Cheap M*A*S*H - Season Two (Collector's Edition) (DVD) (Wayne Rogers, Larry Linville) (Hy Averback, Gabrielle Beaumont, Burt Metcalfe, Bruce Bilson (II), Tony Mordente, Norman Tokar, George Tyne, John Erman) Price

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Customer Reviews of M*A*S*H - Season Two (Collector's Edition)

2nd Smash Season For M*A*S*H
The 2nd season of M*A*S*H really cements the legend of this ground breaking television show. The producers and writers set the tone for how the show would feel for the next 2 or 3 seasons, and usher in the prime of this series. The writing continues to become very strong and all the characters are defined and great vehicles for the hilarious and insane stories. Although the DVD set contains no extras, none are really needed as the episodes stand on their own. The highlights include: <
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>"Divided We Stand" - Written by Larry Gelbart, "Divided" was written as almost a second pilot for new viewers. Gen. Clayton (Herb Voland) remains as the main Army contact for the 4077th, and the off-beat humor with the possibility of being split up. <
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>"For The Good Of The Outfit" - I actually was reading a biography of Kim Il Sung and it mentioned a massacre in Tae Dong. I'm not sure if it inspired this episode, however this is one of the better dramatic episodes, showing the hypocrisy of war and U.S. military policy. <
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>"Dr. Pierce And Mr. Hyde" - As someone who has suffered from insomnia, I can relate to this episode. Alan Alda pulls double duty by starring and co-writing this installment. <
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>"The Incubator" - A very funny tale exploring army red tape and the doctors defiance against it. The opening sequence will bring back memories of waking up the day after a party. <
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>"Deal Me Out" - The flagship episode of the 2nd season, this may be one of the funniest episodes of M*A*S*H ever. A private (John Ritter) goes nuts, Dr. Sidney Freedman (Alan Arbus) makes his second appearance, and a slightly intense intelligence officer (Edward Winters) investigates an operation. <
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>"Hot Lips And Empty Arms" - Written by Linda Bloodworth and Mary Kay Place, the character of Maj. Houlihan (Loretta Swit) is given a ton of complexity. <
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>"Crisis" - The staff of the 4077th are forced to hunker together while being cut off by supply. The night scenes of the guys sleeping together are very hysterical. <
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>"A Smattering Of Intelligence" - This is the true introduction to the very relevant Col. Flagg, who after enduring a supposed helicopter crash lands in the 4077th. <
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>This is one of the best seasons of this show, so pick it up.

A Hilariously Fantastic Second Season
The success of the 1970 film "MASH", which was 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. For the first three seasons, the U.S. Army personnel stationed at the 4077th included Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson, 1929-1996), Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville, 1939-2000), Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit), Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), Capt. "Trapper John" McIntyre (Wayne Rogers), Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher, except for the first season pilot episode), Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff) and Cpl. Maxwell Klinger (Jamie Farr). <
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>As in the film, the TV show often demonstrated a lack of respect for the U.S. military by portraying many of its officers as being inept and incompetent. This was the formula used for Maj. Burns and Lt. Col. Henry Blake, but whereas Lt. Col. Blake had a very likeable personality, Maj. Burns wanted to see a more disciplined command and was often quite the little stool pigeon. Also, while being married and regarding himself as being a devout Christian, Maj. Burns maintained a romantic affair with Maj. Houlihan. (In the film, it was while Majors Burns & Houlihan were passionately kissing with the entire MASH unit listening to them that Maj. Houlihan earned the nickname "Hot Lips".) Whereas in the film Maj. Burns (played originally by Robert Duvall) was whisked away in a straightjacket, in the show, this never occurs; but the film's two primary characters and pranksters, Captains Hawkeye Pierce (played originally by Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (played originally by Elliott Gould), were portrayed equally well in the TV show. Though typically disrespectful of the Army, Hawkeye and Trapper were completely honest about themselves, which is probably the main reason why they despised the hypocritical Maj. Burns so much. And, as in the film, they both found Maj. Houlihan particularly attractive, but weren't particularly friendly towards her because, like Maj. Burns, she wanted to see greater military discipline. This often set Major Burns & Houlihan at odds with Hawkeye, Trapper and Lt. Col. Blake. So, with the officers preoccupied, it was essentially up to the 4077's lowly company clerk, Radar, to keep things running smoothly; but even with the interesting personalities among the officers, the MASH 4077th had the best rate of survival for any wounded soldiers treated there. Hawkeye was an especially gifted surgeon, as was Trapper; while Maj. Burns had probably barely made it through medical school. Father Mulcahy was polite and helpful, but Cpl. Klinger's main objective was to get a "Section 8" from the U.S. Army so that he'd be discharged. To get his precious "Section 8", Klinger wore women's dresses instead of his uniform. As a side note, the only major character from the film that was not included in the TV series was another doctor named Capt. Augustus Bedford 'Duke' Forrest (played originally by Tom Skerritt). <
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>The second season of "M*A*S*H" that aired between 1973 and 1974 had the following 24 episodes: <
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>1. "Divided We Stand". Thanks to reports filed by Majors Burns & Houlihan, General Clayton (Herb Voland, 1918-1981) sends a psychiatrist (Anthony Holland) to check out the 4077th. <
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>2. "5 O'Clock Charlie". In one of the show's most memorable episodes, a bumbling North Korean pilot tries to bomb a ammunition dump located next to the 4077th with everyone betting daily on how close his bomb falls. Maj. Burns, of course, wants to take matters into his own hands with an anti-aircraft gun. <
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>3. "Radar's Report". Radar writes his weekly unit report that includes Dr. Freedman (Allan Arbus) coming to examine Klinger. <
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>4. "For the Good of the Outfit". Hawkeye & Trapper try to get the Army to apologize for bombing a civilian village. <
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>5. "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde". After working non-stop for three days with no sleep, Hawkeye has a bit of a nervous breakdown. <
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>6. "Kim". Trapper wants to adopt a seemingly orphaned Korean boy, but his mother finally shows up. <
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>7. "L.I.P.". A soldier that is going to be sent home wants to marry a Korean girl so that she can go with him to the states. <
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>8. "The Trial of Henry Blake". Majors Burns & Houlihan take Henry to court in an effort to oust him from command, including having Hawkeye & Trapper falsely arrested to prevent them from helping him. <
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>9. "Dear Dad... Three". Hawkeye writes to his father again, telling him about an enemy soldiered operated on that had a grenade on his body among other things. <
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>10. "The Sniper". An enemy sniper has all 4077th personnel in hiding. <
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>11. "Carry On Hawkeye". The entire camp comes down with a flu, except for Margaret & Hawkeye who must do everything. <
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>12. "The Incubator". Hawkeye & Trapper do everything they can to try and get an incubator to help diagnose pathogens, and Radar saves the day. <
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>13. "Deal Me Out". Dr. Freedman visits to play poker while Radar accidently hits an old Korean man, among other things. <
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>14. "Hot Lips and Empty Arms". Margaret decides to break up with Frank and asks for a transfer, then she gets a little drunk. <
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>15. "Officers Only". The gift of a new officer's club at the 4077th doesn't set well with everyone when enlisted personnel are denied entry. <
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>16. "Henry in Love". Henry falls in love with a much younger woman, but Radar places a call between Henry and his wife back home. <
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>17. "For Want of a Boot". Hawkeye creates a bizarre series of trades just to get a new pair of army boots. <
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>18. "Operation Noselift". Hawkeye & Trapper help a soldier get a nose job while trying to keep Frank & Margaret from finding out. <
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>19. "The Chosen People". A displaced Korean family sets up home in the middle of the 4077th and one of them claims that Radar is father to one of their children. <
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>20. "As You Were". Trapper & Hawkeye put Frank in a crate and ship him out, then the camp comes under a barrage of shelling from the American side. <
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>21. "Crisis". When supply lines are cut, Radar has to force everyone to double-up in their tents to save what little supplies are left. <
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>22. "George". Frank tries to get a soldier dishonorably discharged for what he told Frank, thinking that Frank was a priest. <
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>23. "Mail Call". A sad letter makes Trapper want to desert. <
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>24. "A Smattering of Intelligence". Col. Flagg (Edward Winter, 1937-2001) and another intelligence officer battle their wits. <
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>Overall, I rate the second 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.