MovieChat Forums > Tour of Duty (1987) Discussion > What do you think happened to Doc?

What do you think happened to Doc?

posted 10 years ago by ReelingAroundTheFountain
2 replies | jump to latest

I just finished watching all three seasons in a month-long binge and it's great, took me a while to get into it, I found the initial few episodes sort of dull but pretty soon in to season 1 they start tackling bigger issues and I like how in S's 2&3 we get to see not just the jungle but Saigon too. Disappointed by the ending though as it really doesn't give much closure.

So what happened to Doc? Last thing we see he's walking down the street under fire and we never hear from him again. I kind of liked that ending for his character, actually. It was surreal and reminded me of a bit in a Vietnam novel by Tim O'Brien where a soldier gets up at night and walks off into the jungle and just disappears, as if the jungle swallowed him up.

Still, I'd really like a reunion, despite there's little chance of that, unless someone were to Kickstarter the project.

[–] tvcrazeddave 10 years ago

Well, the most frequent suggestions were that he was either hurt by a mortar rocket or he manages to avoid it and just walk back to base.

At the time, Doc was pretty distraught and falling into alcoholism after feeling responsible for Kuslits' death and no longer being part of his squad (he was moved to the dispensary, half the guys went back to the World and the other guys kind of shunned him after that).

My feeling is that if the series continued (all I ask is for a proper ending), I think that he may have been rescued (pulled in a doorway to safety) by Tien Ly, the rich Vietnamese girl he met and had dinner with and her family in episode 3.14 'Dead Man's Tales'. The hooker he was with just ran off leaving him behind, even though she "love him long time".

I could see it as a plot line that Tien Ly could have helped him see some sense in the mess of a country she called home, and she would be both a love interest and saving grace - a far cry from the swinging junkie hippie Doc was back in the US. Perhaps, he may even have decided to stay behind in Vietnam.

Anyway, that's just my thought on Doc.

[–] gasmaskproductionsbooks 10 years ago

My guess is that if he survived, he'd probably end up with PTSD, a lot of people involved with that war ended up mentally damaged by what they saw. He was also being told to give morphine to wounded soldiers to euthanize them, and his group of former friends were avoiding him, so chances are he would always have mental problems because of the war.

Even if there was a Kickstarter reunion for Tour of Duty, the actor who played Doc, John Dye, has been dead since 2011 so he wouldn't be in the reunion. 😞

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