The 50th anniversary of M*A*S*H is rapidly approaching. Next month will mark five decades since the series debuted on CBS in September 1972. To commemorate the occasion, I’ve planned three modest projects. Before I share the details, I’d like to acknowledge and apologize for how sporadic activity has been here at MASH4077TV.com for far too long.
I’ve written before about how this website is a passion project for me yet also a hobby that takes a backseat to many other things in my life. M*A*S*H remains important to me and there are so many projects I’d love to work on but don’t have the time. I hope to change that by dedicating an hour or two every Monday night to MASH4077TV.com and nothing else.
Starting next month, you’ll see the results of my attempt to carve out some time for M*A*S*H. The first of my three projects celebrating the upcoming 50th anniversary of M*A*S*H is a special 50th Anniversary Episode Poll. Each month for the next 11 months, visitors to MASH4077TV.com will pick the best episode from each season of M*A*S*H. In August 2023, the best episodes from all 11 seasons will face off in a final “best episode” poll.
(I did something like this back in 2015, asking visitors to pick their favorite episode from each season. It will be interesting to see whether the results this time around are similiar. The terms “favorite” and “best” may not be synonymous for some people.)
The second project will see weekly 50 Years of M*A*S*H posts highlight the Season 1 episode that aired 50 years ago, with a link to my Episode Spotlight review and any other noteworthy content from this website and elsewhere. I will be including repeats, so these weekly posts will run through September 2023.
The third and final project is something I’m calling Through the Years. These will be monthly posts each showing how each main character changed from their first appearance to their last. Each post will include stills from at least one episode per season so we can see how the characters evolved. Hawkeye will kick things off in September.
I’ve been so preoccupied with my own 15th anniversary of being a Content Creator on the internet, among other things that have been going on in my life in the past previous months, that it didn’t even occur to me that M*A*S*H would be turning 50 this year! I can still remember back in 2012 when the show turned 40, but for some reason, nobody even cared! I found that a little difficult to even comprehend; even SESAME STREET’s 40th anniversary in 2009 was hyped out the wazoo.
Nevertheless, each of these projects sound most interesting, and I look forward to participating in them as a longtime contributor to this site.
Your 50 Years of MASH project sounds like fun. It reminds me of your great project 7-8 years ago when you went through an entire year of TV Guide issues from 50 years ago to the week.
When will it air on tv? Who will carry it?
TV land will be broadcasting it