M*A*S*H: THE COMEDY THAT CHANGED TELEVISION

US, 2024, 89 minutes, Colour.

Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Wayne Rogers, William Christopher, Gary Burghoff, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr, Harry Morgan, Maclean Stevenson, David Ogden Stiers, Burt Metcalfe, Larry Gelbart, Gene Reynolds.

Directed by John Scheinfeld.

In 1970, the satiric film about medics during the Korean War, M*A*S*H, was a box office success as well as an awakening of conscience and consciousness about war, and released during America’s involvement in the Vietnam war.

This documentary opens with the film, the idea of making a television series based on the film and its tone. Celebrated writer, Larry Gelbart, was commissioned to write a pilot. He was supported by director, Gene Reynolds, and producer Burt Metcalfe. While it had a quiet first year, especially due to its timeslot, it won awards and the studio decided to give it a better slot. The series was to be on American television screens, seen worldwide, for 11 years. This is a record for a television show and the feature film length finale they broke all records for American television audiences and numbers.

This documentary is an opportunity to appreciate the series, learn about television watching during the 1970s and early 1980s, explore the development of the series in its satiric and comic style, experimentation with styles for episodes, blend the comic with the serious. And, the great advantage is the wide range of clips to remind audiences of how the series made an impact or to open up the series to younger audiences.

The further advantage is the inclusion of the talking heads. At the compilation of this film in 2024, many of the participants had died but there was sufficient material to include substantial sections of interviews with so many of them. But, Alan Alda was the star of the film for the 11 years and features substantially commenting during this documentary. Other actors who contributed to this film included Jamie Farr, Loretta Swit, Gary Burghoff.

For those many who have seen the series or episodes, this is an interesting, entertaining and arresting memoir. Those who have not will be taken back into television in America in the 1970s.