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M*A*S*H question.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 7:18 pm
Posted on 5/19/15 at 7:18 pm
I'm rewatching it here and there because I was young when it was on. Great show.
So, anyone else ever wonder why the camp loudspeaker guy, who is apparently the funniest, most clever person in the 4077th, is an entirely off camera character?
I know it's just a quirky thing to do it like that, but narratively, it seems like he'd find his way into the mess tent or drop into the swamp for a little gin at some point. Seems like he would be a running buddy of Hawkeye's based on his sensibilities.
So, anyone else ever wonder why the camp loudspeaker guy, who is apparently the funniest, most clever person in the 4077th, is an entirely off camera character?
I know it's just a quirky thing to do it like that, but narratively, it seems like he'd find his way into the mess tent or drop into the swamp for a little gin at some point. Seems like he would be a running buddy of Hawkeye's based on his sensibilities.
This post was edited on 5/19/15 at 7:22 pm
4
Posted on 5/19/15 at 7:37 pm to Scoop
I saw an interview one time about this. It was said that in the original movie there was no way to tie in some of the scenes and they used the loud speaker as a segue. Seems like they carried that over for the tv show.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 7:53 pm to NoHoTiger
It was Tuttle!
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:05 pm to TigerMyth36
In the movie, these announcements still make me laugh:
Attention. Due to a possible camp infection, Arlene Chu's Hollywood Grill is off limits. That is all.
Attention camp compound. Urine specimens will be required from all pers... Uh... pe... Uh, disregard last transmission.
Attention. Attention, camp compound. Corporal Judson has informed the colonel's office that three cases of Amphetamine Sulfate are unaccounted for again. This is the third occurrence of this type in the last month. It must stop by order of Colonel Blake's office, 4077th M*A*S*H unit.
Attention. Due to a possible camp infection, Arlene Chu's Hollywood Grill is off limits. That is all.
Attention camp compound. Urine specimens will be required from all pers... Uh... pe... Uh, disregard last transmission.
Attention. Attention, camp compound. Corporal Judson has informed the colonel's office that three cases of Amphetamine Sulfate are unaccounted for again. This is the third occurrence of this type in the last month. It must stop by order of Colonel Blake's office, 4077th M*A*S*H unit.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:13 pm to OlGrandad
I used to watch it all the time as a kid when my parents would watch reruns. I didn't appreciate it until I got older and saw the movie for the first time.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:19 pm to Scoop
I actually didn't care for the movie too much. Loved the show. Especially the later ones with Potter and Winchester.
Right about now is where Kafka comes in and tells me that the later ones sucked because Alan Alda was a hippie.
Right about now is where Kafka comes in and tells me that the later ones sucked because Alan Alda was a hippie.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:24 pm to alajones
quote:
Right about now is where Kafka comes in and tells me that the later ones sucked because Alan Alda was a hippie.
Na. That was Jersey Tiger's rant.
Many agreed with him but Jersey used to rant about late era mash all the time.
I liked Winchester MORE than Frank. Winchester actually fought back from time to time. Frank was a one trick pony who was nothing more than a punching bag.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:43 pm to TigerMyth36
Better question is who was the better colonel?
Blake or Potter.
Me..I loved Potter. Blake was too much one of the guys.
Blake or Potter.
Me..I loved Potter. Blake was too much one of the guys.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:43 pm to Scoop
A better question is what happened to Spearchucker and does anyone think they could get away with a name like that now? 
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:52 pm to NoHoTiger
quote:Right. Altman heavily re-edited the film after he shot it, and these announcements were a cheap, easy way to connect some of the scenes
I saw an interview one time about this. It was said that in the original movie there was no way to tie in some of the scenes and they used the loud speaker as a segue.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:56 pm to Scoop
quote:played by Todd Sussman (my favorite) and Sal Viscuso. Both appeared on the show -- Sussman was in the early classic as the guy wanting a nose job
the camp loudspeaker guy
A handful of the very earliest episodes had a Ted-Baxterish voice doing the announcements, but fortunately this was changed
Posted on 5/19/15 at 8:58 pm to Porter Osborne Jr
quote:the official reason is he was eliminated b/c there were no black surgeons in Korea (why would this be a big deal? Spearchucker is in the book). But the real reason is the cast was too big, and that drew attention away from Alda
A better question is what happened to Spearchucker
quote:your post has already triggered Safety
does anyone think they could get away with a name like that now?
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:01 pm to OlGrandad
quote:my favorite announcement from the TV show:
In the movie, these announcements still make me laugh
"Officers are welcome to enjoy themselves at the new 4077th Officers Club. Enlisted men may go to the mess tent and watch the VD training film, Hansel and Regrettal"
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:07 pm to alajones
quote:Reporting for duty
Right about now is where Kafka comes in and tells me that the later ones sucked because Alan Alda was a hippie
MASH in its first three seasons may have been the greatest run any sitcom ever had. But Maclean Stevenson (Henry Blake) and Wayne Rogers (Trapper) left after the third season, replaced by Harry Morgan as Potter and Mike Farrell as BJ. The show's creator, the brilliant comedy writer Larry Gelbart, left soon afterward, allowing Alan Alda to take over creative control of the series.
So not only were the cast replacements inferior (Stevenson was absolutely perfect as Blake; Rogers was better than Farrell, but the real difference is the Trapper character was much more interesting than dull BJ) but Alda was able to smother the show in 70s liberalism. Few great shows have gone so far downhill (MASH's only real rival in this department is All In The Family).
So whenever you're talking about MASH, you're really talking about two different shows -- First three seasons (Great) and everything afterward (Blecch)
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:09 pm to alajones
quote:I like the movie, but the characters all seemed like a bunch of assholes to me.
I actually didn't care for the movie too much.
quote:I liked them, but they were corny and sappy and too heavily influenced by Alda's narcissistic activist personality. Watching him cry was always really disturbing to me. He had the most gut-wrenching crying voice.
Especially the later ones with Potter and Winchester.
I was in 5th grade when the last one aired. Many of the girls were crying over it the next day at school.
Can anyone name the TV event that finally broke the last episode's ratings record? If you can't, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:10 pm to Kafka
quote:
"Officers are welcome to enjoy themselves at the new 4077th Officers Club. Enlisted men may go to the mess tent and watch the VD training film, Hansel and Regrettal"
Damn. That cracked me up!
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:27 pm to Kafka
I believe our old buddy Speerchucker was a guest star for one episode.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:31 pm to PowerTool
quote:no he was in more than that
I believe our old buddy Speerchucker was a guest star for one episode
but he was definitely gone by the end of the first season
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:35 pm to Kafka
Never understood the Hotlips as a sex symbol. Hell, she looks like Lee Marvin in a blonde wig.
Posted on 5/19/15 at 9:59 pm to blueboy
I can't believe people in this day and age still don't realize that MASH was a mimetic metaphor for the synthesis of Eastern religion and Western religion, where "Korea" was a version of samsara overlaid by the familiar gnostic orthodoxies of the near East during the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. In other words, the inhabitants of the camp were dead all along, which meant the "loudspeaker guy" (aka "the weigher of souls") was clearly a demiurge figure. If you really want to understand the role of the "loudspeaker guy" (and the importance of Klinger's cross-dressing and Radar's virginity) you should read up on Porphyry's Isagoge et in Aristotelis Categorias commentarium. Just sayin'. Also, remember, the theme song's name is "Suicide is Painless". That should have been a clue.
One of the Super Bowls, one assumes. I don't think a regular episode from a series ever broke the MASH finale's rating.
quote:
Can anyone name the TV event that finally broke the last episode's ratings record? If you can't, you should be ashamed of yourself.
One of the Super Bowls, one assumes. I don't think a regular episode from a series ever broke the MASH finale's rating.
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