China Beach is an American television drama series created by William Broyles, Jr. and John Sacret Young and set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War which looks at the war from a unique perspective: that of the women, military personnel and civilians, who were present during the conflict.
The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam, which was nicknamed "China Beach" by foreigners.
The series aired in the USA on ABC from 27 April, 1988 to 22 July, 1991. There are 62 hour-long episodes in four seasons.
China Beach originally aired in South Africa on M-Net in the early 1990s. Exact broadcast dates of the original run of the show are not available. The series later aired on SABC3. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 4 premiered on SABC3 on Thursday 15 March 2012, at 09h50. New episodes broadcast daily, on weekdays. There are 17 episodes in the fourth and final season.
Synopsis
Caught in the whirlwind of the Vietnam War, three women fight to maintain their sanity amid the carnage as each, in her own way, supports the United States' troops in this riveting drama chronicling unsung heroines of the war.
Rather than focusing on the battle scenes that made up most other portrayals of the war, this show looked at the everyday lives of the people sent to serve their country.
The doctors, nurses, soldiers and even USO entertainers stationed at the base must try to come to terms with the horrors and stresses of the war around them.
Not all of them succeed.
It's hard for nurses to be taken seriously, and this group finds it harder than normal to do their job. What complicates things a little for them is that they're based in Vietnam during the middle of the Vietnam War.
China Beach followed the lives of the nurses, doctors and other support staff on a base in Vietnam in the middle of a war, which they don't understand; it's hard enough for them to understand themselves.
The show launched Dana Delany's career. The emotions she portrayed touched many generations, regardless of whether they were affected by Vietnam or not.
This popular show lasted four short seasons, but it did much for the drama genre during that time.
The popular theme music, "Reflections", was a hit from 1968 by Diana Ross and the Supremes.
The series won a Golden Globe for Best TV Series - Drama in 1990. Dana Delaney also won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy in 1989 and 1992.
It also picked up an Emmy for Marg Helgenberger in 1990 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Seasons
Note: these details are for the run of the show on SABC3 only - broadcast dates for the original run on M-Net are not available.
Season 1 (6 episodes)
Premiere: 9 January 2012 | Finale: 16 January 2012 | Weekdays, 09h50
Season 2 (17 episodes)
Premiere: 17 January 2012 | Finale: 10 February 2012 | Weekdays, 09h50
Season 3 (22 episodes)
Premiere: 13 February 2012 | Finale: 14 March 2012 | Weekdays, 09h50
Season 4 (17 episodes)
Premiere: 15 March 2012 | Finale: 6 April 2012 | Weekdays, 09h50