M*A*S*H: Showtime

M*A*S*H: Showtime
CBS
March 25, 1973
Dramedy
DVD
B-

Different threads are interwoven, as a USO troupe performs, in this episode by Larry Gelbart and Robert Klane.  Even though no previous mention has been made of Mildred's pregnancy, Henry becomes a father for the third time, I think their first son.  Radar demonstrates why he's my favorite character, especially in the first season, not only by doing another drum solo but by bringing in a Korean baby for Blake to hold during this separation from his family.  And Hawkeye momentarily ships Trapper/Hot Lips.

Oksun Kim, who plays the Korean baby's mother, would be a Korean Wife later.  John Orchard (Ugly John) and Sheila Lauritsen (Nurse Hardy) return, while Harvey J. Goldenberg as Kaplan gets discharged.  Joey Forman, who's Jackie Flash, would be a Policeman on Three's Company.

The first season of M*A*S*H is more uneven than just about any season of any show I can think of*, as my grades ranging from D- to B+ indicates.  The series took much longer than its CBS "classmate" The Bob Newhart Show to find itself, but it did have challenges that most sitcoms don't, including the legacy of the movie version.  Also, what might've seemed like irreverent hijinks to Gelbart and company come across as asinine excursions into obnoxiousness, frequently sexist.

Furthermore, while Robert Altman is at home with a large cast, that just doesn't work on television, particularly with barely sketched in characters like Ugly John and Ginger.  They seem like they might have backstories, maybe even interesting ones, but we never find out.  I'd even argue that the television version of Trapper is close to a cypher, beyond his role as Hawkeye's partner in hijinks.  BNS knew early on that it was mainly about the basic five characters, and it just had to figure out the right mix of Bob's patients and other supporting cast.  M*A*S*H is far from figuring that out at this point, although the increased prominence of Father Mulcahy, as well as the recurrence of Klinger (far more vivid than the dozen or so background characters who are wasted this season), shows that the series is starting to get a clue.


*Whose Line Is It Anyway? may rival it, but then that's an improvised game show, so variation in quality is less of a surprise.