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China Beach

 China Beach
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TVTItem
 China Beach
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China Beach
 China Beach
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ChinaBeach
 China Beach
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China Beach was a War/Medical Drama that ran on ABC from 1988 to 1991. It featured a group of characters serving at the real China Beach Rest and Recreation (R & R) station and the fictional 510th Evacuation Hospital during The Vietnam War.The show was unique, focusing on the experiences of women serving in and around a combat zone. Real Vietnam veterans, particularly nurses who had served, complained at first that plots focused too much on the romantic lives of the characters and, in that respect, were extremely unrealistic. This led to later seasons being more medical/combat based, with romantic entanglements relegated more to innuendo and subplots.The show also followed characters who survived the war back to America, showing their struggles to return to "normal" society. It dealt with traumas that haunted returning veterans, from main character Colleen McMurphy's drinking and psychological problems stemming from the things she saw as an Evac hospital triage nurse to Marine-turned-lifeguard Boonie Lanier dealing with the loss of his leg.The show was popular with critics and had a devoted fanbase but was consistently low-rated. Its cancellation, however, has been said to have less to do with ratings than with the fact that, at the time, America was fighting to liberate Kuwait in The Gulf War, and the show's distinctly anti-war view clashed with the national sentiment of the day.The series pilot was going to premiere on ABC after Super Bowl XXII, but because it was a 2-hour presentation with commercials, this was reversed, because if the game had run long enough, there were concerns that the pilot would conclude its broadcast after midnight. Instead, ABC premiered The Wonder Years after the game, a series which also takes place during the time the Vietnam War raged, making several references to it during the series, including at the end of the pilot where it is revealed that a main character's relative was killed in action during the war. Coincidentally, China Beach had an episode named "With a Little Help from My Friends" after The Beatles song of the same name, the version by Joe Cocker was the opening theme to The Wonder Years.
 China Beach
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2024-04-22T19:33:05Z
 China Beach
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2024-04-22T19:33:05Z
 China Beach
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Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
 China Beach
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Dropped link to ClipShow: Not a Feature - ITEM
 China Beach
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Dropped link to GrandFinale: Not a Feature - ITEM
 China Beach
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Dropped link to Mash: Not a Feature - ITEM
 China Beach
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DBTropes
 China Beach / int_1042bae6
type
Limited Advancement Opportunities
 China Beach / int_1042bae6
comment
Limited Advancement Opportunities: Only Colleen is ever shown getting a promotion, from 1st Lieutenant to Captain. Lila even has an episode where she deals with jealousy over the fact that a long-time friend of hers, also female, has been promoted to Colonel while Lila seems stuck as a Major.
 China Beach / int_1042bae6
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China Beach / int_1042bae6
 China Beach / int_11ad560b
type
Control Freak
 China Beach / int_11ad560b
comment
Control Freak: Acknowledged at times in the character of Major Lila Garreau and the occasional "visiting general" or temporary new C.O.
 China Beach / int_11ad560b
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 China Beach / int_11ad560b
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China Beach / int_11ad560b
 China Beach / int_1237828f
type
Anyone Can Die
 China Beach / int_1237828f
comment
Anyone Can Die: True, as a few main characters and some major secondary characters were killed off during the course of the show. But then, they were in a warzone.
 China Beach / int_1237828f
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China Beach / int_1237828f
 China Beach / int_13c880db
type
Creepy Mortician
 China Beach / int_13c880db
comment
Averted by the character Samuel Beckett, an African American soldier who works in the Graves Registration Unit preparing the bodies of the dead to be shipped back to America. He survives the whole war and is present at the veteran's reunion in the finale.
 China Beach / int_13c880db
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China Beach / int_13c880db
 China Beach / int_1439161f
type
Heroic BSoD
 China Beach / int_1439161f
comment
Heroic BSoD: Boonie in the flashback to his (arguably justified) murder of his platoon leader in "Twilight". Several characters went through these types of moments.
 China Beach / int_1439161f
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China Beach / int_1439161f
 China Beach / int_1a85c0ac
type
Episode Code Number
 China Beach / int_1a85c0ac
comment
Episode Code Number: #186371-#186376 = Season 1 #186501-#186517 = Season 2 #186801-#186822 = Season 3 #187041-#187056 = Season 4
 China Beach / int_1a85c0ac
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China Beach / int_1a85c0ac
 China Beach / int_1b6c5aa2
type
The Couch
 China Beach / int_1b6c5aa2
comment
The Couch: Variously the bar at the Jet Set, the checkout desk in the Evac, Colleen's quarters, or, most often, the beach.
 China Beach / int_1b6c5aa2
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China Beach / int_1b6c5aa2
 China Beach / int_1c9537cd
type
The Main Characters Do Everything
 China Beach / int_1c9537cd
comment
The Main Characters Do Everything: A hospital should really have around 47 officers, 52 nurses and 300 enlisted men. But that's too many characters for one show. But there should definitely be more than one enlisted man in the morgue.
 China Beach / int_1c9537cd
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China Beach / int_1c9537cd
 China Beach / int_1da5941e
type
The Quiet One
 China Beach / int_1da5941e
comment
The Quiet One: Dodger. A few flashbacks in later seasons take place before the events of the pilot and show him as slightly more talkative and fun-loving, but his general silence and occasional social ineptitude was apparently designed to display that War Is Hell, especially for the young people fighting it, as evidenced by this exchange from the pilot.
 China Beach / int_1da5941e
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China Beach / int_1da5941e
 China Beach / int_222dc873
type
Black Comedy
 China Beach / int_222dc873
comment
Black Comedy: Many times. For example, the debacle over Fred's finger in the episode "Strange Brew".
 China Beach / int_222dc873
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 China Beach / int_222dc873
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China Beach / int_222dc873
 China Beach / int_24f4c82a
type
Semper Fi
 China Beach / int_24f4c82a
comment
Semper Fi: A good many of the fighting men portrayed on the show are Marines. Most of them, particularly in the main cast Dodger, fit the stereotype of the tough, gruff, potentially dangerous Marine. In the finale, when Boonie and Dodger are being interviewed by Boonie's adopted daughter, they playfully punch each other in the shoulders while exchanging Marine slogans and references, including "Semper Fi".
 China Beach / int_24f4c82a
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China Beach / int_24f4c82a
 China Beach / int_269e82c1
type
Death of a Child
 China Beach / int_269e82c1
comment
Death of a Child: Liane, the young Vietnamese orphan that Dr. Richard is trying to get out of the country so that her heart murmur can be properly treated dies in the evac as he rushes to save her.
 China Beach / int_269e82c1
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China Beach / int_269e82c1
 China Beach / int_26fb2f9e
type
Past Experience Nightmare
 China Beach / int_26fb2f9e
comment
Past Experience Nightmare: Colleen suffered more than her share of war flashback dreams, and the episode "Strange Brew" centered around her falling asleep on the base helipad and wandering a dreamscape that had her confronting her own inability to save everyone and her troubled family past. Arguably, the dream in "Strange Brew" was shared, since KC dreamed of the same location and people, and they "saw" each other in the dream. Or the whole episode could have been some sort of dream-in-a-dream, as they seem to wake up on the helipad at the end...only for the scene to then cut to Colleen waking up again in her bunk...
 China Beach / int_26fb2f9e
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China Beach / int_26fb2f9e
 China Beach / int_297170d3
type
Halloween Episode
 China Beach / int_297170d3
comment
Halloween Episode: In the first part of the finale, the flashbacks to Colleen's last day in Vietnam take place on Halloween and her farewell party is a costume party.
 China Beach / int_297170d3
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China Beach / int_297170d3
 China Beach / int_29789a9d
type
Post-Kiss Catatonia
 China Beach / int_29789a9d
comment
Post-Kiss Catatonia: Almost happens to Colleen near the beginning of "X-Mas Chn. Bch. VN, '67" when Dr. Richard kisses her. When he points out that he was holding up mistletoe, thus giving himself an excuse, her face slowly slides from shock to "huh?" to "I think I need to go spit now".
 China Beach / int_29789a9d
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China Beach / int_29789a9d
 China Beach / int_2ae277ab
type
Mauve Shirt
 China Beach / int_2ae277ab
comment
Mauve Shirt: A few times a new minor character would be introduced, usually as a patient at the evac, and survive to appear and be spoken to in other episodes at The Jet Set or with members of his platoon.
 China Beach / int_2ae277ab
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China Beach / int_2ae277ab
 China Beach / int_2d364c81
type
Tomboy and Girly Girl
 China Beach / int_2d364c81
comment
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Colleen and KC are a sort of mixture of these archetypes. While Colleen is definitely more rough-and-tumble in some ways (having grown up with five brothers) she has moments of complete, overwhelming femininity. KC, meanwhile, is generally the more girly dresser of the two and more often overtly uses her feminine wiles, but she also has a certain steely side (and occasional lack of scruples) that seems to plant her firmly in tomboy territory.
 China Beach / int_2d364c81
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China Beach / int_2d364c81
 China Beach / int_315a122
type
Hospital Hottie
 China Beach / int_315a122
comment
Hospital Hottie: Colleen, of course, as well as some of the other nurses who worked at the Evac.
 China Beach / int_315a122
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 China Beach / int_315a122
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China Beach / int_315a122
 China Beach / int_33ba37ca
type
Out with a Bang
 China Beach / int_33ba37ca
comment
Out with a Bang: Colonel Darling, visiting officer played by R. Lee Ermey, dies in KC's bed during a season 3 episode. KC, Boonie, and Jeff then spend most of the episode trying to find a way to make it look like he died in any other way, preferably combat.
 China Beach / int_33ba37ca
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China Beach / int_33ba37ca
 China Beach / int_368c1306
type
The Men First
 China Beach / int_368c1306
comment
The Men First: Beckett refers to the dead men he prepares for shipment back to America as "my men" and makes treating them with dignity and respect a top priority.
 China Beach / int_368c1306
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 China Beach / int_368c1306
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China Beach / int_368c1306
 China Beach / int_3aa2ac42
type
G-Rated Drug
 China Beach / int_3aa2ac42
comment
G-Rated Drug: Averted when the character of KC was revealed as a long-term heroin user in the episode "Tet '68" and the addiction was actually mentioned and somewhat dealt with again in several of the next few episodes.
 China Beach / int_3aa2ac42
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China Beach / int_3aa2ac42
 China Beach / int_3edeeff4
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Son of a Whore
 China Beach / int_3edeeff4
comment
Son of a Whore: Karen Lanier is the daughter of a prostitute, namely KC.
 China Beach / int_3edeeff4
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China Beach / int_3edeeff4
 China Beach / int_3f89452c
type
Sad Clown
 China Beach / int_3f89452c
comment
Sad Clown: Boonie, at times.
 China Beach / int_3f89452c
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China Beach / int_3f89452c
 China Beach / int_43dc74d0
type
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man
 China Beach / int_43dc74d0
comment
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Aspects of this between buddies Boonie and Dodger. Boonie is definitely more emotional and open on some things, while Dodger is the strong, silent type.
 China Beach / int_43dc74d0
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China Beach / int_43dc74d0
 China Beach / int_47bf7e16
type
Local Hangout
 China Beach / int_47bf7e16
comment
Local Hangout: The Jet Set.
 China Beach / int_47bf7e16
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China Beach / int_47bf7e16
 China Beach / int_48e8fe57
type
Happily Adopted
 China Beach / int_48e8fe57
comment
Happily Adopted: Karen Lanier by Boonie and his wife Linda.
 China Beach / int_48e8fe57
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China Beach / int_48e8fe57
 China Beach / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 China Beach / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Several times: see "Lost and Found part 1" or "Tet '68" or a myriad of other episodes.
 China Beach / int_4e3d253b
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China Beach / int_4e3d253b
 China Beach / int_50ca4422
type
Unresolved Sexual Tension
 China Beach / int_50ca4422
comment
Unresolved Sexual Tension: McMurphy and Richard have a close relationship that they come close to acting upon.
 China Beach / int_50ca4422
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China Beach / int_50ca4422
 China Beach / int_52488c54
type
Drowning My Sorrows
 China Beach / int_52488c54
comment
Drowning My Sorrows: Colleen all the time.
 China Beach / int_52488c54
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China Beach / int_52488c54
 China Beach / int_5389b851
type
Day in the Life
 China Beach / int_5389b851
comment
Day in the Life: Several episodes were done in this style, particularly "X-Mas Chn. Bch. VN, '67" and any episode where Wayloo and her cameraman set out to get a scoop on something.
 China Beach / int_5389b851
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China Beach / int_5389b851
 China Beach / int_547196be
type
Broad Strokes
 China Beach / int_547196be
comment
Broad Strokes: Continuity on small details fell by the wayside several times. For example, a season one episode set in mid-to-late 1967 shows Colleen boarding a helicopter and calling out nervously to Dr. Richard that she's never been on one. Later, a season 4 flashback to early 1967 shows her boarding a helicopter for Saigon.
 China Beach / int_547196be
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China Beach / int_547196be
 China Beach / int_56635771
type
Recurring Character
 China Beach / int_56635771
comment
Recurring Character: Sweetness Elroy, several Red Cross volunteers and nurses, and a number of random soldiers and Marines.
 China Beach / int_56635771
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 China Beach / int_56635771
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China Beach / int_56635771
 China Beach / int_5aa60027
type
Tell Me About My Father
 China Beach / int_5aa60027
comment
Tell Me About My Father: Karen Lanier spends a good portion of seasons 3 and 4 trying to find out anything that she can about her mother from the people who knew KC at China Beach.
 China Beach / int_5aa60027
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China Beach / int_5aa60027
 China Beach / int_5cd8680b
type
Doorstop Baby
 China Beach / int_5cd8680b
comment
Doorstop Baby: Sort of, with Dodger's "son" Archie (we're never entirely certain the kid is his). The baby was left with Dodger in a bar one night by some random Vietnamese orphan who claimed that this was the Marine's child.
 China Beach / int_5cd8680b
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China Beach / int_5cd8680b
 China Beach / int_615fdb1f
type
Dream Sequence
 China Beach / int_615fdb1f
comment
Dream Sequence: The entire episode "Strange Brew" is pretty much an extended one of these.
 China Beach / int_615fdb1f
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China Beach / int_615fdb1f
 China Beach / int_617f0563
type
Heel–Face Turn
 China Beach / int_617f0563
comment
Heel–Face Turn: In the first episode of season 3, the Viet Cong cadre member who is assigned to shoot KC and Colleen can't bring himself to do it, as he's come to respect Colleen. He instead discharges his gun into the ceiling and leaves them to escape.
 China Beach / int_617f0563
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China Beach / int_617f0563
 China Beach / int_62907b90
type
Bottle Episode
 China Beach / int_62907b90
comment
Bottle Episode: The episode "Tet '68" might be considered a series of bottles, with small groups of the characters stuck in various places as chaos reigns during the infamous Tet Offensive.
 China Beach / int_62907b90
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China Beach / int_62907b90
 China Beach / int_6366f900
type
Old Soldier
 China Beach / int_6366f900
comment
Old Soldier: Lila and Sargeant Bob Pepper, both of whom participated in World War II (though Lila was only a Red Cross Doughnut Dolly then) and, presumably, Korea.
 China Beach / int_6366f900
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China Beach / int_6366f900
 China Beach / int_664bc28f
type
British Brevity
 China Beach / int_664bc28f
comment
British Brevity: The first season had, counting both parts of the pilot individually, 8 episodes. Season 2 had 17 and season 4 had 17. Only season 3 had a close to "typical" American television episode order of 24.
 China Beach / int_664bc28f
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China Beach / int_664bc28f
 China Beach / int_66dfe36a
type
Missing Mom
 China Beach / int_66dfe36a
comment
Missing Mom: KC is one of these for much of the show to her daughter Karen. First she packs the girl off as an infant to be mostly raised by a nanny in Saigon, then she reconnects, only to be forced to send her daughter off on one of the last choppers out as Saigon falls. They are reunited by the end of the finale, though it's implied that the estrangement will continue as KC admits to being "no good at writing letters".
 China Beach / int_66dfe36a
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China Beach / int_66dfe36a
 China Beach / int_6acb79b2
type
Episode Title Card
 China Beach / int_6acb79b2
comment
Episode Title Card: Every episode except for the pilot had one, and appropriately, in the Wonton Font.
 China Beach / int_6acb79b2
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China Beach / int_6acb79b2
 China Beach / int_6eb4e408
type
Artistic License – Military
 China Beach / int_6eb4e408
comment
Artistic License – Military: The show plays fast and loose with its depiction of a combat hospital. It deliberately keeps its core cast small. A Lieutenant Colonel really should be in charge of the 510th Evac Hospital and there should be officers and senior NCO's around. The show vaguely hints that Major Garreau is the commander of both the hospital and the R&R base. Something highly unlikely to occur.
 China Beach / int_6eb4e408
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China Beach / int_6eb4e408
 China Beach / int_6ef9d3fe
type
Christmas Episode
 China Beach / int_6ef9d3fe
comment
Christmas Episode: "X-Mas Chn. Bch. VN, '67"
 China Beach / int_6ef9d3fe
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China Beach / int_6ef9d3fe
 China Beach / int_6f66bef7
type
But Not Too Foreign
 China Beach / int_6f66bef7
comment
But Not Too Foreign: With Dodger's Amerasian son Archie, portrayed in his first post-infancy appearance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. However, this is fixed somewhat in the finale, when the adult Archie is actually portrayed by an Asian actor.
 China Beach / int_6f66bef7
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China Beach / int_6f66bef7
 China Beach / int_738f4473
type
Documentary Episode
 China Beach / int_738f4473
comment
Documentary Episode: Aspects of this in several season 2 episodes after the character Wayloo Marie Holmes, a journalist, was introduced, and used somewhat in the two part finale when Karen Lanier is interviewing the veterans.
 China Beach / int_738f4473
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China Beach / int_738f4473
 China Beach / int_754df088
type
Put on a Bus
 China Beach / int_754df088
comment
Put on a Bus: Wayloo Marie Holmes, although she returned in the finale.
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China Beach / int_754df088
 China Beach / int_766de4dc
type
To Absent Friends
 China Beach / int_766de4dc
comment
To Absent Friends: The gathering Boonie and Beckett arrange in "Lost and Found part 2", complete with a touching display of all the dead men's boots. The wake for Cherry at The Jet Set in "Cherry".
 China Beach / int_766de4dc
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China Beach / int_766de4dc
 China Beach / int_76fae7ed
type
Beginner's Luck
 China Beach / int_76fae7ed
comment
Beginner's Luck: In the first episode of season 3, Colleen and KC are abducted by members of a Viet Cong cadre on the way to a dinner. Colleen, with no experience actually performing surgery on her own (being a nurse), is forced to operate on the cadre leader to repair a sucking chest wound. It works.
 China Beach / int_76fae7ed
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China Beach / int_76fae7ed
 China Beach / int_77063cd7
type
Hooker with a Heart of Gold
 China Beach / int_77063cd7
comment
Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Though she tried to be distant and could seem mercernary at times, KC was really one of these.
 China Beach / int_77063cd7
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China Beach / int_77063cd7
 China Beach / int_7eebe99c
type
The Alcoholic
 China Beach / int_7eebe99c
comment
The Alcoholic: Colleen
 China Beach / int_7eebe99c
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1.0
 China Beach / int_7eebe99c
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China Beach / int_7eebe99c
 China Beach / int_8387bb18
type
Good Girls Avoid Abortion
 China Beach / int_8387bb18
comment
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: The episode "Holly's Choice" fits nicely into this trope with Red Cross worker Holly getting pregnant by a soldier and considering abortion. Colleen tries to make her reconsider, but with KC's help Holly gets the abortion anyway and then nearly dies from an infection.
 China Beach / int_8387bb18
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China Beach / int_8387bb18
 China Beach / int_83a55c8e
type
Napoleon Delusion
 China Beach / int_83a55c8e
comment
Napoleon Delusion: Played with in an episode where a soldier played by Stephen Baldwin thinks that he's rock'n'roll pioneer Chuck Berry.
 China Beach / int_83a55c8e
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1.0
 China Beach / int_83a55c8e
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China Beach / int_83a55c8e
 China Beach / int_8797239c
type
Bait-and-Switch
 China Beach / int_8797239c
comment
Bait-and-Switch: "Home" opens with a soldier apparently about to commit suicide with his rifle. Then it turns out he's converted it into a flute to audition for the USO shows.
 China Beach / int_8797239c
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 China Beach / int_8797239c
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China Beach / int_8797239c
 China Beach / int_901dbf9a
type
Cliff Hanger
 China Beach / int_901dbf9a
comment
Cliffhanger: A few. "Lost and Found part 1" ended in one of these that actually managed to stretch out over most of season 2.
 China Beach / int_901dbf9a
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 China Beach / int_901dbf9a
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China Beach / int_901dbf9a
 China Beach / int_92bec282
type
Back to Front
 China Beach / int_92bec282
comment
Back to Front: The entire season 3 episode "Holly's Choice" is told in a progression of steps back through the events of a Red Cross worker getting pregnant, choosing to have an abortion, and the aftermath.
 China Beach / int_92bec282
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 China Beach / int_92bec282
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China Beach / int_92bec282
 China Beach / int_931fc523
type
Back for the Finale
 China Beach / int_931fc523
comment
Back for the Finale: The character of Wayloo Marie Holmes, who was written out of the series at the end of season 2 when her tour in Vietnam ended, shows up at the big reunion in the finale.
 China Beach / int_931fc523
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 China Beach / int_931fc523
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China Beach / int_931fc523
 China Beach / int_96fbeaf
type
There Are No Therapists
 China Beach / int_96fbeaf
comment
There Are No Therapists: Averted with the Army psychiatrist who evaluates everyone in "Psywars" and Colleen's therapist in the final season.
 China Beach / int_96fbeaf
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China Beach / int_96fbeaf
 China Beach / int_9788e2b1
type
Black Dude Dies First
 China Beach / int_9788e2b1
comment
Black Dude Dies First: Averted by the character Samuel Beckett, an African American soldier who works in the Graves Registration Unit preparing the bodies of the dead to be shipped back to America. He survives the whole war and is present at the veteran's reunion in the finale. Also averted in the season 1 episode "Home" when recurring character Sweetness Elroy, an African America Marine, is severely injured but not killed after a Viet Cong fighter throws a grenade in a bar. A white soldier who was scheduled to go home the next day dies instead.
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China Beach / int_9788e2b1
 China Beach / int_9ae85487
type
Dr. Jerk
 China Beach / int_9ae85487
comment
Dr. Jerk: Dr. Richard, at times, and also recurring season 3 French doctor Gerard Bernard on occasion.
 China Beach / int_9ae85487
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_9ae85487
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_9ae85487
 China Beach / int_9d6e002e
type
Whole Episode Flashback
 China Beach / int_9d6e002e
comment
Whole Episode Flashback: Much of season 4 was akin to this.
 China Beach / int_9d6e002e
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1.0
 China Beach / int_9d6e002e
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hasFeature
China Beach / int_9d6e002e
 China Beach / int_a1575551
type
Living Prop
 China Beach / int_a1575551
comment
Living Prop: Various non-speaking soldiers, airmen and marines mill around in the background of the hospital.
 China Beach / int_a1575551
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1.0
 China Beach / int_a1575551
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hasFeature
China Beach / int_a1575551
 China Beach / int_a5e0c01
type
As Himself
 China Beach / int_a5e0c01
comment
As Herself: Nancy Sinatra appeared in the series as herself on a USO tour.
 China Beach / int_a5e0c01
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1.0
 China Beach / int_a5e0c01
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_a5e0c01
 China Beach / int_aaf19fae
type
Doesn't Like Guns
 China Beach / int_aaf19fae
comment
Doesn't Like Guns: Implied with KC in the episode "Cherry" when all women at the base are newly required to qualify with and carry sidearms and she refuses. Lila finally has her physically brought down to target range on the beach, where KC proceeds to empty every round in the proffered gun straight into the target's "head".
 China Beach / int_aaf19fae
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1.0
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_aaf19fae
 China Beach / int_ac2094ca
type
Red Shirt
 China Beach / int_ac2094ca
comment
Red Shirt: Frequent. A new character, usually a soldier or Marine, would be introduced in an episode purely for the later drama of a horrifying injury, a brave attempt by the doctors and nurses of the 510th Evac to save him, and a tragic, heart-tugging death or at least a severe life-long disability if he managed to live.
 China Beach / int_ac2094ca
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1.0
 China Beach / int_ac2094ca
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China Beach / int_ac2094ca
 China Beach / int_add931af
type
I Choose to Stay
 China Beach / int_add931af
comment
I Choose to Stay: Colleen, who spent most of the two part pilot preparing for the end of her tour, chooses to re-up, even after her quarters and many of her belongings have been destroyed in a bombing raid. Also, Beckett in the episode "Promised Land" had come to the end of his tour and got as far as the airport...before heading back to China Beach because he couldn't bear to leave his Vietnamese lover Mai and her young son behind. Dodger for a while before the beginning of the episode "Souvenirs", when he tells Colleen that his tour has been over for months. He finally decides to return to America with his Amerasian son, however.
 China Beach / int_add931af
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China Beach / int_add931af
 China Beach / int_af3ea0e3
type
Face–Heel Turn
 China Beach / int_af3ea0e3
comment
Face–Heel Turn: Implicit with Cherry's brother Rick who was apparently a great guy, so much admired by his little sister that she even lied about her age to join up with The Red Cross and go to Vietnam to find him when he was declared missing in action. When Cherry catches up with him, he turns out to be living AWOL in Saigon as a pimp.
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China Beach / int_af3ea0e3
 China Beach / int_b117e1fb
type
You Owe Me
 China Beach / int_b117e1fb
comment
You Owe Me: A common theme between Colleen and KC. They end up reciprocating so many favors back-and-forth to each other that it's implied by one point in season 3 they've lost track of who owes whom.
 China Beach / int_b117e1fb
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China Beach / int_b117e1fb
 China Beach / int_b11ac9f5
type
Abusive Parents
 China Beach / int_b11ac9f5
comment
Abusive Parents: We learn that "civilian clerk/typist" KC Koloski comes from a background where her domineering father, as she once explained it, made her his wife. It's also eventually made clear that Colleen McMurphy and her siblings suffered at the hands of a drunken, abusive father, though she was implicitly beaten or psychologically abused rather than sexually molested.
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China Beach / int_b11ac9f5
 China Beach / int_b275df3d
type
Asian Babymama
 China Beach / int_b275df3d
comment
Asian Babymama: Offscreen for Dodger Winslow, supposedly, though it's never totally confirmed that Archie is his biological son.
 China Beach / int_b275df3d
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1.0
 China Beach / int_b275df3d
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_b275df3d
 China Beach / int_bf1255fa
type
Really Gets Around
 China Beach / int_bf1255fa
comment
Really Gets Around: KC. Colleen also counts.
 China Beach / int_bf1255fa
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1.0
 China Beach / int_bf1255fa
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_bf1255fa
 China Beach / int_c0d6d1a
type
Loud of War
 China Beach / int_c0d6d1a
comment
Loud of War: Accidentally between Lila and Laurette in a season 1 episode, when Laurette's rock'n'roll music is drowning out Lila's WWII ballads.
 China Beach / int_c0d6d1a
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hasFeature
China Beach / int_c0d6d1a
 China Beach / int_c10da874
type
The '80s
 China Beach / int_c10da874
comment
The '80s: But only occasionally in the post-war sections of some season 4 episodes, particularly the finale.
 China Beach / int_c10da874
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1.0
 China Beach / int_c10da874
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1.0
 China Beach
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China Beach / int_c10da874
 China Beach / int_c5606510
type
Social Semi-Circle
 China Beach / int_c5606510
comment
Social Semi-Circle: Averted when characters sat anywhere but at the bar in The Jet Set.
 China Beach / int_c5606510
featureApplicability
-1.0
 China Beach / int_c5606510
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_c5606510
 China Beach / int_c8a8c595
type
Retirony
 China Beach / int_c8a8c595
comment
Retirony: Big time with the character of Dewey in the season 1 episode "Home". He's a newly introduced character, about to be sent home after recovering from injuries, when he's killed in a bar by a Viet Cong grenade on his last night in country.
 China Beach / int_c8a8c595
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China Beach / int_c8a8c595
 China Beach / int_c9588dd8
type
Asians Eat Pets
 China Beach / int_c9588dd8
comment
Asians Eat Pets: An early episode had a startling instance of this stereotype played very straight in Vietnam. A new nurse notices a stall selling puppies. She signs that she wants one, and stopped paying attention as the seller picked up the dog. She is horrified to be handed a paper bag that seemed wet, as the puppy had been killed for cooking purposes.
 China Beach / int_c9588dd8
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China Beach / int_c9588dd8
 China Beach / int_ca87e3ec
type
No Name Given
 China Beach / int_ca87e3ec
comment
No Name Given: Most of the series passes before it's revealed that Dodger's real first name is Evan. It's assumed that recurring character Sweetness Elroy is only nicknamed Sweetness until he states that it is indeed his name.
 China Beach / int_ca87e3ec
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China Beach / int_ca87e3ec
 China Beach / int_cda501da
type
Killed Off for Real
 China Beach / int_cda501da
comment
Killed Off for Real: Cherry White, Jeff Hyers
 China Beach / int_cda501da
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 China Beach / int_cda501da
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_cda501da
 China Beach / int_d0347bf0
type
Four-Girl Ensemble
 China Beach / int_d0347bf0
comment
Four-Girl Ensemble: Colleen, Cherry, Laurette, and KC in season 1, Colleen, Cherry, KC, and Wayloo in early season 2 switching to Colleen, Frankie, KC, and Wayloo after Cherry's death, and Colleen, Holly, Frankie, and KC in season 3.
 China Beach / int_d0347bf0
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China Beach / int_d0347bf0
 China Beach / int_d3354565
type
Medal of Dishonor
 China Beach / int_d3354565
comment
Medal of Dishonor: Boonie fits this pretty much exactly at the end of "Twilight".
 China Beach / int_d3354565
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 China Beach / int_d3354565
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China Beach / int_d3354565
 China Beach / int_d4bb4e51
type
Walking Shirtless Scene
 China Beach / int_d4bb4e51
comment
Walking Shirtless Scene: Boony.
 China Beach / int_d4bb4e51
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 China Beach / int_d4bb4e51
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_d4bb4e51
 China Beach / int_d50a5478
type
Unlimited Wardrobe
 China Beach / int_d50a5478
comment
Unlimited Wardrobe: It seems like KC has one of these at times. However, there is one red Asian-styled dress that makes a lot of appearances.
 China Beach / int_d50a5478
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_d50a5478
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_d50a5478
 China Beach / int_de7b7cbf
type
Drugs Are Bad
 China Beach / int_de7b7cbf
comment
Drugs Are Bad: Colleen really shovels this on KC when she finds out that the other woman is a junkie. Never mind that Colleen's already a borderline alcoholic at that point who proceeds to spend much of the rest of the series spiraling deeper and deeper into her own addiction.
 China Beach / int_de7b7cbf
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1.0
 China Beach / int_de7b7cbf
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_de7b7cbf
 China Beach / int_df3b7b8
type
Delayed Explosion
 China Beach / int_df3b7b8
comment
Delayed Explosion: In the season 1 episode "Somewhere Over the Radio", the Evac is...well, evacuated when Dr. Richard realizes a soldier he's operating on has a live mortar round inside of him. With Colleen's help, the doctor removes it, then does an epic slow motion run out of the hospital and throws said live round directly into the grenade sump. Cue big boom and Dr. Richard flying through the air, crashing into the front of the building.
 China Beach / int_df3b7b8
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1.0
 China Beach / int_df3b7b8
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_df3b7b8
 China Beach / int_e1f59bf0
type
Musical Episode
 China Beach / int_e1f59bf0
comment
Musical Episode: The closest they came was an episode where the gang at China Beach put on a production of My Fair Lady. However, sometimes there was so much singing and dancing at The Jet Set that an episode might seem like a musical.
 China Beach / int_e1f59bf0
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_e1f59bf0
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_e1f59bf0
 China Beach / int_e28f88b8
type
Last-Name Basis
 China Beach / int_e28f88b8
comment
Last-Name Basis: Colleen McMurphy was most often referred to by her surname, at least while serving in Vietnam.
 China Beach / int_e28f88b8
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_e28f88b8
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_e28f88b8
 China Beach / int_e4b69188
type
Very Loosely Based on a True Story
 China Beach / int_e4b69188
comment
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: The series takes its inspiration from the autobiography Home Before Morning: The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam. Colleen takes on a lot of the author's cynicism whilst playing up Dana Delany's attractiveness. The other characters are amalgamations of various people who the author encountered during her tour (Which was certainly a less fun spot than the picturesque China Beach). But, certain aspects such as Colleen's description of burn victims as "Crispy-Critters" are taken verbatim from the book.
 China Beach / int_e4b69188
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 China Beach / int_e4b69188
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_e4b69188
 China Beach / int_e52a0cac
type
He Who Must Not Be Seen
 China Beach / int_e52a0cac
comment
He Who Must Not Be Seen: Dr. Richard's wife Beth Ann is mentioned frequently, along with sons Jake and Rodger, in the first couple of seasons, but none of them are ever shown.
 China Beach / int_e52a0cac
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_e52a0cac
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_e52a0cac
 China Beach / int_e5fb3d1f
type
Hey, Let's Put on a Show
 China Beach / int_e5fb3d1f
comment
Hey, Let's Put on a Show: Several times in season 1 when USO singer Laurette Barber tried to gather talent for performances at The Jet Set, and a few times later on when someone would decide that a little song-and-dance/staging of a major musical was just the thing needed...
 China Beach / int_e5fb3d1f
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_e5fb3d1f
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_e5fb3d1f
 China Beach / int_e7c671f3
type
Mildly Military
 China Beach / int_e7c671f3
comment
Mildly Military: Well, somewhat justified for similar reasons to the earlier show M*A*S*H in that Dr. Richard was one of those automatically drafted doctors. Also, War Is Hell, so things like calling Lila "Lila" rather than "Major" most of the time might kind of slip under the radar when you're 500 yards from the Vietnam War...
 China Beach / int_e7c671f3
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1.0
 China Beach / int_e7c671f3
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_e7c671f3
 China Beach / int_e9f79e23
type
Screw the War, We're Partying
 China Beach / int_e9f79e23
comment
Screw the War, We're Partying: Frequently, since China Beach was an R & R station, although parties/concerts/dances/etc. were often broken up when the enemy attacked.
 China Beach / int_e9f79e23
featureApplicability
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 China Beach / int_e9f79e23
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_e9f79e23
 China Beach / int_ea85d6ea
type
All Just a Dream
 China Beach / int_ea85d6ea
comment
All Just a Dream: The episode "Strange Brew" was almost entirely a patchwork of dream sequences.
 China Beach / int_ea85d6ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_ea85d6ea
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_ea85d6ea
 China Beach / int_ee9877ea
type
Too Good for This Sinful Earth
 China Beach / int_ee9877ea
comment
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Cherry White. She comes in from the first episode as a sweet, naive, pretty much totally innocent farm girl from Iowa who just wants to find her MIA brother Rick. Though she gets somewhat jaded due to the pressures of the war and is almost totally crushed when she finds out that Rick is working as a pimp in Saigon, she is still sweet, kind, generous and rather naive about aspects of life by the time she steps out of a bunker the morning after the beginning of the Tet Offensive and is unceremoniously killed in a blast.
 China Beach / int_ee9877ea
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 China Beach / int_ee9877ea
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_ee9877ea
 China Beach / int_f1d6144a
type
War Is Hell
 China Beach / int_f1d6144a
comment
War Is Hell
 China Beach / int_f1d6144a
featureApplicability
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 China Beach / int_f1d6144a
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_f1d6144a
 China Beach / int_fb006999
type
Wham Episode
 China Beach / int_fb006999
comment
Wham Episode: "Tet '68"
 China Beach / int_fb006999
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 China Beach / int_fb006999
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 China Beach
hasFeature
China Beach / int_fb006999
 China Beach / int_fdf7d23d
type
Lady in Red
 China Beach / int_fdf7d23d
comment
Lady in Red: KC, often, particularly in one certain Asian-styled minidress.
 China Beach / int_fdf7d23d
featureApplicability
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 China Beach / int_fdf7d23d
featureConfidence
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_fdf7d23d
 China Beach / int_fed93e1b
type
Dark and Troubled Past
 China Beach / int_fed93e1b
comment
Dark and Troubled Past: Boonie, to a degree. After he basically murdered his platoon leader, he could no longer face going out into the field, and was given the job as lifeguard at China Beach.
 China Beach / int_fed93e1b
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 China Beach / int_fed93e1b
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_fed93e1b
 China Beach / int_name
type
ItemName
 China Beach / int_name
comment
 China Beach / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 China Beach / int_name
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 China Beach
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China Beach / int_name
 China Beach / int_name
itemName
China Beach

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 China Beach
hasFeature
Asian Babymama / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Asians Eat Pets / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Back to Front / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
But Not Too Foreign / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Camp Follower / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
December–December Romance / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
During the War / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Gallows Humor / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Glamorous Wartime Singer / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Home Guard / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Hooker with a Heart of Gold / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Outdoor Bath Peeping / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Real Song Theme Tune / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Really Gets Around / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Screw the War, We're Partying / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
Stock Series Finales / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
The '60s / int_d8b7d6b3
 China Beach
hasFeature
The Place / int_d8b7d6b3