M*A*S*H (TV series)

M*A*S*H is an American television sitcom made by Larry Gelbart about doctors in a mobile . It was inspired by MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. It stars Alan Alda as the main character. It was very popular, lasting 11 seasons, and having one of the most viewed series finales in television history.

M*A*S*H
Genre	Comedy drama Dark comedy Medical drama Sitcom War
Based on	MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker M*A*S*H by Ring Lardner, Jr.
Developed by	Larry Gelbart
Starring	Alan Alda Wayne Rogers McLean Stevenson Loretta Swit Larry Linville Gary Burghoff Mike Farrell Harry Morgan Jamie Farr William Christopher David Ogden Stiers
Theme music composer	Johnny Mandel (written for the movie)
Opening theme	"Suicide Is Painless" (Instrumental)
Ending theme	"Suicide Is Painless" (Big Band Version)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	256 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Larry Gelbart (seasons 1–4) Gene Reynolds (seasons 1–5) Burt Metcalfe (seasons 6–11)
Production locations	Los Angeles County, California (Century City, Malibu Creek State Park)
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	25-26 minutes; except "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (2 hours)
Production company	20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 17, 1972 (1972-09-17) – February 28, 1983 (1983-02-28)
Related
Trapper John, M.D.

Summary

M*A*S*H is about a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. It stars Hawkeye Pierce, an American surgeon who dislikes the war and makes a lot of jokes.

Cast

There have been a strong cast of characters through the show's life. The only four people who appeared from the first episode to the last are Alan Alda and Loretta Swit. William Christopher's character, Father Mulcahy appeared in the first episode but was played by George Morgan. William Christopher took over the role for the rest of the series.

Character	Actor/Actress	Rank	Role
Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce	Alan Alda	Captain	Chief surgeon
John Patrick Francis Mulcahy	George Morgan (Pilot Episode), Replaced by William Christopher	1st Lieutenant, later Captain	Chaplain
Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (O'Houlihan in the film)	Loretta Swit	Major	Head nurse
Maxwell Q. Klinger	Jamie Farr	Corporal, later Sergeant	Medic/Orderly, later Company Clerk
John Francis Xavier "Trapper" McIntyre (Seasons 1-3)	Wayne Rogers	Captain	Surgeon
Henry Braymore Blake (Seasons 1-3)	McLean Stevenson	Lieutenant Colonel	Surgeon, Commanding officer
Franklin Marion "Frank" Burns, also known as "Ferrett Face" (Seasons 1-5)	Larry Linville	Major, later Lieutenant Colonel (off-screen)	Surgeon, Temporary Commanding officer (following the discharge of Henry Blake)
Walter Eugene "Radar" O’Reilly (Seasons 1-7)	Gary Burghoff	Corporal	Company Clerk, Bugler
B. J. Hunnicutt (replaced Trapper; Seasons 4-11)	Mike Farrell	Captain	Surgeon
Sherman T. Potter (replaced Henry Blake; Seasons 4-11)	Harry Morgan	Colonel	Surgeon, Commanding officer (After Lt. Col. Blake)
Charles Emerson Winchester III (replaced Frank Burns; Seasons 6-11)	David Ogden Stiers	Major	Surgeon

"Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"

See the main article: Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen

"Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" is the series finale. It was aired on February 28, 1983, and is two and a half hours long. Nearly 106 million Americans watched it, which was 77% of the people watching TV at the time. It is the most watched episode of any show in American history.