Season 4 of M*A*S*H had a bit of change in direction for the show. The first three seasons felt similar enough to each other that it never really felt like the show changed much, but with this season we have some casting changes that really ended up changing the dynamic a bit. The show still retains a lot of its humor and everything that makes it great, but it is definitely the first point in the series where some changes start happening.
In season 4, we lose two of the main characters, Col. Henry Blake and Capt. “Trapper” McIntyre. We knew Henry wasn’t coming back after the season 3 finale, but then the season 4 opener tells us that Trapper is also gone. And so, we’re introduced to two new characters to replace them: Col. Sherman Potter and Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt. The start of the season revolves around trying to adjust to these new changes, but the two soon become part of the family, and then the rest of the season is shenanigans as usual.
After watching all of season 4, my verdict is that I definitely still prefer Henry over Potter, but that I actually do like Hunnicutt more than Trapper. Henry was just a lovable idiot, and so I really do miss that dynamic on the show. Potter is more straight-laced and hard-as-nails, but the show never really explores that too much. It seems like he’s going to be a lot more strict at first, but then he soon settles in and lets the shenanigans continue. As for Trapper, my biggest problem with him was always just that he was too similar to Hawkeye, and so I didn’t feel like he had enough defining traits of his own. I still liked him, but with Hunnicutt I actually feel like we get a different kind of character. Hunnicutt definitely still joins Hawkeye in giving crap to Burns, but he just has a different personality that I really like.
Other than that, it’s business as usual with season 4 of M*A*S*H. I actually think this is one of the strengths of the season, for what it’s worth. With casting changes, you run the risk of changing what the show is, and even with some character replacements I still feel like season 4 retains what makes M*A*S*H a great show. I actually expected to have a stronger reaction towards it one way or another, but in the end I feel like I enjoyed it at about the same level that I did with the first three seasons.
4/5
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