Product Description

Contains all eleven seasons of the television show M*A*S*H.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 7-NOV-2006
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1399 in DVD
• Brand: MASH
• Released on: 2006-11-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 36
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 36
• Running time: 6695 minutes

Amazon.com
This M*A*S*H-tastic 36-disc collection is one for the television time capsule. It contains all 11 seasons of this multi-Emmy Award-winning series, PLUS Robert Altman's 1970 iconoclastic anti-war classic, PLUS two discs of special features, including two reunion specials and a series retrospective episode of A&E's Biography. As with the individual season sets, there are no new episode commentaries, a major disappointment. But M*A*S*H-ophiles will enjoy this set's other bonus features, including emotional behind-the-scenes footage of the filming of the last half-hour episode, "As Time Goes By," the inevitable bloopers, interviews with cast members as well as fans about their favorite episodes, a segment about the series' "Jocularity," a parade of PSAs (cut down on salt to avoid heart disease), and the text of an unproduced script penned by Alda for an episode titled, "Hawkeye on the Double." All of this material (except for a commemorative booklet) is available elsewhere in different configurations, but this space-saving (albeit ungainly packaged) box set collects them all under one tent.

Adapted for television by legendary comedy writer Larry Gelbart, the series has long since supplanted Altman's film in the public's consciousness. Life and death at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War doesn't seem like ripe fodder for a comedy series, but M*A*S*H masterfully balanced laughter and tears (less so in its later, more preachy seasons). It often does play better without a laugh track (a viewing option for all episodes). During its run, M*A*S*H survived several delicate operations, including the departure of Gelbart after season 4 and the loss of core ensemble members McLean Stevenson as Col. Henry Blake and Wayne Rogers as Trapper John (after season 3), Larry Linville as Frank Burns (after season 5) and Gary Burghoff (a veteran of the original film) as Radar (after season 8). The show thrived with the introduction of some new blood, Henry Morgan as "regular Army" Col. Potter and Mike Farrell as compassionate BJ (season 4) and David Ogden Stiers as elitist Charles Emerson Winchester III (season 6).

M*A*S*H was honored with the prestigious Peabody Award "for the depth of its humor and the manner in which comedy is used to lift the spirit and, as well, to offer a profound statement on the nature of war." This was a sitcom that did not always leave you laughing, as witness the classic season 3 episode "Abyssinia, Henry." And throughout its run, M*A*S*H broke the sitcom mold with several episodes, including "The Interview" (season 4), in which Clete Roberts interviews the staff of the 4077th, "Point of View" (season 7), subjectively seen through the eyes of a wounded soldier and "Life Time" (season 8), which unfolds in real time. M*A*S*H boasted one of television's greatest ensembles, fully embodied characters who each became icons, most notably Alan Alda, who served with distinction as Hawkeye, the series' soul and conscience. But a special salute to Loretta Switt, whose Margaret Houlihan went from "Hot Lips" to nobody's pushover. From the "Pilot" to the feature-length finale, "Goodbye, Farewell & Amen," still the most-watched episode in history, this essential (but not so much if you bought the individual season sets) collection honors one of television's greatest half-hours. --Donald Liebenson

Amazon.com
One of television's longest-running and most beloved shows of all time is now available in one extraordinary DVD collection. Loaded with top-rank extras that every M*A*S*H fan will love, The Ultimate Collection contains all 11 heartwarming and hilarious seasons, including the record-breaking series finale (still the most-watched episode in TV history), plus the original 1970 film, two all-new bonus discs and a retrospective book created exclusively for this release. Relive all your favorite M*A*S*H memories with the doctors and nurses of the 4077th that kept us in stitches—and created a true television classic.

Beyond M*A*S*H: Martinis and Medicine Collection

M*A*S*H - Season Eleven (Collector's Edition)

M*A*S*H (Single Disc Edition)

M*A*S*H - Season Ten (Collector's Edition)

Stills from M*A*S*H: Martinis and Medicine Collection (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Great Show
This show is older than my time but it stands the test of time. For as much as I received for what I payed, it was a great purchase.

Good product + comments about 11 year evolution
First, I will say that I consider MASH to be one of the top 3 sitcoms of TV history and I also consider it to be among the top 10 dramas of TV history.

The biggest plus (and it really is great) is that you can listen to these episodes without the laugh track. Once I heard it w/out the laugh track, I realized how much the laugh track cheapened the show. As an added bonus, the laugh track free version makes the true laughs funnier.

One last comment is in regards to comments others have made of this series. Some have claimed that MASH evolved into a more preachy show towards the end. The show certainly evolved (more so than just about any other series I can think of) but I don't think it went from less preachy to more preachy. I think it went from a comedy to a drama. Interestingly enough, I think that as it morphed into its run as a drama, it started to adapt some of the formulas of sitcoms. Early on I think they filmed more out doors and less on set. Also the early seasons featured more actors and more recurring characters. In the later seasons, it was if the whole camp was composed of just 7 people (or at least only 7 that mattered).

As far as the preachiness goes, it often wasn't preaching per se. We weren't often bothered by long winded monologs. The moral message was in the plot as a whole and that saved us from hearing "sermons" from the characters. The moral message of earlier episodes was always the same: war is hell and if you try to dress it up as glorious or if you try to romanticize it, you are crazy. After 3 to 5 years of preaching this same message, episode after episode, it is not surprising that the moral themes started to broaden out. Alcoholism, male chauvinism, bigotry (against color, religion, ethnicity, disability, etc.) become subjects of various episodes. I personally think the moral stance taken by the show over the entire 11 years was fantastic and frankly, if we had more politicians today that got their morals from MASH, I think the world would be a better place. However, if you aren't sympathetic towards minorities & women then I could see how the preachiness of the last few seasons would irritate you. For me though, a moral message was present in nearly every episode and rather than detract from the show, I think it added to it.

Great entertainment, poor packaging.
I can't ever remember when I've scratched a DVD and not been able to play it, but that's the case here. Just remove once from the packaging and this could be that time. It's great to relive this wonderful show, and there's even episodes I never saw so some of it's first-run for me! Great entertainment. Again, get the DVDs out of the original packaging as soon as you get this.