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''M *A *S *H'' is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film ''MASH'' (which was itself based on the 1968 novel ''MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'', by Richard Hooker). The series, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea during the Korean War. The show's title sequence features an instrumental version of "Suicide Is Painless", the theme song from the original film. The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel, ''M *A *S *H Goes to Maine'', failed. The television series is the most well-known version of the ''M *A *S *H'' works, and one of the highest-rated shows in U.S. television history. The series premiered in the U.S. on September 17, 1972, and ended February 28, 1983, with the finale, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", becoming the most-watched and highest-rated single television episode in U.S. television history at the time, with a record-breaking 125 million viewers (60.2 rating and 77 share), according to the ''New York Times''. It had struggled in its first season and was at risk of being cancelled. Season two of ''M *A *S *H'' placed it in a better time slot (airing after the popular ''All in the Family''); the show became one of the top 10 programs of the year and stayed in the top 20 programs for the rest of its run.〔 It is still broadcast in syndication on various television stations. The series, which depicted events occurring during a three-year military conflict, spanned 256 episodes and lasted 11 seasons. Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. Like the movie, the series was as much an allegory about the Vietnam War (still in progress when the show began) as it was about the Korean War.〔Schochet, Stephen. "(The Ironies of MASH )". ''hollywoodstories.com,'' 2007. The show's producers have said that it was about war and bureaucracy in general.〕 The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997.〔〕 In 2002, ''M *A *S *H'' was ranked number 25 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.〔(TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows )〕 In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked it as the fifth-best written TV series ever〔(101 Best Written TV Series List )〕 and ''TV Guide'' ranked it as the eighth-greatest show of all time. ==Synopsis== ''M *A *S *H'' aired weekly on CBS, with most episodes being a half-hour in length. The series is usually categorized as a situation comedy, though it is sometimes also described as a "dark comedy" or a "dramedy" because of the dramatic subject material often presented.〔The term "dramedy" (drama + comedy), although coined in 1978, was not in common usage until after ''M *A *S *H'' had gone off the air.〕 The show was an ensemble piece revolving around key personnel in a United States Army ''Mobile Army Surgical Hospital'' (MASH) in the Korean War (1950–1953). (The asterisks in the name are not part of military nomenclature and were creatively introduced in the novel and used in only the posters for the movie version, not the actual movie.) The "4077th MASH" was one of several surgical units in Korea. As the show developed, the writing took on more of a moralistic tone. Richard Hooker, who wrote the book on which the television and film versions were based, noted that Hawkeye's character was far more liberal in the show than on the page (in one of the MASH books, Hawkeye makes reference to "kicking the bejesus out of lefties just to stay in shape"). While the show is traditionally viewed as a comedy, many episodes were of a more serious tone. Airing on network primetime while the Vietnam War was still going on, the show was forced to walk the fine line of commenting on that war while at the same time not seeming to protest against it. For this reason, the show's discourse, under the cover of comedy, often questioned, mocked, and grappled with America's role in the Cold War. Episodes were both plot- and character-driven, with several episodes being narrated by one of the show's characters as the contents of a letter home. The show's tone could move from silly to sobering from one episode to the next, with dramatic tension often occurring between the civilian draftees of 4077th — Hawkeye, Trapper John, and B.J. Hunnicutt, for example — who are forced to leave their homes to tend the wounded and dying of the war, and the "regular Army" characters, such as Margaret Houlihan and Colonel Potter, who tend to represent ideas of patriotism and duty (though Houlihan and Potter could represent the other perspective at times, as well). Other characters, such as Col. Blake, Maj. Winchester, and Cpl. Klinger, help demonstrate various American civilian attitudes toward army life, while guest characters played by such actors as Eldon Quick, Herb Voland, Mary Wickes, and Tim O'Connor also help further the show's discussion of America's place as Cold War warmaker and peacemaker. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「M*A*S*H (TV series)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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