China Beach

[icepixie]

Netflix just got China Beach on DVD, and more importantly just got the first two of those DVDs to me. I first heard of it several years ago spoken of as a sibling in...I suppose the term would be "production values" or "artistic temperament" to Northern Exposure; although they're tonally about as different as you can get, both have sharp writing, an ensemble cast where everyone's important and has a story, excellent roles for women (CB moreso than NX), and music so perfectly matched that it serves as an uncredited cast member. Plus it has Dana Delany, who, as my much-too-long time watching Body of Proof proves, exerts some bewitchment over me that makes me want to watch anything she's in, because she's an amazing actress. (And very nice to look at, it cannot be denied.)

After watching the first three episodes, I can say that all of the above is true, and this is an AMAZING show I can't believe got such low ratings. (No, wait, I can believe it--did I mention it's dark? Funny at times, but daaaaark--and all about women--probably the second was the kiss of death even moreso in the late eighties than they are today.) But really, even just the first three episodes are so ridiculously good. I'm in love with all the characters. Admittedly, some of them in a love-to-hate sort of way *coughcoughDickRichardcough*, but you know what I mean.

For those who might be interested (rowdycamels I AM LOOKING AT YOU, YOU WOULD LOVE THIS; gamesiplay, I'm assuming you've already seen this, but if not, you need to even more), the show is set at a hospital/R&R facility on a beach at Vietnam in the late sixties, and is basically the war through the eyes of women in civilian and service positions.

• Dana Delany stars as army nurse Colleen McMurphy, and can be every bit as acerbic and prickly as Megan Hunt, but she also knows how to relate to people.


• K.C. Koloski is a prostitute, black market businesswoman, and possible venture capitalist who, for example, complains about AT&T stock being down while reading a newspaper holed up during an air strike.


• Cherry White is a naive 19-year-old volunteering with the Red Cross and looking for her missing brother. (Cherry so far hasn't grabbed me as much as the others, but I do like her interaction with K.C.)


• Lorette, who I think may only be in S1, is a USO singer who makes friends with Colleen and gets her to come out of her shellshock by singing pop songs together and doing her hair and other girly things. (I want aaaaaaaallllll the Colleen/Lorette femslash. All of it. They are subtextual in the same way Rizzoli and Isles are--in other words, the subtext is all but maintext--and I submit that Lorette's extreme man-craziness is overcompensation for something.)


• Lila Garreau is this awesomely flinty without being annoying...commanding officer of the R&R part of the facility? I think? She's in charge of the USO thing that Lorette's involved with, and seems to have something to do with running the bar, and she has an army rank, anyway.

The male characters are also compelling and well-integrated into the show.

• Samuel D. Beckett (...yes), the...undertaker? embalmer? I know he works on dead people and as a black man is unhappy that his hands are turning white from formaldehyde "just at the point [in time] where black is beautiful." He might actually be my favorite character, at least after Colleen. He's got a very dry wit, but underneath is a very keen sort of war-induced despair that makes me worry there's a very special episode about his suicide coming up.


• Robert Picardo is...well, he basically plays the Doctor from Voyager with a layer of sexist asshole grafted on. Appropriately, his name is Dick Richard. Hilariously, he's an OB/GYN. He was drafted into the service and is NOT HAPPY about it. On this topic, I like how the show handles sexism--it's there, because it's 1967, but the women tend to take none of that shit.


• "Boonie" got wounded before the show, was brought back to China Beach, and is now healed but can't bring himself to go back to the jungle or back home, so he's the, um...I guess "cruise director" isn't particularly appropriate, but that's kind of what he is. Also he's a lifeguard. And he is the kindest, sweetest guy ever. I want one.


• "Natch" Austen is a fighter pilot who, in a lovely twist of gender, appears to exist to serve entirely as Colleen's love interest. He hasn't yet managed to get her entirely interested in him (she was dumped by a fighter pilot, she's gunshy), but he's still working on it.


• Dodger is a marine(?) with the creepiest thousand-yard stare I've ever seen. He hasn't done a lot yet, but his seems to have a connection with Cherry that I suspect I'll enjoy watching develop.

Anyway, yes. I like it a lot. I suspect it'll break my heart a dozen times before I see it all, but I'll probably come back for more. You should watch.

Comments

[jae]

Huh, I've never even heard of this show. What's the overall plot? Is it strictly episodic, or is there an arc throughout a season, and character development over time?

-J

[icepixie]

I actually figured you would post a comment along the lines of "I loved that show back when!" So take that as evidence you might like it. ;)

I'm trying to avoid too many spoilers (especially of who dies, because I know main characters do), so I haven't looked too far ahead, but the show appears to be a compilation of character arcs and evolving relationships rather than a plot-arc based series. Reviewers recommend watching it in order for that reason, which is promising. I know in later seasons, they did something where parts of the episodes were set in the eighties to explore the characters' PTSD, among other experiences, back home, but the rest of the episodes were set in the sixties...apparently they experimented a lot with storytelling and form. This review seems to give a fairly good overview of the flavor of the show without getting to spoilery.

[jae]

Thanks! This definitely sounds like something I would like--I wonder if I can get it on Canadian Netflix.

-J