I haven't seen the series since it first was on ABC. I tried to watch every week and was angry when they canceled it, because it was a great series.I recently purchased a copy of the pilot episode on VHS tape (China Beach)and once again was reminded how well the series was put together. Like many others I want to own all of the series on DVD and hope that chance will come. Dana Delany was outstanding in this role and touches the heart. Through her you see what it is like to see young men dying or dealing with terrible, life altering injuries and how hopeless she feels when she can not save them. Yet she knows the important part she plays to those dying boys as the voice and touch that represents the mothers, wives, lovers, and sisters of those who are dying far from home. They are not dying alone when she is there. Others in the cast are outstanding as well. The Gal that played Cherry the donut girl, and the back up singer turned lead, when the pretty one can't stay well enough to sing. She came to meet the boys-a-rama ,but soon was doing much more to touch the hearts of those at war. This is not a drama about the fighting in the field, but about the nurses and doctors in the field and the soldiers that go through their hospital. This is not Mash in Vietnam! This is a serious drama that will have you crying for all those dead and wounded soldiers wasted on battlefields around the other side of the world fighting an unpopular war. Each deals with the stress in their own way, but you can not watch this series without it touching you deeply and emotionally. If you lived during the Vietnam years then this will bring back the emotions of those times. If for no other reason this series should be put on DVD to honor the nurses, Doctors, entertainers, and donut girls that tried to bring a touch of home to the troops in Vietnam. To those who were wounded and survived and the many who did not this series should be available and remembered. Tour of Duty also should be on DVD and is excellent companion piece to show what the fighting grunts on the ground went through. Tour of duty is scheduled to be released on DVD this summer. Now Give us China Beach!
