M*A*S*H (TV series)

M*A*S*H
Genre	Comedy drama 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 film)
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	Multi-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
M*A*S*H (1970 film) AfterMASH W*A*L*T*E*R Trapper John, M.D.
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M*A*S*H (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American war comedy drama television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1972, to February 28, 1983. It was developed by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H, which, in turn, was based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The series, which was produced with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950–53).

The ensemble cast originally featured Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers as surgeons Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce and "Trapper" John McIntyre, respectively, as the protagonists of the show; joined by Larry Linville as surgeon Frank Burns, Loretta Swit as head nurse Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, McLean Stevenson as company commander Henry Blake, Gary Burghoff as company clerk Walter "Radar" O'Reilly, Jamie Farr as orderly Maxwell Klinger, and William Christopher as the chaplain, Father John Mulcahy. Over the run of the show, several members of the main cast were replaced: Wayne Rogers was replaced by Mike Farrell as B. J. Hunnicutt, McLean Stevenson was replaced by Harry Morgan as Sherman Potter, Larry Linville was replaced by David Ogden Stiers as Charles Emerson Winchester III, and, when Gary Burghoff left the show, the Maxwell Klinger character moved into the company clerk role. Longtime supporting cast members included Kellye Nakahara, Jeff Maxwell, Allan Arbus, and Edward Winter.

The series varied in style and tone – including broad comedy and tragic drama – which can be attributed to fluctuating writing staff over the life of the show and the variety of sources contributing to the stories, such as actor Alan Alda and surgeons who served in the Korean War.^[1] The show's title sequence features an instrumental version of "Suicide Is Painless", the original film's theme song.^[2]

The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel, M*A*S*H Goes to Maine, failed. The television series is the best-known of the M*A*S*H works and one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history. Its final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", was the most-watched television broadcast in American history from 1983 until 2010,^[3] and it remains both the most-watched finale of any television series and the most-watched episode of a scripted series.^[4]