Gopher_In_NYC
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Amazing, when you think about it. Hard to imagine that happening now, what a sad commentary on our society, regardless of political bent.
My overall favorite show growing up and if I bump into an episode, I’ll still watch and usually get a good laugh or two.
I actually sat five seats away from Alan Alda at an Off-Broadway play, when I first moved to The
, and he was very definition of lanky, but still handsome and had that Hawkeye gleam in his eye: a perfect actor for that role.
Forty-two years ago today, nearly half the U.S. population decided to take the same action at the same time, sitting down to watch the final episode of “M*A*S*H.’’
Is that even conceivable now?
A show about a fictitious mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War galvanized Americans, bringing 106 million out of a nation of 234 million – more than 45% – in front of their TV sets.
Now at times it feels like only a major war or massive crisis would create unity, the way the 9/11 terrorist attacks did, as tribalism has taken over politics in a polarized country.
“M*A*S*H was a great example of a cultural touchtone everybody could agree on,’’ said Steve Caplan, an adjunct instructor of advertising and media at the University of Southern California. “I find it very hard to imagine in this environment that there could be a coming together culturally by any piece of content.’’
That’s not only because of the differences separating Americans, but even more so because of how much the media landscape has splintered since the show’s finale on Feb. 28, 1983.
M*A*S*H began its 11-year run in September 1972 on CBS, one of the nation’s three commercial networks at the time, along with ABC and NBC. Less than 10% of people had cable TV. The Fox network would not come along until 1986.
Neither binge-watching nor on-demand TV was available when the M*A*S*H finale – called “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen’’ – drew what remains the largest-ever audience for an American TV show, though it has been surpassed several times by Super Bowls. New episodes appeared once a week during the television season, starting in the early fall and running until May.
My overall favorite show growing up and if I bump into an episode, I’ll still watch and usually get a good laugh or two.
I actually sat five seats away from Alan Alda at an Off-Broadway play, when I first moved to The
, and he was very definition of lanky, but still handsome and had that Hawkeye gleam in his eye: a perfect actor for that role.
When TV united America: Friday marks the day nearly half of USA watched the same show
Consumers now benefit from a plethora of entertainment choices, but common cultural references are often lost in the mix.
www.usatoday.com
Forty-two years ago today, nearly half the U.S. population decided to take the same action at the same time, sitting down to watch the final episode of “M*A*S*H.’’
Is that even conceivable now?
A show about a fictitious mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War galvanized Americans, bringing 106 million out of a nation of 234 million – more than 45% – in front of their TV sets.
Now at times it feels like only a major war or massive crisis would create unity, the way the 9/11 terrorist attacks did, as tribalism has taken over politics in a polarized country.
“M*A*S*H was a great example of a cultural touchtone everybody could agree on,’’ said Steve Caplan, an adjunct instructor of advertising and media at the University of Southern California. “I find it very hard to imagine in this environment that there could be a coming together culturally by any piece of content.’’
That’s not only because of the differences separating Americans, but even more so because of how much the media landscape has splintered since the show’s finale on Feb. 28, 1983.
M*A*S*H began its 11-year run in September 1972 on CBS, one of the nation’s three commercial networks at the time, along with ABC and NBC. Less than 10% of people had cable TV. The Fox network would not come along until 1986.
Neither binge-watching nor on-demand TV was available when the M*A*S*H finale – called “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen’’ – drew what remains the largest-ever audience for an American TV show, though it has been surpassed several times by Super Bowls. New episodes appeared once a week during the television season, starting in the early fall and running until May.