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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
M*A*S*H (MASH)-Season 8 (1979)

M*A*S*H (MASH)-Season 8 (1979)

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Released 8-Mar-2006

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy None
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1979
Running Time 625
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Multi Disc Set (3)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Alan Alda
Hy Averback
Gabrielle Beaumont
Terry Becker
Studio
Distributor

Twentieth Century Fox
Starring Alan Alda
Wayne Rogers
McLean Stevenson
Loretta Swit
Larry Linville
Gary Burghoff
Mike Farrell
Harry Morgan
Jamie Farr
David Ogden Stiers
William Christopher
Odessa Cleveland
Johnny Haymer
Case ?
RPI $42.95 Music Benny Golson
Earle H. Hagen
John R. Harris


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192Kb/s)
English Alternate Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192Kb/s)
French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired
French
French Titling
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Broadcasting between 1979 and 1980, the Eighth Season of MASH continues the 4077th's struggle to make sense of the Korean War and their attempt to face its insanity with a sense humour. The usual craziness continues, accusations of communist sympathies fly, and April Fools Day pranks cause all sorts of havoc. There's a serious element as always, and the staff struggle with suicide attempts, an abandoned baby, and tiring workloads. Most difficult of all for 4077th is the unexpected departure of Radar. When his uncle dies, Radar is given a hardship release to care for his mother, and as the company deals with jealousy and their inability to function without Radar. they finally come to realise that they'll miss his friendship most of all. The three episodes covering his departure and its aftermath are some of the most touching of the series. MASH continues in high form in the following seasons, but Radar's departure leaves something of a hole in proceedings.

    Klinger's role changes in many ways too. He finally resigns himself to seeing out his tour and as he takes over Radar's job he begins a bumpy farewell to his purses and pumps. Even with so many changes, Season Eight holds itself together and the twenty-five episodes included here are of consistent high quality. Like all Seasons of MASH, this set comes highly recommended.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Video quality is good if the condition of the source material is taken into account. Each episode is presented in its original full-frame ratio of 1.33:1.

    Sharpness is variable: some scenes are quite soft while many show excellent clarity. The opening scenes set in the OR are very soft and fairly washed out compared to the rest of the episodes. Shadow detail can be a little murky at times but also very good at others. Grain is present in most shots especially in areas of shadow. There are some moments of fluctuating brightness. The colour palette suitably emphasises greens and browns. Some scenes appear washed out compared to others.

    Pixelization is the only significant MPEG artefact and its presence is not overly distracting. Some edge enhancement is visible. There are numerous film artefacts in the form of small black specks, hairs and vertical lines. There is no heavy damage and most episodes are quite clean.

    Subtitles are very accurate, in a white font of an unobtrusive size. They are available in English and French.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is satisfactory. Episodes are presented in Dolby Digital English mono both with and without the laughter track and Dolby Digital French mono.

    Dialogue is clear but fairly flat and undynamic. There is just a little hiss and the audio sounds relatively hollow in general. Audio sync is accurate.

    There is no surround or subwoofer activity.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    No extras.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    Apart from NTSC-PAL and secondary language differences, the Region 1 and Region 4 releases are identical.

Summary

    MASH continues its high quality run. Sadly, though, Season Eight marks the departure of Radar.

    Video and audio are satisfactory.

    There are no extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Adam Atkinson (read my bio)
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Review Equipment
DVDSony DVP-S336, using Component output
DisplayLG Flatron Widescreen RT-28FZ85RX. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL).
AmplificationYamaha RX-V357
SpeakersDB Dynamics Belmont Series: Fronts: B50F, Centre: B50C, Rears: B50S, Sub: SW8BR

Other Reviews NONE