15 Years Writing About M*A*S*H

Longtime visitors to this site will recall that I don’t know exactly when it first went online but have been using April 1999 as the “launch date” for the purpose of anniversaries. So that makes this month the 15th anniversary of MASH4077TV.com (formerly “M*A*S*H, Finest Kind” and before that “trapperjohn’s M*A*S*H Page” and before that something else). That’s several years longer than M*A*S*H was on the air and five times longer than the actual Korean Conflict.

Back in April 2012, I wrote a brief history of the site and its place in M*A*S*H Internet fandom, which you can find here. Last April I briefly discussed several projects I was working on, none of which I actually managed to finish. To be honest, I barely have the time to write an Episode Spotlight each week. Unfortunately, it’s become something of a chore but I’m sticking with it.

Regular readers may also remember my saying on multiple occasions that my interest in M*A*S*H varies over time. Believe it or not, I’m actually very interested in the series at the moment. I have been working on a few projects recently — or at least doing a lot of planning — and hopefully one or two may be completed in the coming months. Here’s a look:

I want to relaunch the Music of M*A*S*H section with an season-by-season listing of all the music heard in each episode, transcribed from music cue sheets prepared by the Twentieth Century-Fox Legal Department. I’m about halfway done with the first season. I’d also like to put together an analysis of the various versions of M*A*S*H theme song used over the course the series.

Another idea I’ve been toying with is something called 11 Things About M*A*S*H. It would be a blog feature that as the title suggests would list 11 things about M*A*S*H, i.e. 11 Underrated Episodes of M*A*S*H, 11 People You May Not Know Were on M*A*S*H, 11 of the Best Musical Moments from M*A*S*H, etc. Likewise, I have some topics in mind for an essay feature at the blog called Musings on M*A*S*H.

I’m going to try to finally finish the long-gestating article about the P.A. announcers on M*A*S*H. I’ve been thinking about expanding my proposed article about the 2008 Malibu Creek State Park site restoration into a broader examination of the outdoor set and an indoor sound stage. Finally, I’m still very interested in writing about cut scenes or alternate takes from episodes of M*A*S*H. I’ve been slowly compiling some information but it’s still not quite ready for prime time yet.

This website has come a long way since it was launched. It’s sometimes hard to believe it’s been online for 15 years and that I’ve been writing about M*A*S*H for so long. Thanks to everyone who has visited over the past decade and a half and all those who have e-mailed and commented.