I grew up watching M.A.S.H. every week for years.. I was 10 when M.A.S.H. came on CBS and at times it really wasn't a show for kids.. But i had my own TV set , so I watched a lot of stuff i probably wasn't supposed to. But i really learned a lot about from that show. Showed me how fast life can go from joking and laughing to everything going to Hell in a second. And how you have to find out what your made of when things hit the fan.. And how you have to be able to trust and count on certain people to be there and do the job they are there to do.. Even if you don't always see eye to eye or get along all the time.. That those things mean nothing when you're in a situation were you need each other to survive.. And you'll be pushed to your limits both physically, emotionally & mentally.. But you can and will get through it , when you realize that the person next to or across the room is going through the same thing... Trust , respect , understanding & loyalty to the job and each other.. That's what MASH was all about for me.
I always thought it was never the same after Frank Burns left. It just took on a very predicatable formula. Never as good without Maclean Stevenson and Larry Linville. I still watched it and liked it but the last 3 years were a bit unbearable with that staid, and boring laugh track every 30 seconds.