<P> M * A * S * H is an American television series which aired on CBS from 1972 to 1983 . It was developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film M * A * S * H, which, in turn, was based on the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, by Richard Hooker . The series, which was produced with 20th Century Fox Television for CBS, follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the "4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital" in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War (1950 - 1953). The show's title sequence features an instrumental - only version of "Suicide Is Painless", the theme song from the original film . The show was created after an attempt to film the original book's sequel, M * A * S * H Goes to Maine, failed . The television series is the best - known version of the M * A * S * H works, and one of the highest - rated shows in U.S. television history . </P> <P> M * A * S * H aired weekly on CBS, with most episodes being a half - hour (25 minutes) in length . The series is usually categorized as a situation comedy, though it is also described as a "dark comedy" or a "dramedy" because of the dramatic subject material often presented . </P> <P> The show was an ensemble piece revolving around key personnel in a United States Army Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) in the Korean War (1950--1953). (The asterisks in the name are not part of military nomenclature and were creatively introduced in the novel and used in only the posters for the movie version, not the actual movie .) The "4077th MASH" was one of several surgical units in Korea . </P> <P> As the show developed, the writing took on more of a moralistic tone . Richard Hooker, who wrote the book on which the television and film versions were based, noted that Hawkeye's character was far more liberal in the show than on the page (in one of the MASH books, Hawkeye makes reference to "kicking the bejesus out of lefties just to stay in shape"). While the show is traditionally viewed as a comedy, many episodes were of a more serious tone . Airing on network primetime while the Vietnam War was still going on, the show was forced to walk the fine line of commenting on that war while at the same time not seeming to protest against it . For this reason, the show's discourse, under the cover of comedy, often questioned, mocked, and grappled with America's role in the Cold War . </P>

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