Your Favorite Comedies Owe a Lot to These 1970s Sitcoms
M*A*S*H
- Metascore72
- 1972-1983
- 11 seasons
- CBS
- Comedy, Drama, Action & Adventure
- TV-PG
The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean War. With little help from the circumstance in which they find themselves, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable. Nevertheless, the war goes on.
- Metascore72
- 1972-1983
- 11 seasons
- CBS
- Comedy, Drama, Action & Adventure
- TV-PG
The 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is stuck in the middle of the Korean War. With little help from the circumstance in which they find themselves, they are forced to make their own fun. Fond of practical jokes and revenge, the doctors, nurses, administrators, and soldiers often find ways of making wartime life bearable. Nevertheless, the war goes on.
The Best '70s Shows to Watch Right Now
Pull up a Taxi and get ready for some Good Times with this list of the most influential '70s shows streaming now
The Most Heartbreaking TV Character Deaths Ever
Here are the TV deaths we still can't quite get over
MASH Star David Ogden Stiers Dies at 75
Stiers played Major Winchester
Here's What's Leaving Netflix in April
Time's running out on these titles
Why TV is Looking to the Big Screen For New Ideas
In Hollywood, familiarity breeds content. That's been especially true in recent weeks as TV writers and executives raid film libraries, looking to adapt movies into primetime series. Among projects now in development: CBS' take on the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker buddy-cop comedy Rush Hour (this time from Cougar Town's Bill Lawrence) and a comedy based on Paul Weitz's 2004 feature In Good Company. NBC is rebooting two comedies, Real Genius and Problem Child, as well as creating a sequel to Marley & Me.
Ask Matt: Mother Finale, More Good Wife Reaction, Americans, NCIS
Send questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter! Question: I imagine you must be getting flooded with questions and/or ranting about the finale of How I Met Your Mother. I was among those who left the finale feeling incredibly sad, not what I expect from a show that's kept me laughing (and sometimes crying) for the last nine years, even when others were saying that the quality had declined. The thing is, when looked at objectively, I don't even have a major problem (Major Problem!) with the content of the finale. Yes, people get divorced and people die. People get remarried after both, and I've known several people in my own life who have reconnected with an old girlfriend or high-school sweetheart after the death of a spouse. It doesn't invalidate the marriage or even lessen the feelings of loss. The finale itself had great moments: the high-infinity, Marshall's "positive talk" about his corporate job, Judge Fudge, the mother's Gore/Lieberman costume, robots versus wrestlers, etc. Seeing Barney with a child was wonderful, although I did think he had grown more than immediately going back to his old ways after his divorce. And the scene on the platform was near perfection as they wove in how their almost-shared history was influencing their connection, making the whole nine-year story relevant to how he'd actually met the mother. (By the way, one more TM would be the name we've known Tracy by: The Mother.)
The Honeymooners' Frank Marth Dies at 91
Frank Marth, who had several background roles on The Honeymooners and also starred in numerous films, died Sunday of congestive heart failure and Alzheimer's disease at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 91.
Enlisted Offers a New Spin on the Workplace Comedy: "Our Dunder Mifflin Is the U.S. Military"
Boy enrolls in the army. Boy goes overseas to fight the bad guys in Afghanistan. Boy returns home safely to his two younger brothers. Sounds like a happy ending, right? Not quite. On the new military comedy Enlisted, premiering Friday at 9:30/8:30c on Fox, Geoff Stults plays Staff Sergeant Pete Hill, an ambitious super soldier who is sent back home to Fort McGee, Fla., and reassigned to the far less impressive Rear Detachment unit after his temper gets the best of him in the war zone. "He's definitely struggling with it," Stults tells TVGuide.com. "He's going to try to make the best of it, but he feels bad that he's not overseas with his brothers, his other brothers, fighting. He feels like that's the only way that he can give back to his country. He has to learn to find different ways to feel like...
TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time
So many golden ages, so much brilliance from which to choose. In culling from the "60 Greatest" lists we've compiled during our 60th-anniversary year, we shook things up, blending drama, comedy and other genres to salute the shows with the biggest cultural impact and most enduring influence. What will the next 60 years bring? We can't wait to find out...
Alan Alda Heads to The Blacklist
Has Red Reddington met his match? Alan Alda will guest-star on an upcoming episode of The Blacklist as an enemy of James Spader's character, Access Hollywood reports.
No Joke: The Greatest Comedies of All time
In honor of TV Guide Magazine's 60th anniversary, senior critic Matt Roush names the 60 greatest comedies of all time. Here are the top 10, and pick up the new issue (on sale now) to see numbers 11 through 60.
M*A*S*H Star Allan Arbus Dies at 95
Allan Arbus, who played psychiatrist Maj. Sidney Freedman on M*A*S*H, died Friday at home in Los Angeles, his daughter Amy confirmed to The New York Times. He was 95.
The Complete Pilot Report: NBC Has Hatfields, About a Boy and Sean Hayes
The fall TV season is taking shape. Networks have ordered dozens of new pilots starring familiar faces like Lost's Josh Holloway, Andy Samberg, The Office's Ellie Kemper and Malin Akerman (Watchmen), and from proven producers like J.J. Abrams, Arrow's Greg Berlanti, David Shore (House) and Joss Whedon. To keep track of who's doing what, read our complete list of all the series projects in contention — there are nearly 100! — and check back for updates on their status. Here are the NBC pilots: (Click here for ABC, CBS, CW and Fox.)
How Networks Are Breaking the Period-Piece Curse
Downton Abbey transformed PBS from a sometimes stodgy channel into a destination network, drawing 5.4 million viewers for its second-season finale (doubling PBS' primetime average). Now, Downton creator Julian Fellowes has signed with NBC to create The Gilded Age, his first series for American broadcast TV. NBC is betting that the drama will attract the same audience for its depiction of New York's moguls of...
Night Court Creator Reinhold Weege Dies at 63
Reinhold Weege, who created Night Court and was a writer/producer for Barney Miller, died Dec. 1 of natural causes, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 63.
George Lindsey, Andy Griffith Show’s Goober, Dies at 83
George Lindsey, best known for playing Goober Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show, has died. He was 83 years old. Lindsey died Sunday in Nashville after an extended hospitalization, The Tennessean reports. An Alabama native, Lindsey went to college to become a teacher, but joined the United States Air Force in the '50s. He eventually moved to New York to study acting and...
Ask Matt: House, Once vs. Grimm, Fringe Renewal
Send your questions and comments to askmatt@tvguidemagazine.com and follow me on Twitter! Question: Needless to say, the very end of last week's House episode was a shocker. Do you think that this will be some catalyst to finally cause a permanent change in House and that the last episodes are watching that happen? That being said, I hope that next week's portrayed ending is not as drastic as it appears [in the teaser]. Irony aside, it just wouldn't be fair to the impacted character, and it would be too pedestrian a reason for such a transformation in House. — Suzie
Ratings: Super Bowl Draws 111.3 Million Viewers to Become Most-Watched TV Program in History
Did the Super Bowl set a viewership record for a third year in a row? Just barely...
Harry Morgan of M*A*S*H Dies at 96
Harry Morgan, best known for his role as Col. Potter in M*A*S*H, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, The New York Times reports.
Cheers & Jeers: The Big C --- Paging Alan Alda!
Cheers to The Big C for getting Alan Alda to play doctor again. Want more Cheers & Jeers? Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine...
Relive Your Favorite TV Season-Enders TV Guide Network's Most Unforgettable Finales
As the TV season comes to a close, TV Guide Network takes a look back at the best finales of all time. From the cut-to-black ending of The Sopranos to the vaguely spiritual final act of Lost, Jason Alexander counts down the most unforgettable finales. The special also features interviews with stars of these talked-about finales, including Will & Grace's Megan Mullally, Dallas' Patrick Duffy and Larry Hagman, M*A*S*H's Mike Farrell and The Shield's Walton Goggins.
Jackie Cooper, Superman's Perry White, Dies at 88
Jackie Cooper, who played Daily Planet editor Perry White in the original Superman films, has died. He was 88 years old. Cooper died Tuesday at a Beverly Hills, Calif., hospital after a sudden illness, TMZ reports. Remember other celebrities who died this year A Los Angeles native, Cooper started acting at...
Exclusive: Seinfeld's Jason Alexander to Guest-Star on TNT's Franklin & Bash
Former Seinfeld star Jason Alexander will guest-star on TNT's forthcoming legal dramedy Franklin & Bash, TVGuide.com has learned.Check out photos of Alexander throughout his career
Glee Tops the Television Critics Awards
Fox's Glee led the winners of this year's Television Critics Association Awards, taking home statuettes for Program of the Year, Outstanding New Program and Individual Achievement in Comedy for Jane Lynch. Modern Family (ABC) won Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, while Lost (ABC) and Breaking Bad (AMC) tied for the Outstanding Achievement in Drama prize. The group also recognized Julianna Margulies for Individual Achievement in Drama for The Good Wife (CBS). The complete list of winners:
Modern Family Tops Nominations for TV Critics Association Awards
Freshman comedy Modern Family grabbed a leading five nominations for the Television Critics Association Awards. The ABC show was nominated for best new series, best comedy series and best program of the year. Stars Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet were...
M*A*S*H Writer Larry Gelbart Dead at 81
Larry Gelbart, the writer who made M*A*S*H a TV hit, died Friday in his Beverly Hills home, after a battle with cancer. He was 81. In 1971, TV execs approached Gelbart about adapting Robert Altman's M*A*S*H for the small screen...
The 13 Most Shocking TV Deaths
We really should've known better. We waited two weeks for Brothers & Sisters' "shocking death," when all along we should have realized that what the network had been teasing for weeks (months even, among insiders) in the end wasn't all that shocking — especially when it didn't even really happen.Oh well, maybe we're all patsies. But to make ourselves feel better, after the jump are the TV deaths that actually delivered a gutshot and had us talking about a character's demise the next day — for all the right reasons.
Tom Everett Scott's Life Is Saved
Described by some as "Rescue Me for the ambulance-driving set," TNT's Saved (premiering tonight at 10 pm/ET) stars Tom Everett Scott as Wyatt Cole, a paramedic dealing — or not — with a domineering father, a lady doc "ex," and the dilemma of whether to give med school that one last long-after-college try. Oh, and he also has a gambling problem, one so bad it puts his self-stitching expertise to good use. TVGuide.com talked to Scott about exploring such da
Rene Auberjonois: From Benson to Boston
Before "snark" was even a word, Rene Auberjonois was wonderfully full of it as Clayton Runnymede Endicott III, the fancy-speaking foil to Robert Guillaume's titular manservant-turned-civil servant on the '80s comedy Benson. These days — and a sci-fi-fabulous run as Deep Space Nine's Odo later — the veteran actor is sharing a set with fellow Star Trek universe alum William Shatner on ABC's Boston Legal (Tuesdays at 10 pm/ET). In fact, Auberjonois' prickly Paul Lewiston recently embarked on a juicy new story arc, one of the many topics covered in this Q&A with TVGuide.com. TVGuide.com: Long before there was The West Wing, befo
In the mid-1960s, I think, ...
Question: In the mid-1960s, I think, Dennis Weaver starred in a show where he had an adopted Korean son, lived on a ranch and drove a convertible Mustang. What was the name of it? Thanks.Answer: That would be the short-lived comedy-drama Kentucky Jones, which ran on NBC for a year beginning in September 1964. Weaver, coming off his nine-year stint as Chester Goode on the classic Gunsmoke, starred as veterinarian Kenneth Yarborough "Kentucky" Jones (he signed his name "K.Y."), who lived on a ranch in Southern Cal. And the 9-year-old boy of whom you speak, Dwight Eisenhower "Ike" Wong (played by Ricky Der — apparently nifty nicknames were plentiful on this show), was Chinese, not Korean. Kentucky's wife had arranged to adopt the lad and then promptly died, leaving the widower vet to raise him alone. Har
I don't have any wagers, ...
Question: I don't have any wagers, arguments or bets to settle. I just have a question, if that's OK. Was there another actress who played Cagney on Cagney & Lacey before Sharon Gless did, or is my memory failing already? Thank you for your time.Answer: Actually, there were two, Ruth. Loretta Swit (M*A*S*H) first played Det. Chris Cagney in the CBS TV-movie that aired in 1981. However, after that movie proved successful enough for the network executives, who didn't initially believe the concept was strong enough for a show to order up a series, Swit was unavailable. In stepped actress Meg Foster, and the reason for her abrupt departure, together with the lack of network spin on it, provides an interesting lesson in how different today's political climate is from that of 20 years ago. "[T]oo
Chief's Daughter Isn't Such a Brat
If you're like me, you may wonder just what is Rebecca Calloway's problem on ABC's Commander in Chief (Tuesdays at 9 pm/ET). I mean, wouldn't it be the bee's knees to be the president's daughter? (Or did my usage of "the bee's knees" prove how out of touch I am with today's teens?) Even though she left us hanging for a full day, TVGuide.com was more than happy to talk with the first daughter, aka Caitlin Wachs (pronounced "wax"), about life in the White House, a pregnancy shocker to come, and that older costar she's going around calling "sexy." TVGuide.com: So, you blew off the hot-shot TV Guide reporter....Caitlin Wachs: Oh, no! [Laughs] Maybe I'll win you back.
Malcolm Cast Preps for Middle's End
Friday, Jan. 13, turned out to be a truly bad-luck day for Malcolm in the Middle. That's when the cast members learned that the Fox sitcom, now in its seventh season, had gotten the ax. "There was some sadness," Bryan Cranston, aka Malcolm's bumbling dad, Hal, tells TVGuide.com, adding that he and his TV wife, Jane Kaczmarek, shared an embrace and a few tears upon learning their fate. "We realized it's about how much fun you have along the way," philosophizes the actor, who felt that Malcolm could have easily gone on creatively for another year. "But I can't complain. We'll have done 151 episodes. It's been fantastic. It's going to be good
I have always wanted to know ...
Question: I have always wanted to know which comedy series on TV has had the largest single-episode audience in the U.S. Was it M*A*S*H, Seinfeld, Friends or another show?Answer: That would be M*A*S*H, Johan. When CBS aired the final episode, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," on Feb. 28, 1983, 106 million U.S. viewers tuned in to watch. Compare that with the final Cheers episode, which pulled in 80.4 million a decade later, or the Seinfeld (76.3 million) and Friends (52 million) finales, and you can see how truly impressive the M*A*S*H number is. Amen, indeed.
What were some of the more ...
Question: What were some of the more popular shows of 1976?Answer: Well, since we're actually talking about two seasons in any given calendar year — for example, the tail end of 1975's fall season and the first half of 1976's — it's a whole host of programming. But because I like that time-capsule stuff, I'll give you a taste. The Top 5 shows for September 1975-April 1976, together with each one's network and rating (percentage of total TV households in the country at that time) were: All in the Family (CBS, 30.1); Rich Man, Poor Man (ABC, 28.0); Laverne & Shirley (ABC, 27.5); Maude (CBS, 25.0) and The Bionic Woman
An hour before I watched this...
An hour before I watched this I received the news of my godfather's sudden passing, which got me thinking about powerlessness and grief. The process of grief consists of three phrases — denial, acceptance and healing. War is the most grievous situation imaginable, though it is hardly deniable (although we've flirted with phrases like "police action" in the past), but owning up to the truth that grief can't be dealt with alone is as difficult as, say, admitting an addiction. This is not to say that people are addicted to war, but no one likes to admit he's scared. Smoke is a pothead for a reason — he's trying to escape. But he's been trying to escape all his life, which is probably why he couldn't take his mother praying for him. He doesn't believe in God, let alone redemption. But her stroke cracked this loner's angry façade. It's bad enough that he's being excoriated by the world's press and a target of the insurgents (who blame him for killing a mother and child), but what torments h
Know anything about Pete and ...
Question: Know anything about Pete and Gladys? It starred Harry Morgan.Answer: That I do — and since you don't know, Jack, I'm happy to fill you in. Mr. Morgan (M*A*S*H) first played the character, Pete Porter, on the CBS comedy December Bride, which ran from October 1954 to April 1961 and starred Spring Byington (Laramie) as a lovable mother-in-law living with her daughter (Frances Rafferty) and son-in-law (Dean Miller). Pete was the sarcastic neighbor who always came over to complain about his wife, Gladys, who was never actually seen. The griping worked — he proved such a hit with the audience that the network gave him his own show. In September 1960, Pete and Gladys hit the airwaves with Cara Williams as the ditzy Gladys and, among others, Verna Felton as her friend Hilda and Gale Gordon (
Mail Call Host Sounds Off!
No one gets in Hollywood's face like R. Lee Ermey. The former drill instructor and 11-year Marine Corps vet has made a nice second career for himself as the go-to actor to fill hard-edged military-man roles, including a much-lauded turn in Full Metal Jacket. For the past three seasons, he's been happily barking answers to viewer questions on Mail Call, the History Channel's combat technology show-and-tell series. "I get to drive tanks," Ermey says of the show that starts its fourth tour of duty on Jan. 11 (10 pm/ET). "I get to blow things up and shoot weapons." Fortunately, the only thing he's shooting today is the breeze with TV Guide. TV Guide Online: What's the coolest thing you've blown up on Mail Call?R. Lee Ermey: Some old ammunition over in Iraq. We worked with the explosive boys, and they had a dummy in a flight suit in the bottom of a pit. Its head was a watermelon. They cut Saddam Hussein's face out of a picture, pasted it
Advertisement