''Tour of Duty'' is an American

military drama Military fiction is a genre of fiction, focusing on military activities, such as war, battles, combat, fighting; or military life. Classes of military fiction Types of military fiction include: * War novels, including written military fiction * ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

based on events in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. The series ran for three seasons, from September 24, 1987, to April 28, 1990, for a total of 58 one-hour episodes. The show was created by Steve Duncan and L. Travis Clark and produced by

Zev Braun Zev Braun (October 19, 1928 – October 17, 2019) was an American motion picture producer. Though much of his work is in television (most notably as the executive producer of the ''Tour of Duty'' series) he was a successful filmmaker from th ...

. The show follows an American

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

on a

tour of duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

during the Vietnam War. It was the first television series to regularly show Americans in combat in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

and was one of several similarly themed series to be produced in the wake of the acclaimed

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

film ''

Platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

'' (1986). The series won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1988 for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series, and it was nominated again in 1989 and 1990.

Overview

''Tour of Duty'' examined the issues of

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

teamwork Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. This concept is seen within the greater framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individual ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

fragging Fragging is the deliberate or attempted killing by a soldier of a fellow soldier, usually a superior. U.S. military personnel coined the word during the Vietnam War, when such killings were most often attempted with a fragmentation grenade, some ...

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, civilian deaths,

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

, and how the lives of soldiers and civilians were permanently affected by the

. The first season began in 1967 and followed Bravo

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

's second

located at Camp Ladybird. Second platoon was standard

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

platoon conducting "

search and destroy Search and destroy, seek and destroy, or simply S&D is a military strategy best known for its employment in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The strategy consists of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, ''search''ing out ...

" missions in Vietnam, under the command of

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

( 1st Lieutenant from the start of season 2) Myron Goldman ( Stephen Caffrey) and

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

(later Sergeant First Class) Zeke Anderson ( Terence Knox). It was filmed on location in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks is a United States Army installation and census-designated place (CDP) located in the City and County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Oahu, Hawaii, Hawaii. Schofield Barracks lies adj ...

. For the second and third seasons, the series was filmed around

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, to reduce the budget. The same locations, notably a small river with grass on one bank and woods on the other, were reused in a number of episodes. The old set of war comedy-drama television series ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'' was also used for filming. The change of location also led to a change in the show's direction. Beginning in the second season, the platoon was relocated to a base near

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

, Camp Arnett. Production staff interviewed in ''

Vietnam Magazine ''Vietnam Magazine'' is a full-color history magazine published bi-monthly which covers the Vietnam War. It was founded in 1988 by the late Colonel Harry G. Summers, Jr. Colonel Summers served in the U.S. Army in both Korea and Vietnam, where he w ...

'' said this change in premise doomed the series because it shifted from being a realistic chronicle about the life of an average combat infantryman to an action/romantic/drama show.

wanted female characters because

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

had premiered ''

China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...

'', a Vietnam Army nurses drama, which was aimed directly at attracting more female viewers. In ''Tour of Duty''s third season, the remaining female character was killed off, and the platoon was transferred to a SOG unit under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Brewster (played by

Carl Weathers Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948) is an American actor and former professional football player. He is known for his roles as boxer Apollo Creed in the first four ''Rocky'' films (1976–85), George Dillon in ''Predator'' (1987), Action Jac ...

). The unit conducted

covert operation A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performe ...

s in Vietnam and

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

which included a fictional version of the raid on Son Tay Prison. The show was canceled at the end of this season due to falling ratings. Guest stars included

Lee Majors Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. Majors portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley in the American television Western series ''The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin in the American television ...

, James Hong,

Mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese voice actress, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also performed in a Japanese television ...

Kelly Hu Kelly Ann Hu (born February 13, 1968 ) is an American actress, voice artist, former fashion model and beauty queen who was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993. Hu starred as Dr. Rae Chang on the American television soap opera '' Sunset ...

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

Ving Rhames Irving Rameses Rhames (born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his supporting roles as IMF Agent Luther Stickell in the ''Mission: Impossible'' film series and gang kingpin Marsellus Wallace in ''Pulp Fiction''. He also ap ...

Melora Hardin Melora Hardin (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress, known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' and Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'', and Tammy Cashman on Amazon Prime Video's '' Transparent'', for which she received ...

Everett McGill Everett McGill (born Charles Everett McGill III, October 21, 1945) is an American actor, who rose to prominence for his portrayal of a caveman in '' Quest for Fire'' (1981). He went on to have prominent roles in the films ''Dune'' (1984), '' Si ...

, Olivia d'Abo, David Alan Grier,

Richard Brooks Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, Oscars in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), ''Cat on a ...

Malcolm-Jamal Warner Malcolm-Jamal Warner (born August 18, 1970) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'', which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series a ...

, William Sadler, and

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' (19 ...

Episodes

Characters

;Notes

Music

The opening theme song was an abbreviated version of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

hit "

Paint It Black "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European in ...

" that had featured in the end titles of the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Vietnam War film '' Full Metal Jacket''; this was removed for the US DVD release. The closing consisted of an instrumental, synthesized tune with a distinctive Asian sound mixed in with acoustic guitar; it was performed by

Joseph Conlan Joseph Richard Conlan is an American film and television composer based in Los Angeles. He is best known for his scores to the television series ''NCIS'', ''Tour of Duty'' and ''Simon & Simon'', and films ''Spiders 3D'' and '' Behind Enemy Lin ...

, and was never released for public consumption other than in the series. That music was used as background music for most of the series. On the US DVD release, most of the Vietnam War–era popular songs were replaced by instrumental bits to cover the blank spots of music. All three seasons that have been released in the United Kingdom feature the complete original soundtrack, including "Paint It Black". The show was known for its classic American rock soundtrack including

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, and

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

. One first-season episode, "USO Down", used "live" versions of "

Wooly Bully "Wooly Bully" is a song originally recorded by novelty rock and roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1964. Based on a standard 12-bar blues progression, it was written by the band's frontman, Domingo "Sam" Samudio. It was released as a sin ...

", and "

We Gotta Get Out of This Place "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", occasionally written "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place", is a rock song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded as a 1965 hit single by the Animals. It has become an iconic song of its type and was ...

" as performed by a USO band, the latter song being used also for ironic comment. The songs in this episode were retained in the DVD soundtracks. But for

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

reasons, the VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

soundtracks of the majority of episodes were replaced with soundalikes, a move which was widely protested by buyers and resulted in a significantly lower sales volume for the third-season DVD set than for the first two. In the Netherlands, amongst other European nations, a total number of seven albums were released, containing most of the songs featured on the show. As a result, "Paint It Black" was re-released as a single, again hitting the number 1 position in the Dutch top 40 pop charts in May 1990.

The original soundtrack albums

The ''Tour of Duty'' television series soundtrack was released by CBS on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

as four different compilation albums during 1988 and 1989. The original albums are now out of print. Their track listings are as follows:

Charts

* Note: The official Australian chart was the Kent Music Report until June 1988, and which time it changed to ARIA.

Compilation soundtrack CDs

In 1992,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

released a compilation CD titled ''The Best of 'Tour of Duty. It contains only twenty of the songs featured in the four original ''Tour of Duty'' Soundtrack albums.

Home media

In 2004-2005,

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

released all three seasons for the first time in the US, both as individual season sets and a complete series set. Due to licensing issues, all original music was replaced with sound-alike versions, much to the dismay of fans. These releases, which have also been criticized for having substandard sound and picture quality, have since been discontinued. In 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the US rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including ''Tour of Duty''. In 2014-2015, they re-released all three seasons on DVD, again as individual season sets and a complete series set. These releases have the same poor A/V and replacement music of the Sony issues. Between 2011-2013, Fabulous Films released identical DVDs in the UK and Australia, both as individual season sets and a complete series set. They have improved audio and video quality over the US issues, and retain the complete original soundtrack, including "

Paint It, Black "Paint It Black" is a song recorded in 1966 by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European in ...

". They also contain extras including cast and crew biographies, hundreds of publicity photos and a feature-length, three-part documentary. The latter includes interviews filmed in Los Angeles in July 2011 with key cast members Terence Knox,

Joshua D. Maurer Joshua D. Maurer (born February 26, 1964) is an American film producer, writer and actor who is best known for ''Georgia O'Keeffe,'' ''The Hoax,'' ''The Last Tycoon,'' '' Rosemary's Baby,'' '' Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret,'' ''Introducing Dor ...

, Steve Akahoshi, Tony Becker,

Eric Bruskotter Eric Bruskotter is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Cleveland Indians rookie Catcher Rube Baker in ''Major League II'' and '' Major League: Back to the Minors'' as well as his role as Private Scott Baker in the TV series '' To ...

Kevin Conroy Kevin Conroy (November 30, 1955 – November 10, 2022) was an American actor. He appeared in a variety of stage performances, television series, and television films, but earned worldwide fame for his voice portrayal of the DC Comics superhero ...

Miguel A. Núñez Jr. Miguel A. Núñez Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in ''The Return of the Living Dead'' and ''Life''. He played leading roles in ''Juwanna Mann'' and ''Tour of Duty'' and appears on the hit BET drama ''The Family Busines ...

and

Dan Gauthier Daniel Lester Gauthier (; born December 2, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Kevin Buchanan on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'', Matt Liston on the sitcom Ellen for two seasons, Brad Powell in the 1989 film ''Teen Wi ...

, and key production crew members

(producer)

Bill L. Norton Bill L. Norton is an American film director, writer and producer. Among many projects, he is the writer-director of '' Cisco Pike'' and ''More American Graffiti''. Career Norton is most notable as a film director, including his first feature fil ...

(writer/director), Steve Smith (writer/producer), Steve Duncan (creator) and Paul Sinor (military advisor). The complete series was also released on DVD in Germany by

Koch Media Plaion (formerly Koch Media) is a German-Austrian media company headquartered in Höfen, Tyrol, Austria, with an operating subsidiary based in Planegg, Germany. The company was founded in 1994 by Franz Koch and Klemens Kundratitz. The company ...

between 2012-2014, both as individual season sets and complete series sets. These releases replicate the poor quality, music-replacement and extras-free US DVDs but they do reinstate the original version of "Paint It, Black" in the opening credits.

Reception

Television ratings

Awards

The series won an

in 1988 for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "Under Siege"), and it was nominated again in 1989 and 1990. Emmy Award nominations: * 1989: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "I Wish it Could Rain") * 1990: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "And Make Death Proud to Take Us")

Eddie Award Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...

nominations * 1988: Best Edited Episode from a Television Series (for the pilot episode)

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0092468, title=Tour of Duty
Official Tour of Duty UK Fanhub

HUM90 Tour of Duty fanpage
1987 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings CBS original programming English-language television shows American military television series Television series based on actual events Television series by New World Television Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series set in 1967 Television series set in 1968 Television series set in 1969 Television series about Vietnam War