Somewhere in the USA's collective subconscious is the haunting melody to the song 'Suicide is Painless' by Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman. This melody calls to mind images of medical evacuation helicopters used by the U.S. Army during the Korean war, khaki-coloured tents and camouflage gear, and a large 'M*A*S*H 4077' sign.

M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. To anyone who has been to war, M*A*S*H designates a place one doesn't want to visit¹. To many, however, M*A*S*H means a television series that was popular in the 1980s. Some know the series came years after a movie with the same title (and theme song), and a few know the movie was based on a novel by Dr. Richard Hooker, who based the book on his experience in the Korean War.

The Novel

The novel was a composite sketch by the author of various characters and events he either experienced or heard rumours about during his Korean War days. It focuses around two army surgeons, 'Hawkeye' Benjamin Franklin Pierce and the Duke, who lived in a tent at the hospital that they called the Swamp. The Swampmen were soon joined by 'Trapper' John McIntyre, who completed a trio of outspoken, skilled and very unmilitary military surgeons. The book traces their various exploits between the arrival of Hawkeye and Duke until their voyage home after serving their tour of duty.

The Movie

As a major motion picture, M*A*S*H was a definite success. It was here that we were introduced to 'Suicide is Painless'.² Donald Sutherland played Hawkeye, Elliot Gould played Trapper, and Robert Duvall played the back-stabbing, adulterous sky pilot surgeon Major Frank Burns. The movie followed several storylines from the book, namely Painless the Dentist's suicide, Hawkeye and Trapper's trip to Tokyo to operate on a congressman's son and the football game.

The TV Series

The most successful incarnation of M*A*S*H, the television series starred Alan Alda as Hawkeye, Loretta Swit as the passionate and very military Major Margaret 'Hotlips' Hoolihan, Larry Linville as the notorius Major Frank Burns, Wayne Rodgers as 'Trapper' John, and Gary Burghoff reprising his role as 'Radar' O'Reily from the film. Because the series existed for over a decade³, characters were better developed than either of the forms that came before. Some characters dropped out and often were replaced by new characters, such as the substitution of Cptn. B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell) for Trapper, and Major Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers) for Major Burns. By far the most colourful character added to the TV series was Corporal Max Klinger (Jamie Farr), a clerk who habitually dressed in women's clothing to get out of the army on a section 8 (insanity).

Of course, everyone has their own opinion on which is better, the book, the movie or the series. Regardless, the idea remains the same: humanity is priceless and war is awful. Despite the delightful comedy that flows through M*A*S*H one never forgets the pain and suffering of the war around them. The fact that the massive casualties are what give these doctors need for their often insane antics is as clear as the blood on Hawkeye's surgical scrubs.