I take your point entirely, Roger, and M*A*S*H (to give it its full title) would've been a very different series if it had been made today, especially by the risk-taking channels.
I'm not entirely convinced it would be better however. I'm pretty sure I saw the TV series before I saw the film (I didn't read the book), and I recall being disappointed by the film, possibly because I'd already got used to the TV actors playing the parts, and not all were the same as the film. But for its time, the issues it tackled and the way it tackled them (it was sanitised, yes, but there was still some fairly graphic scenes for what was effectively a soap opera) was ground-breaking, and I thought the characterisations were superb and completely convincing. I loved them all, even Burns and Houlihan.
Yes, it could be over-sentimental at times, and that probably wouldn't happen today (though I'm not convinced of that), but I didn't necessarily see that as a bad thing (I admit to being a Waltons devotee also - I was still young), and the power of the series was there always. It was the first 'comedy' series (and only one that I can think of) that could not only make you laugh and cry virtually at will, but also bloody angry.
All that said, I dare not watch any reruns. I'd hate to prove myself wrong.
