Steven Helmer Publications

I've been spending a chunk of my free time re-watching episodes of the television series M*A*S*H in order. As I have done this and have been reminded of the various characters on the show (both starring and supporting), I've noticed several that had the potential to keep the series going in spin-off form. Yes, I am aware the show already had spin-off attempts, including AfterMASH and W*A*L*T*E*R (both failures). However, if used correctly, some of the characters mentioned below might have been successful. Nurse Meg Cratty - Even though she only appeared in two episodes and was played by two different actresses ( Hope Summers and Ann Doran ), the civilian nurse, who cared for pregnant Korean women and ran an orphanage, could have been a great subject for a spin-off series. The show, in addition to giving us a little more backstory about how she ended up in Korea doing what she did, could have focused on some of the challenges she faced - trying to find medical supplies and...

Synopsis: Aunt Bee ( Frances Bavier ) leaves town for a few days and, since Andy ( Andy Griffith ) and Opie ( Ron Howard ) are slobs, is convinced the house will be a disaster when she returns. Andy disagrees with her but Aunt Bee's prediction proves to be correct. Will he and Opie be able to get the house clean before she returns? Review: When I first came across this episode while home at lunch yesterday, I almost skipped it. This is because, if I had a nickel for every television sitcom that "proved" men weren't as good at keeping the house running as women, I probably would have a lot of nickels. However, I realized I'm not a television historian and, for all I knew, this could be the first show to use that plot. So, I wound up watching it anyway and was pleasantly surprised. The thing that really stood out for me when it came to this episode is it wasn't anywhere near as predictable as I thought it was going to be. Sure, Andy and Opie proved to ...