Based solely on the preview I saw, it reminds me of MASH.
Especially when they had a clip of a female doctor saying, "It's Doctor, not Miss or [forget what came next]." Reminds me of Margaret.
Multi-tasking is my mutant power.
Yeah me too. And I saw it coming a mile away. I remember thinking a few years ago that somebody should do MASH in Iraq/Afghanistan. It could be really awesome if the do it right. But they're already failing. Combat Hospital is a horrible name. Although, did people think MASH was a bad name when that show started? I'm only 34, so I've only seen it in re-runs.
You just know this show is gonna borrow a lot of scripts from MASH.
I'm not sure if this is gonna work. It feels like a bad sequel to an awesome movie.
I'm on 28 so I also only saw MASH in reruns, but the name was what they actually called Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, and they probably still do.
As soon as I saw the commicial, I thought MASH and came here to see if others were having the same thought.
Yes, I know where the title of MASH came from(And no they don't call them that anymore(Google is your friend)). That doesn't necessarily make it a good title. You turned what I meant upside down. Combat Hospital could turn out to be a good title like MASH did.
shareIt made me think of China Beach....another drama set in a military hospital during a war.
[deleted]
Being British may well make me strange. My impression of MASH was that I rolled about laughing most of the time in between the anti war etc rants. Trying to keep up with RADAR and the Colonel was a show on its own. I saw Gould and Sutherland in an Edinburgh theater on release I was a serving butcher of other cultures at that time. I enjoyed the many episodes of the series but being on service in non English speaking TV areas for many years means that I did miss a lot of the show.
I enjoyed COMBAT HOSPITAL as it showed a different main story of the problems that Doctors are faced with when you consider the last episode dealt with the medical prime of First do no harm. The series stories have all been dealt with in any given number of medical dramas.
It did not ever require the flash bangs associated with expensively made action tales much in demand of the gung ho's of this world. It also showed that cooperation between allies and other friendly parties is possible possibly more so when all recognise there has to be a chain of command and rules. One rule that was always going to get broken is that one of the no sex. Don't and never have understood this insatiable need unless requited. My feeling is that if it cannot be checked among the educated and thought of as stable population how can it be checked in other groupings.
Although there may have been moments of light hardheartedness in the series while it lasted [ the little boy and the head nursing officer story ] I saw little to have me laughing so cannot liken it to MASH which was a USA acronym and i don't think it was used elsewhere. It was also as many will know set in the Korean war time but meant to be viewed as the Vietnam period.
We Brits were not heavily involved as far as I know only as 'advisors' [thats ironic considering the USA were only there a advisors] although the Australians and New Zealanders were represented. Mr Wilson would not play ball at that time which is why Britain and the US had practically their own little cold relationship period. Not such a special relationship in those days.
I enjoyed the reasoning behind the storyline and am disappointed it did not continue. Now to watch CHINA BEACH mentioned on a few threads. Just to see where DANA Delaney [fine looking lady but those shoes] got her grounding in medicine. Yes I do know its only acting.
I do feel that this show dwelled on many deeper aspects of honour, duty and attitude towards others hopefully with a useful moral ending. That may be something too deep for jingoistic viewers who would not even mind an episode showing the team fighting to save the life of a US pilot who had just used his weaponry on his allies and making sure that he did not even get held to account. Now that story would never get passed in any similar series would it?
Someone has probably told you this already but just in case
Mobile
Army
Surgical
Hospital
heat8488,
How could you have only seen it in reruns, I am 35 and was watching MASH when it was originally on?!
Michael
http://s1.sfgame.us/index.php?rec=58163
heat8488,I didn't mean it wasn't possible. I just meant I didn't. Or if I did, I don't remember. It ended in what? '82? I don't remember anything back that far(which apparently is abnormal) other than a few fragments. share
How could you have only seen it in reruns, I am 35 and was watching MASH when it was originally on?!
It ended in '83, and then went into syndication like so many good -- actually, some bad ones did as well -- shows.
Michael
http://s1.sfgame.us/index.php?rec=58163
Actually to me Combat Hospital reminded me more of China Beach, which by the way was also on ABC.
"All we are saying is give peace a chance" John Lennon
All television scripts can be used in all venues. The ones that have even a passing resemblance get unfairly compared.
Think about it- Different actors, different sets. Same soap opera every time. It's no wonder U.S. daytime TV went away from daytime drama. We're on to them!
Soap operas were different. They had new episodes just about year round. Under normal circumstances their scripts would've been worn out 20-30 years ago because of that. The only reason they were successful is because they were a distraction for women from doing their housework. Most women work nowadays so there's not enough housework going on to be distracted from to sustain soap operas.
My 65 year old mother still watches General Hospital.... instead of doing her housework.LOL
Yup, its a modern day MASH.
was my first thought mash copy
shareExcept for being a military hospital, it's not like MASH at all. MASH had a bunch of quirky characters, this show is about just regular folks who happen to be doctors in a military hospital.
shareActually, I thought it was quite a bit like MASH (I watched every episode many, many times, including both original airings and re-runs). I found myself comparing which characters on one show fit characters on the other show. No, it isn't the same as MASH, but it still has the general look and feel.
The only resemblance to M*A*S*H is that they are in military uniforms and work in a combat hospital.
shareI don't think it will ever be possible to do a series about a military field hospital without the comparison. Just like any show with ships exploring space will always be compared to Star Trek or a short-form anthology show will always be compared to the Twilight Zone.
shareThere is one HUGE difference between this show and M.A.S.H. At least MASH was NOT pro-war propaganda.
On MASH the doctors were constantly pointing out how stupid war is.
By not criticising the war Combat Hospital implicity supports the war.
Okay, first off, "By not criticising the war Combat Hospital implicity supports the war" is a false dichotomy. It is possible to have a series that is neutral on the war, and just telling a story about doctors in a combat hospital.
Second, on MASH the doctors were not constantly pointing out how stupid the war was, they were pointing out how wasteful it was. There is a difference. MASH was about the human cost of war, not the battles.
Finally, there is a considerable difference between Korea and Afghanistan. Korea was a highly destructive conventional war fought by draftees against an opponent who had at least some claims towards basic humanity. Afghanistan is a guerrilla war fought by volunteer soldiers against an opponent that has no moral qualms about murdering captured prisoners or targeting civilians to impose the most brutal totalitarian rule on the planet, set in a highly complicated tribal society. There may be plenty to criticize about the conduct of the war, such as how it was short changed in favour of Iraq, or how the tribal nature of the country was not properly accounted for, but they are not the same criticisms that can be made about Korea. To expect the show to make the same criticisms as MASH is unreasonable.
Wow, well written post. I agree about your assessment of MASH. It was about the ugly nature of war in and of itself, and not a political anti-war statement. This really doesn't match MASH on any level though. That's fine, because there is no reason to think it is trying to. But I think on it's own level it doesn't do it's intent justice. Lastly Combat Hospital might as well be Generic Title. I thought this was going to be a comedy when I first saw the title...
shareI actually thought of this 5 minutes before I noticed that this show had aired which means......nothing.
I hope that this show is similar and does have the qualities that made M.A.S.H so sucessful eg contempt for authority, showing the inhumanity of war and that sometimes, there is no right or wrong. Surprise me.
well ya its pretty much a remake of MASH, but maybe with a few differences. i mean look at hollywood nowadays they are remaking every great movie that came out in the last 50 years + we already stole a butt load of foreign TV shows like, Skins, dragons den, being human, top gear, the X factor etc... now they have ran out and are starting to reamke our own tv shows. i watched combat hospital tonight and it actually wasnt bad, but then again ive only seen a few episodes of MASH.
C'est en faisant n'importe quoi qu'on devient n'importe qui(by doing anyTHING you can be anyONE.
I thought this too
They're remaking Charlie's Angels
They're running shows about a 1960's playboy Club and 1960's Pan Am.
I think there is a retro vibe thing going on.
Maybe it has to do with my generation hiting middle age. We remember shows from our youth--and want to recapture this magic now as harried and jaded adults. We want to escape to a time when we just plopped out on the couch and did not worry about bills...etc
I think there is a retro vibe thing going on.