8 Insane Gritty Reboots That Would Improve Classic TV Shows

1. MASH

Hawkeye Doctor Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce is a high-minded and stubborn sort of man. He's the type who joins the military for humanitarian reasons €“ if he can't stop the war he'll damn well do everything he can to patch up those wounded in the conflict. Yet what he never bargained for was being stuck for over a decade in Afghanistan, a conflict that has now raged on for longer than Vietnam. Tune in as a fundamentally decent man struggles with the horrors of war and learns that while he can work miracles on a broken body, before realising the mental scars left behind are something beyond his considerable abilities to heal. Hawkeye bravely struggles to retain his sanity with his trademark sardonic wit as he deals daily with drone strikes, PTSD and the harshness of a country once known as the graveyard of empires. As roadside bombs explode and Hellfire missiles rain down, Hawkeye's only real friends are his world-weary commanding officer Colonel Blake, fellow surgeon Doctor BJ Hunnicut and the naive and vulnerable robotics technician "Radar" O'Reilly. These people are all that stands between him and the fanatical Major Frank Burns, a ticking time bomb of a man around whom rumours of atrocious goings-on circulate. Making things worse, Burns is highly suspicious of Hawkeye's humanitarianism and political leanings and begins to hound him constantly. The man seems to have some very sinister connections, seemingly can get away with anything under the nose of the run down and broken Blake and has a glint in his eye suggesting that he's only ever one hair trigger moment away from erupting into violence. Is the war just strengthening the resolve of the fundamentalist hardliners and insurgents? Can Hawkeye get a drink in this hellhole or will he be tempted to dull the pain with stronger substances? When will it ever all end?
Contributor
Contributor

Andy T Coombs is a writer, poet and spoken word performer currently living in Australia. He is a massive science fiction geek, occasional bass player and allegedly amusing. If you see him buy him a beer.