M*A*S*H was a TV show that aired in the 70s (and ended in the 80s) about army doctors during the Korean war. It followed the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital throughout its day to day dealings. Meatball surgery, as they termed it themselves, like the modern ER. At the beginning of the show, it was more of a situation comedy, with some very serious and important episodes. While later on, it turned into more of a dramedy tone, with less focus on the hilarious antics of the medical staff (though there were still plenty of laughs) and more focus on moral issues. As this show aired during the Vietnam War and the Cold War, it often presented and mocked certain issues relevant to that time period, including America's role in the cold War, exploration of the effects of war on local families, and coping with death as a doctor, among other things.
At the head of things in the first three seasons were Hawkeye Pierce, the affable fun-loving chief surgeon, Lt. Col. Henry Blake, the incompetent and indecisive company head and Trapper John McIntyre, the other surgeon and also a jokester (in order).
All of the other characters were extremely interesting and important, and included an incompetent, jealous surgeon, a power-hungry and by-the-book nurse, Radar the company clerk, a Father of the Catholic Church, and a guy who tried to get discharged due to insanity by crossdressing the whole time. I could do a post about every character as there were so many interesting ones.
The first three seasons focused more on the comedic aspects of these interesting characters, but also had a lot of character development and some very dramatic episodes. One of the best episodes was "Dear Dad", of Season 1, which utilized an epistular narrative theme to showcase the message that "War is Hell". Other great episodes of Seasons 1-3 include "Bananas, Nuts, and Crackers", "The Long-John Flap", "The Trial of Henry Blake", and my personal favorite, Season 1's "Tuttle", a story about a fictional Captain that somehow is able to affect the lives of others. Season 4 started introducing new characters as old actors decided to leave the show, and it took more of a narrative and dark tone, which I may discuss in the future.
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Then again, M*A*S*H as a show also brooched the topic of death extremely well for a show of that time period. One of the most important events of television occurred in the Season 3 finale, "Abyssinia, Henry". Lt. Col. Henry Blake finally gets his discharge papers (as actor McLean Stevenson had decided to leave the show) and is allowed to go back to Illinois. The entire episodes was a farewell to his character. However, he was written out of the show with an offscreen death when his plane is shot down. One of the most shocking scenes in the history of television was when Radar comes in to the surgery area and proclaims the news, to the shock of everyone. In actuality, no one (aside from Alan Alda, the actor who plays Hawkeye and future producer of the show), knew this was going to happen, so the reactions that were filmed were genuine reactions of the cast. There was even an extra who was so shocked that he dropped some surgical tools, and so in the scene itself you can hear a loud bang during the long silence. They even had to cancel McLean Stevenson's farewell party because no one was in the mood anymore (I couldn't find a better clip, can someone help me out?):
M*A*S*H wanted to make a point to the viewers that in war, anything was possible, and that at any time, anyone could have died. And so by pointlessly (it was entirely pointless other than to make a point) killing off one of its most beloved characters, they made a huge statement that many other TV shows of that time wouldn't do. It was a watershed moment that affected the entire television industry, with even modern shows such as Family Guy referencing or directly parodying this scene and other things related to the show.
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After two major actors left the series at the end of the third season, the show made the controversial decision to replace the characters who were written out with completely different characters. Instead of the bumbling, indecisive surgeon Henry Blake, they got a sarcastic, by-the-book, army man Col. Potter. Equally funny, though in a different way. And instead of the wise-cracking, adultering Trapper John, they got replaced him with the no-nonsense voice of reason, BJ, though still funny, also in a different way. Somehow, it worked, by shifting the character of the show from more of a comedy with some drama, to a show with more drama and character development, but still a good helping of comedy. This was a cast-shot from one of the later seasons. You can see some overlap with the one from above, but a lot of new faces as well.
Anyways, watch this show if you want some laughs, and then a very deep story. It's on Netflix right now, and I'd say that it is definitely worth your while to watch at least the first 8 or 9 seasons, and then you can skip to the last episode. I leave you with a version of the M*A*S*H theme song:
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