From the M*A*S*H Library 44: “CBS: The First Fifty Years”

What is it?

Chiu, Tony. CBS: The First 50 Years. Los Angeles: General Publishing Group, 1998.

Why should M*A*S*H fans care?

For eleven years, M*A*S*H aired on CBS and it was a staple of their primetime lineup along side shows such as All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. In this book, you’ll learn more about the network that brought M*A*S*H to fans.

As a M*A*S*H fan, what part(s) should I read?

This book is a pretty easy read and is a collection of photos and blurbs about the shows of CBS. It could is more as a coffee table book than a narrative story. While M*A*S*H only appears on two pages, there is a quote from Alan Alda on another page. This book places M*A*S*H in the context of the network on which it aired.

TL;DR Review

In 1998, CBS celebrated its 50th anniversary by releasing a book highlighting the shows that made CBS a powerhouse. From The Ed Sullivan Show beginning in 1948 to the shows of the 1990s such as Walker, Texas Ranger, this book has it all. After reading this book, or even just flipping through it, you’ll understand why CBS was often the highest rated network. As I read, I found myself saying, “I didn’t know that show aired on CBS” and it helped me understand how CBS was a major contributor to the history of television.

Full Review

CBS (originally Columbia Broadcasting System, now CBS Broadcasting Inc.) is one of the big three networks in the United States, along with ABC and NBC. Founded in 1927 as a radio network, CBS branched out into television in the 1940s, and it began offering a variety of programming including news, sports, sitcoms, and talk shows. Over the following decades, CBS would lead the way and air some of the most iconic shows in television history, including M*A*S*H (1972 – 1983). For its 50th anniversary in 1998, CBS authorized a book by Tony Chiu that highlighted its television programing. The coffee table style books features photographs and short blurbs to tell the story of how CBS became a ratings leader with some of the most groundbreaking shows on television.

Following an introduction from CBS executives and famed CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, readers will find a book that is organized chronologically. For each year, beginning in 1948, the book highlights new shows that debuted on the network along with some of the key shows that were released on the competing networks. CBS is famous for a number of television programs including: I Love Lucy (1951 – 1957), The Andy Griffith Show (1960 – 1968), The Carol Burnett Show (1967 – 1978), 60 Minutes (1968 – Present), All in the Family (1971 – 1979), Knots Landing (1979 – 1993), Murder, She Wrote (1984 – 1996), and countless others. The CBS shows helped define a number of television genres including soap operas, news programs, live sports, sitcoms, dramas, and science fiction. But the book covers more than just their long-running programming. The author highlights important movies that first aired on CBS, famous actors who got their start on CBS, and specials that have become holiday staples such as A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966). Chiu also takes the reader on a journey through the major news events of the decades including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the Vietnam War, and the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.

Of course, M*A*S*H appears in CBS: The First 50 Years, but only briefly. For each of the years, there is one show that is highlighted, and for 1972, Chiu highlights M*A*S*H. The spread features a photo from the episode “Henry, Please Come Home” (01×09) and features McLean Stevenson, Alan Alda, and Wayne Rogers in a Tokyo bathhouse. The blurb discusses how M*A*S*H was developed for television from the original movie and how the series ran eight years longer than the Korean War. It’s a short writeup, but it gets centerstage for 1972. There were a few other shows that debuted in 1972 that I did not realize were on CBS. The Waltons (1972 – 1981), Maude (1972 – 1978), and The Bob Newhart Show (1972 – 1978) all debuted the same year as M*A*S*H, and they are among some of the most popular shows on television. There is one other brief mention of M*A*S*H in the book when they feature a quote from Alan Alda on friendship. As a M*A*S*H fan, this book helped me place the series in perspective and understand its place in CBS, and television history.

I appreciate that CBS celebrated its 50th anniversary with a book that highlighted its history and outlined some of the most iconic shows to air on the network and shows that helped defined genres. Chiu’s book is well organized, well researched, and filled with photographs. Like me, I am sure many readers will have a “I didn’t know that aired on CBS” moment. In retrospective, being released in 1998, I find this book to be both a celebration of 50 years of television history and marking the beginning of the end of the dominance of network television. Chiu’s book was released as the big three were losing their influence to cable networks. Today, the main networks and cable television are suffering due to the proliferation of streaming platforms. While those platforms often include iconic television series, the days of the “big three” networks are long gone. Originally released as a celebration and a look to the future, CBS: The First 50 Years, feels like an end cap on the “Golden Age of Television” when everyone watched the same shows and discussed them with friends, family, and coworkers. Today, viewers are inundated with so much choice that it is hard to one show to break through in the way shows such as M*A*S*H did. CBS: The First 50 Years is no longer in print, but I found this copy at a local bookstore. Copies are also available online on used book sites such as Amazon and eBay.

Notable CBS Shows (The First 50 Years)

• The Ed Sullivan Show (1948 – 1971)
• The Gene Autry Show (1950 – 1956)
• I Love Lucy (1951 – 1957)
• The Red Skelton Show (1951 – 1971)
• Lassie (1954 – 1974)
• Gunsmoke (1955 – 1975)
• As the World Turns (1956 – 2010)
• Leave it to Beaver (1957 – 1963)
• The Twilight Zone (1959 – 1964)
• Route 66 (1960 – 1964)
• The Andy Griffith Show (1960 – 1968)
• The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 – 1966)
• Mister Ed (1961 – 1966)
• The Beverly Hillbillies (1962 – 1971)
• Gilligan’s Island (1964 – 1967)
• The Munsters (1964 – 1966)
• Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1964 – 1969)
• Hogan’s Heroes (1965 – 1971)
• Lost in Space (1965 – 1968)
• Mannix (1967 – 1975)
• The Carol Burnett Show (1967 – 1978)
• Here’s Lucy (1968 – 1974)
• Hawaii Five-O (1968 – 1980)
• 60 Minutes (1968 – Present)
• Hee-Haw (1969 – 1997)
• The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970 – 1977)
• The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971 – 1974)
• All in the Family (1971 – 1979)
• M*A*S*H (1972 – 1983)
• The Waltons (1972 – 1981)
• Maude (1972 – 1978)
• The Bob Newhart Show (1972 – 1978)
• The Young and the Restless (1973 – Present)
• Good Times (1974 – 1979)
• Rhoda (1974 – 1978)
• The Jeffersons (1975 – 1985)
• One Day at a Time (1975 – 1984)
• Helter Skelter (1976)
• Alice (1976 – 1985)
• The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977 – 1979)
• Lou Grant (1977 – 1982)
• Dallas (1978 – 1991)
• WKRP in Cincinnati (1978 – 1982)
• The Incredible Hulk (1977 – 1982)
• The Dukes of Hazzard (1979 – 1985)
• Trapper John, M.D. (1979 – 1986)
• Knots Landing (1979 – 1993)
• Magnum, P.I. (1980 – 1988)
• Simon & Simon (1981 – 1989)
• Falcon Crest (1981 – 1990)
• Cagney & Lacey (1981 – 1988)
• Dynasty (1981 – 1989)
• Newhart (1982 – 1990)
• Kate & Allie (1984 – 1989)
• Murder, She Wrote (1984 – 1996)
• The Equalizer (1985 – 1989)
• Pee-Wee’s Play House (1986 – 1991)
• Designing Women (1986 – 1993)
• Wiseguy (1987 – 1990)
• The Bold and the Beautiful (1987 – Present)
• CBS This Morning (1987 – 1999, 2012 – Present)
• Murphy Brown (1988 – 1998, 2018)
• 48 Hours (1988 – Present)
• Garfield and Friends (1988 – 1994)
• Rescue 911 (1989 – 1996)
• Major Dad (1989 – 1993)
• Northern Exposure (1990 – 1995)
• Picket Fences (1992 – 1996)
• Late Show with David Letterman (1993 – 2015)
• Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993 – 1998)
• Walker, Texas Ranger (1993 – 2001)
• The Nanny (1993 – 1999)
• Touched By an Angel (1994 – 2003)
• Chicago Hope (1994 – 2000)
• Cybill (1995 – 1998)
• The Late Late Show (1995 – 2023)
• Nash Bridges (1996 – 2001)
• Early Edition (1996 – 2000)
• Everybody Loves Raymond (1996 – 2005)