M*A*S*H - Season Three (Collector's Edition)
In honoringM*A*S*H's third season with the prestigious Peabody  Award, the judges praised this series "for the depth of its humor 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, season three  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  fromMister Robertsand killed off commanding officer Henry Blake (McLean  Stevenson), who was en route home.M*A*S*H's sense of humor 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. Because of its wartime setting and  life-and-death struggles, this is that rare sitcom that may actually play better without  a laugh track, an option this set offers. 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 was  honored that year with a Golden Globe award, fully emerges as the series' star.--Donald Liebenson