Films and TV shows ever made about the war usually do not cause positive emotions. However, this does not apply to the MES tape. The television series talks about a small field hospital, its employees and patients. And although the plot directly affects wartime, the events in it are presented in a comedy genre that is unusual for such films. Read more about the actors and organizers of the filming process below.
TV Show Brief
MES is a unique American television series based on the work of Richard Hooker, entitled MES: A Romance of Three Army Doctors. The creators of the project themselves speak of it as a weekly half-hour comedy, as about the ridiculous situations that underlie each of the stories.
Despite the fact that the first series of the film was released 44 years ago, the series still has not lost its popularity. Moreover, he still retains rather high ratings as for the old serial film. Did the plot attract the audience or the perfectly selected actors (MES)? What is the secret? And what interested the audience in this series?
The plot and meaning of the series
In the series loved by many, we are talking about a mobile military hospital No. 4077, located in South Korea. The time described in the serial episode is the Korean War, which began in June 1950 and ended in July 1953.
The characters that the MES series talks about (the actors here are perfectly accustomed to the image) are ordinary military doctors who save lives every day. However, they, like all other residents of the province of Kengido, are prone to depression.
Therefore, most of them try not to succumb to panic, but periodically be distracted from their complex and serious work with the help of humor. Let some say that this is black humor, but it helps the heroes to avoid trouble and is an excellent recharge for surgeons and other doctors.
The film "Damn Service in the MES Hospital": actors and roles (main cast)
MES is a touching and funny show with an almost constant cast of characters and characters. It has its own stars, with which the viewer meets in all 11 seasons of the serial film. Four clearly stand out among them:
- Benjamin Pierce.
- Francis Mulkahi.
- Max Klinger.
- Margaret Haligan.
The following actors played ("MES"):
- Alan Alda.
- George Morgan (played in the pilot of the project) and William Christopher (played the role of Francis in the rest of the series).
- Loretta Sweet.
- Jamie Farr
Ah, this unpredictable Benjamin Pierce
Benjamin Pierce is one of the most striking and charismatic characters in the series. Almost all the storylines are associated with the participation of this responsive chief surgeon. According to the script, this character, nicknamed Hawk (or Hawkeye), was placed on conscription service.
However, throughout the series, he clearly makes it clear that military affairs and he are two incompatible things. For example, he does not carry weapons and very rarely puts on his uniform, and he is familiar with the highest rank personalities. And for this very reason, Pierce regularly gets into alterations. In turn, the authorities look at his leprosy through the fingers, as the pampering and unpredictability of the young physician compensates for his professional activities. Moreover, there is simply no one to replace him with.
About the artist Alan Alda, the actors (MES) and his other colleagues on the set responded as a positive person with a wonderful sense of humor.
Francis Mulkahi's Sacred Duty
Francis Mulkahi is a remarkable character who truly believes in God. This first lieutenant, and later the captain, first appears episodically, but later he becomes the second main character after the Hawk, suffering from gambling. Francis is a gentle and weak-willed person.
About such people, as a rule, they say that they can adapt to any situation. For example, depending on the circumstances, Mulkahi may at one moment try on a cassock of a Catholic priest and immediately change into a righteous rabbi. Here they are - talented and diverse actors ("MES").
However, despite all his shortcomings, Francis is a great friend, ready to always help those in need. So, in one of the series he has to perform a complex operation with a penknife, and he easily copes with this task.
Max Klinger's Army Tricks
Max Klinger is a funny character who tries by all means, as it is now fashionable to say, to "reject service". For this, for example, first a corporal, and later the sergeant regularly dresses in women's clothing. In parallel with this, the nurse and the irreplaceable orderly do not forget about his male character: he smokes and swears like a shoemaker, flirts with women and often forgets to shave. It is noteworthy that the birthplace of this character, as well as the actor who played it, is the city of Toledo in Ohio. As you can see, in the MES series, the actors and the roles they play have much in common with their real life.
Fragile and charming Margaret Haligan
Margaret Haligan is a charming nurse nicknamed Hot Sponges. This fragile and petite lady was born in the family of a colonel. That is why the head nurse literally worships military affairs and dreams of a dizzying career in the army. In general, Margaret is a positive character who can empathize and love. She is endowed with excellent external data, intelligence and has an excellent sense of humor.
Other characters in the series and their participation in the plot
As we already said, in the series “MES”, also known as “Damn service in the hospital MES”, the cast was almost unchanged. However, other characters who appeared only in certain seasons were also involved in the film. For example, one of these is Wayne Rogers, who was lucky enough to play one of the key characters in the first three seasons.
His hero is the captain and experienced civilian surgeon John McIntyre, nicknamed Trapper. He was the best friend of Benjamin Pierce, with whom he regularly joked, played poker and drank pretty much.
In the first three seasons, actor McLean Stevenson was also seen, who played the head of the MES hospital, Henry Blake. His character is a man of weak character and gentle, because of which many subordinates simply ignored his orders. However, in critical moments, this lieutenant colonel is always ready to show his unusual character firmness. After the end of his military service, Henry plans to fly to his homeland, but dies in an airplane that is shot down by enemy fighters over the ocean.
The series also stars Larry Linville, a specially invited actor for the role of the interim commander of the hospital and the good surgeon Frank Burns. According to the scriptwriters, it was Frank, nicknamed Ferret, who became one of the main negative characters who played from the first to the fifth season. His character is a formidable and arrogant man with strict military endurance. He is married, but this does not stop him from twisting a promising romance with Margaret Haligan. By the way, Miss Hot Sponges has a huge impact on him.
At the time of filming from the 1st to the 8th season, the MES hospital became the home of such an actor as Gary Bergoff. Interestingly, this forty-year-old man had to play a young shy youth Walter Eugene, who is in a military hospital as a clerk, secretary of a commander, a postman and a mountaineer. This young man could always solve any problems instead of his commander, for example, when he was drunk, he predicted events a couple of minutes before they happened, for which he acquired the nickname Radar.
Other actors were also involved in the series, for example, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, David Ogden Stiers, etc. All of them did a great job and left their mark in this wonderful film.