Ask most fans what they love about M*A*S*H, and a fair number will say the balance of comedy and drama. The series successfully incorporated a proper amount of humanity and the horrors of war. There have been many stories over the years about how series creator Larry Gelbart ensured that M*A*S*H didn’t forget that warContinue reading “Press Pass 6: Last-Minute Meeting Put M*A*S*H on Road to Success”
Category Archives: Press Pass
Press Pass 5: Making M*A*S*H Documentary Previews
In 1981, PBS aired a documentary titled Making M*A*S*H. In the documentary, the process of creating an episode from start to finish is explored. It featured the writers, directors, cast, crew, and everyone it took to make M*A*S*H possible. I saw it several years ago on YouTube (it is now gone), and it is theContinue reading “Press Pass 5: Making M*A*S*H Documentary Previews”
Press Pass 4: M*A*S*H Wrap Quotes
This month, several posts will relate to final days of filming the series in January 1983. We continue this week by looking at the press release following the press conference after the final scenes were filmed. UPDATE (December 5, 2022): The page of quotes from David Ogden Stiers has been found! I wrote a fullContinue reading “Press Pass 4: M*A*S*H Wrap Quotes”
Press Pass 3: Season 10 Press Kit
In the history of television, there are countless series that don’t get renewed for a second season. In 1981, it was a major accomplishment that M*A*S*H was beginning its tenth season. As the season was about to begin in October 1981, Twentieth Century Fox Television and CBS sent out a press kit to hype theContinue reading “Press Pass 3: Season 10 Press Kit”
Press Pass 2: Opening the Smithsonian Exhibit
Shorty after M*A*S*H ended on February 28, 1983, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History announced that it would display key objects from the series in an exhibit titled “M*A*S*H: Binding Up the Wounds.” The exhibit would be a huge a success being extended twice and hosting over one million visitors. The focus of today’sContinue reading “Press Pass 2: Opening the Smithsonian Exhibit”
Press Pass 1: Season 11 Press Kit
Before the days of the internet and social media, production companies such as 20th Century-Fox Television didn’t communicate directly with the consumers of their television shows. They relied on publications such as TV Guide and local newspapers to run stories about new shows and the latest season of a series. For M*A*S*H, there is noContinue reading “Press Pass 1: Season 11 Press Kit”
The M*A*S*H Historian 