54 Years Later, This Stellar War Series Masterpiece Is Getting Better With Age

M*A*S*H has always resisted a single genre label. Adapted from the 1970 darkly comedic film and Richard Hooker's 1968 novel, the series follows the personnel of the 4077th United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. The film's characters returned with new actors—Alan Alda as Captain 'Hawkeye' Pierce, Wayne Rogers as 'Trapper John,' McLean Stevenson as Lt.

Colonel Henry Blake, Larry Linville as Major Frank Burns, Loretta Swit as Major Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan, William Christopher as Father Mulcahy—while Gary Burghoff reprised Radar O'Reilly and Jamie Farr joined as Corporal Maxwell Klinger. The first three seasons played largely as a sitcom, with episodes like 'Deal Me Out' and 'Tuttle' leaning on pranks, poker games and Klinger's cross-dressing for laughs.

Even so, there were early dramatic turns, such as Season 1's 'Sometimes You Hear the Bullet,' when Hawkeye unravels after a patient's death.

United States

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