Early M*A*S*H vs. Late M*A*S*H

The Breakdown:

Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake vs. Colonel Sherman T. Potter

Blake was an incompetent moron who let Hawkeye and Radar run the camp and didn't really add anything to the series. Potter exerted some control over the chaos that was MASH 4077, and served as something of a father figure and an mature counter to the childish antics other characters ofter fail into.

Result: Late M*A*S*H wins easy.


Sidekick: "Trapper" John Francis Xavier McIntyre vs. B.J. Hunnicutt

Trapper closely emulated Hawkeye's womanizing and open contempt for authority. Too closely. Hunnicutt's fidelity and more reserved matter duplicated Hawkeye less and allowed for more diversity in story lines.

Result: Late M*A*S*H wins.


Adversary: Frank Burns vs. Charles Emerson Winchester III

Burns annoyed people with his over the top pro-American millitarialism, was an average at best surgeon and totally outmatched by Hawkeye and the gang in power plays and pranks. Winchester annoyed people with his arrogance and elitism, was an excellent surgeon and was occasionly able to get the better of Hawkeye and the gang.

Result: Late M*A*S*H wins.


Enlistened Men: Radar and Klinger in a dress vs. Klinger not in a dress and no Radar.

Radar was the classic innocent farm boy, joined in early M*A*S*H by a Klinger who who wore dresses in an atempt to get discharged from the army. In late M*A*S*H, Klinger took over Radar's clerk position and no longer wore dresses, and therefore came up with more inventive schemes to get out of the army. This improved Klinger's character (not to mention removed the horrible eyesore of him wearing dresses), but the show never did find an "innocent" to replace Radar.

Result: I'm calling this one a tie.


Final Score: Late M*A*S*H wins easily, 3-0-1.