(01x01) 001 - M*A*S*H -- The Pilot

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RJ
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(01x01) 001 - M*A*S*H -- The Pilot

Post by RJ »

Use this thread to discuss episode 01x01, M*A*S*H -- The Pilot.
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Big Daddy O'Reilly
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Re: (01x01) 001 - M*A*S*H -- The Pilot

Post by Big Daddy O'Reilly »

I like it, though when I really think about it, I think it seems pretty random for a pilot episode... I think this maybe could have worked as maybe the second episode or so, and instead, the pilot could chronicle how the characters ended up at the 4077th, and how they had to adjust to their new conditions and each other... just my thoughts.
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Re: (01x01) 001 - M*A*S*H -- The Pilot

Post by Grove17 »

I feel they acted differently in this episode then in any other episode. You see them doing things like hawk lifting up the blanket on a wounded soldier to salute his "stuff". That would never have happened in any other episode. I do see what you mean about it being kinda random.
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Re: (01x01) 001 - M*A*S*H -- The Pilot

Post by BJ Emerson Flagg »

Like so many other long running series,one can detect sometimes HUGE differences in the area of character development at different points in time.The longer and actor plays one particular,he becomes more able to have sympathy and maybe even empathy for the role,almost as if it were a real person.In the beginning,"MASH" might have appeared to be bland rip-off of the Donald Sutherland/Eliot Gould film,but over the years all four actors who were on the programme for its entire run(Alda,Swit,Farr and WIlliam Christopher)took their roles to many marvelously entertaining and amusing heights.As for the replacement docs(OgdenSteirs,Farrell and Morgan),they too did seem a LITTLE stiff at the starts of their tenures on the show,but just as the others,came to deliver their roles with more and more palpable believability.By "Goodbye,Farewell,and Amen",we had become so enamored of all of the MASH characters,we threw ourselves deeply into the high emotions of the final scene,Max Klinger's wedding day.We actually FELT the drama of the moment as if we ourselves were finally leaving the Korean war zone.
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RJ
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Re: (01x01) 001 - M*A*S*H -- The Pilot

Post by RJ »

I just rewatched the pilot episode to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of M*A*S*H. I actually kept the laugh track on so I could experience it the way viewers would have when it premiered, except without commercials. I really wonder how people reacted to it. It was 1972. Television and society were very different. It seems so tame by today's standards but was considered racy back then.
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Re: (01x01) 001 - M*A*S*H -- The Pilot

Post by Ferret Face »

As I said in the season 1 discussion thread, it's interesting going back to the beginning of the series and seeing just how different things were from what the show would become. Characters that were written out, characters acting a bit differently from how we'd come to know them, etc. It also felt a bit more sit-com like with a few of its stories, and the pilot was an example of this.

It definitely had its moments. I loved the extended intro, as a way to introduce us to the different characters and the craziness of the show's setting. And looking back on it, after having gone through the whole series, it always gives me a kind of nostalgic feeling. Also, while the character portrayals may not be 100% perfected, it's interesting to see how much of the actors nailed the character interactions at such an early stage. The dynamics of Hawkey/Trapper, Frank/Margaret, and Radar/Henry were all so good already.

As for the story, I do like the idea of Hawkeye and Trapper trying to help Ho Jon go to college by raising money, and some of the Hawkey/Trapper vs. Frank scenes were good. Though I do think it gets a bit too much like a sit-com plot as the story goes on, especially once General Hammond comes to the camp. Still, a fairly enjoyable episode that helps to get the ball rolling.
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