Here we are at the start of a new year, which means it is once again time to look back at the past year in M*A*S*H. This is my 13th annual Year in Review post although the first five (2002-2006) are currently unavailable. One of my goals for 2015 is to add archival content to the MASH4077TV.com blog, primarily news reports circa 1999-2007, from earlier incarnations of this website.
2014 was yet another slow year for M*A*S*H, with little news to report. February marked the 31st anniversary of the series finale of M*A*S*H (1983-2014) while September marked the 42nd anniversary of the premiere of the series (1972-2014). Unsold pilot “W*A*L*T*E*R” celebrated its 30th anniversary in July (1984-2014).
Sadly, a number of people connected to M*A*S*H passed away in 2014. Stanford Tischler, who served as film editor for all eleven seasons of M*A*S*H, passed away on January 15th at the age of 92. He was an associate producer on the series starting in Season 6 and he worked on AfterMASH and the unsold pilot “W*A*L*T*E*R” as well. Actress Marcia Strassman, who played Nurse Margie Cutler in six episodes of M*A*S*H, passed away on October 25th at the age of 66.
Other deaths during 2014 included actor Frank Marth (January 12th), scriptwriter Rick Mittleman (July 30th), and actor Edward Herrmann (December 31st).
In February, Super Bowl XLVIII averaged 112.19 million viewers, pushing “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” to sixth on the list of most-watched television programs of all time in the United States. And in March, Gary Burghoff auctioned off the original teddy bear frequently seen on the series. It sold for $14,307.50.
For many years, I ended these yearly reviews with the following line from “A War For All Seasons:”
Colonel Potter: “Here’s to the new year. May she be a damn sight better than the old one, and may we may we all be home before she’s over.”
It never seemed quite appropriate, though. The only other mention of the New Year from M*A*S*H I’ve been able to find is this exchange from “Hot Lips and Empty Arms:”
Margaret: “Did either of you ever kiss Frank?”
Trapper: “Not me. How about you?”
Hawkeye: “I was hoping maybe this New Year’s Eve.
Margaret: “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but Frank Burns is a lipless wonder.”
It’s not perfect either. Regardless, Happy New Year, everyone.
Happy New Year to everyone!!
My wish for M*A*S*H this year is that it gets back on TV, if not on TVLand, then on another channel.
M*A*S*H is currently available in reruns on Me-TV, which is often a digital subchannel of other channels or is available to some AT&T U-Verse subscribers on channel 136. The show is on weeknights at both 6:00 & 6:30 PM Central Time.
what’s “AT&T U-VERSE”?
not TV LAND; they’ll shred it to ribbons.