
A classic no one should miss

I remember watching this in syndication when I was about 5 years old. MASH was still on the air for about 2 more years on CBS, so I got to see a lot of early programs while watching the end. I dont remember seeing the final episode until about 10 years ago on FX, and it can easily be said it's the most powerful, emotional episode in the entire series. It ranks right next to Colonel Henry Blake leaving MASH and Radar goes home as the hardest episodes to sit through without getting very emotional. MASH did something that very few TV shows before or since have ever done: it took a very real time in American history, and managed to convey humor and the seriousness of a situation. While episodes like Trapper and Hawkeye going to Tokyo and turning the town upside down, and the constant drag attempts like Klinger to get out are always balanced by Henry Blake not getting home, soldiers losing their sight or limbs, racism and nepotism. While it got a little preachy towards the end, the humor and characters were still present. Most shows when they startlosing major players, the quality immediately drops. Not so with MASH. While Henry Blake left, quickly followed by Trapper John, they were replaced by the very fatherly Colonel Father and BJ Honeycutt. Not long after, the bumbling Frank Burns was replaced by Charles Emerson Winchester. Then Radar went home. Every character had it's great strengths and weaknesses, and each one made the show in their own way. For every prank that Hawkeye and Trapper or BJ played on Burns, it came back when they tried to do it to Winchester. I think for every generation growing up, it should be required viewing to see what quality television really was. Too many people think 'quality' is Friends, Seinfeld, Everyone Loves Raymond. Fact of the matter is, television died back in the mid 90s when shows like Roseanne and Home Improvement, Cheers and Fraiser all left the air.
Review ID: 10000000007272650

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