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From 1972 through 1983, M*A*S*H (short for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) was an American war comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS. It was created by Larry Gelbart as the first original spin-off series based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, which was adapted from the 1970 feature film M*A*S*H.
M*A*S*H followed the medical team who cared for the wounded in a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War in South Korea. Initially, the series concentrated on the characters introduced in Altman's film, with Alan Alda and John McIntyre playing army doctors Capt. Benjamin Franklin ("Hawkeye") Pierce and Capt. ("Trapper") John McIntyre, respectively (Wayne Rogers). Hawkeye and Trapper, despite being gifted doctors, were unlikely soldiers. Both had outspoken personalities and strong feelings for nursing and smuggled alcohol. Maj. Margaret ("Hot Lips") Houlihan (Loretta Swit), the ranking nurse; Maj. Frank Burns (Larry Linville), their enemy from 1972 to 1977; and Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), their priggish counterpoint from 1977 until the series' finale. The base was formally controlled by inept but pleasant Lieut. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) then irascible Col. Sherman Potter later in the series (1975–83). (Harry Morgan). Corp. "Radar" O'Reilly, the company clerk, kept the base's operation running smoothly (Gary Burghoff, reprising the role he had played in the film). Max Klinger (Jamie Farr), another corporal, would routinely cross-dress in the hopes of receiving a medical release and a journey home.
Its final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen," was the most-watched television broadcast in American history between 1983 and 2010, and it is still the most-watched conclusion of any television series and episode.
