MovieChat Forums > Tour of Duty (1987) Discussion > I just discovered this fantastic show

I just discovered this fantastic show

posted 12 years ago by Bud357
4 replies | jump to latest

Browsing through DVDs at my public library, I came across Tour of Duty. I was really surprised that I didn't recognize the show, since I'm a Vietnam war buff. Apocalypse Now and Platoon are two of my all time favorite movies. I also used to watch China Beach every week, which I guess was on around the same time as ToD. Is it possible they were on at the same time and that's why I didn't watch ToD?

Anyway, the show is really good, great acting and production values and quite realistic. I just finished watching season 2 and I'm really loving the show. I do have two complaints:

1) The music- I thought the music was garbage, especially the opening theme song, which sounds like a cheaply made instrumental someone did on a Casio. I was surprised at how bad the music was, considering how well made the rest of the show is. Then I read on Wikipedia about all the original music being stripped, and it all made sense. It's a shame, because I'm sure I would have enjoyed the show even more with it's original music. In fact when I heard that Paint it Black was the original theme, I realized that I may have seen parts of this show before, but just didn't recognize it without the original music.

2) Realism during the firefights- Unfortunately the show is like most war movies/shows, where the enemy fires lots of bullets but rarely hits anyone, while the good guys always seem to hit the enemy. The NVA/VC are frequently made to look like bunglers who just run straight into gunfire and die. This actually gets worse over the first two seasons, and they really went over the top Rambo style in some of the season 2 episodes. Like when LT's chopper goes down and he's the only survivor, and drops out of a tree and kills 4 VC. Or the last episode where LT and Zeke are stranded alone against dozens of NVA and killing them all like its target practice.

Despite these complaints, I still really enjoy the show and it's definitely the best Vietnam War drama ever on television. Can't wait to check out season 3.

[–] tvcrazeddave 12 years ago

Congratulations, Bud357, on discovering Tour of Duty!

I believe Tour of Duty began a year before China Beach, and I think in the US, it aired at 7pm or 8pm for Season 1 and it then moved around to 9pm and 10pm for Seasons 2 and 3. [I know Tour of Duty first aired at 7:30pm here in Australia]. I think China Beach aired at late night too.

I'm glad you've enjoyed Seasons 1 and 2. Season 2 generally isn't well received but I think it has its place and shows the huge contrast between the army in the bush and the army in Saigon. Season 3 focuses back onto the soldiers and the impact of the Vietnam War on them so it also provides a needed perspective, which I think you'll also like.

I think that the original music plays a significant part of the 60's experience. It definitely did in the soldier's lives. I think that the use of music was very poignantly used in Season 1 and Season 3 and really adds to the content of the show.

You can now get the complete Region 2 DVD boxset with all 58 episodes and the original music in place. It has been available since December 2012. The DVDs for each season contain quality 30min - 1-hr documentaries about the show with the cast and crew.

It's available on Amazon (and I believe other retailers too): http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009FAVMUS/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=wwwhum90com -21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN= B009FAVMUS&adid=0VKP00X52M6JGT3B99QY&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2 F%2Fwww.hum90.com%2F

It's a great tribute to this great show and something any ToD fan would treasure (I do).

In relation to your point about the fight scenes, I get your point but it needs to be remembered that this was a network show airing in primetime (7/8pm). Also, I guess the aim of the show was to see the soldiers' journeys and struggles and they only had each other to count on. I don't think the show would have worked if the core group were killed but the show still showed that no one was safe and could die at anytime - Cpt Wallace, Alex Devlin, Smitty, the FNGs, etc. I think it could be shown without the core group being shot and/or killed. Although, they did get hit on a few occasions.

While you make valid points, I think that Tour of Duty is an incredibly gripping and excellent show about the men who fought over there, their struggles but most importantly their camaraderie. They also have some good jokes and lines

I hope you enjoy Season 3 and continue to love the show!

[–] wrgavin 11 years ago

Show is so much better with the TV music. The music you hear on the show is the stock music from when they made the show. The music is intended to be an obvious mood setter to tell the TV producers or whoever what music to put in the scene that was more current or from the era.

The opening is so much better with Paint It Black but I do actually like the cheap chimes of the beginning sequence.

[–] lawdawg134 10 years ago

I remember watching Tod with my son when it was on TV. Then,the opening song was "Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones.

[–] film_rat 9 years ago

Couldn't agree more. The two points you mention are exactly the two I would mention too, as a summary.

English is not my first language. Any corrections are welcome.