From Big Screen to Boob Tube

M*A*S*H: Everett Collection

Best

A rare case of solid source material — Robert Altman's 1970 movie — becoming something completely different yet equally good. Where Altman was doing countercultural and sexual-politics satire, series creator Larry Gelbart centered on Alan Alda's Hawkeye as a man of many contradictions: a horny prankster, a dedicated surgeon, and a man who spouted antiwar statements while relying on his wartime ''family'' — a first-rate supporting cast including McLean Stevenson and Loretta Swit — to provide comfort and be the butt of his many jokes.