Tour of Duty

[Steve-O]

Just curious to find out what Magnum Maniacs think about Tour of Duty. I'm not sure if I should be surprised this show has not yet found its way into the Other TV Shows section, as it identifies with a foundational theme from MPI. I like to think sometimes these Vietnam stories were taking place at the same time that Rick, T.C. and Thomas were on tour there. ToD also aired during the run of the moderately successful China Beach series, which I also imagine as occurring in the same universe as the guys‒ how could they have not.
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It would have been interesting to have had a few crossover episodes between ToD and CB, which certainly could have happened as the production run for both series crossed over from 1988 to 1990. Further to that, it was not unfeasible that after MPI's run ended in 1988, a few of the characters could have guest-appeared in ToD or CB as perhaps a secondary story‒ though the age factor might have been a challenge.
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I have started binge-watching ToD (at my slow binge pace) and enjoy the stories. I have just completed Season 1. Most episodes each address some particular aspect of life as a soldier in that war. For example, injuries, drug use, the USO, FNGs, protest, fragging, racism, repatriation, etc. I also quite like the instrumental themes by Joseph Conlan. I hear however, that S2E01 is where the series starts to slide, as production is moved to California and the writers try to widen their audience by changing up many of the supporting cast roles.

Two Season 1 episodes I have watched which I thought were the best so far were:
"Soldiers", where a few of the guys in Hawai'i for different reasons experience some anti-war hostility; and what I thought was a quite well-done storyline in a Vietnam Vet's ward in an area hospital.
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"Gray-Brown Odyssey", where a disabled member of the platoon is stuck (stranded) alone with a captured NVA fighter, and while they are necessitated to move through terrain together, they both struggle with a hatred/distrust vs. humanity/tolerance nexus in a somewhat symbiotic situation. Rosalind Chao (Soon-Lee Klinger from the MASH franchise) appears as NVA fighter Li Kiem.

Of particular note to Magnum fans:
> Season 1 was filmed on Oahu. For those who have been to Hawai'i, it's a bit odd to see identifiable Hawai'ian landscape behind troops in a shooting fight with NVLA folks.
> Quan Hi Lim / Lt. Tanaka appears in the S1 episode "Blood Brothers" as Papa San Dang, a shady operative in the local drug scene.
> Mako / Tozan (The Arrow That Is Not Aimed) appears in the S1 episode "Sitting Ducks" as Tran, a Kit Carson Scout.
> Glen Cannon / Doc Ibold made a short appearance as a doctor in the S1 episode "Soldiers".
> Clyde Kusatsu / Det. Gordon Katsumoto, Dr. Tang and others, appeared in the S1 episode "Angels of Mercy" as ARVN intel liaison officer, Maj. Ba Tho.

[Pahonu]

I watched both of those shows in their original runs. They were part of a group of films and TV series that followed Oliver Stone's Platoon winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1987. Prior films like Coming Home and The Deer Hunter, and TV shows like MPI dealt with the Vietnam War indirectly via the veterans. It was still so recent an event for Americans, and so raw that the subject was generally avoided. Apocalypse now was a resetting of Conrad's Heart of Darkness and not really a true depiction of the war as such. Platoon blew all that wide open. Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, and Casualties of War soon followed, as did these two series.

I did not finish the entire Tour of Duty series, trailing off somewhere in season 2. The first season was quite good. I liked the choice of The Doors Paint it Black for the intro. The closing credits had music with a wood flute that was pretty interesting as well. I watched China Beach in its entirety and it was even better in my view though it never was completed as the creators had intended. Reflections by the Supremes was a fantastic choice for the intro.

[Mr. Greene]

I watched this during the first run and really enjoyed it, and the soundtrack was great. havent seen any episodes since it went off the air, and I kind of lost interest when they started to make them more of a special operations unit. Just didnt have the same feel to it.

[Steve-O]

I have at last finished watching out the rest of the series. Many of the comments made by viewers and industry writers point out how the changes made in the cast and setting (to near Saigon in the show, and from HI to L.A. in the real world) affected the series in such a way as to hastening the end of the run. I would concur with that to a certain extent, though I was not put out with the change in the group's mission. The addition of new characters to bring in new viewers was okay with me, though we could certainly see at times how the plot-lines moved a bit closer to the ongoing themes portrayed in China Beach, a series which I also enjoyed. I often imagined these two programs and sets of characters existed in the same universe, though not too hard to imagine of course.

The addition of the Doc Hock, Pop Scarlett and Col. Brewster characters were welcome. I think they represented elements of duty personnel whom we (who weren't there) otherwise may not have been aware of, but were certainly present. I have an uncle who was a member of SF Green Berets; stories weren't really shared, so some of the latter ToD episodes kind of added to the intrigue. The final episode, Payback, was fairly good at presenting the effort that veterans were challenged with as they attempted to reintegrate after arriving back home. This theme itself could have easily added several more episodes to the series. China Beach used several episodes at the end to portray reintegration themes.

Keeping in mind that this is a television series (taking liberties with fact and/or adding drama), it would be interesting to find out from veterans who have watched ToD, what the producers got right and what they got wrong, and what subject matter they would have liked to have seen played out in a episode. If a good and sufficient cross section of subjects was portrayed, then perhaps this was also a factor contributing to the series end. Though, time-slot pressure from the Golden Girls is a bit hard to stomach. By the way, are Tour of Duty and China Beach the only television dramas to present activity from within the VN War? I think so.

Just a few more random observations from seasons two and three:

In the S2 episode "Terms of Enlistment", the brand of Vietnamese beer shown (popular even today) is "333", and is also known around town as "ba-ba-ba". In the show, it is depicted as "33". The dropping of a "3" for copyright purposes is amusing to see.
In the S2 episode "Lonesome Cowboy Blues", Alex is in Saigon taking photos for a story, but the very tight shots (as shown) she is taking are clearly not consistent with the very standard "normal" lens on her Nikon SLR.
In the S2 episode "Hard Stripe", note: MPC = Military Payment Certificate. (Casual watchers might like to know.)
In the S3 episode "The Luck", there was a scene somewhat reminiscent of the (real) end of Nguyen Van Lem by a general / police chief.
In the S3 episode "Doc Hock", the tunnels referred to as outside of Saigon are those at Củ Chi. The tunnels north of Huế are at Vĩnh Mốc. (I've crawled through both.)

There are good segments inserted into many episodes during the series run. Of note...
In the S3 episodes "The Ties That Bind" and "Lonely at the Top", Anderson has taken some leave back in the World. In The Ties That Bind, he has a nice heart-tugging scene while visiting with his six year old daughter. In Lonely at the Top, Zeke runs into a uniformed teenager at a drive-in diner (remember those?) who has just completed AIT and is shipping out in 10 days. I think it is a well done scene-- tsszzZZZzzzzzzzzzz....

Of particular note to Magnum fans:
Soon-Tek Oh / "Gen Hue, Sato, Dr. Su, Dr. Ling" appears in the episode Doc Hock as Gen. Lam Thoc, who is said to have participated in the Tet Offensive planning.

[Pahonu]

I can’t speak directly to veterans’ experiences in the war other than to say there were certainly a wide variety of experiences and responses to them. I have written on the forum before about my uncles different experiences. Two friends of our family and my high school history teacher were also veterans. I heard some very different things from them over the years and next to nothing from others, rather learning secondhand about their experiences. It goes without saying that it was a complex and traumatic event.

All of these films and series were made when I was in high school and college and newly learning about the conflict in both classes and from the veterans I knew directly. I was understandably interested given the many veterans around. I was also fortunate to be able to take an upper level elective history course about the war taught by a retired Marine officer. I heard such a wide variety of viewpoints there also as he brought in several guest speakers.

Perhaps the best way to find an answer to your question is to locate a veteran in similar circumstances to the series. They’re all in there 70’s now, very much like the WWII veterans were when I was young. There were so many around in my youth. It seemed like almost all of the older men in my neighborhood had served. I don’t recall the show well enough to say, but the time frame should also be a consideration. The conditions for soldiers on the ground changed significantly as the war progressed and Nixon’s Vietnamization policy was developed in the wake of the Tet Offensive.

I never did get to see the remaining episodes of Tour of Duty. Perhaps I’ll find it and give it a look. I’ve seen it advertised on one of the cable channels. China Beach is nowhere to be found unfortunately.

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

My dad (he's not a veteran) watched both these shows back in the day so I did too and I still tease him about his crush on Colleen McMurphy! It's been so long since I saw either show, I can't really remember much about the story lines. I would like to see both again, but neither are on streaming sites or regular TV in my area.