#vietnam off the beaten track

[senka-mesecine]

Would you be able to write a list of Barnes relationship headcanons or at the very least your perception of what Barnes would be like as a husband? I absolutely adore your writings about Platoon since there’s so little fan content for it around! <3 I appreciate what you do

-

― Admittedly, it is fairly hard to imagine Barnes living a civilian life seeing as how he's pretty much synonymous with combat and to quote Rhah, war's his high, which is exactly why I think he'd make his civilian life so as to as closely resemble the army as possible, and whether he'd do this consciously or subconsciously or both is up for debate, but I feel the structure of his day-to-day existence outside of a platoon hierarchy isn't all that different from his time in the 'Nam --- meaning that I envision that as a spouse he'd be a working man. Entirely proud of it too. He thinks that's what a real man ought to be and that anything other than that isn't ought to be. He's the toiling from dawn to dusk type. Hard manual laborer. He still finds a way to bark orders at others and instill fear and admiration into their bones, to the degree he might as well still be in the military because he sure isn't here giving himself any breaks just because he's rotated back into the world from the bush. In fact, there's no difference between now and then. He's soldiering out there and he's soldiering now. He gives commands there and he gives them in his civilian life too. It's that ingrained thing that cannot be shed. In fact, it is very possible to imagine him going mercenary post-Vietnam and seeking out the next war available because it's what he is.

― That being said, married life with him is...shockingly simple, I think. Why? Because I think of him as a man of routine; a professional deformational of his military days. He likes breakfast with the spouse. Dinners. Suppers. Waking up early. Coming back home at night to them. The odd match of poker. Sharing a bottle of whiskey. Having a smoke. Living off the beaten track somewhere. And it almost comes off as weirdly idyllic and downright wholesomely pastoral that he might practice isolationism precisely because he views his home life as a separate bubble positioned against the rest of the world almost as if the domesticity he has with you is a base and everything outside of it is potentially a minefield or enemy territory. It's not necessarily said outright, of course, but, Barnes doesn't much care for the comings and goings of the outside world and if he lives with his spouse on a sort of societal margin, he doesn't have to follow its rules and he doesn't much care to anyway. I can visualize him going back to the Hill Country of East Tennessee and as far away from any rustle and bustle as humanly possible. Frankly, the fact few people will ever run into you there and that he, in ways, has you all to himself, suits him just fine and the fact can be silently possessive as well as incredibly daunting.

― I'm not talking country life, I'm talking house in the mountains deep in the woods type of life. The locals know someone lives up there; Barnes and his woman, but they don't assume they ever saw you to the point you might as well be make belief, which is how Barnes wants it anyway because if anyone has any problems they should come to him with it or so god help them. He becomes a bit of a local urban legend, almost; the scarred man in the night who scares people and lost hikers off of the woods and the mountainside and probably does far worse than just that if push comes to shove and genuinely, regardless of his civilian status, this is a reputation Barnes embraces even in domesticity. I think people could very much be afraid of him all while he lives a relatively reclusively and tucked away life with you. He doesn't give me the impression he'd like too many individuals once he's out of the army and has no interest in communicating with most any of them nor does he make any effort to re-socialize himself post-war; there's a frightening yet passionate singlemindedness to him. You're about the only chosen person he wants and that's that on that. Are you a hostage? No. Well, maybe. Can you get away? No. Does he want you to? Also no.

― Frankly, there's a certain impression he has about his various scars being the cause of stares and judgement now that he rotated back into the world especially when juxtaposed with you and the fact that you're a beaut. Barnes doesn't want stares. He doesn't want whispers. He doesn't want anyone as much as uttering the words in the vein of 'What's she doing with him and how does she wake up next to him in the morning, looking at that mug'. Doesn't want anyone as much as looking in his general direction or yours because he knows he might kill over it, which is the overall reason, among others, for so much reclusion, seeing as how Barnes doesn't 'delude' himself that anyone's going to be tremendously welcoming back home, leading to his territorial tendencies towards you as a spouse. He doesn't want you leaving, he doesn't want you perceived, he doesn't want you getting tremendously close to anyone else and he doesn't want you potentially developing an interest in anyone else and attempting to run away, irregardless of the fact that it is a fruitless endeavor and he'd find you, but still, he's selfish, he's jealous, he's vindictive, he'd take a personal interest in making anyone's life a living hell over you, he's a mean motherfucker and he knows it. He's got one person that's his and that's you and he'll be damned if he'll go around being generous with your presence.

― Meaning that as a husband, Barnes would be intense. Intense with a capital I. Especially once all restrains the military put on him and the close proximity of civilization's presence as a whole are gone. He's not bad, but intense. All in. So much of his character and who he is and was dedicated to war, the platoon, his men and what he thinks is right that once all of that inevitably ends there's a gaping hole in its place where you get poured into, meaning that you consume him the way the war itself did and he doesn't need anyone else but you, quite literally, and this is a deliberate and conscious choice he makes to the point he lives outside of the bounds of pretty much, well, everything and by extension, you do too because he isn't going around sharing you with anyone. It's an all-consuming existence where it's just you and him; he strikes me as the type who'd drive down to the nearest city, say, once a month, bring back whatever's needed and spend the rest of the time almost like he's awaiting for some sort of attack, ambush or siege that never arrives. It's safe to say he'd be angry at the world for what he'd see as the loss of war in Vietnam precisely, because the way he'd see it, people like him weren't allowed to fight the way a war's 'meant' to be fought and he'd want no part in society (least of all one that would judge people like him post-return) and so you're both blessed and cursed with the gift of being loved by a man who only loves you out of the whole wide world.

[stormxpadme]

AU Game. Scott/Logan. 1970s California road trip. No powers.

Let’s play a game. Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story. Scott/Logan. 1970s California road trip. No powers.

Scott ends up in the worst bug-infested, grease-moldy truck stop ever that night, and he just about wants to walk back out the second he arrives but there's no alternatives for miles, and he's always gotta get his deliveries done in time if he wants to save up the buck for this damn private pilot license one day. And since he kinda sucked at being a teacher and regular flight schools won't accept him because of his damn eyesight condition, he's only got the road left. Which in this case means spending the night in this shithole and finding anything on the menu that won't give him salmonella, burn right through his digestive tract, or both.

That sleazy unkempt group of lumberjacks has already pissed him off with their digs about his glasses upon entering but he's only stepping in when one of them tries to get up and close with the shy and terrified waitress girl. Because Scott is an idiot who apparently hasn't gotten his damn ass beaten often enough yet in one orphanage after another after his whole family's died in that fucking plane crash. He's outnumbered 1:4 but he's taller and they're out of shape, so he's not worrying a lot. Not until the first switchblade comes his way.

If he's being honest, he's already had his eyes on the outsider of the bully group for a while, sitting there silently by the very edge of the table alone with a bottle of whiskey, because the guy is built like a fucking tree himself and has no interest in harassment or in like, anything at all, apparently. Somehow, Scott always happens to fall either for the red-haired mental cases or the emotionally constipated. It doesn't help his current infatuation that the guy steps in before Scott can have a couple of his arteries kebabed by those knives. He's visibly enjoying the brawl against his now-former workmates, moving fast and strong and obviously field-trained, trashing half the furniture so badly that they're being kicked out by the owner which is just as well because now neither of them has to pay. And because Scott is seriously horny at this point.

They end up fucking on the rest stop parking lot behind a dumpster after patching each other's cuts and bruises up and they're still laughing their asses off, with only that certain familiar hysteric undertone of having barely escaped death and the comfortable wordless intimacy of instant bonding, once you realize you've found a guy just as much a broken idiot as yourself.

Afterward, Scott is on enough adrenaline to drive through the night. Logan doesn't even really ask before he makes himself at home in the passenger seat, feet on the dash, hairy chest out and all, replacing Scott's favorite Johnny Cash cassette with a Rolling Stones tape Scott can't even remember having and silently humming along over the last bit of whiskey. He's been bored of cutting down trees anyway, it turns out. He doesn't even want to stop by his home for his things. Says, he doesn't need any of his shit, none of that stuff having any meaning to him after losing all his memories some couple of years ago, during some bad hit in Vietnam. Besides, there's only some violent, abusive perv of a step-brother waiting for him at home, and Logan's only been waiting for an excuse to lo leave that piece of shit behind. Sun's not even gone up before they fuck in the driver's seat again, by the side of the road, before they drop the delivery together, collect the buck and find themselves some nice burger joint for breakfast. And Scott wonders suddenly if this is what happiness feels like.

Additional Spoiler Alert: The asshole stepbrother will track them down eventually as they're dumb enough to stay in touch with Scott's trucker friends like Bobby, Sam, and Emma via his CB radio, and Scott almost ends up being kebabed again only a month later, because that Victor guy got issues. But the fuck in that cheap Vegas hotel afterward is spectacular, and since they're already in town, they miraculously find someone who doesn't care about gender and shit when he's marrying someone as long as he gets paid. It also soon turns out, it's so much easier, making a good buck on the road, working together. Scott is pretty sure he's still never going to get inside a damn cockpit but at least he doesn't need that stupid dream at night anymore, to no longer want to off himself on the next best highway.

[lovingtravelnet]

Discovering the Untouched Beauty of Laos: A Traveler's Guide to Hidden Gems

Nestled in the heart of Southeast Asia, Laos is a land of stunning landscapes, ancient traditions, and a rich tapestry of culture waiting to be uncovered. While it may often be overshadowed by its more touristy neighbours, such as Thailand and Vietnam, Laos offers an untouched beauty that invites travellers to journey off the beaten track and discover hidden gems. This traveller’s guide aims to…

[vietnammotorcycle]

Explore Vietnam by Motorcycle: Best Routes, Tips, and Highlights

Looking for an adventure? Want to get off the beaten track and see the real Vietnam? If it sounds like you then Vietnam Motorcycle Tours can help. We now offer motorcycle tours all around Vietnam where you may either ride as a passenger or on your own so that you too may appreciate Vietnam just as the millions of motorbikers of our great nation do. Join us for a magnificent journey as we guide you through the local history, delicacies, villages, home stays and beautiful people of Vietnam. Visit us: http://vietnam-motorcycletours.com/

[odctravel]

Scenic beauty Attracted Northwest 5 days - 4 nights

The remote northwest of Vietnamappeals to those wanting to get off the beaten track in one of Vietnam's most beautiful, unaffected and untouristed areas. The travellers who do venture to Mai Chau, Son La and Dien Bien Phu often do so by way of a hired jeep and driver or do it by motorbike, while those striking straight north to Vietnam's hilltribe capital of Sapaavail themselves of the comfortable and efficient overnight train to Sapa. Whichever way you're headed, prepare yourself for stunning scenery as you pass through spectacular ravines and over breathtaking passes.

https://www.odctravel.com.vn

WhatsApp : +84916069069

[travelauthenticasia-taa]

Boasted one of the World's 20 best destinations, Vietnam, the country with a rich 4000 years history and a unique traditional local culture is endowed with spectacular natural settings of dramatic mountains, undulating green paddies, seemingly endless white sand beaches with honey sunlights, making it an alluring place for any traveller.

Travel Authentic Asia offers a wide range of custoomize-able Vietnam Tour Holidays from comfort tours to off the beaten track adventures, family trips and romantic getaways with best quality guaranteed. Pick your best suitable trip or choose to build your own tour at best convenience.

[snapwander]

Unveiling the World: Must-See Destinations for Every Traveler

The travel bug bites everyone eventually!  For some, it's a constant itch, and for others, it's a yearning that creeps in every now and then.  Wherever you fall on the spectrum, there's no denying the allure of exploring new 

places, cultures, and experiences.

But with so many incredible destinations around the globe, where do you even begin?  Fear not, fellow wanderer! This blog is your one-stop shop for inspiration, helping you discover the best places to visit, tailored to your travel desires.

Calling the Nature Enthusiast:

Trek through Patagonia's majestic peaks: Glaciers, mountains, and turquoise lakes - Patagonia in South America offers breathtaking landscapes for the adventurous soul. Hike the famous W Trail, or embark on a kayaking expedition for an unforgettable encounter with nature's grandeur.

Unwind on the pristine beaches of Kerala: Nicknamed "God's Own Country," Kerala in India is a tropical paradise. Cruise the serene backwaters, explore lush tea plantations, or simply relax on the golden shores, soaking in the tranquility.

Explore the otherworldly beauty of Namibia: This African nation boasts dramatic sand dunes, unique wildlife, and captivating geological formations. Witness the awe-inspiring Namib Desert or go stargazing under some of the darkest skies on Earth.

Craving a Cultural Immersion?

Wander the ancient streets of Rome: Steeped in history and culture, Rome is an open-air museum. Marvel at the Colosseum, toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain, or get lost in the labyrinthine alleys of Trastevere.

Immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of Tokyo: Japan's capital city seamlessly blends ancient traditions with neon-lit modernity. Explore magnificent temples, indulge in delicious street food, and experience the unique kawaii (cute) culture.

Uncover the mysteries of Machu Picchu: High in the Peruvian Andes lies the enigmatic Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. Hike the Inca Trail, marvel at the architectural ingenuity, and soak in the mystical atmosphere of this lost city.

Seeking Adventure and Luxury?

Go island hopping in the Philippines: With over 7,000 islands to choose from, the Philippines is a haven for beach lovers and adventurers. Sail through turquoise waters, scuba dive amidst coral reefs, or trek through lush jungles.

Heli-ski in the Canadian Rockies: For the ultimate thrill-seeker, heli-skiing in Canada offers unparalleled backcountry access. Carve fresh tracks through untouched powder snow, surrounded by breathtaking mountain scenery.

Glamp in the deserts of Morocco: Experience the magic of Morocco on a luxurious glamping trip. Stay in plush tents under a canopy of stars, explore the ancient city of Marrakech, and ride camels across the golden dunes of the Sahara.

This is just a taste of the incredible destinations waiting to be explored.  Remember, the best place to visit are the ones that resonate with YOU.  So, do your research, follow your interests, and get ready to embark on an unforgettable adventure!

Beyond the Bucket List: Unveiling Unique Travel Gems

Forget the over-touristed destinations! Today's travel trend is all about seeking hidden gems and off-the-beaten-path adventures. Here, we unveil some unique places to visit that will make your trip truly unforgettable.

For the Foodie with a Sense of Adventure:

Hunt down truffles in Alba, Italy: This charming town in Piedmont transforms into a haven for gourmands during truffle season. Join an expert hunt for these culinary treasures, and savor their rich flavor in exquisite local dishes.

Embark on a culinary tour through the heart of Vietnam: From the vibrant street food scene of Ho Chi Minh City to the unique flavors of Hoi An, Vietnam offers a delicious adventure for your taste buds. Sign up for a cooking class and learn to prepare the quintessential dishes yourself.

Explore the spice markets of Marrakech, Morocco: Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and aromas of a bustling Moroccan souk. Sample exotic spices, indulge in traditional tagines, and discover the hidden gems tucked away within the labyrinthine alleys.

The Budget Traveler Seeking Cultural Gems:

Uncover the ancient city of Bagan, Myanmar: This archaeological wonderland is dotted with thousands of pagodas and temples, remnants of a once-powerful kingdom. Explore by bike or electric scooter, and witness breathtaking sunrises over the mystical landscape.

Delve into the heart of Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan's Silk Road cities, like Khiva and Bukhara, offer a glimpse into a bygone era. Wander through ancient bazaars, marvel at the intricate tilework adorning mosques, and experience the warm hospitality of the Uzbek people.

Hike the Milford Track in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park: This Great Walk is known for its breathtaking scenery—towering mountains, cascading waterfalls, and serene fiords. The Milford Track offers an affordable way to experience the beauty of New Zealand's wilderness.

Luxury with a Sustainable Twist:

Go glamping on a private island in Belize: Combine eco-consciousness with luxurious amenities on a private island retreat in Belize. Relax in a beachfront cabana, explore the surrounding coral reefs, and participate in conservation efforts that protect the island's delicate ecosystem.

Sail the crystal-clear waters of Raja Ampat, Indonesia: This remote archipelago boasts incredible biodiversity, making it a paradise for divers and nature enthusiasts. Charter a luxurious yacht and explore pristine coral reefs teeming with marine life, all while supporting responsible tourism practices.

Stay in an eco-lodge in the Amazon Rainforest: Immerse yourself in the heart of the Amazon without sacrificing comfort. Eco-lodges offer luxurious accommodations while adhering to sustainable principles. Explore the rainforest canopy with a knowledgable guide, and contribute to the preservation of this vital ecosystem.

This list is merely a starting point for your exploration.  The beauty of travel lies in the unexpected, so embrace the journey and discover your own unique travel gems! 

Beyond the Tourist Trail:

For the traveler seeking unique experiences, there's a whole world beyond the usual tourist hotspots.  Here are some hidden gems waiting to be discovered:

Alba, Italy: Foodies will delight in a truffle hunt in Alba, Italy, during the prized truffle season. Join an expert guide on the hunt for these culinary treasures, learning about the fascinating process of truffle hunting and uncovering these prized ingredients. Savor.

[travelcompany]

Vietnam's Off-Trail Treasures: Discovering Its Stunning Natural Beauty

The Enchantment of Secluded Waterfalls

Venture off the beaten track, and you'll find Vietnam's hidden waterfalls, a symphony of nature's grace. Tucked away in lush landscapes, these secluded cascades offer a serene escape. The rhythmic sounds of water meeting earth create a melody that resonates with the untouched beauty of Vietnam's natural wonders.

Untouched Beaches: A Coastal Haven

Escape the bustling tourist hubs and discover Vietnam's pristine beaches. With stretches of soft sand meeting crystal-clear waters, these coastal havens provide a tranquil retreat. Feel the gentle embrace of sea breezes and witness the sun dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink.

Embracing Serenity Amidst Mountains

Mountain Retreats: Where Tranquility Reigns

For those seeking elevation and solitude, Vietnam's hidden mountain retreats offer an escape into nature's arms. Surrounded by rolling hills and lush greenery, these elevated sanctuaries provide a peaceful haven. Hike through trails adorned with wildflowers, and breathe in the crisp mountain air for a rejuvenating experience.

Flora and Fauna: A Biodiversity Showcase

Explore the hidden corners of Vietnam's diverse ecosystems, home to a plethora of flora and fauna. From rare orchids in the highlands to exotic birds dancing through the treetops, the country's biodiversity is a testament to its commitment to preserving natural wonders.

Navigating Off the Beaten Path

Tips for the Adventurous Explorer

Local Insights: Engage with locals to discover hidden gems known only to those intimately familiar with the area.

Pack Light: Opt for a backpack filled with essentials. The more agile you are, the easier it is to explore off-the-grid locations.

Respect Nature: Leave no trace. Ensure the beauty you encounter remains for future generations by respecting and preserving the environment.

Read More: Vietnam's Off-Trail Treasures: Discovering Its Stunning Natural Beauty

[doanchaoc]

Vietnam: Travel Itineraries & Travel Guides

At first planning a Vietnam travel itinerary seems daunting. There are so many parts of the country that seem interesting and unfortunately most travellers are faced with a time crunch when planning their Vietnam travel itinerary. To help you through the process, we have compiled a series of travel guides on the country as a whole and its cities. The diverse information provided by the itineraries and guides will help you select locations based on your interests and will help fine tune your itinerary. Just scroll through Vietnam Travel blog to find what you need.

The Allure Of Vietnam Situated in South East Asia, Vietnam should be on every traveller’s list because of the rich heritage and history that the country has to offer. The varied terrain of Vietnam makes for a diverse set of experiences. Beaches, islands, caves, rice fields, hiking, etc. are all part of the different facets of the country. While we spent so much time in Vietnam, we still find ourselves being called back. You will find that the country has both sides of the coin. You can enjoy in the lap of luxury or you can head out on a shoestring budget. That is what makes it so alluring.

If you are looking for a comprehensive glimpse of Vietnam, then we would suggest thumbing through our Vietnam Travel Guide. It covers the basics of costs, transportation, packing guides and important attractions. It also helps you catch a glimpse of the culture of the people who live in the country. The Vietnam travel guide however is just one facet to GlobeTrove’s Vietnam travel blog. It’s all about the country in a nutshell.

Where To Stop Along The Way Hanoi

Hanoi is popularly known as the capital of Vietnam. Situated at the North of the country, Hanoi is far from your usual bustling city. While the streets are crowded and busy there is subtle personality that captures the visitor in its net. So whether it is good food or shopping or just history you are after, you will find that Hanoi has it all

Sapa Nestled at the very top of Vietnam lies a small town called Sapa which is famous for its colorful rice fields, hikes, waterfalls and traditional villages. The temperatures of this area are pretty chilly but it doesn’t deter people from visiting Sapa for its beauty cannot be described nor can its peace be underestimated.

Halong Bay Halong bay is situated towards the North of Vietnam and is probably one of the most famous places in the country. The silent ocean lapping at its shores, the multitude of islands that dot the coast and the numerous activities that Halong bay has to offer is drawing more tourists to it every year.

Hoi An Hoi An is a small French colony that is today considered one of the heritage sites of Vietnam. Wandering around the city will give you a great deal of insight on the architecture and the problems that the Vietnamese face because of its proximity to the river. You will find that Hoi An is a city that transforms as the sun sets. It comes alive as the night market opens, food stalls are arranged and lanterns are lit. It is a sight that I will never forget.

Ninh Binh Ninh Binh is popularly known as the Halong Bay on land because the Karst topography resembles the one you see in Halong Bay. Long peaceful boat rides through tunnels and temples/pagodas of various sizes gives you a glimpse into the traditional life of the Vietnamese. The outskirts of the city is calm, off the beaten track but not to hard to get to. Definitely a place where you would want to take your motorbike and ride off to.

Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh is also well known as Saigon and is situated at the south of Vietnam very close to the Mekong delta. It is a popular stop for tourists visiting the area. The hustle and the bustle of the crowded roads takes getting used to but no one seems to mind. In fact it is this same activity that gives Ho Chi Minh the personality that it has become famous for. It presents is an opportunity for growth, for development and a chance to leave the past behind.

Vietnam travel blog has a number of itineraries, guides and articles that can help you plan your trip to perfection. We are constantly working to add to our resources and would love to hear about your experiences and suggestions. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

This post first appeared on (https://www.tumblr.com/vietnams-visa/702884479261442048/vietnam-travel-itineraries-travel-guides?source=share)

[shalomanna]

Ladies! I just got done with the adventure of a lifetime. I spent the past 4 days trekking through the jungle and through the worlds largest cave. it has only been open for tourism for the past 10 years. More people have been to Mt. Everest than have been inside this cave. It can fit the Eiffel Tower, New York Cit’s sky scrapers, the Egyptian pyramids etc. It even has its own eco system! We camped for 3 nights throughout the cave, swam in its lakes/rivers and enjoyed the most unreal scenery. It felt otherworldly, like I was in an avatar movie. I highly recommend checking out the Son Doong Cave trek in Vietnam. It is expensive but worth every penny. Something not a lot of people know about as well, if you’re looking for something off the beaten track.

[thebreakfastgenie]

‘M*A*S*H’ at 50: War Is Hell(arious)

Five decades ago, “M*A*S*H” anticipated today’s TV dramedies, showing that a great comedy could be more than just funny.

“M*A*S*H,” which debuted in September 1972, feels both ancient and current. With Jamie Farr, seated, and, from left, Mike Farrell, David Ogden Stiers, Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, Harry Morgan and William Christopher in a later season.Credit...CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

By James Poniewozik Sept. 16, 2022 Updated 10:59 a.m. ET

The pilot episode of “M*A*S*H,” which aired on Sept. 17, 1972, on CBS, lets you know immediately where and when you are. Sort of. “KOREA 1950,” the opening titles read. “A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.”

The Korean War could indeed seem a century away from 1972, separated by a gulf of cultural change and social upheaval. But as a subject, it was also entirely current, given that America was then fighting another bloody war, in Vietnam. The covert operation “M*A*S*H” pulled off was to deliver a timely satire camouflaged as a period comedy.

The year before, CBS had premiered Norman Lear’s “All in the Family,” a battlefield dispatch from an American living room. But “M*A*S*H” was another level of escalation, sending up the lunacy of war even as Walter Cronkite was still reading the news about it. The caption acknowledged the risk by winking at it: Who, us, making topical commentary?

Today, “M*A*S*H” also feels both like ancient history and entirely current, but for different reasons.

On the one hand, in an era that’s saturated with pop-culture nostalgia yet rarely looks back further than “The Sopranos” or maybe “Seinfeld,” “M*A*S*H” is often AWOL from discussions of TV history. Sure, we know it as a title and a statistic: The 106 million viewers for its 1983 finale is a number unlikely to be equaled by any TV show not involving a kickoff. But it also gets lost in the distant pre-cable mists, treated as a relic of a time with a bygone mass-market TV audience and different (sometimes cringeworthy) social attitudes.

Yet rewatched from 50 years’ distance, “M*A*S*H” is in some ways the most contemporary of its contemporaries. Its blend of madcap comedy and pitch-dark drama — the laughs amplifying the serious stakes, and vice versa — is recognizable in today’s dramedies, from “Better Things” to “Barry,” that work in the DMZ between laughter and sadness.

For 11 seasons, “M*A*S*H” held down that territory, proving that funny is not the opposite of serious.

Alda’s Hawkeye was a forerunner of the modern dramedy antihero.Credit...CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Off the beaten laugh track

The characters serving in the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea were professionals whose vocation was to save lives. But their assignment was to patch up soldiers so that they could return to the front lines and kill other people or get killed themselves. This was the eternal, laugh-till-you-cry joke of “M*A*S*H.”

“M*A*S*H” stepped into, and outside of, a tradition of military sitcoms. “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” and “The Phil Silvers Show” poked fun at the hardships and hustles of life in uniform; “Hogan’s Heroes,” which preceded “M*A*S*H” from 1965 to 1971 on CBS, was about shenanigans in a Nazi P.O.W. camp. But as for the abominations of war, these sitcoms, like the bumbling Sgt. Schultz of “Hogan’s,” saw nothing.

Only three years earlier, CBS had canceled the successful “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” amid controversy over its antiwar stances. But by the early 1970s, even die-hard anticommunists saw Vietnam as a lost cause. Pop culture was changing, too, as evidenced by the success of “All in the Family” and of Robert Altman’s 1970 film “M*A*S*H,” based on a novel by Richard Hooker (the pseudonym of H. Richard Hornberger).

The show’s creators, Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds, imagined a version of the story that was more pointedly political than Altman’s dark-comic film, and certainly more so than Hooker’s cheerfully raunchy book.

The staff of the 4077th, mostly draftees, channeled their frustration with their situation into pranks, drinking, adultery and gallows humor. The insubordinate-in-chief was Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce (Alan Alda), who was dead-serious about surgery and dead-sarcastic about every other aspect of the wartime experience.

Casting Alda as the ensemble’s moral center and chaos agent was key. He could caper on set like the love child of Bugs Bunny and Groucho Marx (Hawkeye would imitate the latter while making rounds with patients). He gave Hawkeye’s flirtations with nurses a bantering lightness (though from a half-century’s distance, they can come across more like straight-up harassment).

But Alda also conveyed Hawkeye’s exhausted spleen, which the doctor poured into letters to his father in Maine, a frequent episode-framing device: “We work fast and we’re not dainty,” he writes in the pilot. “We try to play par surgery on this course. Par is a live patient.”

“M*A*S*H” borrowed bits from its sitcom predecessors. It was a workplace comedy, with a goofy boss, Lt. Col. Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson), and uptight antagonists, like the gung-ho lovers Maj. Frank Burns (Larry Linville) and Maj. Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan (Loretta Swit). The staff wrestled with bureaucracy and gamed the system, as when the hyperefficient company clerk, Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly (Gary Burghoff) mailed a jeep home one part at a time.

But the zaniness came with constant reminders that the realities of war could intrude at any moment, like the incoming choppers ferrying the wounded. The producers pushed CBS to dump the laugh track — what’s a studio audience doing in the middle of a war zone? — and eventually compromised on shutting off the yuk machine during operating-room scenes.

The show earned its belly laughs and its quiet. Even the sitcom-standard high jinks — dealing with the black market for medicine, inventing a fictional officer in order to donate his pay to an orphanage — were forms of protest.

In Season 1’s “Sometimes You Hear the Bullet,” Hawkeye meets a writer friend, doing research on the war, who later turns up on the operating table with a mortal wound. The executive producer Burt Metcalfe told the Hollywood Reporter that a CBS executive said, at the end of the season, that the episode “ruined ‘M*A*S*H.’”

The show would run for another 10 years.

“M*A*S*H” shows its age in various ways, including in a subplot in which Farr’s Klinger sought discharge from the Army by dressing in women’s clothes.Credit...CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Comedy meets dramedy

“From any angle, ‘M*A*S*H’ is the season’s most interesting new entry,” the critic John J. O’Connor wrote in The Times in September 1972. Audiences came around in Season 2, after CBS moved the show to a better time slot. It spent most of the next decade in the ratings Top 10 (even as its own timeline hopscotched among different points from 1950 to 1953).

The early seasons worked in a vein of joke-heavy dark comedy, branching out into more story forms and social issues. A Season 2 episode involved a gay patient, decades before Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, who had been beaten up by other soldiers in his unit. (“M*A*S*H” had its share of gay-tinged jokes — as well as a long-running subplot about Jamie Farr’s Cpl. Max Klinger trying to win a discharge by dressing as a woman — but they usually played as banter rather than gay panic.)

Then, in the Season 3 finale, the series exploded a land mine. Stevenson had signed a deal with NBC, and Henry was written off in affectionate sitcom style, with goodbyes and a party. In the episode’s closing moments, Radar — a farm kid who saw Henry as a father figure — walks into the operating room to read a bulletin: “Lt. Col. Henry Blake’s plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. It spun in. There were no survivors.”

Henry’s death kicked off the series’s peak era, in which it evolved from a lacerating comedy into something closer to what we would recognize today as dramedy.

The new commanding officer, Col. Sherman Potter, was a career Army man, played by Harry Morgan, once Jack Webb’s stoic sidekick in the revival of “Dragnet.” (Morgan played a crackpot general earlier in “M*A*S*H.”) More competent and less malleable than Henry, Potter had a gravitas befitting a show that was growing in ambition.

The Kafkaesque absurdism deepened, too, as in “The Late Captain Pierce,” in which Hawkeye is declared dead in a bureaucratic mix-up and tries to exit the war on a morgue bus. “I’m tired of death,” he says. “I’m tired to death. If you can’t lick it, join it.”

The experimental episode formats became more daring. “Point of View” is shot from the vantage of a wounded soldier whose throat injury renders him mute. In a repeated format, a reporter visits the 4077th for the new medium of television. The unit’s chaplain, Father Francis Mulcahy (William Christopher), described seeing surgeons cut into patients in the winter cold. “Steam rises from the body,” he says. “And the doctor will warm himself over the open wound. Could anyone look on that and not feel changed?”

Just as important, the show evolved its supporting characters, especially Margaret, spoofed as a harpy and sex object in the early seasons. In a Season 5 episode, she vents to her subordinate nurses about the pressures that have made her into the stickler they know. Eventually, she becomes a more complex foil and ally.

Swit and Larry Linville in the first season of “M*A*S*H.” Her character, Margaret, became more complex as the show went on.Credit...CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

The hilarious but one-dimensional Frank even earns some sympathy before his eventual exit, as Margaret throws him over for a fiancé. He’s replaced by the snobby, intelligent Boston Brahmin Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), while Hawkeye’s partner-in-pranks Capt. “Trapper” John McIntyre (Wayne Rogers) makes way for the dry, laid-back family man Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell).

Even in the matured version of “M*A*S*H,” a lot has aged badly. A largely male story, it subscribed to the kind of counterculturalism that saw sexual freedom mostly as license for men. For much of the show’s run, various minor nurse characters were so interchangeable that they were repeatedly named “Able” and “Baker” — literally, “A” and “B” in an older version of the military phonetic alphabet.

Ironically, Alda — an outspoken Hollywood feminist and co-star of “Free to Be … You and Me” — became a disparaging shorthand for “sensitive men” among gender reactionaries in the “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche” era. Late in the show’s run, “M*A*S*H” intermittently interrogated its own attitudes toward women, as in “Inga,” a Season 7 episode with Mariette Hartley as a Swedish doctor whose brilliance Hawkeye finds threatening.

Those later years of “M*A*S*H” could be didactic, and few fans would consider them among its best. The camp got cleaner and the hairstyles suspiciously modern. The show’s heart got as soft and the stories as shaggy as B.J.’s mustache. But the final seasons are interesting as a model for how TV would find ways to tell stories pitched between comedy and drama.

In the movie-length finale, which aired on Feb. 28, 1983, the laugh track, which had been scaled back over the seasons, was gone entirely. And while the scenario — the war finally ended, after three real-life years and 11 TV seasons — yielded the expected sentimental goodbyes and even a wedding, the core story was as dark as any the series had ever done.

Hawkeye is in a psychiatric hospital after a traumatic experience whose repressed memory his psychiatrist, Maj. Sidney Freedman (Allan Arbus), is trying to tease out of him. Hawkeye recalls a carefree day trip to the beach, a bottle being passed around on the bus ride home. Then the booze becomes a plasma bottle; the bus had taken on a group of civilians and wounded soldiers. One Korean woman holds a chicken, whose noises threaten to expose the stopped bus to a passing enemy patrol. Hawkeye urges her to quiet the bird, and she ends up smothering it.

Finally — as you will never forget if you’ve seen the episode — the memory clears: The “chicken” becomes a baby. “You son of a bitch,” Hawkeye says, “Why did you make me remember that?”

Is it melodramatic? Sure. A downer? Of course. It is also, on rewatching, a striking bit of filmmaking for an ’80s sitcom. Hawkeye’s memory unfolds with the uncanny clarity of a dawning nightmare. No music cues you in to the horror; the images just grow more unsettling and the scene more grim. It is, in a way, like the journey of “M*A*S*H” over the years: A romp in the midst of a war zone goes, bit by bit, deeper into night and the heart of darkness.

And 106 million people came along for the ride. A year and a half later, Ronald Reagan, a Cold Warrior who was elected partly on a backlash to post-Vietnam sentiment, won a second term in a landslide. Yet more Americans than voted in that election tuned in to watch a big old liberal antiwar TV show.

After ‘M*A*S*H’

For most of its 11 seasons, “M*A*S*H” was one of TV’s most popular comedies. But its style went mostly unimitated for decades.

It’s not really until the 2000s that you see its heirs emerge. The British version of “The Office” shares its ability to turn from blistering comedy to seriousness. (Stephen Merchant, a creator, has talked about the influence of watching “M*A*S*H” episodes without laugh tracks in Britain.) The mockumentary format of the American “Office” and other comedies hark back to the news-interview episodes (while Dwight Schrute is a kind of Frank Burns of the paper-business wars).

Cable and streaming especially became fertile ground for finding laughs in grim situations. “Rescue Me” made trauma-based comedy in a post-9/11 firehouse, “Getting On” in a hospital geriatric wing. The Netflix prison series “Orange Is the New Black” was as thoroughly female as “M*A*S*H” was dominantly male, but it brought anarchic ensemble humor to a deadly dangerous setting.

In Hawkeye, meanwhile, you can see a forerunner of the modern-day dramedy antihero, charismatic but damaged and driven by anger. As a kid watching “M*A*S*H” reruns religiously, I loved Hawkeye’s rascally wit, his principles and his pranks. (One of my elementary-school music pageants had us sing the theme song, “Suicide Is Painless.” The ’70s were complicated.)

Rewatching episodes as an adult, I enjoy all that still. But he’s also kind of a jerk! He’s self-righteous, attention-seeking, snide and, if you’re on his bad side, a bit of a bully. In a Season 5 episode, Sidney Freedman diagnosed him succinctly: “Anger turned inward is depression. Anger turned sideways is Hawkeye.”

This describes not a few difficult modern dramedy protagonists, human and otherwise. In one of the best episodes of “BoJack Horseman,” built entirely around the self-destructive equine protagonist’s eulogy at a funeral, you can hear the echo of the episode “Hawkeye,” in which Alda’s character, concussed in a jeep crash, spends nearly the full half-hour monologuing manically at a perplexed Korean family, to stave off unconsciousness.

Making serious comedy is a feat of balance, and some might argue that the legacy of “M*A*S*H” was to give sitcoms license to be self-important, unfunny bummers. In a 2009 episode of the TV-biz sendup “30 Rock” — a proponent of the joke-packed school of entertainment if ever there was one — Alda made a tongue-in-cheek version of that critique himself.

Playing the biological father of the NBC executive Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), he witnesses Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), a performer on the sketch-show-within-a-show, crying over the memory of being too “chicken” to dissect a frog in high school, which he’d covered up with a phony story of having been asked by a drug dealer to stab a snitch named “Baby.”

“A guy crying about a chicken and a baby?” Alda’s character says. “I thought this was a comedy show.”

Of course, if you got the joke, it was precisely because “M*A*S*H” did its job. It proved, memorably, that a great comedy could cut deep and leave scars. A half-century later, “M*A*S*H” has had the last laugh, or lack thereof.

[vietnammotorcycle]

Explore Vietnam by Motorcycle: Best Routes, Tips, and Highlights

Looking for an adventure? Want to get off the beaten track and see the real Vietnam? If it sounds like you then Vietnam Motorcycle Tours can help. We now offer motorcycle tours all around Vietnam where you may either ride as a passenger or on your own so that you too may appreciate Vietnam just as the millions of motorbikers of our great nation do. Join us for a magnificent journey as we guide you through the local history, delicacies, villages, home stays and beautiful people of Vietnam.

[heretherebedork]

The Eclipse looks like it's going to have some focus on the teachers and other school staff as well as on the students. It seems like Teacher Sani (the new young one) at least will have her own arc. That made we wonder - how common is that in university and high school set BL, either in Thailand or internationally? The few university/high school set shows I've seen so far have almost completely ignored the teachers.

Thanks!

Not super common at all, honestly. Teachers and professors are mostly used as a backdrop rather than a real full character in the story.

Honestly, this is an even better question for @absolutebl and not just because they like high school BLs even more than I do.

But, you are right, teachers and professors don't tend to the be the focus at the same time as the students. It's not never happened but it feels very unusual for Thailand.

There was a bit of it in Light on Me from Korea? And we're getting hints in Minato Shouji Coin Laundry but it's really just bits and pieces.

I mean, my favorite HIStory is Right or Wrong and that's literally a professor/student relationship so I know Taiwan has done it but this kind of arc, where the teacher arc is related to but not entirely intertwined? I dunno.

Vietnam hasn't really done anything with this yet to my knowledge or at least not in the ones I've watched. So no data there.

It does feel unusual but I might also argue that The Eclipse feels like Not Me in that it's a step off the BL beaten track, it's a BL but with a twist of lemon, in this case a lemon and lime twist of teacher authoritarian plot and deep political commentary to spice up the romances.