There are two types of M*A*S*H fans: those who enjoyed the entire 11-year run, watching the rotating cast develop from two-dimensional joke machines to nuanced, complicated characters, and those who enjoyed the first three seasons (the Henry Blake-Frank Burns years) for its farcical tone and rapid-fire verbal jousting. The latter crowd abandoned the show when it started getting too serious and preachy. Whatever your affiliation, this three-volume set offers some M*A*S*H classics, including “The Sniper,” where Radar and Henry are trapped in the showers by a gunman thinking he’s firing on MacArthur’s headquarters, and “A Smattering of Intelligence,” where Hawkeye and Trapper John trick Col. Flagg and another intelligence officer into believing Frank Burns is a traitor—one convinced he’s a Communist, the other thinking he’s a fascist. Most of the 24 episodes here are deftly directed by former child actor Jackie Cooper (Treasure Island) and featured guest stars include Teri Garr, Joan Van Ark, John Ritter, Burt Young, Pat Morita, and Allan Arbus (photographer Diane’s widower) as Dr. Sidney Freedman. Both types of M*A*S*H fans can enjoy this collection in English, French, or German, and with or without that great I Love Lucy-era laughtrack.
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