"M*A*S*H: Season Two (Full Screen, Collector's Edition, 3 Discs)"

The DVD set itself is pretty bare-bones. There are 3 disks in a nice plastic case, but no extra whistles and bells. There's not even a sound track for the menu -- a minor complaint, but, since each episode goes back to the menu at the end, it would be nice to have something else besides silence to fill the gap while I decide what to watch next. I would also like a "play all" option so I could watch continuously without having to reach for the remote. On the other hand, the price is very reasonable, compared to a lot of other TV shows. That could be why there's no extra material. So, I'm still giving this five stars, because MASH is THE BEST sitcom ever produced!

What we see in Season 2 of "M*A*S*H" (1973-74) is that Hawkeye (Alan Alda) is most definitely the star of the show and the central character, but the others are now being developed as feeling human beings and not just comic characters: Trapper John (Wayne Rogers) decides to adopt an orphaned Korean kid ("Kim"); Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) is shown to be less of the bumbling commander ("The Trial of Henry Blake") and as a human being ("Dear Dad...Three"); and even Radar shows signs of growing up ("The Chosan People"). However, the biggest change is in Margaret "Hot Lips" Hoolihan (Loretta Swit). In "Carry On, Hawkeye," the 4077th is devastated by a flue epidemic that leaves only Hawkeye and Hot Lips standing. This is the episode that first gives her character a viable connection to Hawkeye and the rest of the camp. Then, in "Hot Lips and Empty Arms" she questions everything in her life, from her hopeless affair with Frank to the way the army has become her life, and demands a transfer. As Henry Blake reminds her in trying to talk her out of it, "After all, we are family, Margaret." This becomes one of the most significant character evolutions in the history of television, as "Hot Lips" becomes Margaret.

"M*A*S*H" is definitely more serious in the second season, although not reaching the depths it would in future years. The military tries to cover-up accidentally bombing a local village ("For the Good of the Outfit"), frowns upon army personnel marrying local girls ("L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)"), and thinks it knows better than the doctors what sort of equipment then need to save lives ("The Incubator"). The parallels between the Korean War and the Vietnam War becomes more obvious than ever. However, there are still some rather silly military comedy episodes, involving inept North Korean pilots ("Five O'Clock Charlie"), the question of the sanity of Corporal Klinger (Jamie Farr, "Radar's Report"), and even a sniper taking shots at the camp ("The Sniper"). Then there is the first memorable appearance of Colonel Flagg (Edward Winter, "A Smattering of Intelligence"). The best of these are when the comedy has to do with the characters, such as when Hawkeye starts a long chain of deals to get a new pair of boots ("For Want of a Boot") or frigid conditions force everybody to bunk together in the Swamp ("Crisis").

Most of the better episodes in the second season were written by Larry Gelbart and Laruence Marks (e.g., "Deal Me Out"), but we also see Alan Alda ("Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde") and McLean Stevenson ("The Trial of Henry Blake") taking an added interest in the characters they played by writing episodes that explored new aspects. The M*A*S*H ensemble also starts to expand in terms of recurring characters, not just Flagg but psychiatrist Sidney Freeman (Allan Arbus) and Captain Sam Pak (Pat Morita). The latter was only there for a couple of episodes, but at least there was finally an intelligent oriental character on the show. Certainly the South Koreans are treated a lot more seriously at this point. The result is that "M*A*S*H" is still a situation comedy as well as a dramedy, mainly because as long as Frank Burns (Larry Linville) is around trying to play soldier and remains a liability in the operating room, the show is limited. That is why as good as "M*A*S*H" was at this point, it was going to be a whole lot better once Sherman Potter and Charles Emerson Winchester were on board. So these 24 episodes are pretty good, but the best is yet to come.