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M*A*S*H - Season One (Collector's Edition)

M*A*S*H - Season One (Collector's Edition)

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $31.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: That's entertainment!
Review: Until very recently we on this side of the pond only saw quality shows like this once on first run only.To have a full season in one package to watch over and over again is fantastic.This is US comedy at its best.I can't wait for Season 2!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bring on the next 9 seasons
Review: Can't believe it's taken this long to get these on DVD, and the 2nd season is just coming out. We want the next 9 seasons, too! It won't take me a weekend to devour that 2nd season set.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Love it.
Review: Very enjoyable DVD set. Will get the next season as well. Love the ability to turn off the laugh track!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Season Ever!
Review: If you are or ever have been a fan of M*A*S*H, this is a must-own DVD set. Season One was the best season of the series. This is the season that started one of the most successful series ever made. It ran for 11 seasons, which is pretty good considering that the Korean War only lasted a couple of years.

Why was Season One the best? First, I believe this season best captured the satire that was originally intended in the book M*A*S*H, which was the inspiration for the series. Second, the original cast had the best characters in the series. Trapper John, Colonel Blake and Frank Burns were only around for a few seasons, and here is where they were at their best. The first two were almost adequately replaced when they left, but Major Winchester did little to fill the void when Frank Burns was gone. He was the guy you loved to hate. Third, unlike many other shows, the best episodes of the series were in the first season. You will find yourself cracking up through some episodes and almost in tears through others.

I will not list all of the episodes, but here are some of my favorites:

"Bananas, Crackers and Nuts" When Hawkeye and Trapper are denied R&R by acting CO Frank Burns, Hawkeye pretends to be crazy so that Frank will have to send him to Tokyo for a psych exam.

"Tuttle" My all-time favorite. Hawkeye and Trapper donate supplies to an orphanage in the name of the imaginary Captain Tuttle. Tuttle's name gets thrown around, he becomes Burns' best friend, serves as officer of the day, and is honored by a General for his generous contributions to the orphanage.

"The Longjohn Flap" A pair of longjohns gets traded around the camp on one of the coldest nights of the winter.

There are lots of other great episodes here. If you were planning to buy a season of M*A*S*H episodes, this is the season to get.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: M*A*S*H 4-EVER!
Review: If you are a M*A*S*H die-hard fan who can't get enough, you will need to start your collection with this 3 tape set. It's classic M*A*S*H comedy right from the beginning. Favs on these tapes include Requiem for a Lightweight, Dear Dad and Dear Dad...Again, and Sometimes You Hear the Bullet w/ Ron Howard guest star. From Hot Lips and Burns' fever-pitched passion, to Hawkeye and Trapper's shananagans--this set is only the beginning of timeless, side-splitting 4077th comedy! Reserve Season 2 today as well!!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MASH...
Review: Mash is a great show full of values......... and sadistic, sarcastic humor...

what could be better than a restored version of the 11 season tv show?

Many people have said they wish that there were more features like interviews and stuff... but you gotta remember some of the cast incl. Lt Col Henery Blake are dead... its 3 DVDs and even has sound tracks for French... and the show in english without the laught track... that has to me enough...

2 wishes:
)I wish they had a play through option instead of having to see each episode seperatly...

)I wish they could have stuck to their origional release date for the second season of May 2002.... now its something like July 27 2002...

Altogether a good DVD set.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well done, bring on season 2!
Review: Finally M*A*S*H has come to DVD! The first season is full of great laughs and I never get tired of any of the episodes. There aren't any extras, but the ability to watch the episodes with the laugh track removed almost entirely makes up for this. Giving this show a laugh track was one of the worst decisions in television history. Probably the best example of how much the canned guffaws undercut the episodes is in The Army-Navy Game. In the final sequence, Hawkeye and Trapper much diffuse a shell that failed to explode when it landed in the middle of the camp. The scene is filled with tension, then when they find the next step is to remove the entire tail section there were some mild laughs which destroyed the suspense that had been carefully built up.

The only real problem that I have with these episodes is Frank Burns. Larry Linville did a great job with what he was given, but even by the end of the first season the character of Burns was becoming ridiculous. To remain an army surgeon as long as he did you had to have at least an ounce of competence and/or maturity. Charles Winchester was a big improvement. However, even with this flaw the collection is a must have for fans of the show and anyone who wants to get into it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's EVEN BETTER without a laugh track!
Review: What can I say? It's EVEN BETTER without a laugh track. This is a GREAT option on the DVD version. I know there are the purests out there who loved it as it appeared on broadcast television, and more power to them. But I could never get used to laughing on cue. The only laugh track I ever really enjoyed was the "I Love Lucy" version, where you could actually pick out the cast members by their laugh (especially Desi Arnaz's). Anyway, back to the M*A*S*H w/removable laugh track....It's nice to be able to get into the great stories and the wonderful acting without being told, "Hey, this is a funny part....now LAUGH!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a successful conversion
Review: This has been the best purchase I have made in a long time - mainly because along with enjoying reliving the great memories of M*A*S*H episodes, I have successfully converted my wife into a M*A*S*H fan! She hardly knew of the show and all its humor and intelligence, but now like me she cannot wait much longer for the second season to be released. We watched three episodes a night and are now in withdrawal. We need that second series to be released - hurry! This DVD series is a must-have for any M*A*S*H fan or to convert a new fan!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Debut Season of one of the best TV series of all-time
Review: I can say, without a doubt, that one my favorite TV series of all-time is M*A*S*H. For as long as I can remember, it has been on tv in some way or another, whether it's through syndication or during its original run. To this day, I never get tired of watching it whenever it comes on, even with episodes I've seen at least a dozen times. M*A*S*H the TV series is based on the movie of the same name that tremendously successful back in 1970. While the movie humorously showed a lot of the odd-ball antics that went on at the mythical 4077th M*A*S*H unit during the Korean War, it did not have the kind of heart that made its television counterpart one of the most beloved series ever to grace the small screen. M*A*S*H blended comedy with emotional storylines and strong characters in a way that de-glamorized war, but still honored those that served during it. That is why I am so grateful that the powers that be a Fox Video have decided to release the entire series on DVD. Although, I am critical of how long it is taking them to release the individual seasons.

In Season 1, M*A*S*H was still searching for its identity. There episodes where it seems like its main focus is strictly slapstick comedy with a war background, as in the episode 'Requiem for a Lightweight'. The pilot episode, while not establishing the emotional background that would define the series, did show flashes of the dry wit that would become a hallmark of its run. The episode 'Captain Tuttle' is one of Season 1's funniest examples of this. Later in the season, M*A*S*H began to find it's emotional core with episodes like 'Cowboy' and 'Yankee Doodle Doctor' (A humorous send-up of Army life with an unmistakable anti-war message). The episode where M*A*S*H truly comes into its own, though, is 'Sometimes you Hear the Bullet' where Hawkeye Pierce has to come to terms with losing one of his best friends and not being able to do anything to prevent it. That episode showed why Alan Alda was perfect as the central character of Hawkeye. Though some claim that this role was nothing more than showcase for Alda's vanity, I have to disagree and believe that Alda demonstrated the right mixture of humor, pain, and sympathy in his portrayal of Hawkeye. He was the anchor around which the rest of the show was built. In 'Sometimes...' he shows all those qualities.

M*A*S*H would begin to gain momentum and a fervent fan base in following seasons, but Season 1 shows how it all got started. Fans who are more familiar with later seasons' episodes may notice some things in Season 1 that changed. The character of Spearchucker Jones was dropped after it was discovered there were no black surgeons during the Korean War; Radar O'Reilly seemed to be a bit more savvy and world-wise in Season 1 than in later years; and, both Hawkeye and partner in crime, Trapper John McIntyre, were a bit more misogynistic back then. Season 1 is a welcome addition to any DVD collection and now it's up to Fox Video to get on the ball and start releasing the rest of the seasons on a much faster schedule.


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