.

[osprey_archer]

Your posts have reminded me how much I enjoyed MASH reruns back in the day. Definitely something to borrow from the library once I've got my DVD player in working order.

[sholio]

I would love to see a MASH revival happening around my flist! It seems to have a regular (minor) presence in exchanges.

[vicki_rae]

Still one of my all time favorite shows. There are episodes I'll never forget. It's probably time for a re-watch.

[sholio]

It's so terrific!

[(Anonymous)]

I just love that you've found something new to crush on! And I've been Charles mad for years, I'm so glad it's not just me!

[tippergreen]

Bah, idiot me forgot to log in. That comment above was me. sorry!

[sholio]

I am completely delighted that you also love Charles, and it makes perfect sense! (As someone pointed out on the previous MASH post, he is a rather Rodney-like character.)

[leesa_perrie]

I think I was a child when I watched this, and it's possible I've only seen later eps (not sure), but do remember enjoying it back then. It's not a show that's calling to me personally, but have fun with it! :D

[sholio]

I'm having a great time! It's interesting how many other people around my flist have seen it.

[cofax7]

Such a great show. I watched it when it was on, as a child, and then when I was in my senior year of college, it was airing in syndication 4 times/day (from 6-7 pm and then from 11 pm to midnight). I saw a LOT of MASH that year...

[sholio]

Afternoon reruns as a kid were definitely the way that I watched it the first time, and then got back into it this fall. (I don't remember if I mentioned where this all came from, but there was a 2-hour MASH block every afternoon on TV and I ended up watching some of it while I was visiting my mom and stepdad in September and WELP.)

[sgatazmy]

Whenever I think of Mash, there are episodes that definitely stand out to me. It really was such a powerful show. The last episode of the series stayed with me and I get so many feelings when I think of it. I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, so I won’t spoil, but damn, it really hits me in a way few other shows can.

Just a few months back, I started rewatching some eps. I was always a Radar person, but really all the characters have a special place on my heart.

[sholio]

I did actually watch the finale even though I haven't seen a lot of the rest of it yet - I figured I wasn't going to be spoiled for anything huge since I have a general idea of how it all works out, and I'm glad to know where things are going, in this particular instance!

It's interesting how much I remember from when I was a kid. I wouldn't have said that I remembered a whole lot, and most of what I do remember, I keep remembering as I go along, but a lot of it definitely stuck in my head.

[sallymn]

I always loved Charles and Margaret (yes, her arc was absolutely great, one of the best ever on TV in my opinion).

[delphi]

Oh wow, thanks for bringing that vid into my life. It really got to me. I don't think I've done anything like a full rewatch of the show since my uni days, but I might have to change that.