Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

M*A*S*H

Although I can't say I remember watching original episodes of MASH, I can remember hearing my dad laughing out loud in the family room while watching, as I lay in my bed trying to go to sleep in our first family home in Vacaville. I discovered the show for myself in 2003 while I was living with my Sister and Brother In-Law during Paramedic school.

I think the show is brilliant, and I know there are plenty of others out there who agree with me, but maybe not many my age. It's got potty humor, intellectual humor, social commentary, political commentary, discussions about faith and genuine human emotions. MASH tackled topics like homosexuals in the military way before "don't ask don't tell". Not to mention that this is still a topic that is unresolved in modern day discussions. So now that I've spewed my affection for this oldie but goodie, here are some fun facts about the show...

-MASH ran for 11 seasons from 1972-1982 (251 episodes)

-MASH was based on a movie by the same name, based on a book with the same name (the movie is good too. I haven't read the book)

-The MASH finale (Goodbye, Farewell and Amen) was the most watched primetime telecast in of all time (50.15 million households,)

-Harry Morgan (Col. Potter) made his first appearance on the show as the insane General Bartford Hamilton Steele. A one time roll of a character not related to the one he would play for the next 8 seasons. MASH often reused actors for multiple/unrelated roles. It can be confusing if you watch them in sequence

-Gary Burghoff (radar O-Reilly) was the only actor to star in the movie and TV series (two other actors from the movie made appearances, but did not have long term roles)

-In the Movie and the TV series there was an African American character named "spear chucker" ! How un-PC can you get?

-Klinger, Hawkeye, and BJ all actually served in the military. Jamie Farr (Klinger) wears his actual dog tags in the show. BJ was a Marine and Hawk and Max served in the Army in... you guessed it, Korea!

-Hawkeye was the nick name of Benjamin Franklin Pierce which he claims was given to him by his father after reading the book, The Last Of The Mohicans.

-There were two spinoffs of MASH. W*A*L*T*E*R which focused on Radar returning home and joining a police department, and  AfterMASH which featured a few of the characters post-war in a midwestern hospital.

-The reaction that Radar gave when finding out that Henry Blake died was real! The producers never told him about the death of the character until moments before shooting the scene where radar gets the bad news (one of the saddest scenes in the entire series).

-MASH was the first prime time show to use the term "son of a bitch" on the air

MASH still runs on quite a few channels everyday. Set your TiVo or DVR and check out a few episodes. And don't worry... it's OK to laugh out loud.

B