Actor Mike Farrell, who joined the M*A*S*H cast as B. J. Hunnicutt during its fourth season, had an appreciation for the beloved series.
MeTV.com reported that Farrell, now 87, said in a Boston Globe interview that, unlike other shows, M*A*S*H imparted anti-sexism and anti-racism themes.
"Like it or lump it, people are learning as a result of what they watch," said Farrell, who continued to play B.J. until the show's final and 11th season, which ended in 1983. "And if you're teaching them negative, sexist, racist, ugly, pointless, anti-human values, that's what they're learning. If you teach them the reverse, as I think has been the case with M*A*S*H, then that's what they've learned. And I think people in the medium of television ought to look out!"
In addition, Farrell said he was pleased with M*A*S*H's positive impact upon fans.
"I feel awfully good about what this show has done. And I'm not just talking about making people happier," said the actor to The Boston Globe, per MeTV.com. "I've gotten reactions about the significant effect M*A*S*H has on people's lives – people with alcohol or drug problems, with various personal problems, who have found something in our show that gave them the strength to conquer something that was destroying them. When I hear that, it just makes me want to weep! If all we ever did on the show is make the statement that people are valuable, it's worth everything we've ever done."
Mike Farrell Shared His Favorite 'M*A*S*H' Episodes
Farrell discussed his favorite M*A*S*H episodes in a 2025 interview on That's Classic. He said he had a particular fondness for Season 4, Episode 25 ("The Interview"), where members of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital were interviewed for a documentary.
In addition, he pointed to Season 8, Episode 6 ("Period of Adjustment") as being a memorable B.J. storyline. He noted that the episode showed B.J. receiving a letter from his wife, Peg, who shared that their daughter, Erin, believed Radar (Gary Burghoff) was her father due to his military uniform. The actor recalled that B.J. "went berserk and got drunk and got in a fight with Hawkeye (Alan Alda) and broke down" after reading the letter.
Farrell then noted that the season 8 episode is just one example of M*A*S*H spotlighting difficult, realistic topics.
"There was really quite an extraordinary challenge for me as an actor, but also an opportunity to talk about what we were representing, which was this issue of people leaving their families and going to war," said Farrell in the 2025 interview.
This story was originally published by Parade on Nov 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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