M*A*S*H TV Season 4

Other than M*A*S*H, there's only one other show I can watch repeatedly, and still laugh outloud I (Frasier). For the episodes themselves, M*A*S*H has never been better, more convenient, and funnier (thanks to long edited scenes rarely seen in syndicated TV)! It's almost like seeing it for the first time. I was surprised to notice that many episodes had close to five (5) minutes edited out in Syndication. One allure of DVD's, in addition to the Sound and Picture Quality, are the "Extras". Other than the ability to take out the laugh tracks (Yes!), this has none. There are no cast interviews, no bloopers, no Director's/Producers/Writers Commentary, not even Cast Biographies. Even the insert is rather plan and has nothing extra to it. The episode description look as though they were written by some one who hadn't even watched the show. I was hoping for more when the DVD's came out. Like the book "Complete Book of M*A*S*H" was not complete in it's fullest sense by leaving out that which would have made it truly complete (the secondary story lines, etc.), this is not complete in the DVD's fullest sense...the extras we've all come to expect in them. In that respect I am disappointed. But I am not disappointed in having a whole season on only 3 DVD's! I am not disappointed in the quality of the sound and picture (much better than the Video's from Columbia House and the Broadcast versions). This season introduces us to the series most significant new characters: Harry Morgan as Col. Sherman T. Potter (regular Army -- God help us all!!), and Mike Farrel as Cpt. BJ Honnicutt. While I enjoyed the first three seasons, personally, I like Potter much better than Blake, and BJ more so than Trapper, who had become rather boring (no fault of Wayne Rogers). So this season I think the show simply got much better, both in comedy and in Drama, something it mixed better than any show before or since. My only other complaint is with their painfully slow release schedule of only two seasons per year. At this rate, it's going to be the end of 2006 before the whole series is available.

I'm so glad that Fox has been good enough to release this great series on DVD, and that they have done such an excellent job. The picture quality on these DVDs far outshines the syndicated reruns on TV, and the full 25-minute-plus cuts of the shows haven't been seen in ages. As with the other box sets, the menus and functionality of the disc are very nice. I would however like to see a "play all" button so you don't have to click through as many menus to see all the shows. As far as the actual content of the shows goes, I enjoy this period in the series more than the earlier seasons. Contrary to what some other fans think, the addition of Mike Farrell and Harry Morgan improved the show and made it a little more real and less lighthearted. Eventually these new characters really grow on you and become like old friends. The cast changes definitely move the show in a more comedy-drama direction, which I feel is part of what made this show so great, and so different from other sitcoms. A couple of great unconventional episodes are included in this season set, including "Hawkeye" which is essentially a 25-minute monologue by Alan Alda, and "The Interview" which is an all black-and-white documentary-style episode that again breaks the rules of what a sitcom is "supposed" to be like. Great writing, strong characters, top-notch acting talent. What more could we ask of this show? I can't wait to buy season 5 in December. Now I hope Fox will lavish this same high-quality treatment on more great classic sitcoms like "The Bob Newhart Show" and "The Odd Couple", the rights to which I believe they also own.

I watched MASH back in the CBS days but never in syndication. Between the ridiculous amount of missing scenes and extra commercials, I just wasn't interested. Then it came out on DVD and I was hooked again. Others have pointed out there isn't much in the way of special features here and that is true, however, here and with the entire series we are allowed to push a button and eliminate the obnoxious laugh track CBS forced on the producers of this great program. Big deal. Big deal? Let me briefly explain. When you watch MASH without the laugh track it is an extremely different experience. The jokes and comedy are still there of course but somehow it seems more real. The characters seem more real. They are simply using humor to survive and get through the horrors of war they face every day. I was at my neighbor's house the other day and actually watched an episode that still contained the laugh track and it was painful to watch. The price of this is now very low. Watching MASH minus the laugh track is very entertaining.

I was really impressed as to how carefully my package had been wrapped! It arrived in excellent condition and earlier than expected. Great job!

How can anybody NOT enjoy MASH!

I bought this set to continue my collection of the M*A*S*H* TV series. It is such a classic comedy series and I am glad I got it. The show itself deals with a lot of issues that arose in the Korean war. I think each episode tries to get across to the audience how bad war is and how bad it can be, but they also do a very good job of adding comedy in to the series to balance the bad with the good. Saving lives through surgery is a big theme of this series, but they add in the right amount of humour to achieve an excellent show. I would recommend this series to anyone (who is an adult as it is still a war show)! It arrived fast in a great condition.

..falls das überhaupt geht. Mir war zwar der schusselige Colonel Blake ans Herz gewachsen, aber der altehrwürdige, militärisch korrektere Potter passt besser in die Rolle des Campleiters, er hat Ecken und Kanten und eine liebenswerte Pferdeschrulle. Auch Trappers Nachfolger B.J. Hunnicut ist ein gelungener Wurf. Allein schon die erste doppelt-lange Folge, in der Pierce und Radar B.J. den neuen Chirurgen mit dem Jeep vom Militärflugplatz abholen ist ein echtes Highlight! Radar wächst einem immer mehr ans Herz und in der Episode "Dear Mildred" mit der Pferderettungsaktion habe ich am Ende ein paar Tränen verdrückt. Toll auch das in schwarz-weiß gedrehte Interview als letzte Episode. Die Personen entwickeln sich, man erfährt immer mehr Hintergründe (z.B. als Pierce's Ex-Verlobte auftaucht). Einzig und allein Frank Burns bleibt der schadenfrohe und prinzipientreue Egoist, was ich ein bisschen schade finde. Auch als Buhmann hätte man ihm etwas mehr Persönlichkeit angedeihen lassen können. Der Besetzungswechsel von Trapper und Blake hat der Serie nicht geschadet. Ganz im Gegenteil! MASH ist und bleibt KULT und eine der ehrlichsten, witzigsten und sympathischten TV Serie aller Zeiten. Trotz und vielleicht wegen ihres nostalgischen Charmes.

Como bien dice el anterior opinante, en España solo se han editado las 3 primeras temporadas con el doblaje original en español (lo que es una absoluta falta de respeto a los seguidores españoles de la serie, que somos legión). Así que cuando vi esta 4º temporada con doblaje en "latino" se me fue la olla, me ofusqué y la compré sin pensar. Craso error: el doblaje no es el original de la serie, con esas voces a las que estamos tan acostumbramos (sobre todo la de Alan Alda), sino uno Latino, neutro, apagado y sin dar ningún matiz a los personajes. Un desastre de doblaje, de verdad. Y como me pasa lo que al compañero, que mi inglés-americano no me llega para seguir la serie en V.O., pues a fastidiarse, compra fallida, inversión perdida. Sólo recomendado para los que puedan verlo sin problemas en V.O. Los demás abstenerse por completo.

彼らのジョークが実に面白い。

Alles super