Introduction
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.
Outline
Beckett trains a Black soldier demoted to Graves Registration, meeting another soldier named Fluke who preaches solidarity and brotherhood. However, he finds himself party to a drug-smuggling operation when he discovers the two soldiers are loading body bags with drugs. Dr. Richard returns from R&R despondent and convinced his wife has changed. Dodger gets a lead on locating Cherry’s brother Rick, but warns Cherry about following him. She and McMurphy disregard Dodger’s warning, encountering Rick running a Da Nang opium den. He fails to recognize Cherry while in a drug-induced haze. McMurphy returns the next day and admonishes him for driving Cherry to Vietnam to find him. Laurette gets laryngitis on the eve of a big audition with a talent agent. Boonie and Lila attempt to save it by surreptitiously playing a radio recording of Laurette’s singing, only for the audition to go awry when the track slows and speeds at random. Beckett confronts Fluke and refuses to allow the drug smuggling through his morgue. Fluke accepts, as he has found a better deal with a white pilot, but his partner pays the ultimate price.
China Beach Series
You can find a full index and overview of China Beach here.
Production & Filming Details
- Release Date: 01 June 1988.
- Running Time: 46-47 minutes.
- Rating: Unknown.
- Country: US.
- Language: English.
Video Link
