China Beach Boxed Set DVDs

China Beach / Premiere Episode [VHS] Boxed DVD Set:$79.99	Wild China Boxed DVD Set:$22.41
Big Trouble in Little China (Single Disc Edition) Boxed DVD Set:$4.16	Wild China [Blu-ray] Boxed DVD Set:$21.49
Big Trouble in Little China [Blu-ray] Boxed DVD Set:$13.49	Once Upon a Time in China III Boxed DVD Set:$2.26
Once Upon a Time in China Part 2 Boxed DVD Set:$3.98	Secrets of China's First Emperor: Tyrant and Visionary Boxed DVD Set:$9.35
The China Syndrome (Special Edition) Boxed DVD Set:$7.03	An American in China Boxed DVD Set:$12.69

Boxed DVD Sets

China Beach was a military drama set during the Vietnam war that ran on ABC from 1988 to 1991. The show starred Dana Delany in a breakout role as Head Nurse Colleen McMurphy and followed her through her tour of duty in Vietnam. During its run, China Beach won 19 Golden Globe Awards with 38 nominations.

Taking cues from its predecessors such as shows like M*A*S*H*, China Beach focused not on the actual battles of the Vietnam conflict, but rather on the everyday lives of the doctors, nurses, and other personnel attached to the American evacuation hospital in Da Nang. The series also examined how these individuals came to grips with the horrors of war. Unlike M*A*S*H, however, China Beach told its stories primarily from a woman’s point of view and followed several characters in their lives after they returned to the United States.

The show was noted for its visceral content, displaying the gruesomeness of war in detail that was unusually graphic for television shows of the time. The creators also made use of unusual and unconventional storytelling methods, sometimes utilizing cartoon style animation or brief interviews with actual Army nurses, many of whom were consultants to the series.

China Beach was praised by critics and enjoyed a small but loyal fan base. However, the series never ranked very highly in the all-important Nielsen ratings. After four seasons, three years on the air, and sixty-two episodes, it was put on hiatus and finally canceled in 1991. Dana Delany won the show’s final Emmy for Best Actress at the 1992 Emmy Awards.

Producer John Wells would go on to produce the highly acclaimed series ER, and many from the China Beach cast would go on to appear in that show as well.