“‘War… What Is It Good For?’ Laughter and Ratings”: Sgt. Bilko, M*A*S*H and the Heyday of U.S. Military Sitcoms (1955-75)

TV Series

关键词: military sitcoms;    war;    comedy;    1950s;    1960s;    1970s;   

DOI  :  10.4000/tvseries.1764

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This article provides a detailed study of the origins and the development of the American military sitcom, a subgenre that began in the 1950s with The Phil Silvers Show, better known as Sgt. Bilko, peaked in the 1970s with M*A*S*H, and has been retired from the small screen ever since. The heyday of the ‘war comedy’, an oxymoron if there ever was one and a TV staple for the post-World War II generation, was made up of three distinct waves, each with a different tone or message in spite of their slapstick parallels and often similar narrative set-ups. The late 1950s set the standard with CBS’s ground-breaking Sgt. Bilko, which combined features of key wartime comedy films of the 1940s and 1950s with star Phil Silvers quick-witted, trickster persona to provide a sharp if hilarious anti-establishment message. Then came the 1960s and a slew of watered down Bilko lookalikes on other networks and some new models on CBS, all of which were surprisingly light-hearted and escapist, especially when one remembers that they were sandwiched between harrowing news reports on the horrors of the ongoing war in Vietnam. In the early 1970s, CBS would again rework the Bilko model when adapting M*A*S*H, already a popular novel and film, for television and thereby create the most powerful vehicle for anti-war sentiment and for dozens of other liberal causes ever to be aired on television. This article will thus pay particular attention to the first and the last series in this long parade of military sitcoms, focusing on their origins and their lasting influence, their tone and style, their use as a key weapon in the networks’ war for ratings, and their ability to deliver a strong anti-establishment message through the Trojan Horse of laughter.

【 授权许可】

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