tek's rating: ½

China Beach, on ABC
IMDb; Retro Junk; TV Tropes; Wikipedia

It's about an American base during the Vietnam War, an R&R facility along with a medical unit. Absolutely brilliant writing and acting, great characters and stories. I just don't know what to say about this show... I mean, I really want to say a great deal about it, but I just don't know where to begin. Speaking of which, the show kind of seemed out of order, itself. At least when I watched it on the History Channel, not having had the chance to see it when it was originally on ABC. At some point it seemed to leap back in time to like a year or more before the series began. Also there were always episodes showing various points in the future, after the war. It was really pretty hard to follow, but well worth the effort. You get to know the characters fairly well, and care about them. Some seriously quality stuff. But it could be pretty emotionally draining, so as good as it was, I'm not likely to want to watch it much, again. Which is why my rating isn't as high as maybe it should be. Anyway... some of the characters played by familiar actors include Colleen McMurphy (Dana Delany), K.C. Koloski (Marg Helgenberger), Dick Richard (Robert Picardo), Samuel Beckett (Michael Boatman, who I know from Spin City), Evan 'Dodger' Winslow (Jeff Kober), Wayloo Marie Holmes (Megan Gallagher), Holly Pelegrino (Ricki Lake), and probably some others. And even the actors I've only ever seen in this show were good. Oh, also I always liked the song "Reflections," by Diana Ross & the Supremes, which was used as the show's theme song. Since seeing the show, I don't know if I'll ever be able to hear the song without thinking of China Beach.


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