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[[File:MASH.jpg|frame|Seasons 1-3 cast. Left to right: Frank "Ferret Face" Burns, Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, Henry Blake, "Trapper" John McIntyre, John Patrick Francis Mulcahy, Walter "Radar" O’Reilly, and Maxwell Q. Klinger]]
 
One of the most commercially and critically successful series in television history, ''M*A*S*H'' ([[Fun Withwith Acronyms|short for]] ''[[wikipedia:Mobile Army Surgical Hospital|Mobile Army Surgical Hospital]]'', a type of Army field hospital first activated in the last month of [[World War II]]) is, to quote its lead character Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda), "Finest kind."
 
The show ran on [[CBS]] [[Long Runner|from 1972 to 1983]], seven years longer than [[The Korean War]] during which it takes place. At first seen as a wacky, slightly edgy sitcom based on [[MashM*A*S*H (Filmfilm)|Robert Altman's 1970 movie]], the series moved away from strictly comedic storylines early in its run (Season 1's "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" was the first [[Tear Jerker]]), and began to incorporate dramatic plotlines in conjunction with comedic ones in the same episode.
 
"Abyssinia, Henry" was the final episode of the third season, and is seen as a turning point for the series. It was the final episode for both Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) and "Trapper" John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers), and its tragic ending (Henry's plane home is shot down; "there were no survivors") delineated the line between "Funny ''M*A*S*H''" and "Dramatic ''M*A*S*H''," as many fans would later divide the series. The fourth season was crucial to its success -- very few series, ensemble or otherwise, had ever lost such significant characters and kept its audience. The creators' decision to replace Henry and Trapper with completely different character types in Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) and BJ Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell) succeeded, and the show built on its high [[Ratings]].
 
In the "Dramatic ''M*A*S*H''" phase, character development was key, and even one-note characters such as "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) became more sympathetic and complex (as seen in Season 5's "The Nurses," in which she asked her nurses, "When did one of you ever even offer me a lousy cup of coffee?"). This shift probably led to Frank Burns (Larry Linville) getting a psychiatric discharge, since he had been developed as an unlikeable character with no room for change (Larry Linville even stated dislike for the character being so unlikeable). He was replaced by Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers), a snooty [[Blue Blood]] doctor who was by contrast a real asset to the staff and even eventually becomes a nicer guy in [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold|his own way]].
 
Other ways in which the series changed how the [[Sit ComSitcom]] was perceived was by its use (or disuse) of the [[Laugh Track]], commonly imposed by the networks if a studio audience was not going to be present at the episodes' filming. The show's creators grudgingly accepted the laugh track, but soon imposed rules on when it was not to be used (during any of the operating room scenes), and dropped it entirely in certain nontypical episodes. Eventually they abandoned it entirely. The laugh track was never used when the series was broadcast by the BBC in the UK. (The DVDs of the series offer the option to watch the shows with or without the laugh track intact.)
 
''M*A*S*H'' revolutionized the use of camera movements and editing styles on television -- for example, in its use of long [[Tracking Shot|tracking shots]] moving with the action (usually of soldiers being moved from helicopter/bus/Jeep to the OR). Also, later in its run it experimented with unusual storylines married with different camera moves and screen devices.
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Its [[Grand Finale|final episode]] -- "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (aired February 28, 1983) -- was, for twenty-five years, the highest-rated TV program in United States history, with a 60.2 rating (percent of households watching) and a 77 share (percent of households watching, ''of those watching some program at that time''). It still holds that record for non-sports programming.
 
Considering that [[Mash (Literature)|the original novel]] consisted mostly of young doctors boasting about [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|how much sex they have]] and shows a truly awful degree of sexism <ref>"Trapper" got his nickname for using a train toilet to take advantage of his prom date and nobody seems to care that this may have been rape as long as he 'got some'; 'Me Lay' is famous for using his absurdly crass pick-up line - "Me lay, you lay" - to acquire a stupendous 'batting average'; the ''doctors''' only interest in the epileptic whore down at the local brothel is in how much fun it is to have your penis inside her when she has a seizure; the reputation of the unit depends in part on the size of the dentist's male organ; the list goes on and on.</ref> to produce such a long, successful and at times thoughtful series is a fine example of [[Pragmatic Adaptation]], a very nice change in a world full of [[Adaptation Decay]]. Of course, Dr. Richard Hornberger, one-half of the writing team behind the pseudonymous author of the original book and allegedly [[Author Avatar|the model for Hawkeye]], didn't see it that way, and was known to rant about it at length (in a sequel, ''MASH Mania'', he has his version of Hawkeye remark how he enjoys going down to the State University to "kick the shit out of a few liberals").
 
Fun fact: Alan Alda was inspired to take over creative control of the show because he desperately needed the money that came with more responsibility. A year before, his business manager "invested" his entire fortune in a [[Ponzi]] scheme without his knowledge or approval. Alda lost almost everything.
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Has now a character page (under construction).
 
See also the TV Trope page on the novel ''[[Mash (Literature)|Mash]]''.
 
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=== ''[[M*A*S*H (TV)|M*A*S*H]]'' provides examples of: ===
 
* [[Absentee Actor]]: None of the cast besides Alan Alda appeared in every episode. In fact, in season 4's "Hawkeye", Alda is the ''only'' regular to appear.
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** Painless is more of an [[Unseen Character]], being mentioned but rarely if ever actually appearing. The only dentist actually shown on screen who was stationed at the 4077 appears in one episode, completely paranoid about being injured in the last few hours before he goes home. (He does get injured, crashing the jeep as he's driving out of camp because he insisted on driving the jeep himself instead of allowing his assigned driver to do it.)
*** Painless shows before, to put a crown on Blake's tooth in ''Major Fred C. Dobbs.''
* [[A Day in Thethe Limelight]]: Numerous times, generally at least once a season.
* [[After Show]]: The show's spin-off ''[[After MASH (TV)|After MASH]]'' is the trope namer.
* [[All Asians Are Alike]]
* [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]: Spearchucker Jones. There were, in fact, black doctors in Korea, and Spearchucker was based on a doctor Richard Hooker heard about at the 8055. Too bad the executives [[Did Not Do the Research|didn't look into it first]].
* [[Ambiguously Jewish]]: Sidney Freedman
* [[An Arm and Aa Leg]]: Several episodes dealt with patients who lost limbs in battle and were coming to grips with the results.
** Happens to Hawkeye in a nightmare in which a Medical School Professor ordering the removal of his arms symbolizes his frustration at not being able to save every patient.
* [[Anachronism Stew]]: Although the show tended to be good about actual history, there were times that the research broke down.
** In one episode, both ''[[Godzilla]]'' and ''[[The Blob (Film)|The Blob]]'' are referenced. Neither of those movies were released during the Korean War (''Gojira'': 1954/''Godzilla, King of the Monsters'': 1955, ''The Blob'': 1958).
** In another episode, Radar is shown to have an ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]]'' comic book (of 1970s vintage, no less) among his collection.
** Also, the "points" system referenced was no longer current for rotation of officers.
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** Several times, Korean soldiers are shown with AK-47-type rifles ([http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/M*A*S*H_(TV_Series)#Valmet_M71 actually stand-ins]) before any communist nation even issued them yet.
** In one episode Radar hands out Hershey bars with UPC symbols on the back wrapper to recovering patients.
* [[Animated Adaptation|Animated Parody]]: Filmation's ''M*U*S*H'', a segment of the Saturday Morning Kid's Show ''[[Uncle CrocsCroc's Block]]''
* [[Anonymous Benefactor]]: Charles, in "Death Takes a Holiday".
* [[April Fool's Plot]]: "April Fools"
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* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: And how.
* [[Chain of Deals]]: "For Want of a Boot", "The Long-John Flap", "The Price of Tomato Juice"
* [[Character Asas Himself]]: "Tuttle" has its title character billed this way.
* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
* [[Christmas Episode]]: Several. More, in fact, than there were actual Christmases during the war.
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* [[Dartboard of Hate]]: BJ and Klinger make one with Radar's face in "Period of Adjustment".
* [[Dawson Casting]]: Gary Burghoff played 18-year-old farmboy Radar well into his thirties.
* [[Day in Thethe Life]]: The letter home episodes
* [[A Day in Thethe Limelight]]
* [[Dead Person Impersonation]]
* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Margaret Houlihan.
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'''Klinger:''' Yes sir. *''beat''* I don't deserve to be in the Army. }}
* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: Colonel Potter has a Good Conduct medal, which (as he points out to Radar at one point), only an enlisted man can receive. He also stated he started performing surgery in 1932. If he was still in the Army, he should have automatically been made a Captain at that point, a full 10 years before Good Conduct medals were instituted.
** Another is [[Bus Crash|Henry's death]]. No allied transport plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. For virtually the entirety of the Korean War, allied air forces controlled the skies. For all intents and purposes, the moment Henry stepped on the plane, he was safe. This [[They Just Didn't Care|was more intentional]] by the writers than anything, if only to prevent [[Trope Namer|McLean Stevenson]] [[McLeaned|from returning to the role after leaving]] [[Killed Off for Real|by killing off his character]] [[Dropped a Bridge Onon Him|in the most dramatic way possible]], and show that war could take anyone at any time.
*** The notion that Henry was killed off as he was to underscore the inherently hazardous environment is supported by the next episode (at the beginning of season 4) introducing BJ. Just on the way from the airport at Kimpo back to the 4077, the three are shown coming under fire twice (once from infiltrators, and once from mortars) and encounter a family checking for mines in a could-be field.
** Well, that's not true: [http://koreanwar.defense.gov/factsheetusairforcekw.html the first US plane shot down in the war] was a transport plane.
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* [[Dr. Jerk]]: Burns as an incompetent version and Winchester as a highly competent one.
* [[Drowning My Sorrows]]
* [[Drunk Withwith Power]]
* [[Dueling Shows]]: ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]''
** Not the first time it ran; ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' ran from 1965 to 1971; ''M*A*S*H*'' started in 1972. They ''are'' [[Dueling Shows]] in reruns, though.
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** [[Fridge Brilliance|Since the show takes place over the three years]] of [[The Korean War]], most of the characters don't meet the time-in-service requirements to ''get'' promoted.
* [[Local Hangout]]: Rosie's. Also, the Officers' Club.
* [[Locked in Aa Room]]: Happens to Trapper and Margaret in an early episode.
* [[The Loins Sleep Tonight]]: Hawkeye, in "Some 38th Parallels"
* [[Loud of War]]: In one episode, Hawkeye and BJ got in a showdown with Charles -- he had a french horn they didn't like him playing, so they refused to shower until he stopped; he refused to stop.
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** A vehicle example: in the finale, a tank is driven into the compound by a wounded tanker. After it starts drawing enemy mortar fire, Hawkeye drives it out of the camp. The tank driven into the camp is an [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/M24-Chaffee-latrun-1.jpg M24 Chaffee light tank]; the tank Hawkeye drives out is an [http://www.usarmymodels.com/AFV%20PHOTOS/M4%20SHERMAN/M4%20Sherman%20Front%20Left.jpg M4 Sherman medium tank]. The two look nothing alike.
* [[Out, Damned Spot!]]: Captain Newsome in "Heal Thyself."
* [[Out Withwith a Bang]]: "Iron Guts Kelly"
* [[Patriotic Fervor]]: Frequently displayed by Frank Burns and (especially) Colonel Flagg.
* [[Pin Pulling Teeth]]: Frank pulls a pin out of a grenade with his teeth and spits it away before panicking and desperately searching for the pin.
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** Although the man Radar was based on (in the book) says he did it just by really paying attention (so he'd hear things like incoming choppers before other people would).
* [[Pungeon Master]]: Most of the characters at times, but Hawkeye and BJ in particular.
* [[Put Onon a Bus]]: Henry, Trapper, Frank, Radar. (In Henry's case, the bus [[Bus Crash|crashed]].)
** Each of these people [[Continuity Nod|get a mention]] in the final two episodes: Hawkeye and BJ contribute items once belonging to Radar and Henry for the time capsule, they explain to Charles that nothing of Frank's would be included due to his incompetence, and when {{spoiler|BJ leaves for home in the series finale without leaving Hawkeye a farewell note}}, Hawkeye laments that "Trapper did the same thing".
* [[Put Onon a Bus Toto Hell]]: Trapper in a minor example, at least from Haweye's point of view. His not leaving a note ([[Ho Yay|only a goodbye peck on the cheek]]) clearly upset Hawkeye and has been picked up on by many a fanfic.
** Of course, in real life, it was a "[[Take That]]" against actor Wayne Rogers, who had acrimoniously left the show because he was fed up with the fact that Trapper was being treated as a sidekick instead of an equal. In addition, he was also greatly frustrated with a "morals clause" in his contract, which stated he could be suspended or fired if he did anything the producers found objectionable. When Rogers left, in fact, the producers actually sued him for breach of contract, but their case fell apart when it was discovered that Rogers didn't even sign the contract in the first place, due to the clause issue.
* [[Rashomon Style]]: "The Novocaine Mutiny" has Hawkeye and Frank narrating very different versions of the same events during a court-martial hearing.
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* [[Reckless Gun Usage]]: Frank Burns, who seems dangerously unaware of basic firearm safety for a military officer. He has both wounded a fellow officer (BJ) and shot himself in the foot.
* [[Recurring Character]]: Col. Flagg, Sidney Freedman
* [[Recycled: Thethe Series]]
* [[Retirony]]: the soldiers who died often suffered from this, as did Henry Blake.
** BJ takes extreme measures to negate some of the irony in "Death Takes a Holiday".
* [[Red Wire Blue Wire]]
* [[Reunion Show]]: ''Memories of M*A*S*H'' (1991) featured clips and pre-recorded interviews with the cast members; ''30th Anniversary Reunion'' (2002) had the producers and surviving cast members getting together for a roundtable discussion.
* [[Right Onon the Tick]]: Five O'clock Charlie
* [[Running Gag]]:
** For no readily apparent reason, every episode that features Colonel Flagg also features someone named Perkins - usually with the rank of Captain, and usually not their actual name. Also, not actually a gag.
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** Actually more of a [[Did Not Do the Research]] followed up by a [[Hand Wave]]. Hawkeye was from Maine and an only child in both the novel and the movie, and it was an error on the part of the early writers. When they discovered their mistake, they just blithely started using the existing backstory [[Author's Saving Throw|hoping nobody would notice...]] A better example of a [[Series Continuity Error]] would be Col. Potter stated to be from Montana before the writers settled on him hailing from Hannibal, MO.
* [[Ship Tease]]: A few episode hint at the fact that Margaret and Hawkeye actually have feelings for each other... some do more than just hint it... and their last interaction is a decent length, passionate kiss in the series finale.
** Early Winchester episodes suggested that he'd become Frank's replacement in more way than one by hinting at an upcoming [[Relationship Upgrade|relationship upgrade]] between him and Margaret, but that never came to fruition.
* [[Shout-Out]]: Folksinger Loudon Wainwright III appeared in a couple Season 3 episodes as a "Captain Spaulding", a clear Shout Out to [[The Marx Brothers|Groucho Marx]]'s ''Animal Crackers'' character.
** For a short while in S4, they had a really big thing for referencing ''[[The Shadow]]'' in almost every episode.
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* [[Shirtless Scene]]: Any scene in the showers. Depending on the actor, this was either [[Fan Service]] or [[Squick]].
* [[Significant Reference Date]]: During the PA announcement at the end of "Welcome to Korea".
* [[Sit ComSitcom]]
* [[Small Name, Big Ego]]: Frank Burns
* [[Snowball Lie]]: "Tuttle" and "Bombshells", among others.
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* [[Tricksters]]: Hawkeye, Trapper, BJ, and on occasion, Winchester.
** Father Mulcahy can be one from time to time, engaging in the camp poker games and pools to raise money for the local orphanage, and usually walking away with the other trickster's money.
* [[True Companions]]: Near the end of the series, when Winchester and Margaret had [[Character Development|developed]] into [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold|jerks with hearts of gold]], the main cast were a slightly vitriolic version of this.
* [[Tsundere]]: Margaret, especially toward Hawkeye. Her dere-dere side was revealed in "Comrades In Arms, Part 1", and then Double-Subverted in "Comrades In Arms, Part 2" -- she began '''and''' ended the latter episode with a friendly chat with Hawkeye, but they had quite a few disagreements in between.
* [[Two Lines, No Waiting]]: Frequently, especially in later seasons.
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