China Beach

I haven't seen the series since it first was on ABC. I tried to watch every week and was angry when they canceled it, because it was a great series.I recently purchased a copy of the pilot episode on VHS tape (China Beach)and once again was reminded how well the series was put together. Like many others I want to own all of the series on DVD and hope that chance will come. Dana Delany was outstanding in this role and touches the heart. Through her you see what it is like to see young men dying or dealing with terrible, life altering injuries and how hopeless she feels when she can not save them. Yet she knows the important part she plays to those dying boys as the voice and touch that represents the mothers, wives, lovers, and sisters of those who are dying far from home. They are not dying alone when she is there. Others in the cast are outstanding as well. The Gal that played Cherry the donut girl, and the back up singer turned lead, when the pretty one can't stay well enough to sing. She came to meet the boys-a-rama ,but soon was doing much more to touch the hearts of those at war. This is not a drama about the fighting in the field, but about the nurses and doctors in the field and the soldiers that go through their hospital. This is not Mash in Vietnam! This is a serious drama that will have you crying for all those dead and wounded soldiers wasted on battlefields around the other side of the world fighting an unpopular war. Each deals with the stress in their own way, but you can not watch this series without it touching you deeply and emotionally. If you lived during the Vietnam years then this will bring back the emotions of those times. If for no other reason this series should be put on DVD to honor the nurses, Doctors, entertainers, and donut girls that tried to bring a touch of home to the troops in Vietnam. To those who were wounded and survived and the many who did not this series should be available and remembered. Tour of Duty also should be on DVD and is excellent companion piece to show what the fighting grunts on the ground went through. Tour of duty is scheduled to be released on DVD this summer. Now Give us China Beach!

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.

This is the popular and much acclaimed "China Beach" TV series. Dana Delany has the role of her life playing Colleen McMurphy, a dedicated triage nurse in Vietnam. This is not a war action movie, but rather a drama about the lives of Vietnam soldiers and the nurses, Red Cross "Donut Dollies", and USO entertainers who are there for them. Dana Delaney is stunning in the role of McMurphy -- this alone would make this a classic. In addition, the deep respect and understanding shown for the Vietnam GI's sets this apart from most of the other Vietnam movies. This is a movie that people who weren't in Vietnam should watch to get a better appreciation for the men and women who served there. For those who were there, this movie is a token of respect and appreciation for your service.

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.

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.