The television show “M*A*S*H” followed the lives of members of a mobile army surgical medical hospital during the Korean War. The soldiers — doctors, nurses, and other staff — used humor to escape the horrors of the conflict.
“M*A*S*H” was not an instant hit when it premiered in 1972, but the show built a strong following and stayed on television for 11 years. The final episode, titled “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen,’’ aired on February 28, 1983, and set the standard for series finales. During the show’s final six minutes, viewership peaked at 121.6 million.
Click here to see the full list of the top 20 M*A*S*H episodes.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
Much of the show’s success derived from a strong ensemble of actors. Alan Alda was the wisecracking antihero doctor “Hawkeye” Pierce; Henry Morgan portrayed fatherly commanding officer Col. Sherman Potter; and Loretta Swit played the buttoned-up but dedicated Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan.
To mark Swit’s 80th birthday, 24/7 Wall St. has listed the top 20 “M*A*S*H” episodes.
20. Rally ‘Round the Flagg, Boys (tied)
> Season, episode: 7, 21
> Original air date: 14 Feb. 1979
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
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19. The Party (tied)
> Season, episode: 7, 25
> Original air date: 12 Mar. 1979
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
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18. Death Takes a Holiday
> Season, episode: 9, 5
> Original air date: 15 Dec. 1980
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
17. Crisis
> Season, episode: 2, 21
> Original air date: 9 Feb. 1974
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
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16. Change of Command
> Season, episode: 4, 2
> Original air date: 19 Sep. 1975
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
15. The General Flipped at Dawn
> Season, episode: 3, 1
> Original air date: 10 Sep. 1974
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
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14. The Longjohn Flap
> Season, episode: 1, 19
> Original air date: 18 Feb. 1973
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
13. Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen
> Season, episode: 11, 16
> Original air date: 28 Feb. 1983
> IMDb user rating: 8.3
12. Life Time
> Season, episode: 8, 11
> Original air date: 26 Nov. 1979
> IMDb user rating: 8.4
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11. Point of View
> Season, episode: 7, 10
> Original air date: 20 Nov. 1978
> IMDb user rating: 8.4
10. 5 O’Clock Charlie
> Season, episode: 2, 2
> Original air date: 22 Sep. 1973
> IMDb user rating: 8.4
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9. Good-Bye Radar: Part 2
> Season, episode: 8, 5
> Original air date: 15 Oct. 1979
> IMDb user rating: 8.5
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8. The Trial of Henry Blake
> Season, episode: 2, 8
> Original air date: 3 Nov. 1973
> IMDb user rating: 8.5
7. Dear Sigmund
> Season, episode: 5, 7
> Original air date: 9 Nov. 1976
> IMDb user rating: 8.5
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6. Deal Me Out
> Season, episode: 2, 13
> Original air date: 8 Dec. 1973
> IMDb user rating: 8.6
5. Welcome to Korea
> Season, episode: 4, 1
> Original air date: 12 Sep. 1975
> IMDb user rating: 8.6
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4. Adam’s Ribs
> Season, episode: 3, 11
> Original air date: 26 Nov. 1974
> IMDb user rating: 8.6
3. Sometimes You Hear the Bullet
> Season, episode: 1, 17
> Original air date: 28 Jan. 1973
> IMDb user rating: 8.6
2. Tuttle
> Season, episode: 1, 15
> Original air date: 14 Jan. 1973
> IMDb user rating: 8.8
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1. Abyssinia, Henry
> Season, episode: 3, 24
> Original air date: 18 Mar. 1975
> IMDb user rating: 9.3
By the time “M*A*S*H” premiered on CBS, the staid television comedies of the 1950s and 1960s, set mostly in idealized suburbs, were giving way to more thought-provoking programs. Groundbreaking shows such as “All in the Family” shook up the status quo by addressing issues like race, feminism, homosexuality, politics, gun control, and America’s role in the world.
“M*A*S*H,” based on the movie of the same name, tapped into that zeitgeist by skewering authority figures in politics, the military, and even the clergy. As well, the show questioned the reasons for a war that was distant to Americans.
The show also flouted entertainment industry conventions such as replacing characters who had developed a following; airing full episodes without a laugh track; and capturing the unscripted reactions of the actors with the news that beloved commanding officer Henry Blake had been killed. “M*A*S*H” also succeeded in mainstreaming cross-dressing character Max Klinger who tries to get a medical discharge from the Army.
“M*A*S*H” evolved from a black comedy to a more mature, nuanced comedy-drama, and characters such as the one played by Swit reflected that shift. Swit’s “Hot Lips’’ Houlihan morphed from a military-loving, no-nonsense nurse to a woman fulfilled by her work who does not need to define her life through relationships with men.
To determine the top episodes of “M*A*S*H,” 24/7 Wall St. compared user ratings from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) for all episodes. Ties created by episodes with matching scores were broken by ranking the episode with more user reviews higher. Additional episode information also comes from IMDb.
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