China Beach
China Beach is an American war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe[1] beach in the city of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by American and Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War.[2][3][4][5] The series originally ran on ABC for four seasons from April 27, 1988 to July 22, 1991.
For other uses, see China Beach (disambiguation).China Beach
Home Before Morning
by Lynda Van Devanter
"Reflections"
Performed by Diana Ross & the Supremes
United States
English
4
62 (list of episodes)
John Sacret Young
- Geno Escarrega
- Mimi Leder
- John Wells
- Fred Gerber
- Carol Flint
- John Lugar
- Lydia Woodward
47–48 minutes
- Sacret, Inc.
- Warner Bros. Television
April 27, 1988 –
July 22, 1991
Overview[edit]
Created by William Broyles Jr. and John Sacret Young, the series looks at the Vietnam War from the perspectives of the women, military personnel and civilians who were present during the conflict. John Wells took over most of the series beginning with the second season and many of the show's cast members appeared later on another Wells production, ER.
Set at the fictitious 510th Evacuation Hospital and R&R facility (the "Five-and-Dime"), the series' cast of characters includes US Army doctors and nurses, officers, soldiers, Red Cross volunteers and civilian personnel (American, French, and Vietnamese). The series also features the experiences of the characters when they return to the United States, either on leave or at the end of their tours of duty. The show does not shy away from showing the brutality of war; it provides a gritty view of the experience and its aftermath.
The show was inspired in part by the book Home Before Morning (1983) written by the former U.S. Army Nurse Lynda Van Devanter. The show's character Nurse Colleen McMurphy roughly follows Van Devanter's experiences as a nurse in Vietnam. The book takes the reader from Van Devanter's wish to serve her country through the adventure she thought her deployment to Vietnam would be, her culture shock upon returning to "the States", and her struggles with PTSD. The show was cancelled before it could fully address McMurphy's PTSD issues. Van Devanter died in 2002.[6]
Production[edit]
The title sequence theme song was "Reflections" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (the episode "Phoenix" instead used "We Gotta Get out of This Place" by Eric Burdon with Katrina & The Waves).[7]
Reception[edit]
China Beach was a critically lauded, but poorly rated series. ABC persisted with the show for four 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 scheduling, Dana Delany was eligible for (and ultimately won) a Best Actress Emmy Award 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.
Possible follow-up novel[edit]
John Sacret Young stated prior to the show's October 2013 DVD release that he was working on a follow-up novel, titled Reflections, in which Colleen, now in her 60s and recently widowed, returned to Vietnam and reconnected with the retired Dick Richard and venture capitalist K.C. Koloski. Young had also hoped to adapt it into a TV movie.[11] However, the novel was never published.
The show was inspired in part by a 1983 memoir by Lynda Van Devanter:
Two additional memoirs by medical personnel stationed at the actual China Beach:
Fiction: