George (M*A*S*H) gay people were prohibited from serving in the United States armed forces; all recruits had to certify that they were not homosexual and had not committed homosexual acts, and could be prosecuted for fraudulent enlistment if they lied. Gay television historian Stephen Tropiano notes the continued relevance of "George" because it "expos[es] the ignorance behind the discrimination of homosexuals in the military". He notes that, unlike other gay-themed episodes of the era, "George" does not make its gay character the target of jokes except from the bigoted Frank Burns. George (M*A*S*H) George is the 46th episode of the "M*A*S*H" television
M*A*S*H (TV series) and Amen". The laugh track is also omitted from some international and syndicated airings of the show; on one occasion during an airing on BBC2, the laugh track was accidentally left on, and viewers expressed their displeasure, an apology from the network for the "technical difficulty" was later released, as during its original run on BBC2 in the UK, it was shown without the laugh track. UK DVD critics speak poorly of the laugh track, stating "canned laughter is intrusive at the best of times, but with a programme like "M*A*S*H", it's downright unbearable." On all released DVDs, both in