M*A*S*H
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
M*A*S*H was a media franchise active, in various forms, from 1968 to 1986. Owned by 20th Century Fox, the series concerns a group of people who served at the 4077th mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War. The original incarnations of the series are set during the war and feature Hawkeye Pierce as the main character. Later spin-offs involve characters who appeared in the series, but take place after the end of the war. However, almost all versions of the series fit into the genre of black comedy and involve medicine in a prominent role due to most of the main characters being doctors.
The franchise effectively ended with the conclusion of Trapper John, M.D. on September 4, 1986. As of 2007, there has been no attempt to reprise the series since then. However, a fanbase for the series still exists and 20th Century Fox has had notable success selling the film and seasons of the original TV series on DVD.
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[edit] Novels
The M*A*S*H series began with the novel M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors written by Richard Hooker based on his own experience serving as a surgeon at a MASH unit. The novel was originally published in 1968 and was followed by several sequels.
[edit] Film
MASH was a 1970 feature film adaptation of the original novel. The film was directed by Robert Altman and starred Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye Pierce and Elliott Gould as Trapper John McIntyre.
[edit] Television series
M*A*S*H, a television spin-off of the feature film, ran from 1972 to 1979. It starred Alan Alda as Pierce and Wayne Rogers as McIntyre. Rogers left the show after the third season and was replaced by Mike Farrell as B. J. Hunnicutt. This series is the most popular and well-known version of the franchise and was ranked #25 in TV Guide's "Top 50 shows of all Time."
[edit] Video game
An Atari 2600 video game version of M*A*S*H was released in 1983. In this game, the player controlled a helicopter and army doctors. The goal was to rescue wounded soldiers to take back to the MASH 4077. While the Korean countryside looked somewhat realistic, the action was simply side-view and the characters looked like generic 4-bit Atari 2600 characters. Players could also play a video version of "meatball surgery", with a giant patient on the table. The patient had points of entry, that twisted and turned like a maze. At the end of each maze was a bullet that players had to remove before time ran out. If a player got to close to the sides of the maze, the patient dies and the words "Ferret Face" appear on the top of the screen along with a warning buzzer.[citation needed]
[edit] Spin-offs
[edit] Trapper John, M.D.
Trapper John, M.D. featured the character of Trapper John McIntyre, played by Pernell Roberts, twenty-eight years after the events of the M*A*S*H film and television series. It was the first spin-off to feature a character from the series in civilian life after the war. Legally, Trapper John, M.D. is considered a spin-off of the MASH film rather than the television series.
[edit] AfterMASH
AfterMASH was a successor to the original M*A*S*H television series featuring Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr and William Christopher as the same characters they played in the original television series after the conclusion of the war. Gary Burghoff and Edward Winter also appeared in guest appearances. However, the show was canceled after only two seasons.
[edit] W*A*L*T*E*R
W*A*L*T*E*R was the pilot for a television series that wasn't picked up. It would have featured Gary Burghoff reprising the role of Walter O'Reilly, who is no longer referred to as "Radar." The pilot was shown as a "CBS Special Presentation" on July 17, 1984.
[edit] Cast of characters
[edit] See also
| M*A*S*H | |
|---|---|
| Film: | MASH |
| TV series: | M*A*S*H | Trapper John, M.D. | AfterMASH | W*A*L*T*E*R |
| Characters: |
Hawkeye Pierce | Trapper John McIntyre | Duke Forrest | B.J. Hunnicutt | Henry Blake | Sherman T. Potter | Frank Burns | Margaret Houlihan | Charles Winchester | Radar O'Reilly | Father Mulcahy | Maxwell Klinger | Igor Straminsky | Luther Rizzo | Sidney Freedman | Col. Flagg | Spearchucker Jones | Ugly John | Walter Koskiusko Waldowski | Ho-Jon | Lieutenant Dish | Donald Penobscot |
| Episodes: | Season 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Books: | M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors | M*A*S*H Goes to Maine |
| Related material: | Guest stars | Differences between book, film and TV versions of M*A*S*H | Suicide Is Painless |
