Today our attention turns to M*A*S*H.
M*A*S*H began as a book, was turned into a movie which in turn begat a TV series that ran on CBS for 11 years, about 8 years longer than the Korean War in which M*A*S*H was set.
The television version of M*A*S*H began under the pen and guidance of Larry Gelbart, a comedy writer of considerable gifts for jokes and for storytelling. Setting a half hour TV sit come in an Army hospital mere miles from the front line of an active war zone would hardly seem a recipe for comedy but Gelbart made it work. But after four years, Larry Gelbart moved on. Even before then, M*A*S*H was evolving, moving further away from broad comedy and more freely embracing the drama of life in war time. By the time the last 3 seasons rolled around, M*A*S*H was less a comedy with some drama and more of a drama with some comedy.
A prime example of this change in the show can be found in the episode "Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead".
If I wanted to do a Halloween themed post on M*A*S*H, perhaps I should look at "Trick or Treatment" where the 4077th M*A*S*H unit is trying to bolster morale with a Halloween party.
It's a slow night at the compound. At one point, the biggest medical emergency of the night is a Marine (played by future Cheers mainstay George Wendt) who has, as Dr. Winchester astutely observes, a pool ball stuck in his mouth.
Unfortunately, the war will not take the night off, not even for Halloween as some wounded soldiers come in on a truck that also includes one dead soldier with a toe tag confirming his status. But when Father Mulcahy kneels down next to the body, he discovers the soldier is still alive. Once alerted, the doctors are able to operate and keep him alive. Colonel Potter tells Mulcahy, "It's just the first time being dead wasn't terminal. Padre, welcome to the club. You saved a life."
The M*A*S*H regulars are in a supporting roles to a new arrival, Private Weston. Weston is severely injured and cannot be saved. Private Weston dies.
Which is where his story begins.
Weston wanders about the camp, puzzled and frustrated by why no one can hear or see him. What is wrong with these people?
Then the cold realization hits him. The problem isn't with the people in the camp. The problem is with him.
The problem, Private Weston realizes, is that he is dead.
There is one person who can see and hear him.
Corporal Klinger has a kidney stone and it's causing a massive infection. Klinger is burning up with fever. In and out of delirium, Klinger is the only one who can see and hear Private Weston. But because Klinger is delirious, no one is listening to him.
The one person Weston can talk to and perhaps relay a message through is someone no one is listening to.
The episode follows Weston as he walks around the camp, sitting with various members of the 4077th staff as they go about their lives unaware Weston is with them, talking to them.
There's one scene in the mess tent where Colonel Potter is sitting by himself, eating a bowl of soup. Private Weston is there with him, wishing there was someway to let his family know it's going to be okay. Potter, oblivious to Weston's entreaties, continues to sip at his soup.
Weston ponders the mystery of what has happened to him and what is supposed to happen next. As he watches a group of the M*A*S*H staff sitting at a mess tent table talking and bickering, he notices that it's getting harder for him to see them clearly, to hear them.
Then he hears a voice: "Over here."
Weston sees its another soldier who points down a road leading away from the camp. Along the road are American soldiers and Korean villagers. "It's this way."
Weston joins the other travellers along the road that winds its way into a fog bank as he and the others disappear from view.
"Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead" is written and directed by Alan Alda. Over the course of 22 minutes, the episode unfolds with a quiet power and grace. It almost has the form and weight of a movie rather than a half hour television show.
It compares to the best of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone.
Moving the focus away from the principals and to the guest star can be a daring choice for any TV show. But it pays off in this episode. The regulars are not gone; their foibles and struggles, the very mundanity of their lives, serves to powerfully counterpoint the after death existence of Private Weston.
Weston's journey from confusion to denial to understanding to acceptance is effectively portrayed, even as life spins on about him.
Kudos to actor Kario Salem whose new in M*A*S*H-town and has to do a lot of heavy lifting in this episode as Private Weston.
Side note: Kario Salem was hired this year by Warner Bros/DC Films to write the screenplay for the upcoming movie based on Jack Kirby's New Gods.
If you prefer the more comedic antics of M*A*S*H from it's earlier seasons, "Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead" may not be an ideal story. But over a decade long evolution, M*A*S*H earned the right to tell different stories. There are not many laughs to be found in "Follies of the Living - Concerns of the Dead" but it is for me a fondly remembered episode M*A*S*H.
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Coming up next in the blog....
Later today, look for Doctor Who Is NEW!: Arachnids in the UK.
Tomorrow morning, a new installment of the countdown series as we will be one day away from Halloween.
Tomorrow afternoon, I will have a post on the unfolding events from the news, particularly in the wake of the mass shooting in Pittsburgh.
On Wednesday, Halloween Zero! It's the day itself and this blog will need a morale booster as we look at a perculiar intersection of the real world and the world of comic books.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another.
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