China Beach

Synopsis

Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes, dead and alive, try to make sense of life and death in between bourbon, bullets and battles.

First Air Date: 1988-04-26

Last Air Date: 1991-07-22

Number of Seasons: 4

Number of Episodes: 64

Created By: John Wells, John Sacret Young

Networks: ABC

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Dana Delany as Colleen McMurphy
Marg Helgenberger as KC Koloski
Michael Boatman as Samuel Beckett
Robert Picardo as Dick Richard
Concetta Tomei as Lila Garreau
Brian Wimmer as Boonie Lanier
Jeff Kober as Dodger Winslow
Nancy Giles as Frankie Bunsen
Troy Evans as Bob Pepper
Nan Woods as Cherry White

Seasons

Season 1 (1988) - (8 Episodes)

Season 2 (1988) - (17 Episodes)

Season 3 (1989) - (22 Episodes)

Season 4 (1990) - (17 Episodes)

Season 1 (1988)

No overview available for this season.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: China Beach (1) (1988-04-26)

It's November 1967 and nurse Colleen McMurphy faces the last week of her tour of duty in Vietnam, dealing as usual with the dying boys, primitive conditions, and the sexual pressure from pilot Natch Austin. USO singers Georgia Lee and Laurette Barber arrive to entertain the troops in the base's new R&R center. Brand new Red Cross volunteer Cherry White also arrives, determined to find her brother, a marine no one can locate.
Ep. 2: China Beach (2) (1988-04-26)

McMurphy decides that she can't leave China Beach even though she is eligible to go home. Cherry and Laurette arrive- Cherry to look for her brother whom her family lost contact with and Laurette as a USO back up singer who gets promoted to lead when the lead singer can't cope with the war.
Ep. 3: Home (1988-04-27)

Laurette auditions local entertainers to fill in the act and McMurphy struggles to overcome her feelings when a Viet Cong woman who was responsible for blowing up a friend is brought into the hospital for treatment.
Ep. 4: Hot Spell (1988-05-04)

KC agrees to ask about Cherry's brother as she sets up a deal to buy an antique vase. Laurette prepares to perform for visiting brass. Lila, KC, Laurette, McMurphy and Cherry share confidences as they wait out a mortar attack together.
Ep. 5: Somewhere Over the Radio (1988-05-11)

Lila, Cherry and Laurette find themselves pinned down with a combat squad whose leader is not dealing with reality. Back at China Beach, KC and a frightened Boonie prepare to mount a rescue mission. Dr. Richard is injured just before he's scheduled to leave for R&R in Hawaii with Beth Ann.
Ep. 6: Waiting for Beckett (1988-05-18)

Cherry is taken in by a deserter who claims to know her brother, and who is pursued by a determined office from the CID. Laurette and Boonie try to help a stressed out Beckett get some sleep.
Ep. 7: Brothers (1988-06-01)

Laurette faces an important audition with laryngitis. Beckett battles the pressure of racial prejudice and financial coercion when he discovers someone has been using the body bags in his GRU. Dr. Richard returns from R&R in Hawaii disillusioned by the perceived changes in his wife. Dodger finally finds Rick, Cherry's long-lost brother.
Ep. 8: Chao Ong (1988-06-08)

Despite distractions, McMurphy and Natch finally get together. Laurette gets a chance to join another, bigger USO tour. McMurphy gets blamed for a body that disappears on her shift.