M*A*S*H - Martinis and Medicine Complete Collection

Multiple disks damaged. DVD's out of slots in container, sliding around in shipment. Over half of DVD's unwatchable due to skips, jumps, hangs from scratches.

made the perfect gift for my guy but the package didnt look like the picture

When I was a child I absolutely detested this show. There was something
so dark, so colorless, and so bleak about it. I preferred to watch the
brightly lit, Disney-esquire "Bewitched" and other shows instead. The
theme music also depressed me. I tried watching it, but I could never
finish it --- something about it just made me feel sad.

I'm 34 now, and I am of the opinion that "MASH" is perhaps the greatest
American sitcom in television history. (Ironically, even though I still
moderately like "Bewitched," it just doesn't hold up that much
anymore.) Three years ago I became very close with someone whom I
immediately adopted as the little brother I never had. His favorite
show was "MASH," and after several attempts to get me to watch an
episode with him, I finally relented and sat down to watch the pilot.
It was okay. Then he begged me to watch another, and another, and
another. Begrudgingly, I did. However, I noticed that after a few
episodes I actually started to enjoy it. Eventually, I became totally
hooked on it.

When I was a child I was too young to understand the dynamics and the
concept of this series. All I wanted back then was the Muppets,
cartoons, monsters, and Disney films. Now, as an adult, I recognize
what the show means to our culture. Not only is it written in a
razor-sharp style, but the balance of comedy and tragedy is executed
brilliantly. Also, I used to live in South Korea and Japan, where I
taught English as a Second Language, and I noticed in several episodes
that the writers "did their homework" in regards to the culture of
Korea. Even though I wasn't in Korea in the 50s, this element drew me
into the show even more. With every episode I watched I thought of my
time in Korea. And although every series sooner or later "jumps the
shark," this one had hands down the best final episode of any series in
TV history.

Now I am about to collect the entire series, and try to hunt down its
less successful spin-offs "AfterMASH" and the "WALTER" episode. I have
more memories associated with this show now, memories of a friendship
that unfortunately no loner exists. Even though he and I called it
quits, I will always think of my past friend and my experiences living
in Korea when I see this show. (In fairness, however, I'm sure I got
him hooked on "The X Files.") It's funny how things change. Or perhaps
things have actually stayed the same and it is myself that has changed.
Nonetheless, for several reasons (some personal and others not) I will
always treasure this outstanding series. If you don't like it at first,
give it a second chance. I did. It now ties with "Roseanne" as being my
all-time favorite sitcom.

This set's fantastic for anyone who's a M*A*S*H fan - everything that you could be looking for, wrapped up in a succint package rather than a handful of DVD packages to juggle around. Highly recommended.

I have read almost all of the reviews for the MASH collection and it seems that many people have had trouble with the packaging. I recieved my set and most of the DVDs have at least some scratches on them. What I want to know is whether or not others have successfully exchanged their scratched sets for an unscratched one. Since it is a packaging issue I don't know if it would be worth it. So far, I have only watched a few episodes and one episode was skipping badly. I purchased a new player (needed a new one anyway) and now it seems to work ok. I just don't want the exchange period to run out as I watch the rest of the episodes with my fingers crossed. If anyone has 2 cents to put in, please do!