The classic Korean War-set sitcom series "M*A*S*H" seems like it's almost universally beloved, but over the years it managed to collect its fair share of high-profile haters. Perhaps the most famous of all is director Robert Altman, who helmed the 1970 movie of the same name but absolutely loathed the television series. He made his dislike of the series very clear and even claimed that he hated everyone involved (which is a little harsh), saying some less-than-flattering things about the show's star, Alan Alda, who played Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce. He wasn't the only person involved with a previous version of "M*A*S*H" to absolutely abhor the dramedy series or even Alda, however, as the author of the book that inspired both the movie and series hated Hawkeye.
In an interview with Newsweek, author Richard Hornberger once said that the series "tramples on my memories" because he wrote the novel "Mash:...
In an interview with Newsweek, author Richard Hornberger once said that the series "tramples on my memories" because he wrote the novel "Mash:...
- 3/26/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
The long-running Korean War sitcom series "M*A*S*H" was full of fun, fascinating characters, but the heart and soul of the series was Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (portrayed by actor Alan Alda). The series balanced serious story beats with outrageous comedy, and that required a lead who could carry both with heart. To that end, Hawkeye was a complex character, a womanizer who drank dry gin martinis and played practical jokes but was also an excellent surgeon and loyal friend. Over the show's 11 seasons, he would fall in lust, fall in love, form a surprisingly deep friendship with head nurse Major Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit), and grow tremendously in his treatment of women, but in the beginning Alda had to figure out exactly how to play such a ladies' man. Thankfully, the terrific actor was able to improvise and improve the series from his very first scene, making Hawkeye a character...
- 2/24/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
One of television's greatest cads is Army surgeon Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, played by Alan Alda, on the classic sitcom series M*A*S*H. He's almost always hooking up with one nurse or another, but in one special episode, audiences got to see what happened when a woman truly captured his heart. In the season 4 episode "The More I See You," a nurse named Carlye ends up working in the Mash 4077 unit, and Hawkeye recognized her as the only woman (at that point) he had ever loved. She broke his heart and might even explain why he has such a negative view of marriage and even monogamy throughout the series, and their reunion is as chaotic as you might expect.
Carlye is played by actor Blythe Danner in the episode, and she's absolutely fantastic. She manages to feel totally at home in the world of "M*A*S*H...
Carlye is played by actor Blythe Danner in the episode, and she's absolutely fantastic. She manages to feel totally at home in the world of "M*A*S*H...
- 2/3/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
It's easy to forget that "M*A*S*H" was actually a period piece. The acclaimed sitcom was filmed in the '70s and borrowed liberally from compassionate discussions surrounding the Vietnam War, but it took place two decades earlier, in 1950s Korea. Despite anachronistic '70s mustaches, a timeline that reimagined the relatively short Korean War as near-endless, and the occasional not-retro-enough prop, the show still worked hard to bring a fairly accurate vision of the 1950s to life.
Sometimes, that meant referencing movies that were made in the 1930s and '40s, like "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Good Earth." In other instances, though, the series got ahead of itself, name-dropping movies that hadn't been released yet. The show's masterpiece series finale, the feature-length concluding story "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," apparently almost included a reference that straddled the line between anachronism and timeliness. According to The Hollywood Reporter's 35th-anniversary spotlight on the finale,...
Sometimes, that meant referencing movies that were made in the 1930s and '40s, like "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Good Earth." In other instances, though, the series got ahead of itself, name-dropping movies that hadn't been released yet. The show's masterpiece series finale, the feature-length concluding story "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," apparently almost included a reference that straddled the line between anachronism and timeliness. According to The Hollywood Reporter's 35th-anniversary spotlight on the finale,...
- 1/8/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Recently, more than half a century after its premiere, Fox released a retrospective special about the storied anti-war sitcom "M*A*S*H" that included rare and previously unseen interviews with the show's cast and crew. When they weren't reminiscing about their characters and opening up about cast changes over the years, former members of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital discussed episodes of the show that broke the TV mold, pushing the medium beyond its established boundaries and yanking on viewers' heartstrings in unexpected ways.
Among the spotlighted episodes in "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television" was "The Interview," the season 4 finale that saw the show briefly take the form of a black-and-white war documentary. The late writer and executive producer Burt Metcalfe said the experiment took inspiration from Edward R. Murrow's 1950s newsreel show "See It Now," which included interviews in Korea during the war. "We'd always had a...
Among the spotlighted episodes in "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television" was "The Interview," the season 4 finale that saw the show briefly take the form of a black-and-white war documentary. The late writer and executive producer Burt Metcalfe said the experiment took inspiration from Edward R. Murrow's 1950s newsreel show "See It Now," which included interviews in Korea during the war. "We'd always had a...
- 1/7/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Over its 11-season run, "M*A*S*H" earned a reputation for pushing the boundaries of the sitcom format. Amazingly, mainstream audiences generally rolled with this conceptual adventurousness. Indeed, one of the series' most famously experimental episodes, "The Interview", is both a critical and fan favorite. As long as the writers stayed true to the characters, viewers were down for just about anything.
This boldness inspired the show's actors to get in on the fun and conjure up unconventional stories that dug deep into their characters' psyches. Cast members Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Mary Kay Place, and McLean Stevenson all wrote episodes, many of which were excellent.
But not everyone got their scripts into production and on the air. Gary Burghoff, who played the 4077th's boyish company clerk Corporal "Radar" O'Reilly, had a fascinatingly fanciful idea for an episode that impressed series creator Larry Gelbart. He was hopeful his script would go before cameras,...
This boldness inspired the show's actors to get in on the fun and conjure up unconventional stories that dug deep into their characters' psyches. Cast members Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Mary Kay Place, and McLean Stevenson all wrote episodes, many of which were excellent.
But not everyone got their scripts into production and on the air. Gary Burghoff, who played the 4077th's boyish company clerk Corporal "Radar" O'Reilly, had a fascinatingly fanciful idea for an episode that impressed series creator Larry Gelbart. He was hopeful his script would go before cameras,...
- 12/3/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Throughout its eleven season run, "M*A*S*H" was one of the best-written shows on television. The beloved Korean War-set sitcom effortlessly blended genres in a way that was rare for its time, balancing uproarious comedy with gut-wrenching tragedy. The show won an Emmy for its writing and was nominated for eleven more, even taking over two thirds of the nominations in 1974.
Even the best shows have some weak moments, though, and not every episode or story beat in "M*A*S*H" is a winner. Some of the show's plot points have aged poorly, especially in the early seasons, when jokester playboy Hawkeye's (Alan Alda) treatment of head nurse Margaret (Loretta Swit) crossed over into sexual harassment. Other bits are just silly, like a season 1 gag involving a gold spray-painted car that Alda often references as his and Wayne Rogers' barometer for how kooky the show could possibly get. "Wayne Rogers and I said to each other,...
Even the best shows have some weak moments, though, and not every episode or story beat in "M*A*S*H" is a winner. Some of the show's plot points have aged poorly, especially in the early seasons, when jokester playboy Hawkeye's (Alan Alda) treatment of head nurse Margaret (Loretta Swit) crossed over into sexual harassment. Other bits are just silly, like a season 1 gag involving a gold spray-painted car that Alda often references as his and Wayne Rogers' barometer for how kooky the show could possibly get. "Wayne Rogers and I said to each other,...
- 11/12/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
"M*A*S*H" might've been one of the most popular series of the 1970s and early '80s, but it never drew the eyeballs of the man who made the hit movie on which it was based.
Robert Altman's aversion to the show wasn't prompted by antipathy toward the medium. The legendary filmmaker directed loads of television before his film career caught fire, and returned to the small screen several times (most notably with the brilliant political satire "Tanner '88"). And while he was one of the most critically lauded directors to come out of the New Hollywood revolution, the man was no snob; aside from the anarchic bawdiness of "M*A*S*H," he knocked out shaggy genre flicks like "The Long Goodbye" and "Thieves Like Us," and deigned to shoot a live-action adaptation of a kids cartoon with "Popeye."
You'd think he would've enjoyed the CBS sitcom as much as the rest of us,...
Robert Altman's aversion to the show wasn't prompted by antipathy toward the medium. The legendary filmmaker directed loads of television before his film career caught fire, and returned to the small screen several times (most notably with the brilliant political satire "Tanner '88"). And while he was one of the most critically lauded directors to come out of the New Hollywood revolution, the man was no snob; aside from the anarchic bawdiness of "M*A*S*H," he knocked out shaggy genre flicks like "The Long Goodbye" and "Thieves Like Us," and deigned to shoot a live-action adaptation of a kids cartoon with "Popeye."
You'd think he would've enjoyed the CBS sitcom as much as the rest of us,...
- 11/5/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
The "M*A*S*H" finale is the stuff of legends. The end of the long-running Korean War sitcom, a two-and-a-half-hour-long conclusion called "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," aired over 40 years ago, yet it still holds space in the collective hearts and minds of Americans who witnessed it — and in the record books. Depending on how you measure it, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" is either still the most-watched TV telecast of all time outside of the moon landing (over 120 million people tuned in) or one that's since been bested mostly by Super Bowls (closer to 106 million people watched the complete episode).
Either way, the show's goodbye was impressive, as are the stories that surround its nation-uniting first broadcast. In a retrospective by The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, series writer David Pollock recalled the bare streets that accompanied the show's ending. After catching an early showing for the show's crew, he says, "We...
Either way, the show's goodbye was impressive, as are the stories that surround its nation-uniting first broadcast. In a retrospective by The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, series writer David Pollock recalled the bare streets that accompanied the show's ending. After catching an early showing for the show's crew, he says, "We...
- 10/29/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
More than 50 years after its premiere, "M*A*S*H" is still one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. The show became a phenomenon across its 11 seasons and bowed out on a high note with a finale that was watched by millions. The show also became so firmly entrenched in the cultural zeitgeist that decades later, viewers are still curious about the cast and the relationships behind the scenes. There have been some great recent reunions in recent years -- for one, Mike Farrell and Alan Alda read (and then criticized) an AI-written "M*A*S*H" script earlier this year. Unfortunately, several key "M*A*S*H" castmates have passed away over the years, leaving us to remember them through their work and through memories shared by loved ones and costars.
David Ogden Stiers, who played haughty newcomer Charles Winchester III in the later seasons of "M*A*S*H," passed away in 2018 at the age...
David Ogden Stiers, who played haughty newcomer Charles Winchester III in the later seasons of "M*A*S*H," passed away in 2018 at the age...
- 10/28/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
For "M*A*S*H" fans, the best time of year is pretty much whenever cast members from the beloved military comedic drama end up in the same place. It's rare to see these actors and artists, now mostly in their 80s, reunite, so when they do get together, it always feels like a special celebration. The most recent reunion came earlier this year when B.J. Hunnicutt actor Mike Farrell popped over to Alan Alda's long-running science and communication podcast "Clear+Vivid" to help him read a scene from "M*A*S*H." Except, there was a catch: the brand new scene from the show that ended back in 1983 was actually written by artificial intelligence, with some strong guidance from Alda.
If you recoiled a bit at the mention of AI writing there, that's totally understandable. But it's worth noting that this podcast was recorded before AI became...
If you recoiled a bit at the mention of AI writing there, that's totally understandable. But it's worth noting that this podcast was recorded before AI became...
- 8/16/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
When Greg Brockman, the president and co-founder of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, was recently extolling the capabilities of artificial intelligence, he turned to “Game of Thrones.”
Imagine, he said, if you could use AI to rewrite the ending of that not-so-popular finale. Maybe even put yourself into the show.
“That is what entertainment will look like,” said Brockman.
Not six months since the release of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence is already prompting widespread unease throughout Hollywood. Concern over chatbots writing or rewriting scripts is one of the leading reasons TV and film screenwriters took to picket lines earlier this week.
Though the Writers Guild of America is striking for better pay in an industry where streaming has upended many of the old rules, AI looms as rising anxiety.
“AI is terrifying,” said Danny Strong, the “Dopesick” and “Empire” creator. “Now, I’ve seen some of ChatGPT’s writing and as of...
Imagine, he said, if you could use AI to rewrite the ending of that not-so-popular finale. Maybe even put yourself into the show.
“That is what entertainment will look like,” said Brockman.
Not six months since the release of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence is already prompting widespread unease throughout Hollywood. Concern over chatbots writing or rewriting scripts is one of the leading reasons TV and film screenwriters took to picket lines earlier this week.
Though the Writers Guild of America is striking for better pay in an industry where streaming has upended many of the old rules, AI looms as rising anxiety.
“AI is terrifying,” said Danny Strong, the “Dopesick” and “Empire” creator. “Now, I’ve seen some of ChatGPT’s writing and as of...
- 5/5/2023
- by Anita Tai
- ET Canada
For seven seasons, audiences tuned in to watch the fictional Bartlet Administration face the pressures of running the office of President of the United States of America in "The West Wing." Created by Aaron Sorkin, the series ran from 1999 to 2006 on NBC and followed President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and his dedicated staff as they overcame crises on a domestic and global scale while maintaining public support. Widely acclaimed across its entire run, "The West Wing" was nominated for a staggering 95 Primetime Emmys and ultimately won 26, including a nomination for its 2021 reunion special.
Praised for its frank tackling of real-world issues and its idealistic depiction of a liberal-oriented federal government functioning relatively free of cynicism, "The West Wing" is still one of the most highly influential political dramas on television. However, with creative shake-ups behind-the-scenes and several longstanding storylines that didn't quite click, not every season is as sterling as its superior counterparts.
Praised for its frank tackling of real-world issues and its idealistic depiction of a liberal-oriented federal government functioning relatively free of cynicism, "The West Wing" is still one of the most highly influential political dramas on television. However, with creative shake-ups behind-the-scenes and several longstanding storylines that didn't quite click, not every season is as sterling as its superior counterparts.
- 4/7/2023
- by Samuel Stone
- Slash Film
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