When the show was a comedy, essentially Frank/Hotlips v. Hawkeye/Trapper, it was watchable compared to the other drek that was 1970's sitcoms. As it became the St. Hawkeye show and far more concerned with messages than with comedy, it became unwatchable. Keep in mind how preachy and unfunny 1970's sitcoms used to be. Remember "One Day at a Time" and "Maude" among other left wing propaganda pices? The truly funny stuff fromt that time period is still funny today..."Sanford and Son" and "The Carol Burnett Show" come to mind. "All in the Family" was probably the best of the socially conscious comedies, and if you watch the reruns on TV Land, you soon notice how shrill and flat the typical episodes are. There is a reason that 50's and 60's and 80's and 90's comedies are all over cable in syndication , but 70's stuff is pretty scarce.
As for the movie, it sucked just like everything Robert Altman ever put out. He is the most over rated director in Hollywood, ever. I find his pictures irritating and unwatchable. I'd rather sit through a "Golden Girls" marathon than watch one of his cinematic turds.