M*A*S*H went to hell as soon as Trapper John and Henry Blake left and liberal BJ showed up. Then the show had to have “meaning,” and in doing so disregarded its purpose as a comedy. Hawkeye got serious, Margaret turned nice, Potter was everyone’s favorite old uncle and the cross-dresser became normalized.
There was certainly more comedy in the early MASH series. I really liked McLean Stevenson, Wayne Rogers, and Larry Linville. Sorry to see them go.
I could not bear Mike Farrell. MASH always had its anti-war agenda-—perhaps because were fighting Communists in that war. And I have never liked Alan Alda in ANYTHING.