I got a response from SCOTT BAKULA!

Aw, crap.  I may have oversold it.  It wasn't a response as in, "hey, thanks for the wicked awesome letter you meticulously hand-wrote in your very best handwriting and sent though the actual mail, which is apparently still a thing" so much as an autographed glossy that the mail carrier bent in half regardless of the cardboard that was clearly intended to prevent her from doing that.  But it still literally made me squeal and spin like Belle with that book in the opening song of Beauty and the Beast.  Look, wouldn't you spaz out a little bit?

*Edit* Here's a link to my original post.  Duh.

M*A*S*H

Man, I've been putting this one off for a long time.  I've been supposed to post it for a few weeks in a row, and now that I'm finally doing it, it was supposed to go up about 3 hours ago.  The problem with writing about my favorite show is that I don't know where to start or what to include.  There's a really neat story that I have about Quantum Leap, for instance, that couldn't be included when I wrote about that show because it was already pretty long and I didn't want to lose you. But M*A*S*H... that show has been with me at every stage of my life.  The characters are my friends now that I'm older and they were my educators when I was younger.  The show started before I was born, so for me there's no such thing as life before Hawkeye.  Who would want that, anyway?

Okay, so let me help you out if you're not familiar with the show, or if you haven't seen it since the 80's.  M.A.S.H. is an Army acronym that stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.  During the Korean War (which lasted 8 FEWER years than the TV show), doctors were drafted to work in those hospitals in war zones alongside regular volunteer Army personnel.  The show is a portrayal of how that kind of situation may have played out.  It covers the horrors of war, social injustices that were perpetrated by Americans and affected Americans, Koreans and everyone else, and the camaraderie that can only be built from tragedy.  Through all that, there were only a few episodes that were not complete comedy.  The thing about good comedy is that even though they're jokes, they can really make you think.  You can pay attention and learn about things you'd maybe rather not think about in a way that feels more comfortable and safe in your head.

I feel like I should warn you, in case you're headed over to Netflix right away, though.  The pilot is actually a feature-length movie, and none of the actors return for the show, except for Gary Burghoff, who plays Radar.  Radar, by the way?  Awesome.  So adorable and funny and sweet, just the exact opposite of everyone else in the war.  My favorite episodes are from seasons six through eight, when there's a magic combination of Radar, Colonel Potter, BJ and Charles.  I love every season, and there's never one where they jump the shark but those seasons are just the best to me. 

Season 7 (I clearly don't own this)

There's only one actor who is in every single episode of the show, and that's Alan Alda.  He wasn't in the movie, of course; Hawkeye was played by Donald Sutherland in the movie.  Alan Alda is an incredibly talented actor, though, who also co-wrote and/or directed some of the episodes.  He's got an autobiography called Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned, which is completely hilarious and includes stories of his childhood on the Vaudeville circuit with his parents!  I recommend it.  I actually have plenty more recommendations and stories for you and I may get to them later, but I know I've used up a lot of your time today.  I hope you'll go watch or re-watch M*A*S*H on Netflix today (or online elsewhere... or on DVD if you're like me and have all the seasons already) and read Alan Alda's book.  Or all of his books.  There's more than one.  And I hope you love those guys (and the girls: Hot Lips and Nurse Kellye) as much as I do! 

I found this one here, a must-read for M*A*S*H fans!

Quantum Leap

Okay guys, I know.  More sci-fi.  But seriously, you've got to just get used to it.  It won't stop here.  One theme you might notice recurring is time travel.  I absolutely love the idea of people experiencing life in a time period not their own.  I imagine taking people into the future to see how famous they become (yes, I do sob every single time I watch Vincent and The Doctor) or taking the Hilton sisters to live alongside the Bronte sisters.  My favorite time travel story is a television series, Quantum Leap.  I watch it on Netflix and still love it, and as a kid seeing the hippies and the Motown stars was so fun!  Plus I totally believed that by now we'd all be dressing like Al and using strange neon plastic information calculators.  Actually, we do have palm-sized computers but they don't look like Al's, that's for sure!

Nice shirt, Al.  What, no double necktie this week?

Sam and Al were the perfect team.  Sam Beckett was played by Scott Bakula, whose fame followed him to Star Trek: Enterprise (you know I'm a Trekkie) and NCIS: New Orleans, which is actually devastatingly free of any science fiction at all.  Al Calavicci was played by Dean Stockwell, who has over 200 acting credits on IMDB, starting in 1945 and including this gem from 1948:

 

In case you're trying to math, his 80th birthday is coming up this Saturday! Definitely sending a card. 

So, do you like time travel?  Or do you prefer space travel?  If you know of any good shows or books set in different times that you'd like to recommend, I'd love to give them a shot.  Drop it into the comment box below.  I'd appreciate it.