Why M*A*S*H?
Why M*A*S*H?
WIP
In 1983, CBS’s hit war comedy-drama M*A*S*H aired its final episode, a two hour film called Goodbye, Farewell and Amen. Today, it remains the most-watched single episode of any television series in U.S. history.
I first began watching M*A*S*H as a binge. I had it playing as I worked on final projects for my freshman year of college. My family loved watching TV together and has always been my favorite pastime. My brother had suggested it to me because Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce, the only character to have been in every single episode, was also from a small town in Maine. Hawkeye immediately became my favorite character, not because he was from Maine, but because he was the main character, the one fighting the war against the war.
My favorite episode, “Peace on Us” is about Hawkeye going up to the peace talks. Here, he tells off the generals for not finding an end to the war. People are dying. He spends each day of his life putting them back together. When he arrives back at camp, BJ has thrown him a party. The whole camp has dyed their clothes and hair red in honor of his absent wish for an anti-green. Our characters at the M*A*S*H face a difficult time but they get through it in how they love one another.
Below, @dreamoperator sets this gesture to The Smiths.
These characters care deeply about each other as they go through the worst years of their life. Is it a contradiction if some of the best moments were during those years? We as the audience are invited to remember the show fondly, how might the characters? How do BJ and Hawkeye fare? The two best friends go back their respective homes (and lives) on opposite coasts.