>>>As for the series, it must have had something going for it, as it ran for longer than the Korean War. I quite liked it and I think all hands in the UK watched it, just as in USA.
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>>De gustibus... for me, what I saw was just so far below the movie. A series like any other.
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>The TV show changed a lot over time and, in my view, got better and better, as it became less silly. (Still funny, but not so silly.) It was one of the first shows (maybe the only one) to handle well the departure of a number of leads and transition new characters in. That allowed the remaining characters to grow.

Had I had a chance to watch it when it was running, I'd probably have liked it. Now seeing it so late, it just didn't connect with the movie anymore. It looked like they were just going through the motions - pretty much like any other sitcom. It's just the tired eye of the beholder, that's all.