Playa de China

China Beach was a great show and I can't believe that the series has not been put on DVD. We can get so many shows that are mediocre with no problem. I hope the executives realize what a gem they have and release it for everyone to see.

I watched this show when I was in middle school and high school. I would love to be able to watch it again as an adult, and as a history teacher. I know that much of it is not realistic, but there is no denying the emotion. There were so many scenes that just pulled at your heart.

I hope soon we will be able to enjoy the entire series on DVD.

Although I'm a 25 year old Israeli guy, born after the Vietnam war was over, and halfway around the world, this series touched me in a way most dramas didn't. Perhaps it was Dana Delaney's excellent dramatic acting, or the music, or any of the wonderful features of the talented crew that made this beautiful series possible, but I get the feeling that although I like new drama series like ER or The West Wing, I feel that John Wells has learned well, but not enough. China Beach had a certain something that other drama series did not. I'm no expert, so I can't put my finger on it, but whatever it was, I haven't seen it since, and I suspect I'll never see it again.

I have been reliving "China Beach" the past year or so on cable TV, and I must say, the experience has been just as moving the second time around. I cannot speak of "China Beach" without using superlatives: 1) My all-time favorite TV show; 2) Easily the most underrated TV show ever; 3) The all-time best performance by an actress in TV history (Dana Delaney as Colleen); 4) The most nuanced, complex, intimate and believable development of a TV character in history (again, Dana as Colleen); 5) The three most loaded, gut-wrenching, revealing, and well-acted words ever uttered by a TV character {"Don't 'Colleen' me!" by you-know-who). Of course, there were many other great performances on the show, and the subject matter has never been so intimately portrayed. However, Dana's performance will haunt my soul forever.

I was eleven when I started watching this show, and it left an indelible impression on me. I was watching a lot of shows back then that I was probably too young to watch(!), and there was a lot of stuff I didn't get, but I knew, even as a middle schooler, that "China Beach" was something special. A few months ago I started borrowing videotaped episodes from a friend (thank you, History Channel!), and re-experiencing it. While, at times, it's cheesier than I remembered it (and that was mostly just in some season 1 episodes), you can't do better than Marg Helgenberger and Dana Delany and Jeff Kober as K.C., McMurphy, and Dodger (respectively). The dialogue is great, but there's so much said in just a look, and that, my friends, is acting. There was really something special going on in that show. I think it was partly the subject matter and the shooting everything(?) on location (as opposed to a sound stage -- I know it wasn't shot in Vietnam ;)), but it felt so deceptively REAL... Anyway, I couldn't love it more, and I've never seen another show like it. My thanks to the producers and writers and crew (and, of course, the actors!) -- you all should be really proud of what you did.

This superbly crafted drama was too good for American television, and even though highly rated at 8.2, was prematurely ended. It amazes me that dreck like Grey's Anatomy drags on and on (for the life of me I can't figure that out and having worked at one of the nations top medical centers for years can attest it is rife with inaccuracies) with its sophomoric "office romances." The problem with that show is not the actors who are a talented bunch - it is the writing. China Beach was just one of those shows you awaited with anticipation because the character development was so good and the material was universal regardless of whether it was a Nam drama or medical series - it was just beautifully done. Oh well, mediocrity prevails and excellence is shunned.