M*A*S*H: Genre and Themes

Considering the fact that M*A*S*H is a show set during the Korean War, about a mobile army surgical hospital a few miles from the front line, it seems impossible that it could be anything but a war show, albeit a dramedy centered on Armed Farces, much like the shows Hogan’s Heroes or McHale’s Navy.   And

M*A*S*H: The Story

Every television show, no matter the genre, is built upon one thing: it’s foundational setup.   When you boil it right down, the setup for a television show is the base upon which each episode grows.  The setup is what an audience is sold on, and what an audience returns to every week.  These core elements

M*A*S*H: Legacy and Impact

In 1968, a book was published titled MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors.  The book, written by Richard Hooker, (a pen name for military surgeon Dr. H. Richard Hornberger and author W. C. Heinz) followed the exploits of a fictional M*A*S*H unit in the Korean war, and the doctors who served there.  The book

M*A*S*H (1972-1983) Trapped in the middle of the Korean war, the personnel of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M*A*S*H) Unit care for the wounded, using humor to deal with the horror and trauma of the situation around them. Genre: Comedy/Drama/War Rating: TV-PG Creator: Larry Gelbart Cast: Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr, William Christopher,

Episode Spotlight: Star Trek Season 1: Episode 5: The Enemy Within

“Captain’s log, stardate 1672.1. Specimen gathering mission on planet Alpha 177. Unknown to any of us during this time a duplicate of me, some strange alter ego, had been created by the transporter malfunction.” The first of Captain Kirk’s Captain’s Logs of The Enemy Within serves as a relatively apt description of the episode in

Episode Spotlight: The Twilight Zone Season 3, Episode 19: The Hunt

“An old man and a hound-dog named Rip, off for an evening’s pleasure in quest of raccoon. Usually, these evenings end with one tired old man, one battle-scarred hound dog, and one or more extremely dead raccoons, but as you may suspect, that will not be the case tonight. These hunters won’t be coming home

Star Trek: Final Thoughts

I confess, I don’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t know what Star Trek was. Both of my parents discovered the show decades before I was born, thanks to reruns during the ‘70s.  They grew up with it, and in turn, showed it to me.  I grew up knowing Kirk, Spock, McCoy,

Star Trek: Facets of Filmmaking

As it turns out, before Star Trek was fully realized in the form we know today, the show was originally not going to be about Kirk and the Enterprise at all.  In fact, it was going to be about a ship called the S.S. Yorktown, captained by a man named Robert April, on a mission

Star Trek: Facets of Film

In an unsurprising turn of events, as it happens, there is a rather large difference between the production design of a full-length feature film, and a television show. There are plenty of reasons for this.  Costumes are different, and cheaper.  Special effects are different, and cheaper.  Sets are different, and cheaper.  You get the point.

Star Trek: A Product of the Times

Miniskirts, beehives and bowlcuts, goodness gracious, is there any time that Star Trek could have been made but the 1960s? The short answer?  Not really. Star Trek was made at quite an interesting time.  The Civil Rights Movement, the space race, Vietnam, the Cold War, the hippie movement, and the new wave of feminism was