When it comes to talking about TV shows with a real-world message, actors, writers, and others involved have to walk a fine line between self-deprecating and self-important. Can a show make its viewers better people? Can it actually change the world? These are questions the cast and crew of "M*A*S*H" seem to get asked a lot, as a recent retrospective on the series titled "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television" demonstrates.
The special includes commentary from "M*A*S*H" alums who tell stories about the impact the groundbreaking dramedy series had on them personally and on the world at large. In one archival footage scene, someone at a press conference asked actor William Christopher about whether the Vietnam-era show could've changed Americans' opinions about the war. "'M*A*S*H,' in its development, began to deal with social issues, and we all felt that the...
The special includes commentary from "M*A*S*H" alums who tell stories about the impact the groundbreaking dramedy series had on them personally and on the world at large. In one archival footage scene, someone at a press conference asked actor William Christopher about whether the Vietnam-era show could've changed Americans' opinions about the war. "'M*A*S*H,' in its development, began to deal with social issues, and we all felt that the...
- 1/14/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Sudden success is a hell of a drug. Be it entertainment, sports, or certain, shockingly competitive sectors of the healthcare industry, you can count on numerous fast risers to get high on their own supply and take an ego-fueled torch to their career.
Television actors are especially susceptible to these vain slip-ups, and it's easy to understand why. Before the advent of prestige TV, the small-screen medium was, particularly for young-ish performers, viewed as a potential springboard to big-screen stardom. Sometimes it works out. Chevy Chase bolted from "Saturday Night Live" midway through its second season and instantly became a movie star on the strength of his work in Colin Higgins' sporadically hilarious "Foul Play" (even though he's far from the funniest element of the film). And sometimes you're David Caruso, who quit "NYPD Blue" to topline a pair of 1995 flops in Barbet Schroder's "Kiss of Death" (underrated) and William Friedkin's "Jade".
Generally,...
Television actors are especially susceptible to these vain slip-ups, and it's easy to understand why. Before the advent of prestige TV, the small-screen medium was, particularly for young-ish performers, viewed as a potential springboard to big-screen stardom. Sometimes it works out. Chevy Chase bolted from "Saturday Night Live" midway through its second season and instantly became a movie star on the strength of his work in Colin Higgins' sporadically hilarious "Foul Play" (even though he's far from the funniest element of the film). And sometimes you're David Caruso, who quit "NYPD Blue" to topline a pair of 1995 flops in Barbet Schroder's "Kiss of Death" (underrated) and William Friedkin's "Jade".
Generally,...
- 1/7/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Recently, more than half a century after its premiere, Fox released a retrospective special about the storied anti-war sitcom "M*A*S*H" that included rare and previously unseen interviews with the show's cast and crew. When they weren't reminiscing about their characters and opening up about cast changes over the years, former members of the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital discussed episodes of the show that broke the TV mold, pushing the medium beyond its established boundaries and yanking on viewers' heartstrings in unexpected ways.
Among the spotlighted episodes in "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television" was "The Interview," the season 4 finale that saw the show briefly take the form of a black-and-white war documentary. The late writer and executive producer Burt Metcalfe said the experiment took inspiration from Edward R. Murrow's 1950s newsreel show "See It Now," which included interviews in Korea during the war. "We'd always had a...
Among the spotlighted episodes in "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television" was "The Interview," the season 4 finale that saw the show briefly take the form of a black-and-white war documentary. The late writer and executive producer Burt Metcalfe said the experiment took inspiration from Edward R. Murrow's 1950s newsreel show "See It Now," which included interviews in Korea during the war. "We'd always had a...
- 1/7/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Over 50 years ago, the war dramedy series "M*A*S*H" broke new ground by transforming Robert Altman's film of the same name into what would become one of the most important television shows in history. Given the series' wartime background, for as funny as the show was, it was also deeply emotional and tackled some seriously harrowing subject matter. But what episode impacted the cast the most? In the new TV special "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television," actor Mike Farrell (Captain B.J. Hunnicutt) talked about filming "Old Soldiers," getting choked up thinking about the gravity of the episode's meaning.
For those who have seen the episode, it's definitely one that packs an emotional wallop. Directed by Charles S. Durbin and written by Dennis Koenig, season 8, episode 18, "Old Soldiers," centered on Colonel Potter after he discovered that he was the last surviving member of his WWI veteran friend group. The...
For those who have seen the episode, it's definitely one that packs an emotional wallop. Directed by Charles S. Durbin and written by Dennis Koenig, season 8, episode 18, "Old Soldiers," centered on Colonel Potter after he discovered that he was the last surviving member of his WWI veteran friend group. The...
- 1/4/2024
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Actors are a confounding creative breed. They can be wonderfully inventive one moment and then turn right around and surrender to their most vain impulses the next. Fortunately, most actors are eminently directable. They might put up a bit of a fight and insist that they know better than their director, but if the director has earned their trust, they'll eventually come to their senses and realize they aren't always the best judge of their own work.
It's also important to understand that, in most cases, actors aren't being difficult out of diva-like entitlement. They're the only person who's spending all of their time on- and off-set thinking about this specific character, so, of course, they're going to get protective every now and then -- especially if they're a television actor who's been playing the same part for multiple seasons. It's a well-meaning impulse and one that a sensitive director...
It's also important to understand that, in most cases, actors aren't being difficult out of diva-like entitlement. They're the only person who's spending all of their time on- and off-set thinking about this specific character, so, of course, they're going to get protective every now and then -- especially if they're a television actor who's been playing the same part for multiple seasons. It's a well-meaning impulse and one that a sensitive director...
- 1/3/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Long before streaming, DVRs, and even the popularity of VCRs, there were certain shows considered appointment television. Perhaps no other series fits the description more than M*A*S*H. Fox celebrated the landmark sitcom with M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, a reunion special executive-produced by John Scheinfeld and Andy Kaplan. The two-hour show delved into what made the beloved series about the 4077th Medical Corps on the front lines of the Korean War strike such a cord. Many of the stars and important figures from M*A*S*H reflect on its historic 11-season run, 40 years after the series finale, still the most-watched telecast in history. Among them Alan Alda (Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Gary Burghoff (Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), William Christopher (Father Francis Mulcahy), Jamie Farr (Cpl./Sgt. Maxwell Q. “Max” Klinger), Mike Farrell (Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt), Wayne Rogers (Capt. “Trapper” John McIntyre) and Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips...
- 1/2/2024
- TV Insider
On Monday, Jan. 1, M*A*S*H fans are invited to ring in the new year with M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television, a two-hour special airing on Fox and featuring new interviews with series vets Alan Alda (who played Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce), Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan), Gary Burghoff (Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly), Jamie Farr (Cpl./Sgt. Maxwell Q. “Max” Klinger) and Mike Farrell (Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt), as well as the late Wayne Rogers (Capt. “Trapper” John McIntyre) and William Christopher (Father Francis Mulcahy).
M*A*S*H executive producers Gene Reynolds and...
M*A*S*H executive producers Gene Reynolds and...
- 1/2/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.