8.2 /10 1 Votes
8.2/10 Country of origin United States First episode date 27 April 1988 | 8.2/10 Theme music composer Holland-Dozier-Holland Original language(s) English Final episode date 22 July 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Dana DelanyNan WoodsMichael BoatmanMarg HelgenbergerRobert PicardoTim RyanConcetta TomeiBrian WimmerJeff KoberChloe WebbMegan GallagherNancy GilesNed VaughnTroy EvansRicki Lake Opening theme "Reflections"Performed by The Supremes Cast |
China beach 1988 1991 opening and closing theme
China Beach is an American dramatic television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by American and Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. The ABC TV drama aired for four seasons, from 1988 to 1991.
Contents
- China beach 1988 1991 opening and closing theme
- china beach tv intro
- Overview
- Cast
- Episode list
- Reception
- Tie in novel
- Syndication
- Home media release
- References

china beach tv intro
Overview

Created by William Broyles, Jr. and John Sacret Young, the series looks at the Vietnam War from unique perspectives: those 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 the Wells-produced series, ER.

Set in a Vietnam locale nicknamed "Bac My An Beach," at the 510th Evacuation Hospital and R&R (the "Five-and-Dime" Rest & Recreation) facility, 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 U.S., 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 very gritty view of the experience there.

The show is based on the book Home Before Morning (1983) written by 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 TV show was cancelled before it could fully address McMurphy's PTSD issues. Van Devanter died in 2002.
Cast

Episode list
Over four seasons from 1988 to 1991, the series aired 62 episodes.
Reception

China Beach was a critically lauded, but poorly rated series. ABC stuck 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. The title sequence theme song was "Reflections" by Diana Ross & the Supremes (although several episodes instead used "We Gotta Get out of This Place" by Eric Burdon with Katrina & The Waves).
Tie-in novel
John Sacret Young stated at the Paley Center prior to the show's October 2013 release on DVD that he had written a follow-up novel titled Reflections where Colleen, now in her sixties and recently widowed, returns to Vietnam and reconnects with a retired Dr. Dick and venture capitalist K.C. Koloski. Young also hoped to adapt it into a TV movie.
Syndication
China Beach debuted in rerun Syndication on the women-focused Lifetime on November 4, 1991.
Home media release
In December 2012 it was announced that the series, among the most-requested television shows not available through either VHS or DVD following its broadcast run, would be issued on DVD in a box set (including new interviews with cast members and various bonus features) and released on April 15, 2013 through StarVista Entertainment (affiliated with TimeLife). The collection includes 302 songs heard during the series. To mark the show's 25th anniversary, a 21-disc collector's set was released October 1, 2013.
Music rights long delayed the release on DVD. More than 250 songs were licensed; seventeen could not be, and were either deleted or replaced.