Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the finest MASH seasons, 2 Jun 2004
By A Customer
Season four of MASH was incredibly hyped when it was first broadcast. The series had to deal with the departure of two of it central characters, on screen the death of Henry Blake and the departure of Trapper and off screen the two actors leaving becuase they felt Alan Alda's Hawkeye was dominating the series too much. However what they did with series four was inspired. Making sure not to make previous mistakes again they introduced two great new characters Harry Morgan as Col Sherman T Potter and Mike Farrel as BJ Hunnicut. Each character brings a whole new dimension to the series and make excellent first appearances.
However prehaps what is most important about series four is the sheer number of classic or excellent episodes, for me 'Welcome To Korea', 'The Interview' and 'Deluge' rank highest but all in all every episode is meticulously acted, written and directed, the only one that doesn't really work is 'Hawkeye' which is just Alan Alda performing a monologue throughout the episode which is a bit too much without the other characters to interact with.
Series four also managed to use the introduction of new characters and stories combined with its assured success with the viewers to begin moving into darker areas which is one of the first sign's of the really dark and morbid humour which would dominate many of the later episodes in the coming series. But this is not a bad thing as many people seem to think, the whole point of MASH was to be a black comedy about war and that is what it is, comedy. All the episodes in series four balance the comedy and drama with practiced perfection making it one of the best series of MASH and a wonderful transition phase for the series as it moved into new territory.
I imagine the DVD won't have any great amount of special features just the standard laughter track option, however this is a very good thing as I hate watching the episodes with that hideous laughter track plastered over the top, MASH is best appreciated on its own, the laughter just spoils things too many times for me. Having said that it would be nice to see some extra features on the DVD set but Fox don't really seem too bothered about putting them together. The main thing is they are releasing the series on DVD.
In conclusion I highly recommend this DVD, if you have watched the earlier series you will love the consistent quality this one brings but you might need to watch some of the earlier series if you haven't already, especially the episode 'Abysinya Henry' as it will give you a greater depth of appreciation to the series as a whole and a better understanding of this one.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Series, but Fox need to work on their presentation, 23 Jun 2004
Although, like most other reviewers, I love the series, and Series 4 does get a new injection from Col.S Potter and Cpt BJ Honeycutt.My problem with all 4 series on DVD is the menu's. There is no Play All option, you having to navigate in a most annoying fashion:
1 - from the main menu into an episode
2 - select the play option
3 - watch the episode
4 - navigate back up to the main menu, then start all over again. Series 4 has introduced an interesting new feature, before each episode the DVD licence is displayed - you may not use this DVD in public places etc. Series 5 - looks like they will go to the original American breaks, Title 1st scene - break - 1 half - break - 2 half - break - prolog and cast list! I would just like to re-iterate, the quality of the programmes is EXCELLENT, it is just the content that I have found very disappointing.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Series - Annoying DVD presentation, 17 Jul 2004
Series 4 is where I think MASH really starts to mature and become a comedy drama series rather than a sitcom. The introduction of Colonel Potter and BJ Hunnicutt are superb additions to the already excellent cast. I particularly enjoy the several 'letters home' episodes, which give cameo insights into life in a MASH unit. My only complaints would be in the change of format, the DVD case has changed in size and design - not a major issue, but a bit annoying. What is annoying is the insistance of showing the copyright warnings before EVERY episode and you can't even fast forward past them - aaarrggh. Apart from these minor irritations, this is a superb addition to my collection. Best feature continues to be the option to remove the canned laughter track. Can't wait until series 5 hits the streets.
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