Press Pass 49: “Season 6 Press Releases (1977)”

As anticipation built for each new season of M*A*S*H, Twentieth Century Fox Television and CBS each promoted the series ahead of its fall premiere. I have previously written about press kits from Twentieth Century Fox Television for season ten and season eleven, but those kits were prepared and sent in July of each year before the new seasons premiered in September. I have not seen any press kits for seasons prior to season ten, but Fox and CBS did send press releases in the lead up to the release of each new season. For season six, there was a press release in August 1977 introducing David Ogden Stiers as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III in the forthcoming season (this was not the first introduction of Stiers as Major Winchester, but it was one of the earliest biographies of the character sent to the media). But that wasn’t the only release sent out announcing the sixth season of M*A*S*H, scheduled for the fall of 1977. In this week’s post, let’s explore a series of releases leading up to the premiere of M*A*S*H season six on CBS.

• “M*A*S*H Fact Sheet” – June 1977: Published by Twentieth Century Fox Television, this single page fact sheet lists the primary cast members, crew members, and the time and week day M*A*S*H would air that season (Tuesdays at 9pm ET). It would have been one of the earliest press releases confirming the time slot and major details for the series.
• FYI: M*A*S*H – July 1977: Following the M*A*S*H fact sheet from Fox in June, CBS released this similar document that primarily included the same cast and crew information. There are some notable differences with the CBS release in that it mentioned that M*A*S*H was recorded on film, originated in Hollywood, and it listed the series’ original premiere date on September 17, 1972.
• “About the Production: 1977-78 Season” – July 1977: This multi-page document from Fox describes the premise of M*A*S*H, it’s success in the ratings, the awards it had been nominated for and won, lists the major cast members and characters, and discusses the introduction of Major Winchester. The document also announced the departure of producer Gene Reynolds at the end of season five, and the promotion of Burt Metcalfe is also confirmed. Long-time M*A*S*H editor Stanford Tischler was also promoted to associate producer. The description of M*A*S*H provided in the document is pretty generic, and it doesn’t hint at any of the storylines coming in season six.
• FYI: Season Six Premiere – August 24, 1977: Finally, from CBS, the announcement of the season opening episode. Titled “Fade Out, Fade In,” this episode was an hour long and introduced Major Winchester as the replacement for Major Frank Burns. The release includes a list of the cast, the production credits for the episode, and the premiere date of September 20, 1977. This is one of the only press releases I’ve seen that refers to Margaret by her full, married name as “Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan Penobscott.”

The departure of Linville had been announced prior to these documents being released, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise to M*A*S*H fans to see a new face at the 4077th when the season debuted. In the late 1970s, press releases were extremely important to the production studio and networks as communication with fan was controlled by newspapers and magazines. A new season of any series was a big deal because it meant the show had been renewed. It was important for the studio provide as much information as possible to energize the audience before the new season began. Seeing a series of press releases from July through the debut of the new season in September was common, and it allowed information about the series to slowly roll out and build anticipation. Season six of M*A*S*H was another important moment in the series as a new character was introduced. That had previously been achieved in season four of the series, and I would argue that season four is one of the show’s strongest. A well publicized introduction of a new character built interest and helped the show in the ratings. According to MASH4077TV.com, the episode “Fade Out, Fade In” was fifth in the ratings, and it was a strong showing for an important character debut.