by kpaloucek
I grew up in a M*A*S*H-obsessed household. As a family, we watched syndicated episodes most nights after the local news (and before The Odd Couple, which served as something of a chaser), and throughout much of the ’80s, we started to tape and watch them as an alternative to the programming that was on in what we felt was a rather schlocky era in television.
In hindsight, I don’t think we were far wrong about that evaluation — while the ’80s certainly had their share of memorable series, the lingering memory I have of television in that era is of how terrible the sitcom standard got as series after series chased after the prestigious “dramedy” label by introducing tragic, serious plot twists. Whether it was the Diff’rent Strokes episode about child molestation, the Gimme a Break in which Chief shot and killed a robber in the line of duty, the Facts of Life near-rape incident or any number of other plot contrivances intended to add texture and redeeming social values into the mix, their influx into the sitcom medium often resulted in a tradeoff of comic relief for social commentary, often with disappointingly maudlin results. I might liken the effect to the experience of biting into a chocolate truffle, hoping for some sort of creamy nougat or other pleasant filling, only to find you’ve picked the horrid cherry liquor cordial or some other variety that disappoints.
But M*A*S*H was arguably responsible — albeit inadvertently — for that entire trend. In its first season, after a number of episodes full of the usual Hawkeye/Trapper high jinks, came “Sometimes You Hear the Bullet,” in which a childhood friend of Hawkeye’s showed up at the 4077th for a quick visit only to return as a casualty, and dying on the operating table in front of Hawkeye. It was a dramatic precedent, and before the end of M*A*S*H‘s run, one that would evolve into something of a plot cliché. But the Emmys and accolades continued to roll in for the series, and it was only natural that other series writers would follow its lead in mixing the comic and tragic.
Tackling tough issues in a sitcom wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there were some shows that did it with style — Barney Miller comes to mind as one that followed rather quickly in M*A*S*H‘s wake and managed to flow freely between the sublime and ridiculous in just a few lines of dialogue — while others couldn’t help but fall short of the mark. In time, M*A*S*H lasted long enough to be contemporaries of many of the shows it influenced, but after more than a decade of attempting to deftly balance humor and pathos, the hallowed series began to look a bit formulaic, as if it were trying to recapture the magic it once held. Episodes from the last few seasons, if I see them today, while not necessarily as dismal as some of the dreck that surrounded it, can elicit cringes and winces of embarrassment — and still serve as a reminder of how hard it is for any series to stay on top.
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Photo Credit: © Twentieth Century Fox