The WORST episodes of China Beach
Every episode of China Beach ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of China Beach!
The trials of a weary nurse, her friends and colleagues in a Vietnam War field hospital.
#1 - She Sells More than Sea Shells
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/6/1990
Still in 1985, Karen learns how her natural mother, KC, coped with her pregnancy by turning to Boonie for help.
#2 - How to Stay Alive in Vietnam, Part I
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/29/1989
Beckett and a civilian photographer temporarily join Dodger's patrol; McMurphy gets to know a wounded POW.
#3 - How to Stay Alive in Vietnam, Part II
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/6/1989
The wounded Cambodian POW befriended by McMurphy is taken away by the South Vietnamese for interrogation as the photographer Cat pursues the story of his defection and a new commander arrives to take over the base, leaving Lila and K.C. unsure of their positions.
#4 - Magic
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/3/1990
McMurphy finds herself caught up in a triangle affair with Dr. Bernard and Vinnie; Holly tells Boonie how she feels about him; and Lila copes with the disappointment of losing command of China Beach to Otis.
#5 - Nightfall
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/10/1990
K.C. feels responsible for the death of a Vietnamese prostitute she sent out and takes things into her own hands when Otis refuses to investigate the matter.
#6 - Souvenirs
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/17/1990
Dodger reaches the limit of his endurance and decides to leave Vietnam and faces a mountain of paperwork as he tries to get permission to take his Amerasian son home with him.
#7 - Holly's Choice
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/30/1990
Holly has had an abortion and as her friends at China Beach try to deal with it, the circumstances that led up to it are gradually revealed.
#8 - A Rumor of Peace
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/7/1990
China Beach reacts to the rumors of peace floated by Beckett and Frankie during their pirate radio broadcast.
#9 - Warriors
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/14/1990
McMurphy is in an emotional and ethical turmoil when she delivers Vinnie's buddy from death but he falls into a terminal coma; and Frankie finds herself in charge of a squad of grizzled grunts.
#10 - The Thanks of a Grateful Nation
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/28/1990
Dodger tries to reintegrate his life as a civilian but finds himself drifting as he tries to make sense of his experiences in Vietnam.
#11 - Skylark
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/14/1990
A pair of ballroom dancers bring a note of grace and harmony to the uneasy relationship between McMurphy and Dr. Richard while completing a mysterious mission of their own.
#12 - Phoenix
Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/21/1990
K.C. finds herself in the middle of a C.I.A. assassination plot, and dependent on McMurphy to vouch for her innocence.
#13 - F.N.G.
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/16/1990
In November 1966, fairly new guys Colleen McMurphy and Dr. Richard find themselves learning the ropes when they arrive at China Beach.
#14 - The Gift
Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/23/1990
McMurphy finds herself under suspicion when a wounded G.I. she doesn't remember names her as his beneficiary. Lila has mixed feelings about an old friend who now outranks her and has arrived at China Beach to do a recruiting film about Army nurses.
#15 - Strange Brew
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/30/1990
With everyone else away for a distant USO show, K.C. and McMurphy indulge in an alcoholic binge that takes them to a dreamy landscape where a Native American guide tries to help them heal past and present wounds.
#16 - The Big Bang
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/29/1990
In 1985, a reunion between Boonie and Dr. Richard stirs up memories of their first meeting in Vietnam in 1966. It also brings up questions for Boonie's 18-year-old adopted daughter, Karen.
#17 - China Men
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/1989
Dodger and Hyers square off after a battlefield incident; McMurphy spends an uncomfortable evening with Dr. Bernard's sophisticated civilian friends; and Boonie gets a surprise from the sexy Asian singer all the men in camp are longing for.
#18 - You, Babe
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/13/1990
In Saigon in 1967, KC gives birth with McMurphy's help and gives the baby over to a foster mother.
#19 - Escape
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/27/1990
While attending his father's funeral in 1985, Beckett reflects on his childhood and his tour of duty in Vietnam with the Graves Registration Unit.
#20 - Fever
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/3/1990
In 1970, McMurphy returns home to Lawrence, Kansas to make peace with her mother and try to settle down into civilian life, but finds both goals beyond her grasp.
#21 - Juice
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/10/1990
In 1972, Dr. Richard and his nurse take a romantic trip to Florida, where they run across a hard-livng McMurphy working at an orange-juice factory.
#22 - One Giant Leap
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/17/1990
In 1969, China Beach watches from afar as the first men land on the moon. McMurphy simmers jealously as Dr. Richard falls for a new nurse. Beckett entertains a group of USO singers in his G.R.U. hut. A disturbed Boonie meets with a tragic accident.
#23 - One Small Step
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/1/1990
Suddenly back home and missing one leg, Boonie begins a slow and painful re-entry into civilian life with the comfort of a loving nurse.
#24 - The Call
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/8/1990
Frankie returns to Chicago in 1969 to try her hand at being a standup comic but runs into the tragically funny trial of the infamous Chicago Seven. Back in Vietnam, McMurphy tries to help Dodger convince some Montagnard tribes people to evacuate their homes.
#25 - I Could Have Danced All Night... But Didn't
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/4/1991
McMurphy meets a sympathetic drummer at a 1983 wedding and recalls the 1969 wedding of Lila and Sarge Pepper, as well as the end of her relationship with Dr. Richard.