Were certain M.A.S.H. characters removed due to moral issues?
I noticed that three characters of MASH series changed to different ones around fourth seson. Thats is: Frank Burnes, John Macintyre and Henry Blake. Some of the actors said some reasons why they wouldn't continue to play in the series anymore, but I also noticed that all these three characters were also cheating on their wifes back in the US and that new characters, they were exchanged to, would never do it (with one exception of Hunnicut, but he regreted it strongly after) or didn't have wifes to cheat on (Winchester). With this move they removed all immorally behaving characters from the show.
Do you think that the real reason behind these characters changes was that the series was getting popular and having characters that were cheating on their wifes, and didn't have any problem with it, could be bad from social perspective in a way of promoting adultery?
Best Answer
No.
The actors left for reasons of their own.
As the tone of the series had evolved to more serious storylines, Linville felt that he had taken the Frank Burns character, which had become increasingly one-dimensional, as far as he could, and chose to leave the series to pursue other roles.
In 1975 Stevenson decided to leave the show. Loretta Swit said it was because he was tired of being in an ensemble and wanted to be “number one.” (This is also confirmed by MASH writer Ken Levine) The departure would take place the last episode of the third season
Rogers had abruptly decided he didn’t want to be on the show anymore. Initially, Rogers and Alda’s characters received equal screen time and material. But over time, Rogers felt the creators had started to slight John as a character. They gave more of the weightier comic material to Hawkeye, leaving John to act as the man rolling his eyes at Hawkeye’s antics. Additionally, Alda started to gain more control creatively, even directing some episodes of the show.
Rogers left the show because he didn’t want to play second fiddle to Alda anymore. In an effort to keep him on the show, producers sued Rogers for breaching his contract. After all, an actor can’t just quit during the middle of production on a show. But it turns out Rogers had pulled a fast one on the producers.
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Why was Trapper John replaced on MASH?
After the production of this episode, both Stevenson and Wayne Rogers, who played the character of Trapper John McIntyre, left the series to pursue other interests.Why did Mclean Stevenson leave mash?
In 1975 Stevenson decided to leave the show. Loretta Swit said it was because he was tired of being in an ensemble and wanted to be \u201cnumber one.\u201d (This is also confirmed by MASH writer Ken Levine) The departure would take place the last episode of the third season.Who did Mike Farrell replace on MASH?
B. J. Hunnicutt. Captain B.J. Hunnicutt is played by Mike Farrell in the TV show. He replaced Trapper John, both in his position within the unit and as an ally of Hawkeye Pierce and a foil of Frank Burns, appearing in all but one episode of the rest of the series.Where was Trapper John from in MASH?
Captain John Francis Xavier "Trapper John" McIntyre was a protagonist from the novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors and the 1970 film MASH that was based on the novel. Trapper John was portrayed by Elliot Gould. A native of Boston, Massachusetts Trapper John played football while attending Dartmouth College.Four Brothers Story in English | Stories for Teenagers | English Fairy Tales
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Answer 2
I think in the case of bringing in Col. Potter to replace Henry Blake the idea was to introduce a character that was the complete antithesis of Blake and his kind of wacky/ah shucks way of running the unit. Col. Potter was "regular army" when he arrived and the 4077 was going to be his last assignment before retiring in 18 months I believe. The idea was to see how the unit would adjust to his leadership and vice versa. I much preferred Harry Morgan to McLean Stevenson.
I also heard part of the reason Wayne Rogers opted to leave aside from not wanting to play second fiddle to Alan Alda was that frankly, he could. He was said to have been an excellent businessman and had many successful endeavors, which meant he didn't rely on his income from acting. This allowed him a lot of freedom when it came to choosing his roles. And personally, I preferred the BJ character to Trapper. I thought he had way more depth.
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