How I knew the good reruns were over for the night.
Posted by a_solid_6@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 249 comments
Posted by a_solid_6@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 249 comments
Savedbythebell98@reddit
The start of this theme song meant bedtime… 😕
senorpuma@reddit
The theme song is called “suicide is painless” and I’ve always found it haunting and beautiful.
ShaiHuludNM@reddit
Oh wow, I never knew that. That’s a really dark song. It would never make it to TV today.
lexypher@reddit
it couldnt then, hence the instrumental version.
OppositeRun6503@reddit
I could swear that I'd heard the vocals at some point....perhaps it was in the movie or perhaps the series finale?
ZestfullyStank@reddit
It’s in the movie. Painless was also the (ironic) name of the dentist)
ZestfullyStank@reddit
If you (or anyone else) hasn’t heard the version with lyrics from the movie, do yourself a favor
Acceptingoptimist@reddit
I hated it. I don't know how to explain it, but it "feels" like old people/no fun time to me. I never watched the show as a result. I think a lot of Xennials were too old for Pokémon and too young for MASH.
Fair_Blood3176@reddit
Yup I land squarely there. Never watched MASH but I'm familiar of course, and never got into Pokemon or Harry Potter.
AwkwardDirection6969@reddit
Im a millennial loved pokemon and mash lol
b33lzebubba775@reddit
Speak for yourself. MASH is my all time favorite show. Some of my earliest memories are falling asleep next to my dad on the couch watching this show.
dumdumpants-head@reddit
"no fun time" is a pretty hilarious description of THAT show.
jbrown383@reddit
We didn’t have cable growing up so my parents would always switch it over to MASH reruns after the nightly news. I had two options. Go to bed or stay up and watch MASH with them. I wanted to be cool and stay up so I watched a lot of MASH until I got my own tv in my room in high school. I grew to like it a lot. Well written and had a lot of message in its comedy. The theme song was trash but the show more than made up for it.
CoachKevinCH@reddit
No Wheel and Jeopardy! after nightly news?! Sacrilege!
Malaguy420@reddit
Those are late afternoon/early evening shows, not post-primetime shows.
SubstanceNo1544@reddit
They were after nightly news in Cali where I grew up shrug
jbrown383@reddit
In the market I grew up in, Jeopardy was on during the day while I was at school and Wheel was on at 6:30p, right after the news but before primetime tv.
FiveCrappedPee@reddit
Chicago here and yeah Jeopardy is 330pm and I love it so much but wish it was in the 630 slot because work and life. Ken Jennings is killing it though I love him! RIP Trebeck
JohnBrine@reddit
My grandfather found out that wheel played an hour before him where my aunt lived and he’d call her to get the answers in advance so he’d look like the greatest wheel player ever whenever his father in law came to visit.
jpowell180@reddit
I think I might’ve been in the sixth grade when I started watching MAS*H reruns every weekday afternoon, they would show two in a row, and that got me interested in watching the new episodes; I made absolutely sure the whole family was gathered around the TV for the finale.
_the_learned_goat_@reddit
MASH was a great show.
OccamsYoyo@reddit
Why don’t you try watching it now as an adult? I think you might understand why adults loved it so much.
Smasholle76@reddit
I tried many times myself but some things just don't click with certain people. I just find it boring af and I watch a lot of comedies and war stuff so this on paper should have clicked for me. Totally fine with other people enjoying it just not for me.
HuckleberryHappy6524@reddit
It’s easily in my top 5. Great fuckin show.
OppositeRun6503@reddit
So true.
It's so much different watching through adult eyes vs our earliest exposure when we attempted to do so t through the eyes of a child.
imnotpoopingyouare@reddit
And find it WITHOUT the laugh track.
Rebel_Saint@reddit
Definitely better without the laugh track.
CaptainsYacht@reddit
I felt exactly the same way. Then I watched it as an adult.
It simply is one of the best shows ever made. I love it.
broduding@reddit
This. Everything about that intro felt like the opposite of fun even though it was basically a comedy.
guyako@reddit
It was also a satire about the Vietnam War (even though it was set in Korea), so the humor could get pretty dark, and it tackled serious topics. Rewatch it as an adult, and I think you’ll appreciate it more than you did.
OppositeRun6503@reddit
So true as the Vietnam war was still ongoing at the time that the series was first produced.
IIRC the opening credit theme actually had lyrics to it at one point in time?
elfinchicklets@reddit
The opening credits was originally in the Movie, which has the lyrics.
amayain@reddit
Totally. I couldn't get into it growing up but I fell in love with it in my 30s. It is so damn good.
caspy7@reddit
Feel like my neuroatypicality is showing because I loved it as a kid.
klockworx@reddit
I'm 44..I also loved it as a kid
broduding@reddit
I honestly never even watched an episode lol. The intro was such a turn off for me as a kid it wasn't until years later I even knew what the format of the show was.
TraditionalTackle1@reddit
I hated it too, that song makes me cringe.
Gr00mpa@reddit
You are me.
silentsinner-@reddit
I grew up ignoring the TV when my dad put on MASH thinking "old people show." As an adult some of my best movie/tv experiences were made going back and watching that content. MASH is one of the best show of all time.
Individual-Tackle-24@reddit
felt the same.. siren song of old people.
RupeThereItIs@reddit
Curios about your age.
I'm circa 1978, and the youngest of 3, I've always loved Mash. I think having older siblings more anchored in Gen X has skewed many of my tastes older, to be honest.
Now, in my VERY early years it's original run the theme song WAS bedtime, but reruns... always watched 'em.
Individual-Tackle-24@reddit
42, 1983 so im on the cusp
Brosiedon54@reddit
Go back for it. I'm a millenial and I lovs MASH
ThresholdSeven@reddit
'80 here, I feel exactly how you describe it. I caught a lot of old mash reruns as a kid, bit never watched more than a few minutes. It just seemed out of sync with the vibe of everything else. It felt weird and as though it was oddly glorifying war. Hogan's Heroes is even worse.
I didn't even know what Pokémon was until after high school. I'm sure I saw it among other games, but it never registered, none of my friends played it and I was never really introduced to it until Pokémon Go when I had kids interested in it.
It's funny how all the 90s shows I try to get my kids to watch probably feel like trying to watch old shows when I was a kid. Like I loved star trek tng, but I didn't like the original series at all until I was much older. As a kid, especially along side tng and ds9 as it they were being released, tos appeared comically low budget and old timey.
OccamsYoyo@reddit
MASH did NOT glorify war. Try watching it as an adult. Measuring something’s quality as a child is a big flex.
ThresholdSeven@reddit
Not flexing anything. Didn't say it was glorifying war. Was just saying that as a kid, I wondered why anyone would want to watch anything to do with war as entertainment, and making comedy out of war seemed messed up.
alreadyreddituser@reddit
I feel seen.
_FLostInParadise_@reddit
I must be weird then. I love both.
Tba953@reddit
MAS*H is love. Its one of the most iconic comedy shows that's way it still runs in television.
scrambledhelix@reddit
Funny you mention. I owe being sick on a couch for a week with strep and nothing but apple juice and broadcast tv for introducing me to the syndicated run of Pokémon's first season in the afternoons. Fell in love; it was like no other cartoon series I'd ever watched until that point, like a bizarro version of Wild America and subtle gay subtext threaded throughout, but most importantly — continuity from one episode to the next.
MASH was always and still a no-go though,
tourniquet2099@reddit
b33lzebubba775@reddit
The lyrics were written by a 15 year old in about 5 minutes when his dad couldn't come up with anything dumb enough on his own.
dcnine@reddit
Did you learn this from the Encarta discs that came with Gateway PCs?
senorpuma@reddit
That’s a very specific reference that totally lands, and… maybe, I don’t remember. I do remember hearing the lyrics for the first time after downloading it from Napster.
dcnine@reddit
Oh, it was on some Encarta disc back in the day, that's where I heard it with lyrics.
slash_networkboy@reddit
Through early morning fog I see...
I absolutely love that song. One of the first ones I learned on guitar. I still binge MASH about once every other year or so.
Crambo1000@reddit
If you've ever seen the movie, the song comes from there but with lyrics. Bill Evans also did a wonderful cover of it
senorpuma@reddit
I have never seen the movie. I was one of those grade school kids that stayed up late, watched the news, watched mash, watched whatever until the star spangled banner played and the tv went to static, then I went to bed.
OppositeRun6503@reddit
That theme song instantly popped into my head upon seeing this image.
It was actually quite a decent sitcom which also had a hint of drama while trying to approach the difficult subject of the Korean war that was being fought at the time.
senorpuma@reddit
Vietnam was being fought at the time but yes the show is set in the Korean conflict.
lexypher@reddit
My favorite karaoke song...
qualityskootchtime@reddit
It’s funny I never learned this until I was a teenager and it took on a whole new meaning for me.
studiokgm@reddit
In the movie they actually sing the song lyrics. It’s one of the key plot points.
RustyAndEddies@reddit
Director of the original film, Robert Altman told the composer, Johnny Mandel to make “the stupidest song ever written” and it was going to be called “suicide is painless”.
He tasked the lyrics to himself but found he couldn’t write dumb enough. So he asked his teenage son instead who cranked them out in 5 minutes.
He joked his son had probably raked in more royalties than he got paid to make the movie.
zt3777693@reddit
Omggggg yup
BenAfflecksBalls@reddit
Great show either way. Can find it on archive
rjcpl@reddit
Yeah or at least time to set the sleep timer and drift off to it.
JoshSidekick@reddit
Not only that, but it came on right after Saturday morning cartoons too. This show was the harbinger of doom for kids that wanted to stay up a little late or didn't want to go outside until dark. Which is funny because I revisited it later in life and it's one of my favorite shows.
CNote_89@reddit
Ya time for me to leave the room. I couldn’t stand that show.
TheSwissdictator@reddit
As a young kid law and order coming in was the sign it was bedtime for me.
Melody_in_Harmony@reddit
Or it meant to pivot over to MTV for reruns of Beavis and butt-head
jujumber@reddit
It's like Pavlov's dog for me. Even now when I hear the into I start yawning and think about getting ready for bed. This was always the show that came on and my Dad would say, Well, It looks like it's your bedtime.
VoidOmatic@reddit
Yup, time to set the 15 minute sleep timer.
a_seventh_knot@reddit
Yup, like 11pm or something like that.
IIRC all in the family was afterwards.
odin_the_wiggler@reddit
Dude, exactly.
BrattyTwilis@reddit
Or in my case, dinnertime, because it was always on as dinner was getting made
relativityboy@reddit
Mash was excellent. Even 6 year old me knew that.
CultKitchen@reddit
Ended up watching MAS*H as an adult and actually really enjoyed it.
Azaroth1991@reddit
Mute the theme song if you need to but please, watch the series, its one of the greatest shows ever created. Theres a reason reruns STILL play.
llammacheese@reddit
But also- don’t mute the theme song. It’s great.
I’m in my third run through of the series currently; it’s one of my favorite comfort shows.
lexypher@reddit
the version with out the laugh track is amazing.
dishwasher_mayhem@reddit
I absolutely can't stand laugh tracks but the MASH track wasn't nearly as bad as others. Watching in reruns the laugh track isn't very loud and it's actually triggered during funny moments.
I still definitely prefer it without the track, but it didn't bother me as much as other shows have.
KBO_Winston@reddit
Same. I'm okay with it in MASH (though I'd prefer without) but in Sportsnight? No. No, no. Super no.
evility@reddit
I remember watching the finale. I was much too young, but the TV was on and no one stopped me. M*A*S*H is one of my favorites of all time.
Prodiuus@reddit
You kidding? This was my morning waiting for the school bus show.
rinky79@reddit
This is the best show ever put on TV. This WAS the good reruns.
Orion-Starborn@reddit
anyone remember the chicken episode?
saint_hannibal@reddit
Oh man, couldn’t stand it as a kid. As many say, it’s what the old people watch.
Older now, military veteran with a couple combat tours and work in healthcare, so I just kind of get it now. The writing was top notch and the show didn’t shy away from hard topics and truths. Honestly, the scene where Hawkeye talks about how essentially everyone in war except a few higher ups are innocent bystanders hits so hard. I have cried deeply and laughed long while watching it. And the theme song is so culturally iconic, I never skip it.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Me after posting this
wakeupangry_@reddit
lol your original post is exactly how I felt at the time too. Like, oh this is for the adults.
I tried to watch a the first season during the pandemic and I just didn’t click with it.
It’s supposed to be great, maybe I should try again. Or maybe it’s just lightning in a bottle for a specific era?
Maybe I should watch it to help me fall asleep!
Mooseheadlapidary@reddit
It was exactly like that. I tried a few times to watch it, but never liked it. Thankfully I had Nick at Night. Mr. Ed never let me down (I can still sing the whole song…)
atari2600forever@reddit
Yeah I know it was a huge cultural phenomenon at the time but that show sucked if you were a kid.
kinetic_cheese@reddit
Yeah, I'm wondering how many people commenting actually enjoyed it at the time. I love and appreciate this show now, but as a 5 year old? No way.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
That's what I'm wondering. The show went off in 83. Who our age was enjoying reruns of this a kids?
Zealousideal-Drag368@reddit
Loved this show growing up back then, along with Tour of Duty, Air Wolf, A-Team, etc.
zgf2022@reddit
I did
I had to tape it for my dad (shift work)
I ended up watching it so many times I could quote most of the episodes.
EsotericAbstractIdea@reddit
I got a little bit of both. It came on after Star Trek TNG, which i liked. Fell asleep a bunch of times to the theme song of mash. Then one day stayed up and watched it, and it was funny, even at 4 years old.
Snow_Crash_Bandicoot@reddit
I liked the show a lot. Even had the game for my Atari 2600 and enjoyed it too. I was big into GI Joe as a kid, so seeing other aspects of the military was interesting to me.
atari2600forever@reddit
I think a good way to judge if someone is a Xennial is if they didn't like MASH because they were too young. I have never enjoyed that show.
Kid_Kameleon@reddit
No M.A.S.H slander will be tolerated
Toeknee818@reddit
As a young kiddo, this was never anywhere near my favorite show... Nowadays, I could give it a chance...
I might just fall asleep to it as I once did...
KBO_Winston@reddit
It's okay to skip the first few seasons, if it doesn't grab you. IMO, it hit its stride in season 6 (a cast change made the ensemble just about perfect) but there are lots of greats before then, too.
mrnoonan81@reddit
You should give it a chance.
It never occurred to me that there was anyone (old enough) out there that didn't appreciate this show.
LandOfLizardz@reddit
Ha, fuck mash.
_R_A_@reddit
May I offer you some lubricant in these trying fucking times?
elkniodaphs@reddit
The MASH-hate is strong on this sub. As a whole generation that grew up during the Cold War, I'm always surprised by the general lack of interest in these characters and their predicament.
RealityOk9823@reddit
Weird. It's a fantastic show.
jbrown383@reddit
I get it, the boring, sleepy theme song definitely turned me off of it for years until I decided to stay up and start watching it after hearing my parents laughing late at night. I agree, fantastic show, but a slow-tempo theme song in a minor key with a bunch of strings and woodwinds isn't exactly the hook that's gonna draw in the "G.I. JOOOOOOOOE" generation.
RealityOk9823@reddit
OK, yeah, that's fair. :)
OccamsYoyo@reddit
Interesting you should say that. My love of the show directly coincided with the threat of the first Gulf War. I didn’t seek it out — it just happened to come back into syndication on the channels we got. It hit hard though.
elkniodaphs@reddit
This is what I'm saying. We had movies like Rambo, Iron Eagle, Red Dawn... NES games like Guerrilla War, Operation Wolf, Jackal... cartoons, comic books, tv shows. Toys like the U.S.S. Flagg, walkie-talkies, green plastic Army Men. We built model tanks, fighter jets, Apache helicopters. So much of our childhood was steeped in military imagery. We got out of the Cold War and entered the Gulf War. It's hard to understand why M.A.S.H. can't exist in the exceedingly large pile with 200 other points of generational interest.
Turbografx-17@reddit
It's because all of those other war-themed things were exciting, fast-paced and fun, but MASH was slow and talky - from a kid's point of view, of course. Some Xennials have embraced it as they've gotten older, but I think it's really more of a Gen X thing, seeing as how it ran from 1972 to 1983.
dickhass@reddit
MASH seems to be a pretty ubiquitous psychological trigger for GenX - Millenials. Such a great show, but can it overcome the memories of being 5 and dad getting drunk and laughing then crying?
nobot4321@reddit
I loke the show. The movie is really grossly mysoginistic. Can’t stand it.
illprobablyeditthis@reddit
I mean so is the show. People glorify it because the general message is positive, but how they greet there is gross. You can hand wave it all you want, but in one of the first episodes, they literally set up houlihan to be sexually assaulted in her tent and sit in chairs outside and laugh when she screams.
Its not funny and if that is the "product of its time", the product fucking sucks.
woadgrrl@reddit
If you think the film was bad, you don't want to go anywhere near the novels.
KBO_Winston@reddit
Watching people on Tumblr get into this show, complete with fan art, has been such a joy.
I'm used to them thirsting over original Star Trek - by Tumblr standards, that's normal. But seeing MASH show up just makes me think the classics always find their fans.
LeperFriend@reddit
I never got the MAS*H hate, I liked it even when I was younger,
RustyAndEddies@reddit
It was the flip of getting up too early on Saturday morning only to find Mr Ed on the TV.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Lol! I loved Mr. Ed though.
Dude you were up hella early if you beat the cartoons!
RustyAndEddies@reddit
I think it was the 6a slot and then Land of the Lost was 6:30a. 7a is where the magic began.
Snow_Crash_Bandicoot@reddit
A wry, dry, witty, and caustic show about the horrors of war disguised as a comedy
or
A horse chewing peanut butter for a half hour. . .
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
As a child... the horse.
Ill-Football-5218@reddit
I watched MASH very young because my dad WAS a raging alcoholic Vietnam Vet and it was mandatory TV from when I was born (77) until Goodbye, Farewell, Amen. THEN after the divorce and the rehab, I'd be allowed to stay up late to watch it with him on visitation weekends. So the show was there for the worst version of my dad and the best version. He's since passed and every time I scroll past MeTV and stop even for just a minute I think of him. It was also cool that the playset happened to be the same size as the 80s G.I. Joe's so I had my own "crossover" playtime lol. Duke or Snake Eyes would get hurt by Cobra and Hawkeye would patch them up.
walks_with_penis_out@reddit
I used to play Mash with my friend when I was about 6. I was Hawkeye and he was Trapper.
ILikeBumblebees@reddit
https://i.imgur.com/l6ipOgN.png
walks_with_penis_out@reddit
Wow, didn't know that existed. We played make believe.
TigerIll6480@reddit
I loved MAS*H as a kid. I still love it as an adult.
This-Adhesiveness-71@reddit
Loved Mash. I can still sit down to it if I happen upon it.
Workamania@reddit
MASH sucked ass, but the movie was pretty decent.
truefriend29@reddit
I've seen only a little bit of the movie version back in late spring of '03.👦🏾📺🙂😊🎥🎬
JJSpuddy@reddit
I loved this show even as a kid. I saw the movie when I was older and it made me like the show even more.
sarithe@reddit
Nah, MASH is one of the best shows in the history of television. It's also probably the show from that era that has aged the best because it's overall message is timeless. War is hell for everyone, but the people in charge.
lakatos_intolerant@reddit
As a huge MASH fan dating back to middle school, this checks out.
Seasons 1-5 will always be the absolute best.
Remarkable-Memory374@reddit
thems fighting words
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Hahaha I knew some folks wouldn't like this. When I heard that flute, I knew it was either M.A.S.H. (ugh) or infomercials. Or the religious channel lol
DraculasDog@reddit
As a kid, I hated MASH.
I really understand and love it now.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
The good old 90s... when people called a phone number to verbally give their credit card info and have videotapes mailed to them of girls showing their boobs. Back when you had to earn your porn.
OppositeRun6503@reddit
Nahh, we had the treasure trove of skin mags instead....no need to outsource the merchandise if you were fortunate enough to have direct access.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Yeah but you still had to procure those magazines. Couldn't just open your phone and search. You either found your dad's stash and snagged some, or stole them from a convenience store. If you were old enough to legitimately buy them, you had to show ID lol
Careless-Ad-6328@reddit
As a kid, MASH was boring and I didn't "get" most of the humor and references. But as an adult? Holy crap one of the all-time best shows ever produced. And I totally understand why kid me hated it anyway.
Daylight-Silence@reddit
I cannot sanction this take.
MAS*H was, however, much better with Trapper and Colonel Blake and Burns than it was with the Hunnicutt and the British guy. Discuss
Paddlesons@reddit
My dad prefers the former and I prefer the latter but we love'em all. :)
aperfecttool72@reddit
Disagree but they did Colonel Blake dirty by killing him off screen on his way home from the war! Trapper was ok but I feel BJ was a better since he didn't cheat on his wife like just about everyone else on the show did.
I can't stand Burns and his hoo-ra military bullshit & racism. Doesn't help when Hot Lips joins in on it as well.
Radar will always be tops. The episode where he is DJ for the camp is great and I love that he has his teddy bear.
RevolutionaryEcho460@reddit
Nah, they wrote Frank in to a corner and Potter provided the contrast of the 'authority figure' that Blake couldn't.
docsuess84@reddit
Hated MAS*H as a child, loved it when I rediscovered it as a young adult, and you are correct. Seasons 1-3 were peak. After that there were still good episodes, but it started taking itself too seriously. It was more fun with all the hijinks that were more in the spirit of the movie.
Brosiedon54@reddit
I'm a millenial and I actually love this show. I'd recommend giving it ankother shot
Shirkaday@reddit
Thanks, the song started playing in my head at the sight of that image.
Spare-Good-5372@reddit
Uh, speak for yourself, I fucking love M*A*S*H
546875674c6966650d0a@reddit
This? This was the START of the good shit.
Subosc@reddit
MASH became my best friend in late 90s/early 00s when I’d get home from work to my dorm room (US Air Force). It would play at 11pm (I worked swing shift), then followed by Hogan’s Heroes. Being a young airman I understood the military part of the show and its satire.
Pezhead82@reddit
I loved MAS*H as I was a night owl so my mom would let me stay up and watch it.
avindictiveprinter@reddit
Even episodes with Colonel Flagg? That guy was a kook!
rdldr1@reddit
The show and theme song always puts me to sleep.
HallucinogenicFish@reddit
This WAS the good reruns, you philistine!
Malaguy420@reddit
Nah, MASH might've been for our parents, but it was still fantastic.
_clydo_@reddit
Hated it as a kid, love it now.
Wapiti_whacker82@reddit
But M*A*S*H was one of the best reruns!
retoricalprophylaxis@reddit
That song meant that the good reruns were just starting. I went to bed right after Mash was over. It was something I did every night with my mom.
dishwasher_mayhem@reddit
MASH is one of the greatest TV shows of all time and I'll fight anyone who thinks otherwise. I used to sneak onto the stairs leading to the living room so I could watch it secretly behind my parents.
Every single character on that show is iconic and that's counting most of the bit parts. Allan Arbus was only on a few episodes as Sidney Freeman and he stole every scene, even from Alda.
dbk1ng@reddit
Suicide is painless
anxietyandink@reddit
One of the things I love about this subreddit, is discovering that things I went through by myself as a kid were shared experiences.
fermentedradical@reddit
I have a message. OP’s plane… was shot down… over the Sea of Xennials. It spun in …there were no survivors.
AFCartoonist@reddit
Abyssinia, OP.
Doctor_WhyBother86@reddit
You really went there……..the feels man
Juliet_1982@reddit
Yeah. That traumatizing little nugget is why it was lights out for me when the MASH theme came on!
deephurting66@reddit
I always thought Alan Alda was a smug POS
MuttDawg509@reddit
As an adult I would like to give this show a shot.
As a kid though? Fuck this show and its boring ass theme song.
OccamsYoyo@reddit
Give it a chance, but don’t base your impressions on just one episode. It’s pretty multifaceted.
MuttDawg509@reddit
I never judge a show on one episode. I usually give it a season.
DrMcJedi@reddit
Hey…some of us loved this show! I blame my grandpa for getting me hooked as a toddler…
Trashman82@reddit
It's my dads favorite show, and I've watched a fair amount of it but never really found it humorous. I know a lot of people talk about how it handles serious issues and that it's well written but I could never get into it. I feel like it's for the same audience as Catch-22 which is another story I never thought was very funny.
lordhumongous40@reddit
I could never get into that show. Where's my Night Court reruns?
OccamsYoyo@reddit
I love MASH but I have the same question. Maybe I should look for it on Tubi — it seems to have everything.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Hell yeah
YourGuyK@reddit
Funny thing is I don't remember watching MASH, but my teddy bear was named Radar.
jbrown383@reddit
I used to work with a guy who was on the shorter side, had premature baldness set in at a VERY early age, and wore glasses. His nickname is "Radar". It was used so often that many people didn't even know his real name. He's \~20 years older than me, so he grew up in the MASH prime years and wore the name like a badge of honor.
Gian_Luck_Pickerd@reddit
Found Big Bird's reddit account
Klutzy_Word_6812@reddit
Same here! I never did enjoy it for whatever reason. Dick van dyke, get smart, I dream of jeanie, bewitched… those were my jams.
OccamsYoyo@reddit
On that level I understand why many would not like MASH. None of those shows had a Korean woman crush her baby to death because it was crying and she was trying not to alert North Korean soldiers. This wasn’t a kids’ show, even if they made toys in the property’s name. What a strange time.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Yes to all of those!
schindigrosa@reddit
One of the greatest shows ever to me.
Slippery-Pete76@reddit
This was my bedtime
RealityOk9823@reddit
Haha, yep! I remember thinking "Cartoons!" then the opening ends and it's like "Where did the cartoons go?". Remember asking my dad what it was about and he said I wasn't old enough.
APOC_V@reddit
Sunday night on PBS. The weekend was over!
Glittering_Ocelot_67@reddit
Bedtime music for sure. I’ve rewatched it as an adult and it’s one of the best shows ever made absolutely!
Checked out the movie finally recently and unfortunately it sucks bad 😔
cleric3648@reddit
Depending on the year. Very young me sat through it during dinner but didn’t get it. As I got older, the show got better. It became a comfort show and if I see reruns today I’m plopping down and watching the rest of the day.
Potter was better than Blake, BJ better than Trapper, Winchester better than Burns, and Klinger’s dynamic was more interesting than Radar.
Busy_Ordinary8456@reddit
The MASH reruns were just before the evening news, then another at bedtime. To this day the music makes me think it's bedtime and I have to go to school in the morning.
MossyJoke@reddit
Oh hell nah.. Mash is the jam.
Pineapple-Due@reddit
That theme song meant everyone else was going to sleep and I'd have the house to myself, nice and quiet and peaceful for 30 minutes.
ANotSoFreshFeeling@reddit
Plot twist: Now many of us think MASH is one of the good reruns.
Yuck_Few@reddit
I think all the people who hate on this show just didn't get the point
Remy0507@reddit
I didn't appreciate M*A*S*H until my early twenties, when I had a job for a little while working in the electronics department of a local department store selling TVs and other major appliances. The cable channel that we had ALL the TVs tuned to played M*A*S*H like 5 times a day, and all the sales people worked on straight commission, so we weren't expected to do any work besides selling. Meaning if there were no customers in the store to talk to, we had literally nothing to do. And there were frequently no customers in the store, at least not in Electronics (this store closed soon after I left, FYI). So...we stood around and watched the TVs for much of the day, Which meant watching a lot of M*A*S*H. Turns out it was a really good show! Definitely not something we would have appreciated as kids though, and I also have the same memories from my younger childhood of hearing the theme song and going "Oh, guess TV time is over".
Informal_Claim150@reddit
M.A.S.H haters are the same dorks who claim Big Bang Theory is funny and people who don’t like it aren’t smart enough for the humor…
SpringBreakLawyer@reddit
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
PercentageRoutine310@reddit
It was on syndication here in the Los Angeles area back in the early ‘90s. Around 11 PM or 11:30 PM on KTTV (Fox). When it came on, I would switch it to NBC to listen to Jay Leno’s monologue on The Tonight Show. KTTV had news at 11 PM that lasted 30 minutes. Then MAS*H would come on.
I did try watching it a few times. I just could’t get into it. And the reason wasn’t because it was some old show. I used to watch I Love Lucy and Gilligan’s Island which were older. I watched classic sitcoms like Mr. Ed on Nick at Nite. I just could’t vibe with it. Maybe if I was like 10 years older, I might have understood it better.
The intro was very beautiful and haunting. Another show I could’t get into and was an automatic change the channel for me was The Andy Griffith Show. But I have a cousin almost 5 years older than me that actually watches that show. That surprised me.
ProfessorxVile@reddit
I used to watch this show when I was 3-4. I was obviously too young to understand it, but that didn't matter because I just thought the Army guys were cool. I even had the toys (which my younger brother broke one by one). Good times!
theluzah@reddit
this intro was my "Guy to bed" song lol
OutlawJuicyWhales@reddit
This show was TRASH. Go sell Vietnam nostalgia somewhere else.
sockpuppetinasock@reddit
I literally stayed up at night watching the series though high school. I can't imagine anyone hating it.
maqij@reddit
1980 here. I fell in love with MASH in middle school. I stayed up to watch it.
LandOfLizardz@reddit
Try harder to imagine
tampapunklegend@reddit
I feel like I'm the only person of my generation that actually loves this show. When I became an adult and finally saw all the episodes, instead of just the select few that played on reruns, I loved it even more.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
PaintballTek@reddit
MASH has the most plays on my Plex server out of any TV show...I have watched the series from start to finish I don't know how many times and usually put it on when I'm going to sleep. MASH, Star Trek TNG, DS9, and Voyager, and various other 'old shows' like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, Andy Griffith, Cheers, Murphy Brown, Matlock, and Murder She Wrote were staples in my youth...I even love the short run After MASH series they did...I'm sad it didn't run longer.
hayduke5270@reddit
The MASH part of Infinite Jest are gold.
Ness_of_Onett@reddit
I fucking hate that show. Time for bed.
sasssyrup@reddit
Dodeedode do do do
RegulusTheHeartOfLeo@reddit
For me…Mash was usually on after the afternoon cartoons ended
I liked watching Mash too
startfragment@reddit
… and the best reruns were about to begin
woadgrrl@reddit
My parents went to a series finale watch party, and my mom won a set of MASH Trivial Pursuit cards.
We didn't have a Trivial Pursuit board game, but that did not stop me from sitting down and memorising the whole set.
I loved that show.
puertotaino@reddit
I hated this theme song and therefore hated this show. Never gave it a chance. I just knew that I had to get up and turn the knob to another channel or turn it off.
CG3_3CG@reddit
Always hated that show?
Pleasant-Reading3634@reddit
MASH was after Rosanne.
I preferred MASH.
Comprehensive_Tie431@reddit
MASH ended in 1983, hardly a Xennial show. There are a lot of Gen X in here.
HuckleberryLogical63@reddit
The original run sure, but Nick at Nite was definitely a xennial thing and it was a mainstay there.
Lindenismean@reddit
I swear at one point I remember watching The Cosby Show in reruns and then MASH reruns would air directly after. Cosby went syndicated in ‘88, so sometime around then most likely.
Ditzy_Davros@reddit
Ugh, I had to sit through this while my parents made dinner. 60 minutes right afterwards.. bleh
Starscream147@reddit
Miserable-Lawyer-233@reddit
Mash meant time for bed
So-Called_Lunatic@reddit
MASH was on right after my grandpa got home from work when I was a kid. He served in the Korean war, and watching it reminds me of him. Just like Golden Girls, reminds me of my grandma. I went through a phase in my late teams where I watched all the late 70s shows. All in the Family, Sanford and Son, and MASH. There's an amazing authenticity to those shows that was missing out of the shows from our youth.
AggravatedMango@reddit
I can hear this lol, man what memories. My father still watches the reruns.
tourniquet2099@reddit
Hell, my parents didn’t even like this show.
At this point, i don’t care how much people swear its good. I hate the theme song and i’d rather watch something else.
EdChigliak@reddit
Luckily the bummer vibes of the intro was balanced out by the commercials for the MASH reruns set to Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon
ResurgentClusterfuck@reddit
How are you gonna say that's not a good rerun
Granted I didn't think it was when I was a kid- now, I'm old enough to appreciate it
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Well I'm talking about when I was a kid.
sammyclemenz@reddit
100%
mndza@reddit
Every time this came on, I would change the channel hoping to find something else. I will admit though, that the few times I was too lazy to switch, I actually really enjoyed watching it. I kinda wanna watch the whole series one of these days.
Psychological-Bee702@reddit
This show was mandatory viewing with my grandma every day after school.
Itchy-Apartment-Flea@reddit
Many nights going to bed as this theme song played. My parents always had the tv on as they slept.
Ok-Inevitable-8681@reddit
Sacrilege!
Stonetheflamincrows@reddit
You have no taste, MASH is amazing.
PizzaWhole9323@reddit
I remember being a teenager and the reason I watched mash was was on after the news from 10:30 to 11:30. And then I switched to Simpsons reruns when they started and I've been watching those ever since.
sundayfunday78@reddit
It was my Dad’s fav. We used to watch Gilligan’s Island, then MASH. My sister and I have seen every episode at least three times. As we got older, Dad would have it on and we’d tease him about finding a new show. One day he had it on and told us to stop talking because he hadn’t seen the episode before. We looked at each other and then began reciting the lines along with the characters. He finally realized how many times we’d seen the show, and it was something he watched before we came along. 😁
Illustrious-Good5086@reddit
I hear so many good things about MASH but I would also skip it. I fucked with F Troop for some reason.
ElectricLego@reddit
I remember it being the end of saturday morning cartoons as a little kid. As an adult, it's a pretty great show.
Thorn_Within@reddit
I still love this show. One of the best ever.
bugwitch@reddit
What timing. I'm currently in the middle of watching this documentary about the series on YouTube. I never watched it when I was a kid. May have seen an episode or two but nothing stuck in my mind. Started watching the series a couple of months ago and it's pretty great.
bsg_80@reddit
That show was so bad it made you want to go to bed lol
Juliet_1982@reddit
I’m with you! Once MASH came on, I knew it was time to turn off the TV. I’m not saying it was a bad show, but as a kid, I couldn’t trust that it wasn’t going to scare me the way I could trust I Love Lucy and Bewitched. No one was going to come in bleeding or die in those shows.
a_solid_6@reddit (OP)
Lol right. The worst thing that might happen to Lucy is getting drunk on Vitameatavegimin 😂 Or getting a spanking from Ricky
Juliet_1982@reddit
Or Darren might get replaced but everyone acted like nothing happened so you just went with it.
DarwinGoneWild@reddit
Same, OP. I thought it was boring as hell as a kid. When it came on I went and played with LEGO or something while my parents watched.
Later on I watched it as an adult and loved it. Especially the Honeycutt / Col. Potter / Winchester era.
degreesBrix@reddit
https://i.redd.it/xynteai0zhtg1.gif
Pitiful_Ad2397@reddit
SAME
w0rsh1pm3owo@reddit
[4] literally rewatching it again for the hundredth time. I'd stay up to watch it when younger
rynoxmj@reddit
rynoxmj@reddit