CHINA BEACH: PILOT {PARTS 1 AND 2} {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The premiere in this drama series set during the Vietnam War, which focuses on the women stationed at China Beach, a combined U.S. Armed Forces hospital and USO recreational facility located near the South China Sea. In this two-part episode, Nurse Colleen McMurphy's relaxing morning on the beach is interrupted when she is called back to work as a number of wounded soldiers arrive at the hospital, and she reflects that she is finally going home in a week's time. On a plane, Ambassador Roland Weymouth resolves to learn "what's really going on" in the war, and young Red Cross volunteer Cherry White hints to consulate official Elliott Endicott that she is on a personal mission in Vietnam. Aspiring singer Laurette Barber tells her friends that she hopes to be discovered during her week at China Beach, viewing the war as an exciting "men-o-rama." Colleen visits her friend Beckett, who struggles to maintain a cheerful demeanor while working in the morgue, and Major Lila Garreau talks to Laurette and the others, telling them to provide comfort to the men, though in a dignified manner, and to "have a wonderful war." Corporal "Boonie" Lanier flirts with the singers, and Cherry meets the mysterious K.C. Kolowski and tells her that she is searching for her missing brother Rick.
Laurette meets the flirtatious Dr. Dick Richard and also Colleen, who states that she is merely "one of the guys," and Colleen observes that the naïve young woman is unprepared for the reality of war. Cherry meets the intimidating Sergeant "Dodger" Winslow and is stunned to learn that he is only her age, nineteen, as the war has clearly taken a great toll on him. Boonie happily reunites with his friends Dodger and Private "Sweetness" Elroy, who note that they miss having him out in the field. Cherry finds K.C. and admits that the experience is "not what she expected" so far, and is stunned when she belatedly realizes that K.C. is in fact a sex worker. Captain Natch Austen continues flirting with Colleen, though she is disturbed by the sight of several dead bodies at the "check-in counter" and nearly breaks down from the stress of it all. She later encounters an unwitting Cherry being spied on in the shower by soldiers in a chopper, and Cherry tearfully admits that she feels overwhelmed after two mere days. Laurette and her fellow singer Georgia have a disturbing encounter with Vietnamese cuisine at a market, while at the consulate Weymouth tells Endicott that he wants to travel further in-country to Khe Sanh. Cherry visits Endicott and asks for his help in finding her brother, explaining that he disappeared seemingly without trace, and he promises to aid her search.
Georgia begins to suffer stomach trouble as the girls rehearse for their performance, and Beckett frets that he is becoming "the angel of death" because of his grim assignment and later talks to his "friends" in the morgue at night. Colleen talks with Richard and calls him out on his "I-am-God routine," and he assures her that she has earned her trip home. During their musical performance, Georgia takes ill again and runs offstage, and Laurette seizes the chance to finally sing lead. Later, K.C. takes Cherry to an upscale embassy party, where Beckett spikes the punch with "a taste of the war," and K.C. talks to Boonie about their complex relationship over the past eight months. Beckett then meets Weymouth, who resolves to achieve "victory through firepower," and Endicott drives Cherry into the jungle and attempts to assault her, though she is saved by Dodger and his men when she flees the car.
Georgia heads back to the States ahead of schedule, and Laurette is disappointed to find that the men prefer "the looker" to her. Colleen's friends throw a surprise goodbye party for her, though Natch spoils it somewhat by observing that she has "gone robot" during her harrowing experience in Vietnam. Colleen later encounters Laurette on the beach and tells her about her five brothers back in Kansas, and Laurette reveals that she is an orphan. Laurette asks her to serve as a backup singer at her next performance, and Colleen agrees on the condition that Laurette then assist her in turn with her job on her final night. Everyone attends the performance, even K.C and a somewhat reluctant Dodger, and Colleen seems to come to a realization as she dances onstage in a glamorous get-up. The evening is then spoiled by a shelling, however, and Colleen rushes into action with Laurette by her side. Laurette ends up comforting a severely burned man as he dies, and she is heartbroken to find that he has been carrying a photo of her with him. Later, she admits that she cannot handle Colleen's frightening job, though Colleen assures her that she made a meaningful difference in the man's final moments. Colleen then finds that her tent and all her belongings were destroyed in the bombing, and she, Laurette and Boonie briefly fantasize about a comfortable life back in the real world. Colleen then declares that she has "a bigger family here" and is truly home, and resolves to stay on China Beach after all. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: 1988 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:55:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:12820
- GENRE: Drama, medical
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; Drama, medical; Vietnam War; Women's Collection - Drama
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1988-1991
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Always pantiliners
- TV - Commercials - America's Dairy Farmers cheese
- TV - Commercials - Arrid Extra Dry Glide-On anti-perspirant
- TV - Commercials - Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers
- TV - Commercials - Buick automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Certs breath mints
- TV - Commercials - Charmin toilet paper
- TV - Commercials - Clairol Loving Care hair color
- TV - Commercials - Coors Extra Gold beer
- TV - Commercials - Doritos chips
- TV - Commercials - Downy fabric softener
- TV - Commercials - Florida orange juice
- TV - Commercials - Friskies cat food
- TV - Commercials - General Mills Cheerios cereal
- TV - Commercials - Kraft Velveeta cheese pasta
- TV - Commercials - Lady Speed Dry anti-perspirant
- TV - Commercials - Maybelline Ultra Thick Ultra Lash mascara
- TV - Commercials - Michelob beers
- TV - Commercials - Nabisco Shredded Wheat cereal
- TV - Commercials - Oil of Olay skin products
- TV - Commercials - Pearl Drops tooth polish
- TV - Commercials - Pontiac automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Reno/Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority travel
- TV - Commercials - Salon Selectives hair care products
- TV - Commercials - Snuggles fabric softener
- TV - Commercials - Sprite soft drinks
- TV - Commercials - Stay Trim appetite suppressant gum
- TV - Commercials - Sun Light dishwashing detergent
- TV - Commercials - The American Cancer Society
- TV - Commercials - Wendy's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Woolite laundry detergent
- TV - PSA - Department of the Treasury U.S. saving bonds
- TV - Promos - "20/20"
- TV - Promos - "China Beach" upcoming episode
- TV - Promos - "Dolly"
- TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
- TV - Promos - "Home"
- TV - Promos - "Max Headroom"
- TV - Promos - "Nightline"
- TV - Promos - "Onassis: The Richest Man in the World"
- TV - Promos - "Splash Too"
- TV - Promos - "Superstars and Their Moms"
CREDITS
- John Sacret Young … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Geno Escarrega … Associate Producer
- Rod Holcomb … Director
- William Broyles Jr. … Created by
- John Rubenstein … Music by
- Dana Delany … Cast, Nurse Colleen McMurphy
- Nan Woods … Cast, Cherry White
- Michael Boatman … Cast, Pvt. Samuel Beckett
- Marg Helgenberger … Cast, K.C. Kolowski
- Robert Picardo … Cast, Dr. Dick Richard
- Tim Ryan … Cast, Capt. Natch Austen
- Concetta Tomei … Cast, Maj. Lila Garreau
- Brian Wimmer … Cast, Cpl. Boonie Lanier
- Chloe Webb … Cast, Laurette Barber
- James Cromwell … Cast, Ambassador at Large Roland Weymouth
- Jeff Kober … Cast, Sgt. Evan 'Dodger' Winslow
- Bobby Hosea … Cast, Pvt. "Sweetness" Elroy
- Christopher Allport … Cast, Elliott Endicott
- Gail O'Grady … Cast, Georgia Lee
- Christopher Michael Moore … Cast, Dr. Dum
- Richard Green … Cast, Dr. Dee
- Rick Najera … Cast, Dayglo
- Xuan Xanh Vo … Cast, Kim
- Joseph d'Angerio … Cast, Manny Hicklefarb
- Linda Hoy … Cast, Nurse Beaverbrook
- Bradford Bancroft … Cast, Burned Soldier
- David H. Duensing … Cast, Giggling Grunt #1
- Geoffrey Thorne … Cast, Giggling Grunt #2
- Kimiko Hiroshige … Cast, Vietnamese Woman
- Robert Licea … Cast, Amputee
- Doug Warhit … Cast, Hickenhopper
- Paul Elman … Cast, G.I.