# China Beach (1988)

> A 1967 U.S. Army base, bar and hospital near Danang becomes a refuge for wounded soldiers and the damaged people who tend them.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2175

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 64
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, war
- Created by: John Wells, John Sacret Young
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Dana Delany, Marg Helgenberger, Michael Boatman, Troy Evans, Nancy Giles, Jeff Kober, Robert Picardo, Concetta Tomei
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094433/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: bittersweet, wistful, gritty, reflective, melancholic

## Synopsis

China Beach (1988-1991) is an American war drama series created by John Wells and John Sacret Young for ABC. Set in 1960s Vietnam near Danang, it follows Army nurse Colleen McMurphy (Dana Delany), a lovely but damaged woman who anchors the cast alongside KC Koloski (Marg Helgenberger), Samuel Beckett (Michael Boatman) and Dodger Winslow (Jeff Kober). The engine of the series is the struggle to make sense of life and death in a place where wounded soldiers, bourbon and gunfire converge at a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on the coast. Each episode moves between the hospital wards, the bar and the surrounding battlefield, following characters who try to hold onto their humanity while the war grinds on. Running for four seasons and sixty-four episodes, it is a serialized ensemble drama with a steady emotional throughline rather than a case-of-the-week format. The tone is wistful, raw and reflective, with bittersweet moments of humor and friendship sitting beside real grief. Fans of M*A*S*H, Tour of Duty and Band of Brothers will find resonance in its portrait of wartime camaraderie and its unsentimental look at the human cost of conflict.

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