The 4077
I wanted to write a paper on the entire MASH series, all 11 seasons, about how the show changed and how the army portrayed in the series could be exchanged with today's and no one would know the difference(hell, my old unit, I Corps out of Fort Lewis, is about as fucked-up today as portrayed in the series). And then, perhaps, I would write a little bit about each character's personality and how it was shown as the series progressed. While the finale is still fresh in my mind, I'd like to share just the key things I took away from the series, without inundating you all.
TV shows have a tendency to evolve over their life-span, and this show was no different. In seasons 1-5 the show has a more comedic feel, it is so light-hearted. In season 6, when Alan Alda took over the show, the show lost a bit of the comedy. You can feel the stress as it permeates everything, causing characters to lose their cool, and sometimes their sanity. Cpt “Hawkeye” Pierce is a good example. By season 3 - he's tired, season 6 - he's exhausted, season 9 - he's cracked, and season 11 – he's only a shell of the man he was. It definitely brought to the surface the same feelings I had towards my deployment in 2009, and some feelings I never expected to find at all. I like comedy that can bite when it needs to.
The characters were well-created, and they got better over time. Prime example of this is Cpl Klinger, who in the first 5 seasons was nothing more than comedic relief, but slowly his character grew deeper, and he met his test when Cpl O'Riley left the season. He became the sly, slick, smooth-talking “drug dealer” that the 4077 needed to get supplies and cut through red-tape and get business done. Maj Hulihan and Maj Winchester had tendencies to hide their humanity, but when it was revealed, it was something amazing.
When it all boils down, it's all about people. Whether Us or Korean, military or civilian, the surgeons would give everyone the same care. In his spare time, Father Mulcahy would take care of Korean orphans, and soon it became his baby. In the end, getting out of Korea, the only thing they took back with them were memories and friendships.
Reading the history behind the show and the actors has been pretty interesting, here's a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M*A*S*H_(TV_series)
