Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes, dead and alive, try to make sense of life and death in between bourbon, bullets and battles.
Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes, dead and alive, try to make sense of life and death in between bourbon, bullets and battles.
John Wells, Carol Flint, John Sacret Young, Lydia Woodward, William Broyles Jr., Josef Anderson, Toni Graphia, Alan Brennert, Patricia Green, Ann Donahue
Production details
Status
Ended
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
64
Original language
English
Networks & production
ABCUnited States
Themes
1960sdoctorhospitalmilitarymilitary hospitalus armyvietnam war
Season 4 episodes
Watch options above are for the show and may vary by season or episode.
In 1985, a reunion between Boonie and Dr. Richard stirs up memories of their first meeting in Vietnam in 1966. It also brings up questions for Boonie's 18-year-old adopted daughter, Karen.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John WellsGuest stars Wings Hauser, Christine Elise, Colleen Flynn, Scott Jaeck
In 1970, McMurphy returns home to Lawrence, Kansas to make peace with her mother and try to settle down into civilian life, but finds both goals beyond her grasp.
Directed by Diane KeatonWritten by Lydia WoodwardGuest stars Penny Fuller, Kerry Noonan
In 1969, China Beach watches from afar as the first men land on the moon. McMurphy simmers jealously as Dr. Richard falls for a new nurse. Beckett entertains a group of USO singers in his G.R.U. hut. A disturbed Boonie meets with a tragic accident.
Directed by Michael Katleman, John Sacret Young, John WellsWritten by Josef AndersonGuest stars Vanessa Bell Calloway, Morgan Weisser, April Grace, Gloria Reuben
Frankie returns to Chicago in 1969 to try her hand at being a standup comic but runs into the tragically funny trial of the infamous Chicago Seven. Back in Vietnam, McMurphy tries to help Dodger convince some Montagnard tribes people to evacuate their homes.
Directed by Robert GintyGuest stars Viveca Lindfors, Michael Harris
McMurphy meets a sympathetic drummer at a 1983 wedding and recalls the 1969 wedding of Lila and Sarge Pepper, as well as the end of her relationship with Dr. Richard.
The imminent fall of Saigon reunites KC with her daughter as she struggles to get the little girl out of Vietnam and safely to America and a waiting Boonie. In the 1980s, a cynical McMurphy tries to prevent further child abuse in New Mexico.
The arrival in Bangkok in 1969 of a hard-drinking McMurphy and a young private disrupts KC's carefully developed new life and brings back unwanted memories.
Directed by Gary SiniseWritten by Lydia WoodwardGuest stars David Newsom
In 1976, McMurphy helps KC re-enter the country and find her daughter before heading out to Montana to visit Dodger, who's coping with a disabled father and raising his son Archie alone.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John Sacret YoungGuest stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Knepper, Richard Jaeckel, Shay Astar
In 1985, Karen begins a videotape project interviewing China Beach veterans about their experiences in Vietnam and their memories of her natural mother.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by John Wells, Carol FlintGuest stars Wings Hauser, Amy Steel, Christine Elise, Shay Astar
In 1985, an increasingly angry Colleen torments herself and her husband until she discovers she's suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome and seeks help to deal with the memories of her final weeks in Vietnam.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by Carol FlintGuest stars Adam Arkin, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Ford Rainey
McMurphy agrees to attend a China Beach reunion planned by Boonie and recalls her last day in Vietnam, and travels to Washington DC with the others to visit the Vietnam Memorial. Karen comes to terms with the ghost of her absent mother, KC.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John WellsGuest stars Adam Arkin, John Slattery, Christine Elise, Joseph Whipp, Colleen Flynn
McMurphy agrees to attend a China Beach reunion planned by Boonie and recalls her last day in Vietnam, and travels to Washington DC with the others to visit the Vietnam Memorial. Karen comes to terms with the ghost of her absent mother, KC.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John WellsGuest stars Adam Arkin, John Slattery, Joseph Whipp, Colleen Flynn