M*A*S*H rival no smash hit
QUESTION Was there a version of M*A*S*H set in Vietnam?
China Beach was a U.S. war drama about an army hospital and recreation and rehabilitation centre in Vietnam.
Created by William Broyles Jr. and John Sacret Young, the show ran for four seasons on aBC from 1988 to 1991 and was set in the fictional 510th Evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War.
it starred Dana Delany as First Lieutenant Colleen McMurphy, a dedicated nurse, and Marg helgenberger as a prostitute and volunteer, Karen Charlene ‘K.C.’ Koloski.
Unlike M*a*S*h, China Beach was a straight drama with tough storylines. in a typical episode McMurphy struggles to overcome her distaste at delivering a baby for a pregnant Viet Cong woman who threw a grenade in a bar.
it was based on the real-life experiences of Lynda van Devanter as told in her book home Before Morning: The Story Of an army nurse in Vietnam. She served in the 95th Evacuation hospital in Da nang.
The 20-mile long China Beach (My Khe in Vietnamese) is the country’s most picturesque stretch of sand. it was named by U.S. troops for its pristine whiteness. The series was filmed at indian Dunes, a 600-acre film ranch in California.
Tom Yarborough, a Forward air Controller stationed in Da nang from 1970-71 wrote: ‘Thanks to the foresight of some anonymous morale and recreation officer, Vietnam offered the american soldier incountry Rest and Relaxation, and one of the favourite R&R spots turned out to be Dan nang’s own China Beach’. he added: ‘The hardy flock of U.S. huey helicopters swooped down low over China Beach searching for nurses who may have been sunbathing topless on the sands.’
Critics lauded the show and Delany won an Emmy for best actress in a drama and helgenberger, best supporting actress but, it was a ratings failure. The genius of M*a*S*h. was its mix of comedy and pathos, China Beach was too serious for the 1980s. it was released on DVD in 2013.
Jamie Miller, Totnes, Devon.
QUESTION Is it true that the ‘sweating sickness’ of Tudor times could kill sufferers within three hours?
THE key contemporary English account of this contagious disease, also known as English sweat, or sudor anglicus, was John Caius’s 1552 treatise: a Boke Or Counseill against The Disease Called The Sweate. it described the full course of the illness, which was usually three to 14 days but could kill in just a few hours.
Frequently fatal, it first appeared in London in 1485, shortly after henry Vii’s forces entered the city having defeated Richard iii at Bosworth. There were outbreaks in 1508, 1517, 1528, and 1551; and in 1529 an epidemic hit north-western Europe. after 1551 it was not seen again.
Caius wrote that the disease began suddenly with a sense of apprehension, followed by violent cold shivers, dizziness, headache, exhaustion and intense back pain. next came a bout of heavy sweats accompanied by a sense of heat, headache, delirium, rapid pulse and intense thirst. Finally, it brought on a ‘marvellous heavinesse, and a desire to sleape’.
Caius said that it ‘immediately killed some in opening their windows, some playing with children in their street doors; some in one hour, many in two.’
Thomas Forrestier, a French physician in London during the 1485 outbreak, claimed: ‘We saw two priests standing together and speaking together, and we saw both of them die suddenly. Gentlemen and gentlewomen, priests, righteous men, merchants, rich and poor, were among the victims of this sudden death.’
The disease remains a mystery. Modern-day suggestions for causes include relapsing fever, a hantavirus infection and anthrax. however, none of these fully shares the symptoms given by Caius.
Penelope Hartley, Cheltenham, Glos.
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