Suicide is Painless

I believe that M*A*S*H is one of the most influential shows that has ever been on the air because it is one show that can honestly speak for an entire generation of people. The show chronicles the lives of the Doctors, Nurses and Support Staff of the Mobile Army Surgical Unit 4077th in Uijeongbu, South Korea. The show premiered in September 17, 1972 while the Vietnam War was being fought over seas which automatically made M*A*S*H not only unique, as it was about war in a time of war, but controversial as well. But that's not really what makes M*A*S*H special, what makes M*A*S*H special is the combination of drama and comedy, but also the sheer honesty of it. The writers of M*A*S*H wanted the show to be authentic, so they interviewed active duty Army Surgeons and based episodes of the show on their stories. Which immediately gave the characters a depth that couldn't have developed otherwise and gave the show a real-ness that you couldn't ignore. No character demonstrates that better then Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Peirce as brought to life by Alan Alda.

Hawkeye is the comic relief. He's an average guy and an extraordinary surgeon stuck in a horrible situation and he deals with it through humor. Hawkeye is also a lot of times the person who reminds us that war is no laughing matter, and there's something admirable about that. The way that Hawkeye can be a womanizing prankster without ever forgetting the reason that they're here, to save lives. I think that a great example of this can be found in the episode "Yankee Doodle Docter." When Lieutenant Bricker comes to the 4077th and attempts to make an Army Propaganda film about the surgeons in the Army, Hawkeye and Trapper steal the film and reshoot it, depicting themselves doing Grucho and Harpo Marx impersonations. Then at the end of the film, Hawkeye takes his costume off, sits down and records an honest message of what it's like to work in his unit. He tells us that there's no glory in this work, that they do "meatball surgery" and that a lot of the time, the most they can do is remove the shrapnel and send them to Tokyo for medical attention. And it's moments like that, that made this show the phenomenon that it is. M*A*S*H was on the air for 11 seasons. The show lasted longer then the actual Korean War, and remained on the air long after the Veitnam War ended, because there were so many soliders stories that needed to be told.

The final episode of M*A*S*H, entitled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" premiered on, February 28, 1983 and according to The New York Times, it was the most watched television episode in history at the time, with an amazing 125 million viewers. Since it's premier M*A*S*H has never been off the air, reruns are shown regularly and stores have always kept the series in stock. Why? Because a show like this does not become "dated" like Little House on the Prairie. M*A*S*H told the stories of countless of enlisted men and women and spoke for a generation and it's still speaking to us today.

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen

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