When we think of award shows, the first ones that come to mind are the Emmy’s, Oscars, Tony’s, and, perhaps, the Golden Globes. These award shows honor television, movies, and theatre from the prior year. Each award ceremony celebrates the current work of actors and production teams across multiple industries. However, from 2003 to 2012 (and again in 2015 and 2016), the cable network TV Land hosted the TV Land Awards. This award show was unique in that in honored classic television shows and the actors who appeared in them. I remember watching most of the TV Land Awards, and in 2009, M*A*S*H was honored by TV Land with the Impact Award. Many of the show’s actors and production team appeared on stage in a mini-reunion. I recently acquired a “For Your Emmy Consideration” DVD of the 2009 TV Land Award ceremony, so I thought it would be fun to look back at the award ceremony that night and relive a M*A*S*H reunion.
The 2009 TV Land Awards was the seventh annual event, and it honored a number of iconic shows and actors. Unlike most traditional award shows, there were no nominees with one selected winner. Instead, the winner of each award knew in advance which encouraged members of the cast and production team of the shows to attend. Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, each award was presented by an entertainment icon in their own right. The awards presented at the 2009 TV Land Awards and its winners are below:
- Anniversary Award: Knots Landing (30th Anniversary) (1979 – 1993)
- Entertainer Award: Earth, Wind & Fire
- Future Classic Award: Two and a Half Men (2003 – 2015)
- Fan Favorite Award: Home Improvement (1991 – 1999)
- Hero Award: Magnum, P.I. (1980 – 1988)
- Icon Award: ER (1994 – 2009)
- Impact Award: M*A*S*H (1972 – 1983)
- Innovator Award: Married…with Children (1987 – 1997)
- The Lucille Ball Legacy of Laughter Award: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Pop Culture Award: Sid and Marty Krofft
- Legacy Award: Don Rickles
Those appearing on stage to accept the Impact Award on behalf of M*A*S*H were cast members Allan Arbus, Alan Alda, Jeff Maxwell, Kelley Nakahara Wallett, Loretta Swit, Mike Farrell, Wayne Rogers, and William Christopher. Show creator Larry Gelbart and executive producer Burt Metcalfe were also on stage. After being introduced by Martin Sheen, and a montage of M*A*S*H clips, the cast and crew of M*A*S*H were on stage. Alda spoke first about the impact of the show and that the success of the series was due in part to the genuine affection the cast had for each other. Swit thne told a great story about being recognized from the show when she arrived for the awards. Gelbart spoke about why he thought M*A*S*H was still relevant today, and it is because the “costumes never go out of style.” Rogers spoke last crediting the show’s success to Gelbart. The great thing about the “winners” of each award being pre-selected is that there was more time to show clips from the series and more time for those appearing on stage to speak. The M*A*S*H portion of the broadcast was about ten minutes long.
Ironically, M*A*S*H was the oldest show represented at the 2009 TV Land Awards. Most of the other shows honored that evening were from the 1980s and 1990s, with a few running into the 2000s. The TV Land Awards were a great concept, and a unique way to honor classic television. The award ceremony seemed to go away after TV Land’s dive into original programming, which lasted about a decade. Today, TV Land is back to showing classic television programs, including M*A*S*H (check TV Land’s listings). I wish they would bring back a version of the TV Land Awards because it would be fun to get the mini-reunions of shows as they don’t happen often. Sadly, this 2009 reunion was the last time this many of the M*A*S*H cast and crew were together, and I am glad I can share it and preserve it for fans.
The M*A*S*H Historian 