Customer Reviews

M.A.S.H. Season Three (Full Screen Collector's Edition)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love the mixture of comedy and seriousness that pervades the entire season unlike the more slapsticky first two seasons. Now due to lack of special features on the DVD. Here are some season three bloopers not on this DVD.1) Stevenson and Burghoff laughing at (guest!) Harry Morgan saying "The irish were rotten Indian fighters" and other lines.2)A chorus of "We want something else" from the Adams Rib episode where we see Klinger and Rader sitting side by side humming and Burghoff laughng a bit.3) Another bit with guest Harry Morgan saying "My brother contacted Yellow fever during the digging of the Panama Canal." Trap (Rogers) Says something like "Well you should've called me sooner General" and gets dry mouth saying it.4) A breakout in laughter from Alda and Rogers while licking things in the ep where Radar saves the lamb's life.'

Some consider the third season the show's very best, full of humor but also more boldly playing with serious topics. The actors are really at home in their characters by this point, and the audience knows them inside and out, too. They no longer need to play gags over-the-top to work because we know them so well. And because we know they so well, the serious turns hit home.

Reams have been written about M.A.S.H.; offering accolades would just be repeating what has been said before. Among the most popular sitcoms ever made, the show still stands the test of time despite being a "period" show. The jokes still work, the characters are still charming and feel like old friends, and the show still more enjoyable than most of the shows that have come and gone since.

Like the other sets, this DVD collection is bare bones (though not poorly produced). We get the episodes spread out over several discs in a sturdy triple-case and a small booklet with info on each episode. That's it. No extras. No commentaries. No documentaries. Just the episodes.

And that is just fine, because the episodes are great. Good picture far quality, good sound, and an option to turn off the laugh track are about all we really need.

Even better is the price. Because this is so bare bones, we're paying only about $35 rather than the $50 or $70 so common with TV-on-DVD sets.

A no-brainer buy for M.A.S.H. fans.

If you were new to MASH and asked a fan which season best represented the series, most fans would point you towards season 3. By this point the writers and cast had mastered walking the fine line between humour and drama, and knew how to make you laugh while also exploring some of the deeper issues of life. There are a lot of standouts this season, including Hawkeye's craving for Adam's ribs, a supposedly dead soldier that comes back to life, General MacArthur's visit to the camp, and future cast member Harry Morgan's guest appearance as a crazy general. Two of the more serious episodes include a tension-filled prisoner exchange and a trip to an aid station at the front lines.

The one episode that most fans feel define this season is the season finale, where commanding officer Henry Blake goes home. However, I think there might actually be another episode that impresses me more, the oft-underrated "The Consultant." Guest-starring Alan Alda's father, the story revolves around a consultng doctor who shows up to demostrate a new medical procedure, only to become too drunk to operate when the time comes. While the premise could sound like a comedic episode, this is actually a very subtly done drama that shows MASH at its best. The lesson learned here is not one that gets shoved down the viewer's throats (like later MASH seasons), but is so deep yet understated that it'll take a rewind or two with the DVD remote to catch all the implications of the final scene.

By now it's obvious that each MASH season will be a bare-bones set, and maybe that's okay at least for the moment. Each set is affordable, the audio/video quality is above broadcast standards, and viewers can turn the laugh track off. For new and old fans alike, MASH season 3 is definitely a season to check out.

I have been a big Mash fan for years alwayes watched the reruns but never seamed to watch much after Henry and Trapper and Frank left . Turned most of the shows off it just seam to miss the boat the joking and prankes just didnt seam funny anymore . I still cry when I watch Henry leave, and I wish there had been a better good bye for Trapper.I will alwayes watch Mash on my dvds and on tv I have a Mash collecters plate, on my bedroom wall I got when it went off the air and I still have my Mash t-shirt in my bottom drawer but I dont think I will buy more seasons unsless they bring out the finly 2 hour show .

this is the best season in all of its 11 seasons because it has
lost alot of its charm when mclean stevenson and wayne rogers left the show they were too funny and this season has the best episode ever (abyssinia henry) so go for this set and enjoy the best moments in this amazing show

Okay, I love M*A*S*H, and am delighted that the seasons are coming out on DVD. Season three is one of--if not the--best seasons in the entire series. The final episode with Henry Blake is a roller coaster of emotions and is really well done. It would have been nice if Trapper had gotten his own send off, but contract negotiations with Wayne Rogers sort of prohibited that from happening at the time. Anyway a great season nonetheless.

My big gripe is with the graphic designer doing these covers and inserts. I am a professional graphic designer, and must say, whoever did this cover needs to brush up on their Photoshop skills! First of all, Radar is much shorter than Henry, yet this cover has them appearing back-to-back as if they were the same height...it looks ridiculous! Second, the image of Henry is reversed so that he is saluting with the LEFT hand! Now, I know that Henry was not a regualr Army guy, but come on, not even Hawkeye would salute left handed. I was never in the military, but I know that major bit of army etiquette! Finally, and I've stated this before in a previous review...the United States flag in the Korean War HAD 48 STARS!!!!!!!!!! Every insert from these DVDs has an image of the 50 star American flag that didn't exist until 1960, seven years after the end of the war in Korea.

Ignorant, incompotent package designs aside...these DVD's are a joy to see and the ability to turn off the laugh track alone makes them worth adding to your collection. Enjoy and I only wish TV today could be half as good.

After this season, the show was never as funny.

B.J., Col. Potter and then Charles could not hold a candle to Trapper, Henry Blake and Frank Burns.

In my opinion, season 3 of M*A*S*H was the best one produced by far. It managed to combine comedy and drama effortlessly, and although season 2 did the same thing, season 3 did it much better, and after Henry and Trapper left the show, the show became more focused on plot, drama and sentimentality. Classics such as 'Rainbow Bridge', 'Adams Ribs' and 'Abyssinia, Henry' all feature in the box set, 'Abyssinia, Henry' being the saddest episode the show has ever produced.
If you're new to M*A*S*H, I would definitely reccommend this box set, but if you're a long time fan, you probably already own it.

The last of the great MASH seasons. After Henry and Trapper left MASH, although still a very good series, it was not the same for me. I never watch reruns of the Potter/BJ years as they lack the rapid fire comedy that the first three years contained.

This will be the last of the MASH purchases for myself.

The first three seasons of MASH, along with Seinfeld and The Simpsons, are the peak of sitcom heaven...

Get this DVD if you want to laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh....

I am so happy that they finally came out with MASH uncut on DVD. The first three seasons are by far my favorite, so much so I really can't watch any season afterwards. I am happy to have my collection complete.