Top Ten TV Theme Songs

Let's explore PasteMagazine.com's list of theme songs, this time see what made #3 on their list:

2. M*A*S*H - "Suicide Is Painless" by Johnny Mandel

M*A*S*H was unique in that it was a tragedy with a laugh track. Unlike its war-sitcom predecessor Hogan's Heroes, M*A*S*H was a black comedy pointing to the absurdity and horror of war. The humor was often of the gallows variety, and the theme song signaled bravery in the face of sadness. The devastating words were written by Robert Altman's 14-year-old son Mike but wisely left out of the TV version. It didn't need anything more than a haunting melody.



M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, adapted from the 1970 feature film MASH (which was itself based on the 1968 novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, by Richard Hooker). The series is a medical drama/black comedy that was produced by 20th Television Fox for CBS. It follows a team of doctors and support staff stationed at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Uijeongbu, South Korea, during the Korean War. M*A*S*H's title sequence featured an instrumental version of the song "Suicide Is Painless", which also appears in 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. It is the most well-known version of the M*A*S*H works.

The series premiered on September 17, 1972, and ended February 28, 1983, with the finale becoming the most-watched television episode in U.S. television history with over 105 million viewers. It is widely considered one of the greatest shows in television history. The show is still broadcast in syndication on various television stations (mostly during the late night/early morning hours). The series spanned 251 episodes and lasted eleven seasons covering a three-year conflict.

Nielsen ratings
1972-73: #46
1973-74: #4 17.0 m
1974-75: #5 18.7 m
1975-76: #15 15.9 m
1976-77: #4 18.4 m
1977-78: #9 16.9 m
1978-79: #7 18.9 m
1979-80: #5 19.3 m
1980-81: #4 20.5 m
1981-82: #9 18.9 m
1982-83: #3 18.8 m

Starting on January 1, 2007, TV Land aired M*A*S*H from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. for one week in a marathon. According to a press release available at the Futon Critic, the marathon of M*A*S*H episodes and specials that aired during the first week of January drew "an average of 1.3 million total viewers and scored double-digit increases in demo rating and delivery." Additionally, the marathon helped TV Land rank in the top ten basic cable channels among the adults 25–54 demographic for the week. Ratings for specific episodes and specials are also included in the press release:

"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen "– 1.3 million total viewers

Memories of M*A*S*H (20th Anniversary) – 1.5 million total viewers

30th Anniversary Reunion Special – 1.4 million total viewers.

M*A*S*H airs on TV Land and also airs four times a day, Monday through Friday on Hallmark Channel. The program also airs twice daily on ION Television (a terrestrial television network), as well as in syndication to local stations. Because of this, some viewers would get M*A*S*H on four channels, with two of them being their local stations.

interesting tidbits:

On Sesame Street, Big Bird's teddy bear is named Radar. This is in homage to Radar O'Reilly's teddy bear.

On an episode of Family Guy, a character remarks "When I fire rockets, I always like to think I'm shooting at Jamie Farr and Alan Alda. Take that, wise-cracking meatball surgeon!" In another episode, the characters are discussing one of their characters leaving the show dramatically, spoofing the scene when Radar announces Colonel Blake's death, with Brian playing Radar. Also, in yet another episode, the character of Stewie, while intoxicated, sings the first few words of "Suicide is Painless", the show's opening theme.

Gary Burghoff's left hand is slightly deformed, and he took great pains to hide or de-emphasize it during filming. He did this by always holding something (like a clipboard), or keeping that hand in his pocket.

Leslie Nielsen guest-starred as Col. Buzz Brighton. Because of his high casualty record, Hawkeye and Trapper try to send back to America by convincing him that he is insane.

Honestly, I was never a fan of the show and really never watched an episode in full. Different strokes for diffeent folks as they say.