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| NewsThursday, October 11, 2007 5:34 PM CDT |
Local fans still fond of M*A*S*H, 35 years after debut
BLOOMINGTON -- Throw Jay Groves a line from a M*A*S*H episode and he’s likely to respond with the follow-up line. “I remember every line of every show out there. It’s a great television show and I never tire of it,” said Groves, assistant to the president and director of media relations at Illinois State University, Normal. The CBS half-hour comedy debuted 35 years ago. The 11-season series, still in reruns, first aired in September 1972 and followed a successful movie by the same name that hit the screens in 1970. It followed the antics of doctors, nurses and soldiers assigned to a mobile army surgical hospital during the Korean War. As the series evolved, the characters also addressed social issues. For Central Illinois, there was a very basic reason to watch the early shows: the character of Lt. Col. Henry Blake was played by McLean Stevenson, a Twin City native whose character shared the same hometown and who sometimes mentioned local landmarks. The series began near the end of the Vietnam War, and “we knew that it was not about the Korean War,” Groves said. Bob Broad knew that, too. Today, he’s co-chairman of the Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice, and says the show remains relevant as the nation is embroiled in the Iraq War. People should watch a rerun and “reflect on the cost of war to civilians, soldiers and taxpayers,” Broad said. Groves also noted the show’s relevance to war, but his affinity stems from the show’s superb writing and plot development. “You could watch the show and it seemed like there was no writer, just characters. Sitcoms today are so scripted,” he said. His favorite character is Blake, the commanding officer with an irreverent attitude. “He was a lovable guy. He took his business (surgery) seriously, but not the war,” Groves said. “He had a lot of great one-liners. You could tell he made them up and that they were not in the script.” Blake’s character eventually died; the C.O. job then went to veteran actor Harry Morgan, who portrayed Col. Sherman T. Potter. Other characters – notably Trapper John McIntyre and Maj. Frank Burns – also left and were replaced over the show’s run. Some of the show’s supporting characters eventually were spun into a short-lived sequel set after the war’s end. Greg Koos, executive director of the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington, said Stevenson’s involvement was a source of pride for the McLean County community, especially when Stevenson made references to Central Illinois. “I liked the Henry Blake character because he was ‘Everyman.’ He was not arrogant, and liked people,” said Groves, who has seen every episode. |
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