![]() ![]() … When we see each other, nothing has changed. We had a 'reunion' where we all got together, they filmed it and we talked about the experience, but the truth is we've seen each other a lot over the years. Probably overly picky that I became known as the 'no' girl, and then you realize, 'Oh my God, I’m saying no too much,' and you start saying yes, and maybe you say yes to things you shouldn’t say yes to! You know, you never know, it’s all timing."Īmong the shows on her post- China Beach resume, I personally love Dana's over-the-top 1993 miniseries Wild Palms, executive-produced by Oliver Stone, and she enthusiastically responds, "I did too! I loved Wild Palms it was so ahead of its time."Īs for the familial friendships forged on the China Beach set, the now fiftysomething actress says of her former co-stars, including Marg Helgenberger, Robert Picardo and Michael Boatman, "We are all still friends today because of the shared experience of doing that show. There was a lot of irony and cynicism going on, and I had hard time connecting to that. There was a period of time when studio features - not independent films - were very afraid of emotion. "When I got off China Beach everybody was offering me movies, and I was so used to doing work of such emotional depth on China Beach. "The TV show spoiled me completely, because I thought, 'Oh, I’m only going to do work that has great impact and meaning,' and of course that's not so easy to find!" she chuckles. ![]() With time on her side, she laughs at her own expense thinking about her mindset following the end of China Beach. … Eventually I was part of the whole movement to get The Women's Memorial up in D.C., because I became close to a lot of the nurses."ĭana earned not just one but two Best Actress Emmys for her work on the show, and went on to embody a myriad of roles in both film (such as Tombstone and Exit to Eden) and television (most recently and notably on Desperate Housewives and the just-canceled Body of Proof). I think they were relieved that we took great pains to get it right and listen to their stories, going as far as having real nurses in an episode called Vets. I know when we first came out the nurses were really concerned that they were going to be portrayed as sex bombs in service of the doctors, because honestly, up until that point, nurses often were portrayed that way. The star continues, "I thought it was quite true to the experience of nurses in Vietnam. Related Video: ET Flashback '86 - Dana Delany's Sitcom Daze So I thought it was an interesting take that we had on it." It was the time in their life when they felt most alive and were the most needed, and at the same time it was the most horrific time in their lives. … As horrible as war is, it's very exciting, and once you come home it’s very hard to come down from that – there's a lot of adrenaline associated with it, and I think that the nurses also experienced that. "I would say that the template that John Sacret Young kept referring to was The Best Years of Our Lives. It was sort of a different way in," says Dana. "I thought it was really smart to do it from the perspective of women. I know that at the end, I was choice and that was that."ĭespite initial comparisons to M*A*S*H – minus the laugh track – when China Beach debuted in April of 1988, the drama quickly came into its own with its smart writing, cinematic sensibilities and honest portrayal of the horrors of war and the resulting psychological scars. And I don’t know why they finally chose me. You know, at that age you take that to heart. One thing I heard was that I wasn’t pretty enough (laughs). I know there was a lot of consternation at the time a lot of people didn’t think I was right for the role. The two of us tested for it, and I really don’t know why they chose me. "I certainly looked wholesome, and I think it's safe to come out and say it because she had a huge career - it was between me and Helen Hunt. "The part was originally written Midwestern girl and she had blonde hair – I think 'the color of wheat' was the description of it, because she was from Kansas - and I didn’t look like that," says Dana. ![]()
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