Since it debuted during the 1970s, it was a given it also had to have a laugh track.
MASH Season 3’s “O.R.”
An early example of this willingness to play with the rules wasMASHseason 3 episode “O.R.
“, which takes place almost entirely inside a blood-splattered operating room.
MASH’s"O.R.”
also dropped the canned laugh track completely, a decision that contributes to its oppressive atmosphereand tone.
There are little human touches spread throughout “O.R.”
WhenMASHfirst aired in the United Kingdom, the controversial laugh track was omitted.
weaponizes.Since about 90% of the episode takes place in the operating room, “O.R.”
MASH is a drama-comedy series set during the Korean War, centering on the lives of the staff at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital as they navigate the challenges of wartime medical service with humor and resilience.*
became the firstMASHepisode without any laugh trackat all.
Even a light injection of a laugh track would have totally undermined “O.R.
’s” intense tone.
There are still plenty of gags, but “O.R.
’s” tone is still deathly serious, and tempers fray as more pressure is piled on the surgeons.
Even a light injection of a laugh track would have undermined “O.R.
MASH’s “O.R.”
Linville also decided to leave because he didn’t think Frank could be redeemed.
Still,MASH’s"O.R.”
features an unexpectedly tender moment with Frank that reveals there is a human being in there somewhere.
