The original post: /r/television by /u/Hspalenka on 2024-08-22 01:37:25.
I’ve been rewatching MASH and can’t help but appreciate how well a show that is over 50 years old has held up. I find myself so impressed by how well it handles its subject matter and balances the drama and comedy that. I’m somewhat disappointed that it lasted 11 whole years, and basically ran out of ways to hammer home the concept “war kills people, and that’s bad.”
In my opinion, MASH was so good at what it set out to do that it has actually made it almost impossible to create a similar show based on another war. We don’t need another series to nag about the same themes, but I think it would have been very interesting to see different character dynamics while showcasing medical technology of a different era.
I don’t think there should be a reboot/remake of MASH, but let’s assume for a second that Hollywood has gone completely creatively bankrupt, or at least that some misguided executive has decided to make a new MASH. Would that new show have anything at all worthwhile saying, or would it just be an aesthetic redressing? And for that matter, if you were given free reign to take the broadest version of the concept in a totally different direction to try to make it relevant, what would you do?
Edit: Reddit didn’t like “MASH” typed with asterisks. They were removed for formatting reasons.