M*A*S*H (TV series) debut of the Charles Winchester era. Whereas Gelbart and Reynolds were the comedic voice of "M*A*S*H" for the show's first five seasons (1972–1977), Alan Alda and newly promoted Executive Producer Burt Metcalfe became the new dramatic voice of "M*A*S*H" for Seasons 6–11. By the start of Season 8 (1979–1980), the writing staff had been completely overhauled, and with the departure of Gary Burghoff, "M*A*S*H" displayed a distinctively different feel, consciously moving between comedy and drama, unlike the seamless integration of its first five years. The end of the Vietnam War in 1975 was a significant factor as to why storylines
Dreams (M*A*S*H) this episode. Alda credits "Dreams" as one of his favorite "M*A*S*H" episodes. In this surreal episode, the group performs surgery on 211 patients in 33 hours without sleep. The main characters attempt to get whatever rest they can between surgeries, but their dreams offer no relief from the war. Once the marathon of wounded ends, they consider getting some long-deserved sleep. However, Winchester's glib response of "...to sleep, perchance to dream..." (from "Hamlet", Act 3, Scene 1) causes them to reconsider sleep in favor of coffee to stay awake. In a parallel story, a young lieutenant in charge of the