If you’re hunting for a list of MASH episodes, you probably aren’t just looking for a chronological data dump. You can get that on Wikipedia in two seconds. What you’re actually looking for is a way to navigate eleven seasons of tonal whiplash—a show that started as a "jiggly" medical sitcom with a laugh track and ended as a somber, cinematic meditation on the psychological toll of war.
It’s a lot.
MAS*H (the show, not the movie) ran for 256 episodes. That is a staggering amount of television. To put that in perspective, if you sat down right now to watch the whole thing, you’d be staring at Hawkeye Pierce's martini glass for about 100 hours straight. But here’s the thing: not all 256 are created equal. Some are masterpieces of 1970s television, and some are... well, they’re "The Kids," an episode from Season 4 that most fans just sort of ignore.
Why a Simple List of MASH Episodes Doesn't Cut It
Most people searching for this show are trying to find "that one episode." You know the one. The one where someone dies, or the one where they filmed it like a news documentary, or the one where the clock in the corner of the screen counts down in real-time.
Because the show swapped cast members so frequently—losing McLean Stevenson (Henry Blake) and Wayne Rogers (Trapper John) after Season 3, then Larry Linville (Frank Burns) after Season 5—the "feel" of the episodes changes radically depending on which year you’re watching.
The Early Years: Anarchy and Gin
In the beginning, specifically Seasons 1 through 3, the show was basically about two guys trying to stay sane by being as annoying as possible to their superiors. If you look at a list of MASH episodes from 1972, you’ll see titles like "Chief Surgeon Who?" and "The Moose." These are rowdy. They feel like the 1970 movie. They’re heavy on the drinking and the pursuit of nurses, which, honestly, hasn't aged perfectly, but the chemistry between Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers is undeniable.
Then came "Abyssinia, Henry."
This was the Season 3 finale. It changed television history. It was the first time a major sitcom character was killed off in such a brutal, unexpected way. If you haven't seen it, the 4077th gets word that Colonel Henry Blake’s plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. There were no survivors. The silence in the OR during that scene wasn't just acting; the cast didn't know it was coming until right before they filmed it.
The Middle Shift: Enter B.J. and Potter
When Mike Farrell joined as B.J. Hunnicutt and Harry Morgan took over as Colonel Potter, the show grew up. The jokes got dryer. The blood in the OR got brighter.
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Look for "The Interview" in your list of MASH episodes. It’s Season 4, Episode 24. It’s shot in black and white. Clete Roberts, a real-life war correspondent, interviews the characters as if they’re real people. There’s no laugh track. It’s haunting. Alan Alda’s performance here is where the "Hawkeye as the moral center" archetype really solidified.
The Experimental Episodes You Can't Skip
MAS*H was incredibly brave for a network sitcom. They played with format in a way that shows like Community or Atlanta do now.
"Point of View" (Season 7, Episode 10)
Everything is seen through the eyes of a wounded soldier. You never see the "main character." You only hear the doctors talking to you, feel the gurney shaking, and see the ceiling of the surgery tent. It’s claustrophobic and brilliant."Life Time" (Season 8, Episode 11)
They put a clock in the corner of the screen. A soldier has a lacerated aorta, and the doctors have 22 minutes to save him before he suffers permanent paralysis. It’s "real-time" TV decades before 24 made it a gimmick."Dreams" (Season 8, Episode 22)
This one is divisive. It’s a surrealist trip into the recurring nightmares of the staff. It’s visual, weird, and contains very little dialogue. Some fans hate it because it’s "too artsy," but it shows just how much power the creators had by the late 70s.
The Winchester Era: From Villainy to Pathos
When Larry Linville left, the show lost its "foil." Frank Burns was a cartoon. He was easy to hate. When David Ogden Stiers joined as Charles Emerson Winchester III, the dynamic shifted from "bullying a moron" to "intellectual warfare."
Winchester is arguably the best-written character on the show. He’s arrogant, yes, but he’s also a world-class surgeon who genuinely cares about his patients. "Morale Victory" (Season 8) is a standout here. Winchester has to help a gifted pianist who has lost the use of his hand. It’s not a comedy bit; it’s a tragic, beautiful look at what happens when a person’s soul is tied to their physical ability.
How to Navigate a Complete Episode Catalog
If you’re looking at a full index, it’s best to break it down by the "commanding officer" eras.
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The Blake Era (Seasons 1-3): Best for those who want fast-paced comedy, 70s counter-culture vibes, and the Hawkeye/Trapper bromance.
Must-watch: "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet," "Deal Me Out," "Abyssinia, Henry."
The Early Potter Era (Seasons 4-6): This is the sweet spot for many. The show found its heart but hadn't become "preachy" yet. It’s the era of Radar O'Reilly at his peak.
Must-watch: "The Interview," "Dear Sigmund," "Fade Out, Fade In."
The Late Potter Era (Seasons 7-11): This is where the show gets heavy. The humor is still there, but it’s often a thin veneer over deep trauma.
Must-watch: "Point of View," "The Life You Save," and of course, the finale.
The Elephant in the Room: "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen"
You can’t talk about a list of MASH episodes without the finale. It aired in 1983. To this day, it remains the most-watched scripted television episode in history. Over 100 million people tuned in.
It’s two and a half hours long. It’s a movie, basically.
The plot involving Hawkeye’s nervous breakdown and the "chicken" on the bus is some of the most harrowing television ever produced. It’s the final payoff for eleven years of character development. When B.J. writes "GOODBYE" in stones on the helipad so Hawkeye can see it from the chopper, it wasn't just the characters saying goodbye. It was the end of an era for the American public.
What Most People Get Wrong About MAS*H
People remember it as a "comedy about war." It wasn't. By the end, it was a drama that occasionally let people tell jokes.
If you go back and watch the pilot today, the laugh track is jarring. It feels wrong. In later seasons, the creators fought the network to remove the laugh track during surgery scenes. They won. Eventually, in many DVD and streaming versions, you can turn the laugh track off entirely. Honestly? Do that. The show is 100% better when you aren't being told when to chuckle at a pun while someone is bleeding out on a table.
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Practical Tips for Your Watchlist
If you're building a custom list of MASH episodes for a weekend binge, don't just go 1 through 256. You'll get burnt out by the repetitive "Dear Dad" or "Dear Peggy" letter-writing episodes.
Instead, try a "Perspective" binge. Watch "The Interview," then "Point of View," then "Our Finest Hour." This gives you a look at the war from the outside in.
Or try a "Development" binge. Watch "Chief Surgeon Who?" (where Hawkeye is just a prankster) and then watch "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen." The contrast in Alan Alda’s face alone is a masterclass in how time and trauma change a person.
Essential Insights for the Modern Viewer
Watching MAS*H in 2026 is a different experience than it was in 1975. The Korean War was already "the forgotten war" when the show aired, but the show was really a proxy for the Vietnam War, which was happening in real-time during the early seasons.
When you look at the episode "Tuttle" (Season 1, Episode 15), it’s a hilarious farce about a made-up officer. But it’s also a biting satire on military bureaucracy. That’s the secret sauce of this show. It’s never just one thing.
Next Steps for Your MAS*H Journey:
- Check the Credits: Notice how many episodes were directed or written by Alan Alda. He took a massive amount of creative control in the later seasons, which explains the shift toward social commentary.
- The "Laugh Track" Toggle: If you’re watching on a streaming service or physical media, look for the "No Laugh Track" audio option. It completely changes the atmosphere of the 4077th.
- Context Matters: Remember that the show lasted four times longer than the actual Korean War did (three years vs. eleven years). The characters' aging is real; the exhaustion in their voices by Season 11 isn't just acting—it's a decade of making a television show.
Sorting through a list of MASH episodes is more than just a nostalgia trip. It’s a look at how we, as a culture, transitioned from the cynical "nothing matters" attitude of the early 70s to the more earnest, emotional landscape of the early 80s. Whether you're here for Radar’s teddy bear or Winchester’s Mozart, the 4077th still has plenty to say.