M*A*S*H Documentaries and Specials

Introduction

In the thirty-five years since M*A*S*H first went on the air 1972 there have been a variety of special television programs dedicated to the sitcom, including two cast retrospectives, one documentary and several other programs. Many of these specials have been released on DVD as part of the “Martinis & Medicine” complete collection in November 2006, although several are currently unavailable. In addition to these programs dedicated solely to M*A*S*H, the series has been included in countless other television documentaries and specials.

“Making M*A*S*H” (PBS; 1981)

(Read all about “Making M*A*S*H” in this full-length article.)

The very first television special dedicated to M*A*S*H was a documentary entitled “Making M*A*S*H” originally aired on PBS stations throughout the United States on January 21st, 1981. It was shot during the production of two Season Eight Episodes (“Old Soldiers” and “Lend a Hand”) which originally aired on CBS in January 1980.

“Memories of M*A*S*H” (CBS; 1991)

It would be a decade before the next special aired. Hosted by one-time M*A*S*H guest star Shelley Long, “Memories of M*A*S*H” included brand-new interviews with the cast as well as producers, creators and guest-stars. The 90-minute retrospective aired on November 25th, 1991 on CBS as part of its “Classic Weekend II,” which also included “The Bob Newhart 19th Anniversary Special” and “The Best of Ed Sullivan II.” Dozens of clips from over over sixty different episodes were shown. It was the brain-child of Michael Hirsh (also responsible for “Making M*A*S*H”) and coincided with the 20th anniversary of M*A*S*H. The broadcast ranked fourth for the week and helped CBS win the Thanksgiving “sweeps” week. A rebroadcast in August 1992 tied for 38th.

Memories of M*A*S*H

“Memories of M*A*S*H”

When cable channel FX purchased the exclusive rights to air M*A*S*H in 1999, it also purchased the rights to air “Memories of M*A*S*H”. It was aired at least once. The retrospective also aired on cable channel VH-1 at least once.

Entertainment Tonight Episode (Syndicated; 1999)

The weekend edition of Entertainment Tonight aired an hour-long episode dedicated to M*A*S*H in October 1999. Because Entertainment Tonight airs in syndication, it was shown in various parts of the United States at various times between Friday, October 29th and Sunday, October 31st, 1999. The episode featured interviews with the cast and crew, including what was likely one of the last interviews with Larry Linville, who passed away in April 2000. Cable channel TV Land later rebroadcast the Entertainment Tonight episode in November 2003.

“M*A*S*H TV Tales” (E!; 2002)

In 2002, in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of M*A*S*H, cable channel E! aired an hour-long documentary as part of its TV Tales series. Most of the cast and production staff appeared; Alan Alda and Harry Morgan were among those missing. The M*A*S*H edition of TV Tales was first broadcast on Sunday, April 21st, 2002 at 9:00PM, followed by another broadcast at 10:00PM. Two more broadcasts were shown that week, and the special has aired several times since then. It was not included in the Martinis & Medicine collection.

“30th Anniversary Reunion Special” (FOX; 2002)

A month later, on May 18th, 2002, FOX broadcast the official “30th Anniversary Reunion Special”, which brought together the entire surviving cast (as well as members of the production staff and frequent guest-star Allan Arbus). First announced in early April 2002, the reunion special was confirmed a week or so later. Produced by Mike Farrell, who wanted to make sure the special wasn’t exploitative, the two-hour special was edited down from multiple hours of footage shot of the cast and crew in the weeks before the special aired.

30th Anniversary Reunion

“30th Anniversary Reunion Special”

In early May, FOX started promoting the special and it even received coverage on CNN.com and other news outlets. The “30th Anniversary Reunion Special” ranked first in its time slot with over ten and a half million viewers tuning in. A repeat broadcast was planned for October 2002, but baseball got in the way, so FOX showed its again on Friday, December 27th, 2002. The reunion special was included as part of the “Martinis & Medicine” collection.

“M*A*S*H” – Biography (A&E; 2003)

In July 2003, cable channel A&E aired five episodes of its Biography series that focused on classic television shows as part of “Cult TV Week,” hosted by Al Lewis (Grandpa, The Munsters, Don Moss (Ralph Malph, Happy Days), Adam West (Batman, Batman), Lee Majors (Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man) and Jamie Farr (Klinger, M*A*S*H).

The M*A*S*H edition aired Thursday, July 10th, 2003 at 8:00PM ET and included interviews with Loretta Swit, Gary Burghoff, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, Mike Farrell and Wayne Rogers, as well as Larry Gelbart, Gene Reynolds and Burt Metcalfe. A short segment from a 1980 interview with Alan Alda was also shown. Also included: behind-the-scenes footage, syndicated promotional spots and scene from AfterMASH.

A&E Biography: Television's Serious Sitcom

“M*A*S*H” – Biography

The A&E documentary appears to have originally been intended as an episode of its TV-Ography series, a spin-off of Biography (see this discussion at the Sitcom’s Online Message Boards).

The version broadcast by A&E differs slightly from the version available as part of the Martinis & Medicine collection. Tthe A&E version opens with a “Cult TV” sequence and a short scene with the hosts playing poker. Jamie Farr recalls the early days of M*A*S*H and the documentary begins. Here it is:

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The version on the DVD begins with a generic “Biography” opening and a two minute introduction of M*A*S*H before the documentary begins. Otherwise, the two versions are identical.

References:

Gable, Donna. “Olympics give NBC record win.” USA Today 6 Aug. 1992: 03D.

Published February 10th, 2002
Last updated November 2nd, 2013


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11 Replies to “M*A*S*H Documentaries and Specials”

  1. This was a wonderful series and so much of it was near enough true to life I liked the series so much I brought the whole series I just wonder why they never sold the specials I would have like to add them to my collection
    Both my uncles one aged 18 and one aged 19 served with the Royal Air Force in Korea they were also lucky enough to return home unharmed they watched Mash and used to say how true a lot of it seemed

  2. Can someone please tell me where I can obtain a copy of TV Lands Shelley Long’s interview with MASH characters

    1. The only place I know of is the M*A*S*H: Martinis and Medicine Collection box set. It includes all of the specials (Except the 1981 “Making M*A*S*H) including the Shelly Long hosted Memories of M*A*S*H.

      There is a set for around $40 on ebay right now (6/3/14)!

      1. You can also find that documentary included in the three disc “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen” DVD set too.

  3. Husband and I watched MASH with our three sons way back when and have been watching the re-runs. It was and still is a ‘must. What characters, what story lines, what actors!. Hours of pleasure. Loved it; still love it!!

    1. 03.20.2023. M*A*S*H memories from Pennsylvania.
      It must’ve been fun working on the set of this fabulous TV Series. Can’t believe it’s over 50! I started watching this series back in the early 1980s when it was still new and the TV MASH movie too and I’m glad it never left syndication. I’ve got it on VHS and DVD and old TV Guides. They don’t make em like that anymore unfortunately as the so-called reality series now are awful and only interested in $money. And yes MASH was liberal. Just listen to the characters and their disgust for war.
      Interesting facts: Bob Foxworth of Falcon Crest was asked to be on MASH but turned down the part. He was also married to Elizabeth Montgomery.
      More interests: one of my favorite characters was “This Is Me” Korean actor Richard Lee-Sung episode Officer Of The Day. Luved his mustache and that smile. Those who stayed the longest on this series start to finish: Hawkeye, Margaret Hot Lips what a bod!, Igor, and Klinger. Next, notice how Trapper had fewer lines during the series and when BJ came on, he had a lot more interactions. Next, and my opinion, maybe Frank Burns Larry Linville was the best actor on the series because playing a bad guy is/can be so difficult?! Lastly, I just hope that those simple minded money grubbing trash Wall Street types don’t remake this as everything they touch they ruin as all they care about is money and control not humans nor integrity nor anything else. See the so called idiotic reality series today. Too many monoplies. Someone also has ruined, and on purpose, Charles Schultz’s creation The Peanuts and all for the sake of stupidity and $money.
      Anyway, glad MASH was around then as now and hope that the reruns stay around at least another 50yrs+!! Thanks for the memories!!

  4. I grew up watching MASH. Now I’m watching reruns on METV and buying DVD series when i can find them. My favorite shows were the ones with Col. Flagg, the CIA agent who told ppl he worked fo.r the CIC because it confused them and thought he meant the CID. Radar thinks he’s a CPA. Hilarious. A lot of great actors were on the series: lawrence fishburne from CSI, ron howard had a guest appearance as well as John Ritter and George Lindsay from the Andy Griffith Show.

  5. Anyone have a link to the 5th MASH, Ft Bragg, public television spot that aired along with the final M*A*S*H episode?

  6. Mash has been a major part of my life. Granted, I was young when it was still airing and then it vanished before I had the chance to discover it as a child, but I found it once I was a teen and met the foster family that I would eventually call my family. My new dad and mom both absolutely loved the show and after a time of watching it with little interest, I began to see the diverse and complex amount of characters that were in the show. Now, I have seen the Martini and Medicine version, the one with the original writer growling about the tv show and how it was nothing like what he wanted the book/film to be like. I understand him completely, but at the same time-the th series was separate compared to the movie in my opinion. Not only did they have much, much more time to explore these characters, but they focused on the Korean war-where people just didn’t get what was going on. The time period understood war, total war, world war two was just behind and America was flush with the success of that and Her newfound prominence in the world. Then they had this “police action”. Something people of the time had no understanding of how it actually fit into the mindset of war or not war.add onto this that Hawkeye and Trapper were a bit different then how they were in the book and film, they were more ‘real’ to me. They forced people to tale a hard look at how warfare affected people of all ages, and professions, in the battlezone. They also showed a much more human variance in how they handled the overall level of carnage vs human condition then I feel the characters in the book/film could have handled properly. But I am digressing badly, I liked the film/book, but I LOVED the tv show because of the deep depth of character shown and the availability of these characters to the general public. It showed that it not only stands the test of time, but that no company out there will want to take the time to trust the Public enough to search for the truth of characters like these with the depth and time involved ever again, and that does make me sad for the next generation. I have already seen the level of intelect dropping in my lifetime. And also seen the resurgance of many of the issues that the show brings up, the ‘red menace’? Extreamist feminism and want of socialism. The fact that opinions don’t matter unless they are part of a very small minority? Take any of the fraction of characters in the show who had more military or extreame viewpoints and you have the view of how they act. However, the show gives us all a view of people who have completely different viewpoints, religions, and drives actually overcoming differences and pushing ahead to make something wonderful. We are loosing this as a species, to my sense and it makes me feel both sad and paniced because we are not trying to see all sides of the issues placed before us, like in Mash, and overcoming it as both individual and as a overall group. That is what makes Mash, the shear mass of humanity (even the worst that we can come up with) coming to point in a small unit of people and they not only overcome it but they share their humanity through HOW they overcome it in the end.

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