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) days of real time. Many of the stories in the early seasons are based on tales told by real MASH surgeons who were interviewed by the production team. Like the movie, the series was as much an allegory about the Vietnam War (still in progress when the show began) as it was about the Korean War. The episodes "Abyssinia, Henry" and "The Interview" were ranked number 20 and number 80, respectively, on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time in 1997. In 2002, "M*A*S*H" was ranked number 25 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. In