TV’s M*A*S*H: The Ultimate Guide Book
Ed Solomonson & Mark O’Neill
Publisher : BearManor Media (November 5, 2009)
Genre: Entertainment Guide Book
Paperback : 828 pages
ISBN-10 : 1593935013
ISBN-13 :
Available on Amazon
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
In one episode of the recent CNN series, “The History of the Sit-Com,” several commentators debated over what was the best sit-com of all time-either Seinfeld or Friends.
Oh good grief. Whatever merits those classic shows had, they didn’t come close to the ultimate sit-com of all-time- M*A*S*h. No other television program comes close to being seen by more people, year after year, to the present day. No other program evolved as much as M*A*S*h during its 11 year run of 256 epfisodes; no other program offered so much situational comedy/ medical drama laced with social commentary; no other program made as many cutting-edge creative choices over the years as M*A*S*h. In short, not many shows warrant an over 800 page analysis of their legacy like Ed Solomonson & Mark O’Neill did for M*A*S*h.
To be fair, it’s hard to believe anyone could ever supersede this deep-dive analysis into all things M*A*S*h. For one thing, the tome is chock-full of interviews with the creators and participants going behind-the-scenes of the show’s creation and production process. As the years go by, many of those participants have left us and this book documents many of their observations for perhaps the last time.
But not leaving any stone unturned is an often mixed blessing. How many viewers ever cared about registration numbers on the jeeps? Or how the colors of bathrobes weren’t always consistent? Or the origins of every scrap of music heard in the series, whether recordings or performers singing or parodying popular melodies? Or the professional histories of bit players who appeared in only one episode?
For my taste, I wasn’t impressed by the truncated episode summaries. Frequently, the plot of much of the episode was sketched out-to a point. Concluding scenes were most often skipped over completely. Important developments in character lives and relationships were skimmed over or not mentioned at all.
Still, uneven as the tome is, it’s indispensable for any M*A*S*h fan. The 800 plus pages more than carry their weight with information, insights, and memories to keep any M*A*S*h viewer turning the pages hunting out the nuggets we want, ignoring the dross we don’t. It’s not a cover-to-cover read but rather a reference book to digest in chunks and bites.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Fri. Sept 3, 2021:
