The Great 2015 M*A*S*H Episode Poll has concluded. Last month, visitors to MASH4077TV.com chose “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” as their favorite episode of the series. The results were very close, with “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” topping the poll by just one vote. “Dear Sigmund” came in second and “Adam’s Ribs” came in third.
A total of 221 votes were cast, the second largest number of votes cast during the entire Great 2015 M*A*S*H Episode Poll (only Season 5’s favorite episode poll in May drew more votes with 229). All of the episodes received votes, with “‘Twas the Day After Christmas” in last place with four votes; “Where There’s a Will There’s a War” received five votes. Those two episodes tied in the Season 10 poll. Here are the full results:
- Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (Season 11) (18%, 40 Votes)
- Dear Sigmund (Season 5) (18%, 39 Votes)
- Adam’s Ribs (Season 3) (17%, 38 Votes)
- 5 O’Clock Charlie (Season 2) (14%, 31 Votes)
- Death Takes a Holiday (Season 9) (7%, 15 Votes)
- Tuttle (Season 1) (6%, 13 Votes)
- Good-Bye Radar, Part 2 (Season 8) (5%, 12 Votes)
- Welcome to Korea (Season 4) (5%, 10 Votes)
- The Billfold Syndrome (Season 7) (3%, 7 Votes)
- The Smell of Music (Season 6) (3%, 7 Votes)
- Where There’s a Will There’s a War (Tie, S10) (2%, 5 Votes)
- ‘Twas the Day After Christmas (Tie, S10) (2%, 4 Votes)
Personally, I voted for “Adam’s Ribs” rather than “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” or “Death Takes a Holiday” because I think M*A*S*H was at its very best when it was hilarious and absurd. Hawkeye trying to ship ribs from Chicago to Korea is certainly absurd and hilarious. That’s not a knock on the more dramatic episodes–after all, “Death Takes a Holiday” is one of my favorites.
Hit the comments with your reactions to the results. Which episode did you vote for and why?
A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Great 2015 M*A*S*H Episode Poll last year. For the two or three people wondering if I’ll do the same thing for AfterMASH, I’ll only say it’s a possibility.
I personally ended up voting for “Welcome to Korea,” because that was a big risk for M*A*S*H to try to replace two of its former characters with two entirely new and differing characters in their places, and back in those days, most TV shows didn’t do that very often, they would have just simply recast the characters with different actors who wouldn’t have done as good a job and the series would have suffered in the rating (like the Darrin switch on BEWITCHED). M*A*S*H set the bar in so many ways in terms of what possibilities can be had for a TV series, and this was a prime example of how they managed to introduce a new character in place of an old one, and yet that new character was someone totally different than Trapper, yet fit in well with the rest of the cast. Again, it was a big risk, and not one that was often taken in television back then, so I think M*A*S*H did a good job of it.
I also voted for “Adam’s Ribs” as I feel it represents everything that I love about M*A*S*H and lacks any of the elements that I don’t care for (it is not preachy nor melodramatic, for instance).
I love the wacky interactions in “Adam’s Ribs” between the regular cast, combined with the absurd ends they go to in order to acquire the ribs (“Big John” calling Mildred Feeney, bribing the supply Sgt. with part of the order, etc)
“You sent all the way to Chicago, and no cole slaw!?”
“Forgive us, we’re draftees”
I voted for ‘Dear Sigmund.’ I knew GFA would win, so I decided to vote for the episode I thought was the one extremely well written. This was probably Alan’s finest written work for the show and I hope he got some recognition for it.
I voted for “Five O’clock Charlie” because I felt it was extremely funny aside from the presence of Cardozo, the guitar-playing dentist. I felt he really didn’t belong there.
Frank- He who controls the skies controls the war. Herman Goerring said that.
Henry- Well, he wore tutus and ate whole bakeries, Frank.
Just wondering if Goerring actually said that or if Frank was making that up.
Ah, I’m again in the minority. Neither “Adam’s Ribs” nor the final episode rank among my favorites; the former is actually one of my least favorites while the latter I found overblown, predictable, and too melodramatic (though decidedly better than “Adam’s Ribs”).
Can’t say I have a favorite, but, fwiw, among my favorites are:
Tuttle
Yalu Brick Road
Dear Comrades
War For All Seasons
Five O’clock Charlie
Merchant of Korea
Trial of Henry Blake
Old Soldiers
Dear Sigmund (in fact, any episodes dealing with someone writing home …except “Dear Abdul”, which is ruined by that irritating plot about a joke that isn’t even funny)