China Beach
Crossing the Great Water
TV Flash files “Crossing the Great Water” as hour 17 of 64 in the TV Flash guide — China Beach (1988–1991) on ABC, season 2, episode 9, aired 1989-02-08, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E09: listed hour 17 of 64 in the China Beach guide, hour 9 of 17 in season 2. It aired 1989-02-08 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Cherry” (S02E08). Next is “Psywars” (S02E10).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Crossing the Great Water sit in the China Beach guide?
S02E09 is listed hour 17 of 64 — hour 9 of 17 in season 2, season 2 episode 9.
When did China Beach S02E09 air?
Crossing the Great Water aired 1989-02-08 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is it a combat show?
An evacuation-hospital drama. Trauma, R&R, and memory as the same weather — Vietnam without the gung-ho filter, seen through nurses and the tent, not a recruitment poster.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Vietnam without the gung-ho filter: Dana Delany's nurse McMurphy, Marg Helgenberger's K.C., and an evacuation-hospital ensemble that treats trauma, R&R, and memory as the same weather. Late-80s quality drama with music cues that ache. Ratings never matched the Emmys; the women's-war vantage is still rarer than it should be.
An evacuation tent as the whole war — not a recruitment poster, a look that aches. ABC's China Beach (1988–1991) centers Dana Delany's nurse Colleen McMurphy and Marg Helgenberger's K.C., with Robert Picardo and Michael Boatman in an ensemble that treats trauma, R&R, and memory as the same weather. William Broyles Jr. and John Sacret Young blended music, memory, and combat aftermath. Vietnam without the gung-ho filter. *Olive drab, a swimsuit in an R&R hour, music cues as jewelry, a hospital that photographs like…
Filed against
- Dana Delany as Colleen McMurphy
Dana Delany’s Colleen McMurphy made China Beach ache — Vietnam without the gung-ho filter, an evacuation-hospital nurse treating trauma, R&R, and memory as the same weather. Marg Helgenberger’s K.C. shares the ensemble; Delany is the…
- Marg Helgenberger as K.C.
Marg Helgenberger’s K.C. made China Beach treat Vietnam trauma and R&R as the same weather — Dana Delany’s nurse, evacuation-hospital ensemble — then turned CSI’s Las Vegas lab into nightclub cinema. Late-80s quality drama with aching…
- Robert Picardo as Dr. Dick Richard
Robert Picardo's Dr. Dick Richard worked China Beach as evacuation-hospital ensemble weather — Dana Delany's nurse McMurphy, Marg Helgenberger's K.C., Vietnam without the gung-ho filter. Trauma, R&R, and memory as the same climate. TV…
- Michael Boatman as Samuel Beckett
Michael Boatman’s Samuel Beckett walked China Beach’s evacuation hospital like trauma, R&R, and memory were the same weather — late-80s quality drama, Dana Delany’s McMurphy, Marg Helgenberger’s K.C., Vietnam without the gung-ho filter.…