Trivia / China Beach

• Dueling Works: The series was this with Tour of Duty, another Vietnam War drama which aired on CBS from 1987 to 1990.
• I'm Not a Doctor, but I Play One on TV: Robert Picardo, who played Dr. Richard, also played a doctor on an episode of The Golden Girls and was the holographic doctor on Star Trek: Voyager.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Subverted at long last; the series got a full DVD release in 2013 after Time Life FINALLY cleared most of the music rights.
• One-Book Author: This series was the most prolific credit on Nan Woods' (Cherry White) resume. Shortly after appearing on the show, she retired from acting.
• Real Song Theme Tune:
  • "Reflections" as sung by Diana Ross and The Supremes.
  • "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place" as covered by Katrina and the Waves featuring Eric Burdon for some season 3 episodes.
• Star-Making Role: For Dana Delany.
• What Could Have Been: ABC was originally planning to use the two-hour premiere of China Beach as the lead-out program following their broadcast of Super Bowl XXII. However, concerns at ABC over the game running long and potentially pushing the conclusion after midnight on the East Coast led to ABC switching to The Wonder Years as the series premiere following the Super Bowl.
• You Look Familiar: Ned Vaughn played a doomed soldier named Dewey in one episode of season 1. He returned for an episode as medic Jeff Hyers in season 2, then played Hyers for much of season 3 before he was killed off.

---