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February 11, 2012
 
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The many opening credits of M*A*S*H

by Richard Keller, posted May 26th 2007 12:03PM

Do you know your M.A.S.H opening credits?Are you one of those people (like myself) who can tell what era a M*A*S*H episode is from just by watching the first 10 seconds of the opening credits? Do you know the subtle theme changes by heart? Do you murmur 'Season 8' when you see the wide shot of the choppers without the initial over-the-shoulder zoom behind Radar's shoulder? If you are one of those insane people then, boy, have I got a site for you!

Bob Gassel has compiled all of the opening credits to M*A*S*H and put them onto one website.

You would be amazed at how many different versions there actually were. For instance, over the 11 seasons that the show was on there were 11 variations on the theme music. In another example, the first and last seasons featured multiple versions of the opening credits; season one with three and season 11 with four versions.

What I found most interesting were the opening credits to the pilot episode of M*A*S*H, which included many scenes that were not in subsequent openings. Yet, it had most of the elements that are familiar with from the normal run of the series. By the way, my favorite variation of the theme music was from the last season of the show. It was jazzy and very heavy on the percussion.

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Nancy

I know that MAIN TITLES are changed .. as I worked in the film biz for most of my life .. AND . as for M.A.S.H. ... how many times was I on that set with people who wanted to see it!? .. I do NOT remember . but everyone there was very nice .. at the time I was production coodinator on a couple of shows .. "Charlie's Angels" .. "Dynasty" .. "San Pedro Bums" .. and a few pilots for Spelling ..

http://mylifetimesinthefilmbusiness.blogspot.com/

June 24 2007 at 1:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Christina Warren

Awesome site! I had no clue the show was so prolific in terms of opening credits. OK, so I was 4 months old when M*A*S*H aired its final episode, but thanks to TV Land and local syndication that preceded it, I've seen my fair share of M*A*S*H, and then some. Granted, I never really picked up on all the different editing changes between seasons (at least not enough to be able to instantly tell what season we were in), but I remember noticing the differences in the theme song at a very, very young age (my older sister used to tell me I was crazy, she's getting an e-mail forward), and I can get in the ball park, season-wise, just hearing the theme song (Season 11 is my favorite too - though that might be because that's the version I've had as an MP3 for the last 8 years in my TV Theme Songs Playlist).

May 26 2007 at 1:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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