China Beach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the San Francisco, California beach of the same name, see Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
| China Beach | |
|---|---|
 China Beach Cast |
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| Genre | Drama |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Creator(s) | John Wells and John Sacret Young |
| Starring | Dana Delany Nan Woods |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | April 26, 1988–July 22, 1991 |
| No. of episodes | 64 |
| IMDb profile | |
China Beach was the name of an American award-winning and highly acclaimed dramatic television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to a beach in Vietnam. The ABC TV drama aired for three years (four TV seasons), from 1988 to 1991.
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[edit] Overview of television series
Created by William Broyles, Jr. and John Sacret Young, the series looks at the Vietnam War from a unique perspective: that of the women, military and civilian, who were present during the conflict. John Wells took over most of the series beginning with the second season -- many of the show's cast members would later appear on the later Wells-produced series, ER.
Set in a Vietnam locale called China Beach, at the 510th Evacuation Hospital and R&R (the "Five-and-Dime" Rest & Recreation) facility, the cast of characters include US Army doctors and nurses, officers, soldiers, Red Cross volunteers, and civilian personnel (American, French, and Vietnamese). Very often, however, the series features the experiences of the characters when returning to the U.S., either on leave or at the end of their tour of duty.
The show did not shy away from showing the gruesomeness of war, providing a very gritty view of the experience there.
The producers of the show sought out advice from former Army nurses stationed in Vietnam, notably Diane Carlson Evans.
Unusual story-telling methods were sometimes used: scenes presented in reverse chronology; insertion of animated cartoons to express a character's state of mind; alternating between interviews with former military nurses and scripted scenes; and a visit by the cast to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C..
China Beach was a critically lauded but poorly rated series. ABC stuck with the show for 4 seasons, but the final season was put on hiatus in fall 1990 and did not air its finale until July 22, 1991. As a result of the strange scheduling, Dana Delany was eligible for (and ultimately won) a Best Actress Emmy in the fall of 1992, a year after the series broadcast its final episode and over a year and a half after many of the scenes were filmed.
[edit] Cast
Dana Delany - Lt. Colleen McMurphy
Nan Woods - Cherry White, 1988-1989
Michael Boatman - Pvt. Samuel Beckett
Marg Helgenberger - Karen Charlene "K.C." Koloski
Robert Picardo - Dr. Dick Richard
Tim Ryan - Capt. Natch Austen, 1988
Concetta Tomei - Maj. Lila Garreau
Brian Wimmer - Cpl. Boonie Lanier
Jeff Kober - Sgt. Evan "Dodger" Winslow
Chloe Webb - Laurette Barber, 1988
Megan Gallagher - Wayloo Marie Holmes, 1988-1989
Nancy Giles - Pvt. Frankie Bunsen
Ned Vaughn - Cpl. Jeff Hyers, 1989
Troy Evans - Sgt. Bob Pepper, 1989-1991
Ricki Lake - Holly Pelegrino, 1989-1990
[edit] Trivia
- The title sequence theme song was "Reflections" by Diana Ross & the Supremes, though several episodes used "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" by Katrina and the Waves with Eric Burdon instead.
- Nancy Sinatra made a guest appearance in a 1988 episode, recreating her concerts she performed for U.S. troops in 1966 and 1967.
[edit] Beach in Vietnam
China Beach (My Khe) is also a 30km-long beach area in Vietnam 7km from the city of Danang.
