M*A*S*H - Season 3 (Collector's Edition) [DVD] [1974]

In honouring M*A*S*H's third series with the prestigious Peabody Award, the judges praised it "for the depth of its humour and the manner in which comedy is used to lift the spirit and, as well, to offer a profound statement on the nature of war." Contained on three discs, the third series comprises several benchmark episodes illustrative of what the Peabody judges called "television of high purpose." In "Rainbow Bridge" Hawkeye (Alan Alda), Trapper (Wayne Rogers), Radar (Gary Burghoff), Klinger (Jamie Farr), and an opportunistic Frank Burns (Larry Linville) participate in a swap with the North Koreans of wounded POWs. In "The Consultant", Robert Alda (Alan's dad) guest stars as a visiting doctor who cracks under the pressure of operating so close to the front. And the shocking season finale, "Abyssinia, Henry", took a page from Mister Roberts and killed off commanding officer Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson), who was en route home.

M*A*S*H's sense of humour did not go AWOL. The season opener, "The General Flipped at Dawn", earned guest star Harry Morgan an Emmy nomination for his performance as a certifiable general and paved the way for Morgan to join the cast in season four. "Adam's Ribs" is a classic episode in which Hawkeye orders out to Chicago for a very special delivery of spare ribs. In "Iron Guts Kelly", the war's "greatest fighting general" gets a little too gung-ho and perishes in Margaret's (Loretta Swit) tent. To paraphrase the title of one episode, this was a full, rich season that offered each member of one of television's finest ensembles the opportunity to shine. But Alda, who earned a Golden Globe award that year, fully emerges as the series' star. --Donald Liebenson