From the M*A*S*H Library 48: “M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television”

What is it?

Sheinfeld, John. M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television. Crew Neck Productions, 2024.

Why should M*A*S*H fans care?

This is the first full length M*A*S*H documentary to be released since M*A*S*H: When Television Changed Forever in 2022, and this documentary features never before seen interviews with the cast. Since those interviews were filmed in the 2010s, there are interviews from several cast members who have since passed away.

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

All of it!! I highly recommend watching the full 89 minutes documentary and the 61 minutes of bonus interviews with the M*A*S*H writers. There is a lot of material on this single disc!

TL;DR Review

When this documentary aired on Fox January 1, 2024, I was impressed to see the interviews with M*A*S*H cast members. While those interviews were conducted in the mid-2010s, they had never been used for a previous documentary. Those interviews make up the bulk of the documentary, but the Blu-ray release offers more. In addition to the full documentary, you get 61 minutes of bonus interviews with the M*A*S*H writers. These interviews did not make it into the full length documentary, so this release feels like getting two documentaries for the price of one.

Full Review

Disclaimer: I assisted with the production of this documentary by providing scans of photos from my collection for which I received credit at the end of film. I purchased this copy of the documentary myself, and it was not provided as a review copy or as compensation for my time. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

When Fox aired M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television on January 1, 2024, I knew that there would eventually be a Blu-ray release. And, in September 2025, that is exactly what happened. The Blu-ray disc released by Crew Neck Productions doesn’t just include the 89 minute feature documentary that aired on Fox, but it also includes 61 minutes of bonus interviews. When I learned that the bonus features were interviews with the writers of M*A*S*H, I was even more excited because none of their interviews made it into the documentary. I enjoyed M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television because it offered some new stories from behind the scenes of M*A*S*H. Of course, there were also several stories that we had heard before in previous documentaries and reunion specials, but before this release, a documentary about M*A*S*H had not aired in primetime since the 30th Anniversary reunion in 2002. So, let’s take a look at everything offered on this Blu-ray release!

The documentary was produced by John Scheinfeld and Andy Kaplan, and features never before seen interviews with members of the M*A*S*H cast that were filmed in the mid-2010s. The interviews were conducted for Scheinfeld to produce a M*A*S*H documentary at the time, but it took over ten years to find a distributor. Thankfully, Fox stepped in and aired the documentary on New Year’s Day in 2024. Because these interviews were conducted a decade ago, there are several cast members represented that have since passed away. The cast member featured in the film are:

• Alan Alda
• Gary Burghoff
• William Christopher
• Jamie Farr
• Mike Farrell
• Wayne Rogers
• Loretta Swit

M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television tells the story of M*A*S*H in chronological order with insights from the actors. As I mentioned in the introduction, there are some familiar stories such as how the pilot came to be, the death of Henry Blake, etc. However, there were some new stories including one from Burghoff about Radar’s farewell. In the final scene, where Radar sees the party ephemera in the empty Mess Tent, Burghoff originally had Radar cry. However, after seeing the take in dailies, he asked producer Burt Metcalfe if he could redo the scene (see a clip from the film below). That story is now captured on film, and as cast members from M*A*S*H pass away, I am grateful that we have these documentaries and interviews as time capsules to ensure the story of M*A*S*H is preserved for future generations.

The documentary film is well done, but for me, the bonus features are what sold me on the Blu-ray release. While the M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television is still available to watch streaming on Tubi, the Blu-ray is the only way to watch the documentary and the additional 61 minutes of interviews with the writers of M*A*S*H. There are some great stories and insights into how M*A*S*H was written and produced on a weekly basis. The bonus interviews include Metcalfe, but they primarily consist of six M*A*S*H writers from the final half the show. The writers featured include:

• Ken Levine & David Isaacs
• David Pollock & Elias Davis
• Dan Wilcox & Thad Mumford

The bonus features are broken out into categories about writing, but the bulk of the interviews are the writers talking about writing for each of the characters. Because the interviews are arranged into topics, they can be viewed as a 61 minute feature, or you can break the features out by the following topics:

• Writing M*A*S*H
• Hawkeye
• Hot Lips
• Radar
• Klinger
• Father Mulcahy
• Col. Potter
• B.J.
• Winchester
• Gene Reynolds
• Larry Gelbart
• Burt Metcalfe
• Series Finale (“Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”)
• Legacy

Unfortunately, the features do not include character profiles of the early characters including Trapper John McIntyre, Major Frank Burns, and Lt. Col. Henry Blake. That is because all of the writers featured wrote for M*A*S*H after those characters left the show. Most of them also arrived after Larry Gelbart had left the series, but they all the writers agreed on one thing: Gelbart set the writing standard for M*A*S*H, and it was a high bar. Levine went even further saying that Hawkeye is an “idealized version of Larry Gelbart.” M*A*S*H is known for its excellent writing, and it’s great to hear from the writers. They offer insights into what they thought and how they worked. A lot of care went in to each script.

After watching M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television and the bonus interviews, I see this Blu-ray release as more than a documentary release. It is an oral history of M*A*S*H featuring seven actors, six writers, and an executive producer. The documentary film and bonus features pair to present a well rounded view of M*A*S*H by offering perspectives for both on the screen and behind the scenes. The full length film explores the series and how it morphed over the eleven seasons while the bonus features explore how the show was made and how the writers approached writing for the characters. I enjoyed the documentary because who doesn’t like hearing the actors talk about their time on M*A*S*H, but the writer interviews are what left me riveted. Hearing the writers and Metcalfe discuss producing the show and the characters offered some insights that has rarely been heard elsewhere. M*A*S*H: The Comedy that Changed Television Blu-ray essentially offers two documentaries for the price of one, and I highly recommend adding it to your collection. You can purchase the Blu-ray from Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Amazon.