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They're mentioned in passing (along with a link to the full series box review) in that Wonder Years link, but I've been enjoying the China Beach sets. Part of it is adolescent nostalgia (Dana Delany was Kindergarten-era me's first celebrity crush), but on revisiting I've been amazed how quickly the show hit greatness. If the Wonder Years collection is handled with the same care, we're in for a real treat.

So far the first two seasons of China Beach have been spun off at lower prices from the big box (which is now a gtfo $300 on Amazon), and if they keep the pace up, we should have season three in the spring & season four this summer.

Arthur House wrote:...I've been enjoying the China Beach sets. Part of it is adolescent nostalgia (Dana Delany was Kindergarten-era me's first celebrity crush), but on revisiting I've been amazed how quickly the show hit greatness.

I remember that I started watching China Beach half-way through it's first season, mostly because I was fascinated with the Vietnam war when I was younger. I was probably too young to embrace the show wholeheartedly, but I remember the show grew on me as I kept watching it. Unfortunately, I lost track of it after Season 2 and I never caught up with it again, despite the fact that I thought it was really well done. From what I've heard in the past, Season 4 was quite unique for a network drama at the time. I'm just astounded by the fact that it was produced by John Wells, considering his output is so bland nowadays.

Plus, I also developed a pre-adolescent crush on Dana Delany (actually, also on Kim Delaney - she was on CBS's mediocre rival Vietnam-War show Tour of Duty).

I'd recommend starting with the season three disc for anyone wanting to check out the series. My favorite episodes from the series are all from there- The Unquiet Earth; China Men; Independence Day; Skin Deep. Not coincidentally episodes where Dana Delaney and/or Marg Helgenberger dominated the screen time.

I've been watching this show intermittently and I am enjoying it, but one thing that's stopping me from moving through the series quicker is that it is so downbeat that it makes it hard to devote more than an episode's worth of time to it

Don't remember it being quite that bleak. Not near as bleak as The Wire or Homicide Life on the Streets. Though certainly it was gritty. And refreshingly so, especially back then in that far more limited TV universe.

I don't necessarily mean it as a complaint, just an observation. I would say Homicide and the Wire counter a lot of their subject matter with fresh and clever dialog, which China Beach hasn't exhibited a tendency towards, at least so far as I've gotten into it. I do think its tone makes it "hold up" better than some other TV dramas of the period, though

Numero Trois wrote:I'd recommend starting with the season three disc for anyone wanting to check out the series. My favorite episodes from the series are all from there- The Unquiet Earth; China Men; Independence Day; Skin Deep. Not coincidentally episodes where Dana Delaney and/or Marg Helgenberger dominated the screen time.

I got done with S3 last night, and I will say it was probably the most palatable of the series (I haven't seen any of S4 since the original airings, but you know, fractured chronology wasn't a viable viewer hook yet)--lots of stand-alone episodes, less long arcs, and some soapy relationship plotlines (McMurphy with her leDreamy French Doctor being the main offenders). I wonder how much of this was down to tinkering from ABC? You get the feeling there was also some pinching at a budgetary level, as this season wasn't as music-heavy and even at times utilized some glaringly period-inappropriate material, such as a number of Katrina & The Waves songs, including a very 80s remake of "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place" w/Eric Burdon, who appeared performing it onscreen with the group in the season finale. In addition, each of the final three eps featuring recycled footage (in one case, recycled from within the episode) for montages.

Some noteworthy S3 eps not yet mentioned:

"Magic": One of the most satisfying relationship-oriented episodes. Also boasts one of their best collections of vintage source music, including Vanilla Fudge's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" almost 25 years before Mad Men seized upon it.

"Nightfall" & "Phoenix": Neither quite top self, but both very interesting Film Noir riffs spotlighting KC.

"Holly's Choice" & "The Thanks of A Grateful Nation": It seems like partway through the season, the creatives were able to slip the leash and deliver some more off-beat scripts like these two very focused character studies. The former is the legendary "backwards" episode focusing on Red Cross volunteer Holly (Ricki Lake, fresh off of Hairspray) attempting to get an abortion, while the latter chronicles Dodger (Jeff Kober) adjusting to life back home. It features an interesting meta-moment as he becomes involved with a single mother played by Helen Hunt, who--as revealed by Dana Delany in her interview in the S1 set--was ABC's preferred choice to play McMurphy during the show's casting process.

"F.N.G.": A full flashback episode covering McMurphy & Dr. Richard first days at the base in 1966. I rank the Delany-Robert Picardo scenes just under the Delany-Helgenberger ones for viewing pleasure, and this episode has some classic material with them.

"The Gift": One of the best Lila Garreau stories, with great guest shots from Barbara Babcock and Gerrit Graham. Delany's monologue in the inquiry scene was one of her greatest moments on the show.