But I don’t think that’s necessarily true.
On MASH we frankly didn’t care who was watching. We knew we had high ratings so that was good enough for us. We never stopped to think, “Will they get this in Iowa?” We just assumed our audience was intelligent and treated them as such. We used Yiddish expressions, made obscure references to Adolphe Menjou (pictured above), philosophical jokes, Algonquin Round Table banter, sarcasm, political humor, word play — anything we felt was appropriate for the moment and characters.
Several TV critics said we were too highbrow for Middle America. They suggested we make the show more accessible. We felt they weren't giving the audience enough credit. They were capable of appreciating a military comedy that wasn't GOMER PYLE.
Here’s what we found: MASH was a way bigger hit in the “flyover states” than the big cities. Forget Manhattan, those Yiddish expressions were for Omaha.
MASH is still a huge hit in syndication. You would think over time, considering how ultra-liberal the show was, that maybe now Middle America would sour on the 4077. Nope. Doing just as well or better.
I find that very comforting. It’s nice to know that in a very small way through MASH I’m helping to unite the country. And more important -- getting residuals for it.
from By Ken Levine
Comments
Post a Comment