M*A*S*H is an American medical drama and comedy-drama series created by Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds for CBS, and based on the film MASH. It ran from September 17, 1972 to February 28, 1983 for 11 seasons. It is based on the film MASH and the novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker. Though initially receiving low ratings, the show became enormously popular, with the finale episode being one of the most watched television broadcasts in American history, with 105.97 million viewers, a number rivaled only by Super Bowl broadcasts.
Series summary[]
M*A*S*H followed the darkly comic exploits of a group of medical doctors in the Korean war, trying to stay sane in insane circumstances. Characters included chief surgeon "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), head nurse "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit), Corporal Klinger (Jamie Farr) and "Radar" O'Reilly (Gary Burghoff). It actually ran for longer than the original war.
Parent[]
M*A*S*H was a spin-off of the film of the same name, with Gary Burghoff reprising his role as Radar O'Reilly in the series.
Spin-offs[]
- W*A*L*T*E*R was created as a spin-off for the character of Radar, but never made it past a pilot, which was screened as a TV movie.
- AfterMASH followed the lives of Klinger, Potter and Father Mulcahy after the Korean war's end.
- The Fighting Nightingales focused on a series of female nurses in the Korean war; it was supposed to be a spin-off series of M*A*S*H but only the pilot was made and aired.
Westphall connections to M*A*S*H[]
- Dr. Mark Craig from St. Elsewhere claims to be an old associate of Dr. B.J. Hunnicut from M*A*S*H.
- In the finale, Charles Emerson Winchester accepts a post at Boston Mercy Hospital, a fictional hospital mentioned in several episodes of Absentia, The X-Files "Fire", The West Wing "The Fall's Gonna Kill You", and Cheers "Dark Imaginings", as well as the films A Few Good Men, The World According to Garp, and Ava. In an earlier episode, Winchester was rejected for a position at Boston General Hospital, which appears in a number of other television series.
- In Star Trek: The Next Generation "Conspiracy", Benjamin Franklin Pierce (Hawkeye) commands the USS James Fenimore Cooper and B.J. Hunnicutt orders the ship to make a different course heading.
Disconnection[]
Trapper John, M.D. is considered a spin-off of the film MASH not the television series. It followed a middle-aged Trapper John McIntyre years after he left Korea.