tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post3506972733759740433..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: How we plotted stories on MASHBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70490442076322760262019-03-13T17:42:37.634-07:002019-03-13T17:42:37.634-07:00First time that I came across this site and Ken Le...First time that I came across this site and Ken Levine's outline on writing scripts for MASH would be a great white paper and instructions for perspective writers to use. Some here have posted that they thought they show was too lighthearted in the first seasons and become too preachy in later seasons. I've watched this show since it first came out when I was a kid with my step-dad. Through the years, it is still one of my top five t.v. shows. I spent a year in Iraq, 2006-2007, and completed two tours. Since that time watching this show has changed for me. I see and hear things, that before my tour of duty, went far over my head, but now I hear real Army-speak and the nuances that I lived day-to-day. How the writer's were able to point out the finer details of Army life in a war zone, is something that I will never understand, but they did a great job. Now days, when I watch the show, there are lines that characters speak that could come right out my experiences in Iraq. <br />The writers, actors, plots, were all executed very well. Of course some shows were a bit slow and unfocused, but so was real life in my war zone. I enjoy the last five seasons moreso than the earlier shows because it is more down-to-earth and like Army-life, for the most part. Armybouynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24220567009912783172015-09-24T05:23:09.948-07:002015-09-24T05:23:09.948-07:00The first three years of MASH were very funny... a...The first three years of MASH were very funny... aka a comedy. All the remaining years MASH was a poorly written and acted drama. MASH had the correct formula with Hawkeye, Trapper, Henry Blake, Hot Lips & Frank, Klinger & Radar... and even some occasional other characters (nurses, doctors, anesthetist, dentist, etc) that had small lines but gave the show some depth. After the third year, we were spoon fed Hawkeye and BJ routines with Colonel Potter playing dad. The character BJ was the worst. All BJ did was walk around behind Hawkeye adding in da,dum,dum finishes to Hawk's jokes... it was embarrassing at best. This is not an assassination attempt on Levine. His work will stand the test of time. The problems I mention were created by upper management letting the best actors/characters slip away and also letting political correctness replace comedy with shitty drama.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42761676505992723602014-05-07T01:41:56.325-07:002014-05-07T01:41:56.325-07:00I agree with Anonymous & cannot believe the ve...I agree with Anonymous & cannot believe the venom directed toward her/him by folks who claim they have a sense of humor. MASH was indeed preachy & took itself entirely too seriously--believing its own hype--as the series went on. Try just listening to it sometime without watching it--the lively banter & endless repartee quickly becomes tedious. Eventually this patter became an end unto itself & had little to do with furthering the original theme of the show.Sandranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1388909911385937902010-08-18T09:33:19.148-07:002010-08-18T09:33:19.148-07:00Dear Anonymous,
Everyone is most certainly entitl...Dear Anonymous,<br /><br />Everyone is most certainly entitled to his/her opinion. As you've expressed yours, unsolicited though it may be, I feel entitled to do the same:<br /><br />1) Get a name change. Yours is far too similar to all the other trolls, and I'd hate to see you not getting the credit you so richly deserve for sharing your thoughts.<br /><br />2)Since Gary Coleman is dead, it's highly unlikely that you're correct.<br /><br />3) If you think Alda isn't funny, you should listen to yourself some time. The man has more heart and ability in his pinkie nail during any given 30 seconds (including sleep time) than you'll ever muster collectively in your entire lifespan. Just clarifying, since you seem to have become confused and deluded into thinking the existence of your opinion matters to anyone but yourself any more than your anonymity. Perhaps that's due to the name thing... or maybe you're just an unmitigated dull tool all the time. Either way, the clincher's the same: Be gone, before a house falls ... oh, wait, wrong script.JThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18019916987115972897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51961398270707290752010-08-17T20:07:31.927-07:002010-08-17T20:07:31.927-07:00The show was funny in the first four of five years...The show was funny in the first four of five years, then it became this boring, preachy, politically correct lesson each week. Alda is not a funny man. When Hot Lips became Margaret it was over. Gary Coleman could act circles around any of these people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21089544856966626402010-05-05T07:13:23.851-07:002010-05-05T07:13:23.851-07:00I just wanted to mention, my wife and I have been ...I just wanted to mention, my wife and I have been rewatching all 11 seasons of <i>M.A.S.H.</i> on DVD, usually anywhere from 2-5 episodes a night, and we're currently in season 7, your era, and I take special notice when I see "Levine & Isaacs" in the credits. <br /><br />We both remember watching the show with our families as children, and then later, in our high school period, it was in syndication 3-4 times a day, so you could watch a <i>M.A.S.H.</i>-fest after school until dinner time every day if you wanted, so the show is quite fixed in our memories. <br /><br />Point of View, which you mentioned in your post about shaking up the format, was one of the handful of episodes that really stood out in my memory (The one with the ghost soldier and the one in real time were the others that immediately came to mind). So, yeah, it worked. <br /><br />Although it was always funny, each episode had touching, poignant moments that stay with you. I am a screenwriter trying hard to be a <i>working</i> screenwriter, and this show is the best education in balancing comedy and drama. Kudos!<br /><br />There isn't much TV that we all watch together these days, but my daughter (8) is watching <i>M.A.S.H.</i> with us. Although she prefers Henry Blake to Sherman Potter, she's really enjoying the show, ("Can't I watch another M.A.S.H., pleeeease?") and we're delighted to share something special from our childhood with her, rediscovering an old favourite with new eyes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49362152991985523862010-04-24T12:12:40.911-07:002010-04-24T12:12:40.911-07:00I don't think the episodes Alda wrote himself ...I don't think the episodes Alda wrote himself were particularly preachy. Indeed, I think he wrote some of the best episodes in the later seasons.<br /><br />Again, I thought the comedy was less edgy in the last two or three seasons. Not because if was anti-war, but just the opposite. It didn't reflect the war at all.<br /><br />With a few exceptions (there are always a few exceptions) the dramatic episodes were fine. <br /><br />I wonder if the reigning philosophy in the least few seasons was that the war could only be approached dramatically, but not comedically.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-64700927208592523632010-04-23T18:14:02.615-07:002010-04-23T18:14:02.615-07:00> I understand that as a series ages, there'...> I understand that as a series ages, there's a tendency towards the formulaic and predictable, but why were the last five seasons of M*A*S*H also so preachy compared to the first five?<br /><br />Indeed, as others have said, the general allegation is that it was because Alda became more involved with pre-production and writing; for my part, it never bothered me...Baylinkhttp://baylink.pitas.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4293302977901755752010-04-22T20:55:17.925-07:002010-04-22T20:55:17.925-07:00Apropos of the comment about Alan Alda, I remember...Apropos of the comment about Alan Alda, I remember a Chicago TV critic, Gary Deeb, who just HATED Alda and beat him up every time he could in his column. Unquestionably, MASH could get preachy. But I've always thought a great example of the combination of comedy and drama in the later years was when the congressional aide accused Margaret of having been a communist. It fit the times incredibly well, and had a touch of lunacy to it.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998867386294693956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31459621515149139812010-04-22T16:49:40.911-07:002010-04-22T16:49:40.911-07:00I loved MASH from the first season to the last.
A...I loved MASH from the first season to the last.<br /><br />As much as I loved the more freewheeling early seasons- I think adding more depth to established characters like Margaret and Klinger as well as all the various cast turnovers helped keep the show from going stale.<br /><br />I think much of the whining about how MASH 'went to the dogs' after the early years has a lot more to do with Alan Alda's personal life then with the show itself - namely his outspokenness on some liberal issues back during the height of his fame .<br /><br />Alda really hit a very, VERY sore spot with certain kinds of people - and all these years later I think they are still trying to make him (and the show) 'pay' for it.-beenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12807264415856809732010-04-22T09:37:10.034-07:002010-04-22T09:37:10.034-07:00Ken,
Just a thought ...
Any chance a collection ...Ken,<br /><br />Just a thought ...<br /><br />Any chance a collection of your M*A*S*H scripts could be collected and published, much like The West Wing scripts from a few years back? <br /><br />M*A*S*H still has such a base that I would think this could make a few dollars on the market.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00107309396839340695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-27589149583174043422010-04-21T15:52:57.035-07:002010-04-21T15:52:57.035-07:00Exactly the point, Kirk. In the final analysis, i...Exactly the point, Kirk. In the final analysis, it was still all about a war, and there's nothing happy/smiley about them. The characters made the best of it, but it's still a war. What would have been Wrong would be to paint it "All's well that ends well." The show seemed determined to pay proper respect to those who served in that war.<br /><br />Ken, you gonna weigh in on this? :)SpectreWriter.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11457463529999161362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62749964520174762932010-04-21T15:00:20.172-07:002010-04-21T15:00:20.172-07:00I think the drama in MASH was good right up until ...I think the drama in MASH was good right up until the end. However, the comedy in the last, say, three seasons, lost lot of it's punch. It was comedy relief, basically, and not so different from what you'd see in more innocuous sitcoms. There was no more black comedy, whereas there was quite a bit in the earlier seasons. Watch the final episode with Henry Blake. It's comedic for most of the episode, until Radar walks into the OR with the bad news. If anything, the earlier humor made the unhappy ending even more devastating.Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02155991693956178030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26466391808491176522010-04-21T14:50:49.367-07:002010-04-21T14:50:49.367-07:00I kept in mind when reading your post that MASH wa...I kept in mind when reading your post that MASH was only a half hour show. So you juggled all of that in what, 22-25 minutes of airtime? The economy of that is the part that blows my mind.Dawn Marienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44394850039364712122010-04-21T11:05:54.536-07:002010-04-21T11:05:54.536-07:00Off topic, but I think that MASH in its later seas...Off topic, but I think that MASH in its later seasons would have played better if there'd been a regular camp barber character to keep both Jamie Farr and Loretta Swit from sporting 1980s blow-dried haircuts in a 1950s army setting.Chas Cunninghamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74723085598690959022010-04-21T10:30:16.836-07:002010-04-21T10:30:16.836-07:00Hi Ken, Question for a Friday. I liked the charact...Hi Ken, Question for a Friday. I liked the character Colonel Flag - CID, CID, CIA, etc. Where did you get ideas for him?Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00760229533287495672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32520528954119102552010-04-21T09:17:35.713-07:002010-04-21T09:17:35.713-07:00Reading all of the comments so far, I find it inte...Reading all of the comments so far, I find it interesting that some of you have such strong recollection of specific episode's components, as well as tendencies within a season. Gotta disagree with John's statement, "The best asset/skill MASH had in Seasons 3-7 was the ability to maintain the balance between the serious plot lines and the lighter ones," though. Hardly the BEST. The show and each episode in it, each aspect that made up the whole, those were all impressive. To me, that was the heart of MASH, rather than an overall tendency.<br /><br />What strikes me, though, is that so much of it comes down to memorabilia. What about the now? What can we gain, learn from these masterful works? The times aren't that different. People are still human, and the show was decidedly about the that.<br /><br />Some of you expressed that it got too preachy in the later years. I was glad to see them using their vehicle as a means of conveying messages, leading by example, per se. MASH was never about fluff -- not in the original film nor in the series. What would have been a shame and waste would have been to reduce it to a bag of laughs.SpectreWriter.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11457463529999161362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87176279337254925812010-04-21T09:07:55.009-07:002010-04-21T09:07:55.009-07:00The best asset/skill MASH had in Seasons 3-7 was t...The best asset/skill MASH had in Seasons 3-7 was the ability to maintain the balance between the serious plot lines and the lighter ones, to the point that one side didn't dominate the other. <br /><br />Seasons 1-2 at times tended to be a little too lighthearted, going back to military shows the networks felt safe with in the 1960s, like McHale's Navy or Hogan's Heroes (both of which Gene Reynolds did some work on), while the Season 8-11 shows at times tended to either get too serious, or have forced comedy plot lines. And the decision to have the characters be less laid-back and louder and more expressive in the comedy scenes in the final few seasons (Harry Morgan especially) also didn't help things any.<br /><br />(And while I'm thinking about, it, there was one Season 6 plot line that felt a bit weird, where Charles was scheming to exchange script at a higher rate, but ended up losing all his money because he couldn't get back into camp on time. While there was nothing wrong with the concept, it felt more like a plot line for Season 5, with Larry Linville's Frank Burns trying to pull off a stunt like that instead of David Ogden Stiers Bay State Brahman doing it. Were there ever any plot lines that didn't fit into one epsiode but were still considered good that were 'held over' for use in a later epsiode?)Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43338484604399080932010-04-21T08:49:51.126-07:002010-04-21T08:49:51.126-07:00Do you (or your readers) know which sitcom is cred...<i>Do you (or your readers) know which sitcom is credited with being the first to feature multiple stories per episode?</i><br /><br />I've wondered that too. As you say, the standard practice for many years was one story per episode. (Even <i>WKRP</i> or <i>Taxi</i> would usually have one-story shows.) <br /><br />I always got the impression that <i>Barney Miller</i> may have done a lot to formalize the idea of having more than one story per episode, since Danny Arnold built each episode out of several different stories (all taking place on the same set). But before that, I recall Gelbart's <i>M*A*S*H</i> was doing more multi-story episodes.Jaime J. Weinmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77778697548138276242010-04-21T08:25:43.199-07:002010-04-21T08:25:43.199-07:00old pics. hmm maybe in present those in the pics a...old pics. hmm maybe in present those in the pics are old nowdodzhttp://online-preview.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65625295808350139492010-04-21T05:59:07.948-07:002010-04-21T05:59:07.948-07:00Ken, thanks for sharing the behind-the-scenes info...Ken, thanks for sharing the behind-the-scenes info, as always.<br /><br />Do you (or your readers) know which sitcom is credited with being the first to feature multiple stories per episode?<br /><br />That was standard practice in Seinfeld and Cheers, but the shows I grew up with were much more simply constructed (e.g., "Beaver loses his sweater" or "Lucy steals John Wayne's footprints").<br /><br />(Having one story made it easier for someone at TV Guide to summarize each episode.)Philnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80370837359719318132010-04-21T05:13:15.348-07:002010-04-21T05:13:15.348-07:00Um...now I would really like to hear some of those...Um...now I would really like to hear some of those stories you couldn't use because no one would believe them. There's a trope for that, 'Aluminum Christmas Trees'. <br /><br />I think the Dreams episode was one of my favourites. And the one with the ghost. Was that yours?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52938038674961852162010-04-21T00:30:01.827-07:002010-04-21T00:30:01.827-07:00"Jim said...
Why were the last five seasons ...<i>"Jim said... <br />Why were the last five seasons of M*A*S*H also so preachy compared to the first five?"</i><br /><br />Well they were freaked out about still being in the Korean War for a decade, when it only lasted a year. "Why are we still here? The war ended 9 years ago!"<br /><br />Very interesting posting.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-32550154656352042862010-04-20T23:12:30.754-07:002010-04-20T23:12:30.754-07:00Why? Maybe they became more comfortable with Korea...Why? Maybe they became more comfortable with Korea? More fed up? Maybe feelings about the war overall changed, or the Koreans' attitudes about them changed? Plenty of reasons that the characters might have tended to act differently in their last 5 years than their first 5 years, not the least of which would be the passing of time.:)SpectreWriter.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11457463529999161362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4027390891698245212010-04-20T23:01:15.931-07:002010-04-20T23:01:15.931-07:00I wasn't there the last four seasons. I reall...I wasn't there the last four seasons. I really can't speak for what was done or why. I can just speak for my years.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.com