Earlier this week Rolling Stone published a list of the 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time and M*A*S*H landed in the 16th spot. Here’s what the magazine had to say about the show:
The Korean War show that lasted three times as long as the Korean War, taking off from the revolutionary 1970 Robert Altman comedy, as the doctors and nurses of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital wait for the next chopper with the next crop of wounded grunts requiring “meatball surgery.” M*A*S*H began as a gritty comedy, with Alan Alda’s Hawkeye and the rest of the staff trying to keep their sense of humor alive amid the daily carnage with booze, sex and hijinks. It evolved into a solemn (if sometimes preachy) meditation on the futility of war. The finale was seen by more than 120 million and remains one of the most-watched TV events of all time.
Among the 15 TV shows considered “greater” than M*A*S*H are The West Wing, Game of Thrones, Freaks and Geeks, All in the Family, The Twilight Zone, and The Simpsons. For the record, here are the five greatest TV shows of all time according to Rolling Stone: Seinfeld, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Wire, and The Sopranos.
Lists like these are always subjective and tend to be skewed toward more recent TV shows. Back in 2013, TV Guide published its own list of the 60 Best Series of All Time and M*A*S*H ranked eighth.
I think TV Guide ranked it much higher than that. Definitely in the top five, I believe, along with SEINFELD, ALL IN THE FAMILY, I LOVE LUCY, and I think THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW.
It definitely ranked 8th back in 2013. See this ABC.com article.
What a world we live in when garbage like MODERN FAMILY and THE BIG DANG THEORY are even considered among the greatest shows of all time.
I rank mash number one all time favorite mash made me laugh sure it was the war but it carry the show in a respectable way
Rolling Stones’ list is very famous. It’s great to be featured there.
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I’ve never seen a Rolling Stone ranking list that I didn’t think was pure trash. M*A*S*H and All in the Family are the two greatest shows that I’ve ever seen, period. The fact that they were also the best sitcoms was incidental. I was only a child when they were on TV but I could never forget either of them.
The final episode is the only TV show that has defeated SUPERBOWLS when it comes to ratings. This is still true almost 40 years later (39 years, 5 months and 9 days as of today).
Mash is the Greatest show Period! It made me laugh and cry, But it always made me feel something!