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The Best Episodes of China Beach Season 3

Every episode of China Beach Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of China Beach Season 3!

Binge this in Unknown•Peaking at 8.8/10

Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes,

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    China Beach Season 3 Episode 20 - F.N.G.
    8.8/10(65 votes)

    S3:E20

    In November 1966, fairly new guys Colleen McMurphy and Dr. Richard find themselves learning the ropes when they arrive at China Beach.

    Director:John Sacret Young
    Writer:Carol Flint

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  2. China Beach Season 3 Episode 9 - How to Stay Alive in Vietnam (1)
    8.5/10(56 votes)

    S3:E9

    Beckett and a civilian photographer temporarily join Dodger's patrol; McMurphy gets to know a wounded POW.

    Director:Fred Gerber
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. China Beach Season 3 Episode 1 - The Unquiet Earth
    8.4/10(62 votes)

    S3:E1

    McMurphy and K.C. are kidnapped by the Viet Cong and taken underground into a warren of tunnels, where their captors expect McMurphy to operate on their wounded leader.

    Director:Michael Ray Rhodes
    Writer:Alan Brennert

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  4. China Beach Season 3 Episode 17 - The Thanks of a Grateful Nation
    8.4/10(56 votes)

    S3:E17

    Dodger tries to reintegrate his life as a civilian but finds himself drifting as he tries to make sense of his experiences in Vietnam.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writer:John Wells

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  5. China Beach Season 3 Episode 2 - Skin Deep
    8.3/10(51 votes)

    S3:E2

    McMurphy uses a little guilt and a little blackmail to get a reluctant K.C. to visit a wounded soldier whose face has been badly disfigured. Holly, the new doughnut dolly, challenges the nurses on behalf of the Red Cross Volunteers to compete in a Miss China Beach beauty pageant. Frankie is assigned to the motor pool and runs into Sarge Pepper, who's not very eager to have her there.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writer:Carol Flint

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  6. China Beach Season 3 Episode 12 - Nightfall
    8.3/10(50 votes)

    S3:E12

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  7. China Beach Season 3 Episode 18 - Skylark
    8.3/10(53 votes)

    S3:E18

    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.

    Director:Fred Gerber
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  8. China Beach Season 3 Episode 21 - The Gift
    8.3/10(52 votes)

    S3:E21

    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.

    Director:Michael Katleman
    Writer:Josef Anderson

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  9. China Beach Season 3 Episode 13 - Souvenirs
    8.2/10(51 votes)

    S3:E13

    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.

    Director:John Sacret Young
    Writer:John Sacret Young

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  10. China Beach Season 3 Episode 16 - Warriors
    8.2/10(47 votes)

    S3:E16

    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.

    Director:David Soul
    Writer:Neal Baer

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  11. China Beach Season 3 Episode 8 - China Men
    8.0/10(45 votes)

    S3:E8

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Josef Anderson

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  12. China Beach Season 3 Episode 14 - Holly's Choice
    8.0/10(54 votes)

    S3:E14

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Carol Flint

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  13. China Beach Season 3 Episode 19 - Phoenix
    8.0/10(51 votes)

    S3:E19

    K.C. finds herself in the middle of a C.I.A. assassination plot, and dependent on McMurphy to vouch for her innocence.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writer:Toni Graphia

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  14. China Beach Season 3 Episode 3 - Dear China Beach
    7.9/10(52 votes)

    S3:E3

    Dodger is left with an Amerasian baby that is supposedly his son; McMurphy makes a poor patient when she comes down with dysentery; and Holly badgers everyone into answering the letters sent by seventh-graders from Colorado.

    Director:Michael Ray Rhodes
    Writer:John Wells

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  15. China Beach Season 3 Episode 4 - Who's Happy Now?
    7.9/10(48 votes)

    S3:E4

    Dr. Richard worries over a craniotomy that has permanently altered a patient's mental capacity; Lila faces an inspection that will determine if she gets a key promotion; Sarge Pepper asks for some advice about courting Lila and K.C. finds herself in a very awkward position when a senior officer goes AWOL on her permanently.

    Director:Fred Gerber
    Writer:Lydia Woodward

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  16. China Beach Season 3 Episode 11 - Magic
    7.9/10(51 votes)

    S3:E11

    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.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writer:John Wells

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  17. China Beach Season 3 Episode 6 - Ghosts
    7.8/10(51 votes)

    S3:E6

    K.C. avoids dealing with unpleasant memories of her father stirred up by a trunk of his belongings; Dr. Richard faces his ex-wife's remarriage with a ""black wedding""; Beckett ends his relationship with Mai; and McMurphy learns more about Dr. Bernard's life.

    Director:Michael Fresco
    Writer:Toni Graphia

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  18. China Beach Season 3 Episode 7 - With a Little Help From My Friends
    7.8/10(47 votes)

    S3:E7

    Holly is shaken when it appears that Hang is connected to the VC and has been using their friendship to gain information; Frankie is seriously injured by a booby trap; and McMurphy aids Dr. Bernard at a civilian clinic.

    Director:Michael Toshiyuki Uno
    Writers:Josef Anderson, Carol Flint

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  19. China Beach Season 3 Episode 10 - How to Stay Alive in Vietnam (2)
    7.8/10(49 votes)

    S3:E10

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. China Beach Season 3 Episode 15 - The Rumor of Peace
    7.8/10(51 votes)

    S3:E15

    China Beach reacts to the rumors of peace floated by Beckett and Frankie during their pirate radio broadcast.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Josef Anderson

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  21. China Beach Season 3 Episode 5 - Independence Day
    7.7/10(49 votes)

    S3:E5

    China Beach celebrates a soggy Independence Day with Boonie and Holly trying to keep everyone's spirits up, McMurphy dealing with a love struck private as she tries to sort out her feelings for Dr. Bernard, Lila and the Sarge discussing the future and Beckett and K.C. quarreling over registering the dead to vote.

    Director:Mimi Leder
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. China Beach Season 3 Episode 22 - Strange Brew
    7.5/10(48 votes)

    S3:E22

    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.

    Director:Michael Fresco
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"F.N.G." is the best rated episode of "China Beach" season 3. It scored 8.8/10 based on 65 votes. Directed by John Sacret Young and written by Carol Flint, it aired on 4/16/1990. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "How to Stay Alive in Vietnam (1)".