How Many Episodes of M*A*S*H Are There?

Some of you may have seen the title of this post and are wondering how anyone can even question the number of M*A*S*H episodes in existence. It shouldn’t be a mystery. It’s a known fact how many episodes were broadcast. And you’d be right, sort of. There are actually two schools of thought when it comes to how many episodes of M*A*S*H there are.

Until recently, I was very firmly on the side of those who state unequivocally that there are 251 and only 251 episodes of M*A*S*H.

Sources Vary: 251 or 255 (or 256) Episodes

Suzy Kalter’s The Complete Book of M*A*S*H says there are 251 episodes. So does M*A*S*H: The Exclusive, Inside Story of T.V.’s Most Popular Show by David S. Reiss. The original M*A*S*H FAQ and Episode Guide compiled by members of the alt.tv.mash Usenet newsgroup in the 1990s both state that there are 251 episodes.

Many online sources, including epguides.com and Wikipedia, indicate that there are in fact 255 episodes plus the series finale which is considered a standalone special. TV.com doesn’t include an episode count. The Internet Movie Database, under Technical Specs, mentions both 255 and 256 episodes.

The Hour-Long Episodes

In order to arrive at 251 episodes, the five hour-long episodes of M*A*S*H must be counted as single episodes:

• “Welcome to Korea” (Season 4) – September 12th, 1975
• “Bug Out” (Season 5) – September 21st, 1976
• “Fade Out, Fade In” (Season 6) – September 20th, 1977
• “Our Finest Hour” (Season 7) – October 9th, 1978
• “That’s Show Biz” (Season 10) – October 26th, 1981

All of these originally aired as special hour-long presentations on CBS. Three of them–“Welcome to Korea,” “Bug Out,” and “That’s Show Biz”–were later repeated as hour-long episodes. “Fade Out, Fade In” was repeated as two half-hour episodes. CBS never repeated “Our Finest Hour” at all.

When M*A*S*H was sold into syndication, the five hour-long episodes were split into two half-hour episodes. These each featured a “To Be Continued…” slate at the end of the first half and a recap at the beginning of the second half. “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” wasn’t syndicated along with the rest of the series. That meant the syndication package consisted of 255 episodes.

Columbia House released four of the hour-long episodes on VHS in their original form. “That’s Show Biz” wasn’t released at all. With the exception of “Our Finest Hour,” all of them were released on DVD as one-hour episodes. Netflix streamed them all as two half-hour episodes.

The Production Codes

Those who argue there are actually 255 or 256 episodes point out that the five hour-long episodes were given two production codes. What’s a production code? It’s the number assigned to each episode by 20th Century Fox for various reasons relating to producing a TV show. Each episode was given a unique production code. You can find them at the very end of the closing credits.

For the record, here are the production codes for the five hour-long episodes:

• “Welcome to Korea, Part 1” (G-504)
• “Welcome to Korea, Part 2” (G-506)
• “Bug Out, Part 1” (U-801)
• “Bug Out, Part 2” (U-802)
• “Fade Out, Fade In, Part 1” (Y-101)
• “Fade Out, Fade In, Part 2” (Y-102)
• “Our Finest Hour, Part 1” (T-408)
• “Our Finest Hour, Part 2” (T-409)
• “That’s Show Biz, Part 1” (Z-419)
• “That’s Show Biz, Part 2” (Z-420)

If the hour-long episodes actually have two production codes, doesn’t that prove they’re two episodes?

(I recently published an episode list in production order that includes production codes for every episode.)

251 Broadcasts, 256 Episodes

I’m not sure exactly when my thoughts on the episode question started to evolve. I actually started working on this post last June. So I’ve been thinking about it for at least that long. Based on the production codes, it seems very clear to me that 256 episodes were produced because there are 256 production codes.

From the point of view of CBS, the hour-long episodes were intended to be viewed as hour-long episodes. From the point of view of 20th Century Fox, that may not be the case. Perhaps 20th Century Fox produced the hour-long episodes as two half-hour episodes each and then edited an hour-long version for CBS to air. I can’t say for sure.

When writing about M*A*S*H here at my website–and this goes back to 1999 when I started it–I’ve always used the 251 number. And I probably always will. That’s how the series originally aired on CBS. But I have no problem making a distinction between the 251 episodes as originally broadcast by CBS and the 256 episodes produced by 20th Century Fox.

---

How many episodes of M*A*S*H do you think there are? Have you even thought about it? Do you care? Hit the comments with your thoughts.