tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post1513221217960409658..comments2023-11-03T11:37:13.579-04:00Comments on Something Old, Nothing New: In Defence of Very Special EpisodesJaime J. Weinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15128500411119962998noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6956070.post-53647706045485069892006-12-10T10:42:00.000-05:002006-12-10T10:42:00.000-05:00Sitcoms doing drama did have to walk a very fine l...Sitcoms doing drama did have to walk a very fine line between entertaining the audience in a different way and hectoring them, in excessive preaching in place of any humor. In reference to M*A*S*H, what happened in the late 1970s was similar, but at counterpoint, to the late-70s problems netioned in the threads below that afflicted "Happy Days".<br /><br />In that, the desire to elevate Fonzie above everything else, combined with the audience reaction that made The Beatles' appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" sound like a state funeral, made the final seasons' episodes unwatchable in syndication, as the show strayed further and further from reality.<br /><br /> With "M*A*S*H", all the adulation of its ability to mix drama and comedy grew from the moment of Henry Blake's death over the next several seasons so that by at the latest Season 8, the cast, writers and producers had become so full of themselves with pretentiousness, they came to believe imparting a dramatic message to the audience was more important than actually entertaining them. And as a result, just like "Happy Days", the final seasons of "M*A*S*H" are unwatchable, but remain on air because they're part of the syndication package with the earlier episodes (it would be an interesting experiment to see if a station's cumulative ratings for "M*A*S*H" went up if they immediately went back to Season 1 as soon as Radar leaves for home, as opposed to airing the final 90 or so episodes. I know TV Land did a semi-mock poll once asking viewers if they preferred the "Happy Days" episodes before or after Chachi's arrival. No points for guessing which one won).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com