Word: mash
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...generated the momentum any TV series needs to sustain its quality after the first few seasons, the show revealed itself as a gritty romance about the finest American instincts. Here were gruff pragmatism, technical ingenuity, grace under pressure, the saving perspective of wit. The men and women of 4077 MASH could be seen as us at our worst hour, finding the best part of ourselves...
...about doctors in Korea, and it drew from real life and death as faithfully as many documentaries. Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds, who developed the show for TV, talked with dozens of surgeons and nurses who had served in Korea; they even visited a Korean MASH base for more memories. Later, Burt Metcalfe, who took over as producer after Gelbart and Reynolds left, continued the tradition. "We've spoken to almost every doctor who was in Korea," Metcalfe claims. "At least 60% of the plots dealing with medical or military incidents were taken from real life." Says Reynolds: "These...
...would millions of other viewers, and their choice has serious repercussions. Sitcom hits that have gone to syndication heaven have come back to haunt the networks. MASH, whose first ten seasons are spinning out on local stations, consistently wins higher ratings in New York City than the networks' nightly news shows. One recent Thursday in the Los Angeles market, a rerun of Three's Company on a local independent station was the top-rated show of the night, higher than Hill Street Blues, Simon & Simon or Magnum, P.I. Says Frederick S. Pierce, president and chief operating officer...
...recently as a decade ago, there was virtually no competition in sight. The networks were fat and happy, with surging ratings and profits, and a flock of series that melded quality and popularity into the Golden Age of Sitcoms: All in the Family, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore. Then, in 1975, two little-noted events conspired to trigger the revolution. Time Inc.'s fledgling pay-TV company, Home Box Office, bounced a clear video signal off a satellite orbiting 22,300 miles above the earth, paving the way for national cable networks; and Sony introduced the U.S. consumer...
...where all these inventions, and the wit with which they are stated, first appeared. There was an original script by Don McGuire (Bad Day at Black Rock), rewritten by Robert Kaufman (Love at First Bite). Thereafter, Schisgal and Larry Gelbart, of Movie Movie and TV's MASH, each did new versions. A large contribution was made by Elaine May and smaller ones by Valerie Curtin (Inside Moves), Barry Levinson (Diner) and Robert Garland (The Electric Horseman). After arbitration, screen credit finally went to Gelbart and Schisgal. But it was Pollack who "sat in a room with a staple...