Robert Altman's film was brought to the small screen in 1972, and forever changed the face of television. Successfully combining both drama and comedy into a half-hour format, the show took place in the volatile setting of a military hospital just outside Seoul during the Korean War. With an extensive ensemble cast and finely-drawn characters, the show functioned as political satire and sitcom, while achieving a level of very humane drama rarely seen on TV, with ever-evolving characters who learn from their mistakes and are rarely if ever reduced to "types." In this season, Radar is sent home and the hospital is in chaos without him. Klinger takes over his job, assuming more responsibility with often disastrous results as he tries to adjust to his new position. BJ is tempted to have an... Less

As the ninth season begins, Hawkeye’s well-earned R&R goes awry after he’s taken prisoner in order to save the life of an enemy soldier. Margaret also becomes a prisoner of sorts after a wounded Italian soldier proclaims his love for her and refuses to be shipped back to his unit. If only Margaret’s visiting father, Colonel "Howitzer Al" Houlihan, would express his love so freely! Love, or the lack of it, continues to plague the rest of the 4077 as well. Klinger is devastated when he learns his ex-wife is remarrying, Hawkeye is equally despondent that he can’t get a date, and B.J. prepares to spend another wedding anniversary without his wife. For Colonel Potter, the biggest problem is that his high blood pressure will cause him to be reassigned from active duty to a "weenie job"... Less

Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)

With the release of Robert Altman's M*A*S*H in 1970, a new form of comedy was born, one that would help to forever change the face of cinema. Altman's audacious film reflected the American counterculture's growing distrust of religion and government in the late 1960s and early 1970s, resulting in one of the biggest box office smashes of its time. Introducing the techniques he would employ throughout his storied career-- overlapping dialogue, a constantly moving camera with a heavy amount of zooming, and a bold combination of frank subject matter with cynical humor--Altman immediately vaulted himself to Hollywood's upper ranks. Based on the novel by Richard Hooker, M*A*S*H follows a group of Mobile Army Surgical Hospital officers as they perform surgery and pass the time just miles from... Less

It's set during the Korean War, in a mobile army surgical hospital. But no one seeing M*A*S*H in 1970 confused the film for anything but a caustic comment on the Vietnam War; this is one of the counterculture movies that exploded into the mainstream at the end of the '60s. Director Robert Altman had labored for years in television and sporadic feature work when this smash-hit comedy made his name (and allowed him to create an astonishing string of offbeat pictures, culminating in the masterpiece Nashville). Altman's style of cruel humor, overlapping dialogue, and densely textured visuals brought the material to life in an all-new kind of war movie (or, more precisely, antiwar movie). Audiences had never seen anything like it: vaudeville routines played against spurting blood, fueled with... Less

As the fourth season opens, Hawkeye returns from a 3-day R&R pass in Tokyo to find Trapper has been sent Stateside. Hawkeye races to the airport but arrives just as TrapperÂ's plane takes off. Too late to tell his friend good-bye, he in nevertheless just in time to welcome TrapperÂ's replacement, Captain B.J. Hunnicutt. Once Hawkeye gets over his anger and disappointment, he realizes B.J. is a worthy ally and takes the newcomer under his wing. Â"The first thing you learn here, B.J., is that insanity is no worse than the common cold. YouÂ've heard of a military post? Ours is a compost. Only the wounded are new. The tedium is relieved only by the boredom. So pitch in, muddle through, pip-pip. Never mind the reason why, ours is but to do and not let Â'em die.Â" Then Colonel Sherman T... Less

By the show’s third year ratings were high enough to give the writers and creators more leverage with the network and thus a bit less trouble with the censors. In addition, the show’s writers were more experienced with the TV format and had more in-depth knowledge of the characters. By this time they could also gauge how much serious material the audience would accept mixed in with their comedy. But most importantly, between the second and third seasons Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds visited Korea, a trip that they say affected the stories in the third season.

One of M*A*S*H's best and must-own seasons marked a turning point for this Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning series. It would be the last for peerless comedy writer Larry Gelbart (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Tootsie), who developed M*A*S*H for television and served as the series' comic voice, conscience, and beating heart. But this old soldier did not just fade away. He concluded his tour with "The Interview," the stunning season finale and a series benchmark. This black-and-white episode, which he wrote and directed, features Clete Roberts interviewing the members of the 4077th (with the notable exception of Loretta Swit's Major Houlihan) about life and death at the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (a special citation to William Christopher as Father Mulcahy, who provides... Less

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.

This is the feature-length finale which finds Hawkeye and the rest of the gang going their own way after the Korean War.

Rating: Unrated

Rating: Unrated

The television comedy M*A*S*H debuted in 1972. In the process of becoming one of the most successful and beloved programs in TV history, it completely reinvented situation comedies. Based on Robert Altman's hit film, the sitcom ran for an astonishing 11 years. The line between comedy and drama has never been so delicately trod upon as in the series about the 4077th military medical hospital. Season nine includes the episodes "Cementing Relationships," "Death Takes a Holiday," "No Laughing Matter," and "Bless You, Hawkeye."

HOUSE:SEASONS 1 & 2 - DVD Movie