Rating: 
Summary: Excellent as usual...
Review: I bought my copy at a local music store (it was available 2 weeks ago!!!).Anyways, its a great set as the others are. Season 4 as mentioned in other reviews was a major change for MASH. 2 of the original characters were out (Trapper John and CO Henry Blake), and 2 were in (Cornal (sp?) Sherman Potter and Captain BJ Hunnicut). They add their sense of humour without imitating the originals. Great episodes as well. Get it as soon as possible. Amazon has it going on sale this week, but as I said before, I got it a couple of weeks ago, so I don't know what the hold up is here on Amazon. Either way, it is available this week from Amazon so get it!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Change
Review: This was one of the best seasons for MASH in my opinion. The show gained more depth with the characters after replacing Henry Blake with Col. Potter and Trapper John with B.J. It wasn't just about carousing and getting drunk but found other outlets for jokes and pranks. Henry Morgan brought such a refreshing change of leadership in the role of regular army man, Col. Potter. His homey wisdom and unique turn of phrase was hilarious! It also seemed that the pairing of pranksters Hawkeye and B.J. was a better fit than Hawkeye and Trapper. While this is not an intellectual masterpiece, MASH is such a good "brain-drain" show after a rough day.
Rating:
Summary: The real M*A*S*H fans are just getting started
Review: I have been watching M*A*S*H since the beginning of time. The first 3 seasons were definitely some of the best. With season 4 I feel the show was getting ready to hit it's real stride. For one thing, you can't compare the first 3 season to the last 7 because the first 3 seasons were more on the wacky side like the movie. The next seven just went on to define and explore the characters more. It also let us know that war had all kinds of people in it. The change of characters allowed for a change of format. If all stayed the same there would have been no way that it would have lasted 10 years. The changes allowed for fresh and more realistic story lines. All it did was give the writers an opportunity to do what the show was meant to do, and that was to show what war was like and to have a lot of fun doing it. It stayed very funny throughout but then invented the first true dramedy. Can't wait to see the next DVD.
Rating:
Summary: mash season 4
Review: Watching mash runs in my family ever since my grandfater first started watching it when it was on TV. My two cousins and I can't get enought of it. It reminds us of him.
Rating:
Summary: It was producers' departure, not the actors, that mattered
Review: The preceding reviews all focus on the departure of Stevenson and Rogers as if that was the beginning of the end. Yet these reviewers miss the fact that the broad satire and humor in the first three seasons was directly attributable to Larry Gelbart (and to some extent Gene Reynolds), the producer(s) and sometimes writer(s) of the show. These folks were still firmly in place for season four, and to my way of viewing season four ranks as one of my favorites. There still are some crazy moments (like Frank taking a jeep for a ride, the whole "let's be friends with Frank" episode, among others), along with some more serious moments. Of course, those serious moments can be found in the preceding three seasons as well. Gelbart left after this season, and Reynolds after season five. To me, it was when Burt Metcale took over in season six that the REAL change took over, but even then season six was pretty funny. Many MASH fans draw the line at whether BJ has a moustache (season seven on) or not -- episodes with the moustache typically are your late-period episode that can get sentimental and sappy. Anyway, I will be getting this package next week on its release date and eagerly watching all of the episodes. While I wish that a few extras could appear, for the price and the value you can't complain. Don't let two new characters change your mind -- the show was still well-written and at the top of its game.
Rating: 
Summary: Where the series starts to shine
Review: This is where the series really starts to shine. Less slapstick humor and more subtlety, the remaining seasons of M.A.S.H. are the best, with the possible exception of the very last. The annoying laugh track is used much less, and the characters are more flushed out. David Ogden Stiers as Major Winchester is a fantastic replacement for the one-dimensional Frank Burns character played by Larry Linville, and Harry Morgan gives substance to the role of Colonel Potter as commander of the camp. I look forward to the rest of the seasons!
Rating: 
Summary: The most overrated series in television history
Review: I have never quite been able to understand the popularity of this series, but then I've never quite understood the popularity of Jerry Springer, either. Starting with a very good movie drawn from a pretty good book, the producers of television's "M*A*S*H" rapidly watered down plot and character until nothing was left but maudlin plots, overacting and annoying characters. The first season wasn't bad, and in fact had a bit of the spark of the movie. But by season two, all we had was the annoyingly broad acting of Alan Alda, who clowned and clawed his way through every scene. The regular cast of characters was drawn so broadly and stereotypically so as make "I Love Lucy" look like serious drama. Every single professional soldier on the show, save the commander, was portrayed as a fool, insane or just plain evil. It was an insult to anyone who'd ever worn a uniform. You see, they told us, this is actually a very bold and brave *satire* on Vietnam! Really? To me it looked more like Hollywood rationalization long after the fact. Zero stars.
Rating:
Summary: Was still the best show on tv when it hit season four
Review: After McLean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers left the show, they took with them some of the zaniness that was such a treat every week. Enter Harry Morgan and Mike Farrell to fill their voids and season four was under way. I have to say that MASH was never again to be as funny or as dramatically compelling as in the first three seasons. The height of the laughter was a perfect contrast to the occasional horrors of war. They succeeded in doing this brilliantly and without the need to get on a soap box all the time, which unfortunately was to become the signature of the later seasons. However, with season four the funny MASH was still going strong. Pierce, Radar, Hot Lips, Frank, Klinger and Mulcahy were all back. The stories were still strong and funny. BJ and Potter came in and managed to create their own unique personas that fit in nicely with the rest of the cast. A great season overall, but not as good as the first three seasons and clearly the beginning of the decline. When Frank Burns left is when the show really took a tumble but enjoy season four.
Rating:
Summary: "The Interview" - One of the Top 10 Best M*A*S*H Episodes!!
Review: Season Four of M*A*S*H will always be remembered as the big transitional season, with two major character changes as well as the slow push from "Comedy with stabs of drama", to "Drama with stabs of comedy". Obviously not everyone enjoyed the changes. Some fell in love with the early seasons of M*A*S*H for their comical hyjinx and laugh out loud lunacy. But the actors and filmmakers were constantly testing the boundaries, going for a much more dramatic and/or realistic interpretation of what life at a M*A*S*H station was really like with early episodes such as "Sometimes You Hear The Bullet", "Dr. Pierce And Mr. Hyde", "O.R.", and of course the very memorable "Abyssinia, Henry". They realized the positive impact these episodes were having on their audience and would continue to push the envelope with each future season. Season Four gives way to many more serious storylines shown than any previous season. The opening double episode: "Welcome To Korea" welcomes us to Captain BJ Hunnicutt as Hawkeye tries in vein to reach Trapper before he is shipped stateside. I must admit, I wished there had been a bigger sendoff for Wayne Rogers as Trapper John McIntyre, but he refused to return for even one more episode to say goodbye properly, apparently due to feeling betrayed by the staff who seemed to turn everything into the Hawkeye Pierce show. "O.R." was the very first (and only) episode without a laughtrack from Season Three. Season Four would have many more episodes without laughtracks, including "The Bus"(and enjoyable roadtrip outting), "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?" (the famous episode of a bomber pilot who thinks he's Jesus Christ), and "The Interview". "The Interview", which was shot in black & white to give it a documentary style, is about a news journalist who goes to the 4077 because of its 97% lifesaving success record and interviews the main characters (except for Margaret Houlihan). Some of the responses were scripted, while others were completely improvisational by the actors who even get to swear obscenities for the first time (but have them bleeped out). It's a very haunting and realistic episode with William Christopher giving one of the best speeches in M*A*S*H history. Arguably one of the Top 10 shows of the entire series.
Season Four marked the end of M*A*S*H for some...for others, a new beginning. For those of you who fell in love with the later seasons like I did, I'll see you at the Swamp for a nice dry martini (and future seasons of M*A*S*H on DVD). M*A*S*H Season Four - It only gets better! "When the doctors...cut into a patient...and it's cold, you know...the way it is now, today...steam rises from the body...and the doctor will - will warm himself over the open wound. Could anyone look on that and not feel changed?" - William Christopher as Father Francis Mulcahy
M*A*S*H - Season 4 - Episode #96: "The Interview"
Rating:
Summary: M*A*S*H Continued to grow in its 4th season
Review: Though many hated to see Henry Blake leave the show, it is my belief that this season is just as good as the previous three. Of course there was much continued development of Hawkeye's character, but the writers also did a wonderful job in introducing Col. Potter and BJ. During the "Change of Command" episode we see the officers discover that Potter is not as Reguluar Army as he may have seemed. Also, Potter begins to learn the attributes and faults of those in his command.
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