Rating: Summary: Finally!` Review: Okay, I have been waiting a long time for MASH to come out on DVD (or even video for that matter). I bought this a week ago and love it!! So what there aren't any fancy features like interviews, and trivia etc... You want trivia go get a PC game. This is the greatest TV show of all time. We don't need no stinking trivia. The color is beautiful. They used the remastered shows and the set up is great. I HIGHLY reccommend this DVD and others to come for those die hard MASH fans like me and even those of you who have never seen the show. It is worth every cent!
Rating: Summary: M*A*S*H-addicted. Review: When I was in college, M*A*S*H reruns came on at 10:30PM, right after the local news. Religiously, I would watch the news, then M*A*S*H, then study (like I supposed to)...and definitely in that order! Luckily, my M*A*S*H habit didn't interfere with my school work but truly, this is one of my fondest college-days memory. At that time, when all we had were VCRs, I seriously considered attempting to record each show and create my own library of M*A*S*H episodes. Well, procrastination has paid off...in spades! 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has finally realized that the incredible syndication calls for this show could easily be capitalized on via DVD sales. This (finally) was a marketing stroke of genius for I know, just from reading the reviews here, there are many M*A*S*H addicts like myself.To get a few credits out of the way, Larry Gelbart deserves the lion's share of the credit for creating an incredibly lasting television series (tough to do these days) from Robert Altman's 1970 big screen offering. However, the missing piece to many of the accolades and praises for M*A*S*H is Robert Hooker (a/k/a Richard Hornberger, M.D.). Hooker penned the M*A*S*H novel in 1968 (his book created the introduction of the beloved characters of Hawkeye, Hot Lips Houlihan, and Trapper John McIntyre. Hooker sold the rights to the book and television show for only a few hundred dollars!). Regardless, we have a cast of characters to thank for this incredible tome of offbeat comedy (although Gelbart still reigns as King). The Early years....Many of my friends as well as many reviewers feel that M*A*S*H was somewhat inhibited by the presence of Frank Burns and Margaret Houlihan. While Margaret endured the entire run of the show and became an integral character, Frank was eventually removed in favor of Charles Winchester (not my favorite move). At a very basic level, Frank Burns was a focal character in the First Season so I must disagree with my friends and the reviewers. Frank was necessary to create the incredibly funny hijinxs pulled by Hawkeye and Trapper...there just needed to be a fall guy and Frank Burns (played stupendiously by Larry Linville) was perfect. For instance, in the first episode, "M*A*S*H - The Pilot," Hawkeye and Trapper are attempting to raise funds for Ho-Jon, a South Korean boy befriended by Hawkeye and Trapper, to attend college in the U.S. Hawkeye comes up with the nefarious idea of raffling off a weekend with Lt. Dish (played by Karen Phillip). However, before the idea can get off the ground, Henry has to leave the camp to attend a meeting in Seoul and rescinds the weekend passes. Radar clandestinely has Henry (unknowingly) sign the passes before Henry's departure (quick aside...I loved Radar as the sneaky rather than the innocent, gullible clerk). With Henry gone, Frank is the temporary commander and immediately bans any and all social functions. Not to be outdone, Hawkeye and Trapper sedate Frank, wrap his face in gauze, and put him in a bed in Post-Op to hide him from Hot Lips. The raffle ensues only to be cut short by Gen. Hammond (played by G. Wood) and Henry (by the way, Father Mulcahy won the raffle!). Concurrent with the arrival of Gen. Hammond and Henry, Hot Lips finds Frank (when she turns him over to administer a shot!) and brings Frank into the Mess Tent where the festivities are being held. All-in-all, this story and its incredibly hilarious plot would not have been possible with someone like Frank Burns. The episodes by disc: DISC ONE - 1) M*A*S*H-The Pilot, 2) To Maret, To Market, 3) Requiem for a Lightweight, 4) Cheif Surgeon Who?, 5) The Moose, 6) Yankee Doodle Doctor, 7) Bananas, Crackers and Nuts, 8) Cowboy. DISC TWO - 1) Henry, Please Come Home, 2) I Hate a Mystery, 3) Germ Warfare, 4) Dear Dad, 5) Edwina (one of my favorites), 6) Love Story, 7) Tuttle (another great episode!), 8) The Ringbanger. DISC THREE - 1) Sometimes You Hear the Bullet, 2) Dear Dad...Again, 3) The Longjohn Flap, 4) The Army-Navy Game, 5) Sticky Wicket, 6) Major Fred C. Dobbs, 7) Cease Fire, 8) Showtime. For those who grew up with this incredible series, this DVD set is a must. I anxiously await the Second Season offering.
Rating: Summary: Well worth the money Review: My husband and I are real M*A*S*H fans, we both watched the show on CBS and loved it. We were thrilled to see that M*A*S*H is on DVD now--we thought we'd missed out when we didn't buy the series on VHS. The complaints from some reviewers about having to go back to the start screen to access each show doesn't bother us. We love the fact that the shows on the DVDs are in order. This gives us the ability to see the progression of the characters through the years. The DVD's showing the flag with 48 stars is CORRECT--Alaska and Hawaii did not attain statehood until 1959. The Korean war ended in 1953. If you are a fan of the M*A*S*H series and you've missed some of the shows in syndication or you have missed out on the VHS series (which was more expensive) get the DVD's! It's well worth the money.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful Review: This DVD set of the first season of MASH is wonderful. It looks beautiful. Its great to see these Great episodes uncut for the firs time in years. I have watched the series constantly in reruns and I don't even remember some of these scenes I am seeing. I can't wait for season two. My only complaint is that it does not have a feature to play all the episodes one after another, instead you have to navigate between each episode which is fine but if they added a play all feature to the rest of the seasons that would be nice. But either way I will get every season.
Rating: Summary: Brilliant Review: Like other reviewers, my collection of this classic television series was comprised of fuzzy VHS recordings (my previous VCR ate of the tapes several years ago, causing much consternation in my home that evening). Simply put, M*A*S*H was one of the best shows ever put on television (in my opinion, the best sit-com of all time and the best show of any kind of the 1970's), and the digital format forever lays to rest the possibility that my VCR will destroy my cherished episodes. Twenty-four episodes--all of season one--are packed into this three-disc set, and the price is very reasonable. Without the commercials, the episodes are about 22 minutes each and are uniformly excellent, packed with great comedic moments as well as touching sadness as these brilliant actors and writers brought home the Korean war with humor, humility and powerful insight. Although all the years of M*A*S*H are worth watching, the first few might be a bit stronger because of the comedy value. This set is definitely worth owning, and the liner notes indicate that Season Two will be released in several months. I can't wait.
Rating: Summary: Well done Review: I enjoyed being able to turn off the original laugh track. It could only have been improved if there had been more extras. If there is any behind the scene clips, deleted scenes, or other common extras.
Rating: Summary: The first 3 seasons were the best... Review: It is great to finally have M*A*SH on DVD. And I would hope that most true fans would agree that the first 3 seasons were definitely the best within the entire run of the series. These are the episodes featuring (among others) McClean Stevenson as Henry Blake and Wayne Rogers as Trapper John. In other words, the truly funny, brilliantly written shows overseen by Larry Gelbart and Co. These were the shows BEFORE Hotlips turned into Margaret (yawn) and Trapper John and Henry were replaced by the stale, unfunny and overall really boring characters of B.J. and Col. Potter. Frank Burns (who also eventually disapeared) provided a great foil for Hawkeye and Trapper John as is evidenced in these early episodes. It's too bad that by the 4th season the show took itself way too seriously and lost it "edge" by becomoing So Politically Correct. These DVD's remind me of what great potential the series intially had when the really good writers and the ORIGINAL characters were involved. I can't wait for seasons #2 and 3 to be released...(Just don't notify me about the nausiating - and wildly popular(!?) - final episode finally makes it to DVD!) An original fan in Mpls
Rating: Summary: EVERY episode has EXTRA scenes Review: Every one of these episodes has extra or extended scenes here in it's uncut form.The episodes were trimmed (as all series are) when they started playing in syndication in 1979. Also, the length of these early 70's episodes is longer than the standard length for today's half-hour series.If you watched these episodes over and over in syndication (like me), you'll really notice the extra material when it pops up. By the way, the first three seasons of MASH (1972-1973, 1973-1974, 1974-1975) are by far the best of the series.
Rating: Summary: All the laughs, none of the social comment Review: Like most fans of the M*A*S*H series, I have seen most episodes numerous times in syndication over the years. I've always preferred the first two or three seasons, when the humor was more important than the social commentary, so this set of the first season is a godsend for me. It's great to see scenes that aren't available anymore, as the shows have been trimmed over the years to make room for more commercials. It seems like each episode has a good two minutes that have been cut. No real extras (except perhaps the option to watch without the laugh track), but it's a great set on its own.
Rating: Summary: Great season, Great series, Great value. Review: I am a huge fan of the TV show, but living in South Africa, reruns can be somewhat erratic and I have only ever seen one or two episodes of the first season. What a luxury to have all 24 episodes on one DVD pack that is so well-priced. This box set is a treasure. I have always thought the original cast was the best and the writing was at its most crisp and hilarious in those early years and I can't wait for the second and third seasons to be released. This is truly a very worthy addition to my shelf and will provide many hours of satisfaction over repeated viewings.
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