Rating: 
Summary: In retrospect.......it is that good!
Review: And this is season TWO, not the whole series, which I grant did run out of gas but not before several excellent seasons. Season two is one of the better ones with several memorable episodes. I liked most seeing Five O'clock Charlie, which manages to tell a message about war and still be funny. Thats something that they lost as the series progressed. Its also great to see how brilliant Larry Linville was as Frank Burns. He is way underrated in that regard. Even though there arent any extras here, the shows themselves are more than worth the price. One of the best.
Rating: 
Summary: Make this LAST!
Review: You better watch this in spurts because there is an insert that comes with this that reads: The Next Mash Set Will Be Out In WINTER 2003! Now, I don't see how A. They are going to put out 2 sets per year if the first set of next year comes out at the tail-end of the year B. why in the world they would only put out 2 a year to begin with! So, I am watching this second set with great care and very... slowly.As far as this set:
The picture is nice, the sound is just bad 70's mono and there are no extras. The booklet is pretty nice but why no behind the scenes stuff? Not even pictures? Seems every corner has been cut on this, I guess assuming, hell, we will buy it no matter what. And they are right. As far as the performances, what can be said? This gang is a member of my family. I will watch MASH until the day I die, too bad the "suits" know this and seem to use it against me/us, huh? (4 stars are arrived at by the 5 star performances meeting the 2 star remastering meeting the 4 star packaging.)
Rating:
Summary: Not as Good as the First Season, but Still Good
Review: M*A*S*H was one of the best shows ever on TV. You cannot argue the success of a show that lasted eleven years. I thought the first season was probably the best season, but season two was still pretty good. After all, the best characters of the series--Frank Burns, Trapper MacIntyre and Henry Blake--were still around. Since I have not seen a complete listing of the season two episodes, I will go ahead and make one. These are the 24 episodes with brief synopses: 1) Divided We Stand--an army psychiatrist is sent to evaluate the 4077th and decide whether it should be disbanded
2) Five O'Clock Charlie--an enemy bomber attempts and fails to hit the 4077th every afternoon, and becomes the subject of gambling
3) Radar's Report--a plotless episode where Radar writes his weekly report on the going's on at the 4077th
4) For the Good of the Outfit--Hawkeye and Trapper report U.S. forces bombing a Korean village, and are upset when the government tries to cover it up
5) Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde--Hawkeye goes three days without sleep and tries to give the officer's latrine to North Korea
6) Kim--Trapper hopes to adopt a Korean boy whose family cannot be located
7) L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)--Hawkeye helps a U.S. soldier marry the Korean mother of his child before he gets shipped home
8) The Trial of Henry Blake--Burns and Houlihan file a report against Blake, sending him to trial
9) Dear Dad...Three--another letter to dad from Hawkeye, similar to Radar's report
10) The Sniper--an enemy sniper tries to singlehandedly take down the 4077th
11) Carry On, Hawkeye--Hawkeye is the only surgeon well enough to operate when the flu epidemic goes around
12) The Incubator--Hawkeye and Trapper try to find an incubator for the 4077th
13) Deal Me Out--the officers play poker one night through assorted emergencies
14) Hot Lips and Empty Arms--Houlihan requests a transfer
15) Officers Only--the unit gets an Officers' Club; Hawkeye and Trapper try to allow enlisted personnel to enjoy it
16) Henry in Love--Henry comes back from Tokyo talking about a new girlfriend that he is in love with
17) For Want of a Boot--In the dead of winter, Hawkeye has to wheel and deal to get a new boot
18) Operation Noselift--Hawkeye and Trapper want to give a soldier a nose job, but they have to sneak around Burns and Houlihan
19) The Chosen People--a local Korean claims that Radar is the father of her baby
20) As You Were--what everyone does when there's nothing to do
21) Crisis--the supply lines to the unit are cut in the middle of heavy casualties
22) George--Frank tries to get a homosexual soldier a dishonorable discharge
23) Mail Call--Hawkeye fools Frank into buying stock that does not exist
24) A Smattering of Intelligence--Two government spies show up at the unit with the apparent purpose of confusing everyone Although some of these episodes were great, there just were not many that stood out as favorites like there were in season one. Also, when you watch this season straight through, you notice some annoying things about it. First, there seems to have been a creativity problem with the season two writing. Many of these episodes were repetitive. There is always a report filed by Burns and Houlihan. There is always a joke about Radar's height. There is always a secret rendevous between Burns and Houlihan. And so on and so forth. Second, the plots of too many of the episodes were incredibly shallow. So many of my synopses unfortunately explained the plot completely. Third, the change in writers throughout the season made for some very annoying inconsistencies. For example, Henry either has two wives, or her name changes depending on the episode. Also, the whole point of the episode "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde" was about Hawkeye refusing to go to sleep while there were people to operate on. But in another episode, Hawkeye got upset with Radar for waking him up to help Trapper with a surgery. Overall however, if you like M*A*S*H you will still enjoy watching these episodes. There are no special features, really, but there is one great option. You can watch the episodes without the laugh track. It may not sound like much, but once you watch an episode without the trivializing, mechanical laughing telling you what is supposed to be funny, you will never want to hear it again.
Rating:
Summary: You can never have enough M*A*S*H!
Review: Equally as good as the first season set. For those who haven't seen the sets yet these have all the shows in their original uncut form. So if you've been watching reruns for years you'll see lots of new footage. Some of the cut footage should have remained cut but other scenes are just great. See it again for the first time! Again, my only complaint with the set is that the producers still have not added a "marathon" feature where you can just let the shows play one after the other. You have to select each show one at a time.
Rating:
Summary: M*A*S*H-crazed and still vertical
Review: To rehash a bit of my introduction to the M*A*S*H series....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 memories during my college days. Quite a routine indeed. 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 stroke of marketing genius will soothe the savage beast for many of us M*A*S*H-crazed zealots. I purchased Season One in January and my copy of Season Two arrived just this week (and, I'm happy to report, I've stayed up way too late and watched all three discs....nuts!). Consequently, I've been the fortunate beneficiary of two full seasons within a six-month period, something many other reviewers have mentioned. All-in-all, I agree that Fox should consider releasing as many as three seasons per year but I'm quite certain their marketing machine has determined that pent-up demand generates increased sales. Regardless, I'm thrilled that someone has finally seen the light relative to this classic series. Kudos to Fox. Season Two is, without doubt, one of my favorites. While Season One was sensational, Two has a more familiar feel to it. In other words, the actors were perhaps more comfortable within their respective characters than in Season One thus allowing them to stylize a bit more, less mechanical. . Regardless the minutae of difference, Two is smashing! While there are many episodes that still have me laughing out loud as I rewatch them, perhaps one of the very funniest in Two is "Deal Me Out." This episode has a variety of stories within including the infamous poker game. This is our first introduction to Flagg, played by Edward Winter, an incredibly funny addition to the M*A*S*H family. Frank refuses to operate on a wounded soldier who happens to be a CID officer. Frank's rationale? Another CID officer must be present during the operation in case the wounded man "tells a bunch of secrets." Hawkeye and Trapper look at the wounded soldier and determine that waiting could be fatal to the CID man. Any fan of this show will have some idea of the hijinxs and bellybusters that follow. The episodes by disc: DISC ONE - 1) Divided We Stand, 2) Five O'Clock Charlie (hilarious), 3) Radar's Report, 4) For the Good of the Outfit, 5) Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde, 6) Kim, 7) L.I.P., 8) The Trial of Henry Blake. DISC TWO - 1) Dear Dad...Three (the neverending letter), 2) The Sniper, 3) Carry On, Hawkeye, 4) The Incubator, 5) Deal Me Out (must see!), 6) Hot Lips and Empty Arms, 7) Officers Only, 8) Henry in Love. DISC THREE - 1)For Want of a Boot, 2) Operation Noselift, 3) The Chosen People, 4) As You Were, 5) Crisis, 6) George, 7) Mail Call, 8) A Smattering of Intelligence. The picture quality is absolutely incredible particularly given the technology available at the time of taping. As with Season One, the viewer has the option of watching with or without the laugh track. A nice feature only available on DVD. If you love the syndicated reruns, pick up BOTH seasons on DVD immediately.
Rating:
Summary: Seeing more
Review: For either the fact that local stations have to cut episodes down for time or there are deleted scenes on the DVD episodes. I love watching episodes I have seen again and again and finding scenes I had never seen before. They most of the time are very funny but can give away a suprise joke. The only complaint I have about these DVD's is that there is no strait episode play though but still they are great to have in pristine condition. They will last a lot longer than my tapes. -Jason
Rating:
Summary: FANTASTIC!
Review: This 3 DVD set looks and sounds great, Season two is just excellent, It would be worth it for just the 5 O'Clock Charlie Episode, but every episode in season two is a classic. It's wonderful to see these episodes the way they were meant to be seen, and not all cut up like hey are on fx.I am in M.A.S.H Heaven.
Rating: 
Summary: A real head-scratcher
Review: My complaint is not with the quality of the show; we all know how superb it was. And it's great to watch the episodes without commercials, since we've been dealing with those for years in reruns, and have been conditioned into seeing the local used car dealers and Miss Cleo and her ilk interrupt the shows every few minutes. It's hard to complain about M*A*S*H on DVD, but I just don't care for the way they put this package together. There are no extras whatsoever. We've been seeing M*A*S*H bloopers for many years on various blooper shows, so we know they exist and are plentiful, yet Fox couldn't be bothered to put any of them on. That would have made for a superb set, and it's not a hard idea to come up with with. Not enough room? Why not a fourth DVD with bloopers, outtakes, and cast interviews or featurettes, or even the M*A*S*H reunion recently shown on TV? If they don't wnat to do that, another idea would have been cast commentary for some of the episodes, like they did on the magnificently done Simpsons box sets. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to hear Alda or Swit or Burghoff's remembrances on some of their classic scenes - many of which are in the all-time Hall of Fame? Apparently Fox didn't want to shell out the money to pay them, and to make this any more than a totally average set. Also, I noticed that some of the episodes do not seem to have been mastered from the original prints - the color and quality change suddenly and randomly in various episodes, indicating splicing from less-than-first-generation prints. There were some ugly moments in a few shows, with fading, artifacts and the like. I was watching one show (I forget which) and could hardly believe the poor quality of the print - I thought it was my TV going on the fritz for a minute, because the picture was fading, getting darker, then lighter, then darker, etc. I'm not saying they did a totally incompent job though; in fact most of the shows look fairly decent; not vivid and clean, but certainly better than a VHS copy. But that's what DVD does for almost everything; it makes things look better by default, and very little credit should be given to the engineers for that, especially not in this case. It takes a lot of work and and nothing but the one-and-only original master reels to make things look really good, and that work and research was apparently not done by the Fox engineers, or else the original masters had degenerated to such a lousy state that they were forced to work with later-generation prints. However they do deserve praise for the soundtrack clarity, which is excellent. I've tried watching the shows without the laugh track, which seemed like a good idea since I've never liked being told when I'm supposed to laugh at something, but it didn't work for me - it seemed strange and uncomfortable. I think the show needs the canned laughter, because Hawkeye's brilliant retorts are often so fast, diabolically clever and sometimes obscure that it makes laughing more conducive and easy if you're helped along by a chortling studio audience. Without the laugh track, you get the feeling you're watching a reheasal by the actors, which feels weird. I may seem like I'm trashing this set but I'm not, I recommend it because of the superior quality of the show and the convenience and clarity that DVD offers. I'm just constantly perplexed by the unwillingness of certain studios to add any extras, especially when there are a large amount of extras available. M*A*S*H, of all shows, deserves that kind of royal treatment, not a slapdash, generic release of strictly the episodes, poor quality prints and all. This is a 3-star release of a set that could easily have been 5 stars. Let's not give them credit they don't deserve. If they can do it for The Simpsons, why not M*A*S*H too?
Rating:
Summary: In retrospect.. in ain't that good!
Review: Television shows are best judged on their quality after the show is off the air. The classic shows Cheers, Phil Silvers, The Honeymooners, Mary Tyler Moore Show (although the clothing really dates the show), and Taxi are still very funny. Shows like All in the Family (really locked into the time it was made), Cosby, Laugh-in (really bad), and Mash don't seem to do as well when you see the reruns. I've always seen Mash as a show in stages..
Stage 1 - the first couple of years are excellent Stage 2 - Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson leave and the quality of the comedy drops quickly.
Stage 3 - The Alan Alda show where characters like Klinger and father Mulcahey (spelling?) take larger roles and the show is just horrible. In reruns, stage 1 shows are still good, but not as good as I remember. Stage 2 shows are barely watchable. Stage 3 shows are horrendous and it becomes obvious that it's all about Alan Alda and the show should have been cancelled YEARS before it ended. Since this package still represents stage 1, I would say there are many good episodes in here. I'm just shocked how bad some of the episodes are in reruns. I stopped watching years before the show ended, but I was shocked to see some episodes recently and the show just doesn't hold up as well as I would have thought. In retrospect, it ain't that good... with stage three shows being just downright awful.
Rating:
Summary: M*A*S*H - Season Two Good, "Laugh-Track" BAD!
Review: I think that the ability to turn off the laugh-track on the DVD version of television's M*A*S*H (1st & 2nd season), sets this series free of that ol' "canned laughter" mentality which held itself prisoner of TV's "Days gone by". I never considered the series "funny" in the way that television was trying to sell it. I thought of it as bittersweet, just as I did the movie. Now, without being told WHEN to LAUGH, the viewer (who is now upgraded to the level of LISTENER) can enjoy the luxury of INTELLIGENT writing. I recommend this DVD series.
|
