I don't quite share the antipathy of Oscargamblesfro towards this show (M*A*S*H), but I can understand where he's coming from. There were episodes on it with real power (I particularly remember the episode with Edward Herrmann as a visiting doctor who has a complete mental breakdown during surgery); there were the other episodes filled with nonsensical burlesque more worthy of an "I Love Lucy" show than a supposed "Black Comedy" examination of the Korean War. I never thought Alda was a bad actor, but he seemed inordinately full of himself. He turned Donald Sutherland's phlegmatic semi-alcoholic into a brash Christlike figure (the author of the original novel, a right-wing Republican, was supposedly not at all happy with Alda's interpretation of the Hawkeye character). My friend, who was never a great fan of the show, and I used to sometimes joke about it. In one episode, Alda's Hawkeye is playing Santa Claus for some Korean children when he gets word about wounded soldiers unable to be moved from the battlefield. A helicopter flies Hawkeye, still in his Santa suit, to the site where the wounded soldiers are and lowers him down on a rope-ladder. One of the boyish All-American soldiers sees Alda (or Hawkeye), turns to his more severely wounded friend, and says, "Gee whiz, and you didn't believe in Santa Claus!!" (or words to that effect). My friend laughed at this and said, "It's not enough to be a Christlike figure-- now he's Santa Claus!" I don't profess to be an expert on the 1950's or the Korean War, but certain elements of the show range false to me. For instance: Loretta Swit's 1970's style feminism (or Alda's, for that matter). I'm sure there were strong female nurses in Korea during that time; they would have had to be strong to survive, I would think. But I can't believe they were as outspoken or as assertive as Swit is here. As Oscar mentions, constant references and reactions to Klinger's "drag" outfits by the characters quickly passed the point of tedium and descended into the excruciating realm of couch-potato agony. In a similar vein: although I think Larry Linville was a good actor, his one-dimensional character Frank Burns became real tiresome real quick too (Linville acknowledged this was the primary reason he left the show). My friend and I were both fans of Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and my friend would always laugh when Alda, playing a boorishly pompous TV producer, came onscreen, and he'd say, "I'm betting that character represents the real Alan Alda. A combination of the insufferable TV producer and the Christlike Hawkeye."  I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I can understand where he's coming from.

Not the best or funniest M*A*S*H charecter, but he lasted and gave that show, on of the best ever, some stability.

Sorry, I know it was on for about 156 years, but I never 'got' this show, in fact, I despise it with every fiber of my being- three times each episode, it was " Oh look Jamie Farr's in drag AGAIN!"...Alda's one of those emasculated,get in touch with your feminine side types who hugged trees and what not...