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Another Wonderful Season of "M*A*S*H"
The success of the 1970 film "MASH" (directed by Robert Altman) inspired the production of one of the most successful and longest running TV series of all time: "M*A*S*H". While most of the main characters from the original film were portrayed in the TV series, only one of the film's actors reprised his role for the TV series: Gary Burghoff. Like the film, the show was about the men and women working in a fictitious U.S. Army "Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" (or MASH unit) known as the 4077th during the Korean War in the early 1950's. <
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>Having been on the air for so many years, it was not surprising that some of the original characters/cast members were no longer part of the show. This included Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson, 1929-1996) and Capt. "Trapper John" McIntyre (Wayne Rogers) following the show's third season, and Major Frank Burns as played by Larry Linville (1939-2000) at the end of the show's fifth season. Coming into its sixth season, the original characters/cast members still part of "M*A*S*H" included Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit), Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher), Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff) and Cpl. Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr). Col. Sherman T. Potter (Harry Morgan) had replaced Lt. Col. Henry Blake and Capt. B.J. Hunnicut (Mike Farrell) replaced Trapper at the beginning of the show's fourth season and to begin the show's sixth season, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers) had replaced Maj. Burns. <
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>Unlike Major Burns, Maj. Winchester was a good surgeon, but annoyed eveyone with his pompous attitude due to being an heir of a wealthy Boston family. The arrival of Maj. Winchester changed the flavor of the show, but similar to how they treated Maj. Burns, Hawkeye & B.J. enjoyed playing a number of practical jokes on Maj. Winchester. <
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>Though the cast had changed, as in the original 1970 film and the first six seasons of the TV series, "M*A*S*H" continued to demonstrate a total lack of respect for the U.S. military by portraying many of its officers as being inept and incompetent. However, with the departure of Maj. Burns, Maj. Houlihan, who got married at the end of the fifth season, was more focused on her troubled marriage to her husband stationed in Tokyo. Col. Potter was not particularly fond of Maj. Winchester, but appreciated his medical skills. The special bond that had developed between Col. Potter and the 4077th's lowly company clerk, Radar, continued and, as always, it was essentially Radar's responsibility to help keep things running smoothly. Father Mulcahy was always polite and helpful while Cpl. Klinger continued to wear women's clothes in an attempt to get a "Section 8", which would give him a discharge from the Army. <
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>The seventh season of "M*A*S*H" that aired between 1978 and 1979 featured the following 25 episodes: <
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>1. "Commander Pierce". Hawkeye gets to experience what it's like to be in command of the 4077th when Col. Potter is away. <
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>2. "Peace On Us". Disgusted with the war and the stalled peace talks at Panmunjon, Hawkeye impulsively drives to Panmunjon to give the representatives at the peace talks a verbal thrashing. <
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>3. "Lil". When a visiting nurse (Carmen Mathews, 1914-1995) about the same age as Col. Potter catches the Colonel's eyes, Radar gets upset and has the Colonel get a phone call from his wife. <
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>4. "Our Finest Hour". A visiting reporter, Clete Roberts (himself, 1912-1984), returns to the 4077th for a follow-up series of interviews. Archive footage of Trapper & Col. Blake is included. <
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>5. "The Billfold Syndrome". Hawkeye & B.J. send Charles a phony telegram to cheer him up after he is rejected from getting a position at a prestigious Boston hospital. Sidney Friedman (Alan Arbus) also pays a visit. <
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>6. "None Like it Hot". When Hawkeye & B.J. obtain a portable bathtub to get relief from a heat wave, everyone in camp eventually finds out and wants to use the tub too. Meanwhile, Klinger uses the heat as another ploy to get a "Section 8" and when Radar has to have his tonsils removed, everyone wants some of his strawberry ice cream. <
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>7. "They Call the Wind Korea". A wind storm makes everything difficult at the 4077th. <
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>8. "Major Ego". Frustrated with her husband tying up their joint bank account, Margaret contemplates an affair with a visiting captain (Greg Mullavy). <
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>9. "Baby, it's Cold Outside". Charles upsets everyone when he enjoys a winter suit that keeps him warm while everyone else is freezing. <
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>10. "Point of View". In a very wonderful episode, events at the 4077th are shown from the eyes of an unknown wounded soldier. <
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>11. "Dear Comrade". Charles enjoys the attentions given to him by a hired servant, Kwang (Sab Shimono), who is really a North Korean spy. When the 4077th doctors don't know how to treat a strange rash, Kwang provides them with a smelly but highly effective folk remedy. <
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>12. "Out of Gas". Charles accompanies Father Mulcahy to obtain much-needed Pentothal from black marketeers. <
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>13. "An Eye for a Tooth". Father Mulcahy gets upset when he's passed up for promotion until he hears about a chopper pilot's promotion and does something very unexpected. <
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>14. "Dear Sis". Father Mulcahy writes a letter to his sister, who is a nun, and recounts various things going on at the 4077th. <
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>15. "B.J. Papa San". B.J. starts to spend a lot of time with a Korean family that he substitutes for his own back home. <
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>16. "Inga". Hawkeye is captivated by a visiting Swedish doctor named Dr. Inga Helversen (Mariette Hartley) until she upstages him in the operating room. <
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>17. "The Price". Col. Potter gets upset when his horse disappears, until he finds out who has her. <
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>18. "The Young And The Restless". Winchester gets upset when a young visiting doctor (James Canning) upstages him. <
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>19. "Hot Lips is Back in Town". Upon getting her divorce, Margaret drives Col. Potter nuts as she tries to improve everything in celebration of her new-found freedom. <
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>20. "C*A*V*E". Hawkeye has to face his claustrophobia when 4077th personnel must seek refuge in caves during a heavy artillery barrage. <
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>21. "Rally Round the Flagg, Boys". Winchester gets his first taste of Col. Flagg (Edward Winter, 1937-2001) when he accuses Hawkeye of being a communist sympathizer. <
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>22. "Preventive Medicine". Klinger turns to voodoo to try and get out of the army. <
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>23. "A Night at Rosie's". An excellent episode in which just about everyone at the 4077th ends up spending a lot of time at the nearby Rosie's Bar. <
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>24. "Ain't Love Grand". Charles tries to woo a Korean woman (Sylvia Cjang) that he meets at Rosie's, but she quickly tires of him. In the meantime, a nurse (Kit McDonough) finds the cross-dressing Klinger attractive until he puts on his uniform. <
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>25. "The Party". When the 4077th has to bug out, B.J. tries to get all of the 4077th personnel to have a reunion party for all of the families back home in the states. <
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>Overall, I rate the seventh season of "M*A*S*H" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. In its eleven years of production, "M*A*S*H" was one of the best TV shows of its day and remains one of the best TV shows of all time.

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It's funny that MASH won awards for being a comedy...
MASH is many things: irreverent, brutal, honest, funny, scary, poignant, and many more. Season 7 has viewers continuing to get used to the egotistical Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. One of the first episodes of MASH I ever saw, and one of the reasons I love this show, is from this season: "The Billfold Syndrome." Stories like this, containing both the humor and horror of dealing with the effects of war, keep me coming back. But it is the horror, and drama of dealing with the horror, that in my mind makes MASH one of the best drama series ever. Season 7 is full of character-driven episodes, with nearly ever character getting his chance to shine--or plotz.

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I'm not impressed!
This season turned out to be a real bore. I wasn't too excited about any of the episodes. "our finest hour" was ok, with some flashbacks. At least Margaret was in this one. I was disappointed that she was not in "The Interview" in season four. I was the least impressed with "Inga" when Hawkeye takes it upon himself to get close to the new girl in town, as usual. It seems that he gets a little temporary girlfriend in each season, such as "In love and war" in season six when he hooks up with a Korean woman for a few weeks. In season four there was "The more I see you" where he hooks up with an old girlfriend who just happened to be married. BJ has turned very preachy and seems to be on a crusade to right all wrongs in the 4077. I really wish he didn't have that stupid mustache! It looks Terrible!However, his serious lack of judgement caused him to attack Margaret in "An eye for a tooth", showing that he has a nasty temper too, revealed again in season eight when he attacks Hawkeye and wrecks the swamp. <
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>I don't know why people were suprised in "Major Ego" with Charles. He was just being his usual self. Hawkeye looks like a real punk in CAVE where he is scared to go in there. BJ gets a little too preachy in "Preventitave Medicine" where Hawkeye performs an appendectomy on a Colonel to keep him from killing at least 100 men on a crusade. As you recall, this is a rehash of "White Gold" in which Hawkeye and Trapper did the same thing to Colonel Flagg. "Rally round the Flagg" wasn't as funny as everyone is making it out to be. "The Young and Restless" was a little silly, this doctor made them get all flipped out over an operation. The whole episode was supposed to be how he took over the camp, even Potter was sulking. The guy wasn't even there the whole time. Winchester's temper tantrum was funny. Hawkeye made a fool of himself in "Peace on Us", showing up at the peace talks with a bloody apron on. This entire season and the ones after this was somewhat of a letdown. <
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