Monday M*A*S*H Discussions offers fans the opportunity to offer their opinions on a wide variety of topics relating to M*A*S*H. Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. My hope is these discussion posts will continue to elicit comments in the weeks and months after they’re initially published. Have a suggestion about something you think might be worth discussing? Let me know and maybe it will become my next Monday M*A*S*H Discussion topic.
Today’s topic is: What’s the worst M*A*S*H musical moment?
Is There One?
In May 2018, the very first Monday M*A*S*H Discussion topic asked readers to pick the favorite M*A*S*H musical moment. Today we’re discussing the opposite: the worst musical moment on M*A*S*H. To be honest, I’m having a hard time thinking of a musical moment that is truly bad. It’s easy to come up with musical performances I enjoy and/or appreciate, like “Gee, Ma, I Wanna Go Home” from “Movie Tonight” (Season 5) or “Dona Nobis Pacem” from “Dear Sis” (Season 7).
Am I having trouble thinking of a bad musical moment because there weren’t any? Or because the bad ones are easily forgotten unlike the funny or poignant musical moments, which are more memorable?
The one musical moment that immediately sprung to mind when I settled on this topic for today’s post was Margaret’s rendition of “C’est Magnifique,” also from “Movie Tonight.” Her performance is, in my opinion, supposed to last too long and she’s not supposed to be the greatest singer, so it doesn’t seem fair to label it the worst musical moment from the series.
Hit the comments with your thoughts.
I, personally, am not a fan of any of the USO performances in “That’s Showbiz” They were pretty sappy and, in my opinion, very poorly done. If I were a soldier trying to enjoy a bit of respite with this troupe, it would put me in more of a grouchy mood
I’m probably way in the minority here, but I personally found Fr. Mulcahy’s Korean War song kinda cringeworthy.
What, “A chaplain in the Army has a collar on his neck, if you don’t listen to him, you’ll all wind up in heck”?
No, the war song he composed in season 8’s “Dear Uncle Abdul.” Like so much from that era, it came off too heavy-handed for me.
Off the top of my head, I’d go with the USO singing in “Showtime”. Something about it always annoyed the crap out of me, and it’s one of the few episodes I almost refuse to watch because of it.
The worst M*A*S*H musical moment is simply the fact that Burt Metcalfe got rid of any kind of music scoring by Season 8. Not even the little buttons of incidental music going in and out of commercial breaks.