I'm in the minority but I couldn't stand watching this after Trapper John left.
I felt like Hawkeye and him had a lot of chemistry and was sad to see him leave the show so early. The show just became too different without him imo.
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I don't know if you're in the minority or not, but I watched MASH since the second season (I was in HS - my buddies all started watching it then), and to me really the show really hit it's stride in the middle years. The last three years got stale although there were still some good episodes in the group.
I thought Winchester was better than Burns (although I liked Burns), Potter was better than Blake (never got attached to Henry), and B.J. (tool in real life that he is) was better than Trapper (who was a great guy in real life).
The TV show had to follow the movie when it first was launched, but after it was established and actors left, they had to either recast or come up with replacement characters. I'm glad they not only didn't recast, but happy they went in opposite directions for the new characters.
I discovered MASH during its first season in summer reruns. I was a kid and the only one in my family who watched it. Everyone joined me later.
I watched it until the end. I still remember watching the finale with some people I worked with. We made an evening out of it, ordered pizza, etc.
But now, years later, I prefer the first three seasons. I have those seasons on DVD. I recently watched them for the first time in years and I just find those early seasons funnier.
The replacements were good actors but not as funny. I did love Winchester for the way he proved to be a formidable rival to Hawkeye. He was an excellent surgeon and often punctured Hawkeye's stuffed shirt.
In the later seasons MASH became the Alan Alda Hour Of Preaching. It was annoying at times. The show was still well made, but the episodes were too preachy at times.
The character of B.J. was good but not nearly as funny as Trapper who had a dry deadpan wit. Also, later on when seeing how obnoxious Mike Farrell was in real life, his character got under my skin (good actor though).
When Radar left, for me the show lost its heart. Understandably a thirtysomething Gary Burghoff got tired of playing a nineteen year old. But by that time the show had run its course.
Yeah, it's the tone of the later show I don't like. I'm fine with the actor changes. It becomes unfunny and preachy as hell.
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