TOUR OF DUTY - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON: The first TV series about the Vietnam War, TOUR OF DUTY focuses on a single platoon of young U.S. Soldiers during their one-year of combat duty in Vietnam during the late 1960s. Te... more »rence Knox, Kevin Conroy, Stephen Caffrey, Joshua Maurer, Steve Akahoshi, Tony Becker, Eric Bruskhotter, Stan Foster, Ramon Franco and Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. star as the infantrymen who represent diverse racial, cultural and philosophical backgrounds but must ultimately depend on one another to face enemy troops and survive in the hostile Southeast Asian terrain. Full of thrilling combat action, TOUR OF DUTY also goes deeper to portray the dramatic human side of war and the camaraderie of the men who gave it all for their country.TOUR OF DUTY - THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON: The courageous soldiers of Bravo Company are back for more action-packed fighting and riveting human drama in the second season of the landmark Vietnam series, "TOUR OF DUTY." When the platoon is transferred to the Tan Son Nhut Base outside of Saigon, it's a whole new war with different battles and new faces, including some beautiful women. Kim Delany (TV's "CSI: Miami"), Dan Gauthier, Richard Brestoff, and Betsy Brantley join series stars Terence Knox, Stephen Caffrey, Tony Becker, Stan Foster and Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. Guest stars include Angela Bassett (How Stella Got Her Groove Back), Michael Madsen (Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2) and Malcolm Jamal-Warner (TV's "The Cosby Show"). In the second season of "TOUR OF DUTY," the fresh-faced recruits are becoming battle-weary fighters whose personal battles are just beginning amidst the daily grind of warfare. TOUR OF DUTY features a new music soundtrack including songs from the Vietnam era!TOUR OF DUTY - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON: The men face their toughest challenges yet when their platoon (now called Team Viking) is transferred to Camp Barnett to become part of a Special Ops unit. This season delivers extreme combat action and intense human drama focusing on issues unique to the Vietnam era: the devastating effects of chemical warfare, the massacre of Vietnamese civilians, the growing problem of heroin addiction, and the difficulties the soldiers faced returning home to a country bitterly divided by the war. The powerful third season, collected on this five-disc, 21 episode set, is a fitting finale to one of the greatest war dramas ever.« less
Solid 80s style series exploring 12-month Vietnam deployments.
Movie Reviews
Not the same without the soundtrack
R. L. Stevens | 01/15/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I rented the first season because I heard the soundtrack was missing and wanted to be sure I could still enjoy it before buying it for good. There isn't anyway I could buy this set.
I loved the show when it was originally on but without the soundtrack it isn't the same. Someone said that if they wanted to hear the music they would just play the theme song of "Paint It Black" and other 70's songs off their CD player. That was the dumbest thing anyone could suggest. That would be like Star Wars not including the soundtrack on their DVD and then someone suggesting that you could just play the CD soundtrack while watching the movie.
The original music helped set the background and feeling for the show. The music they have now just doesn't do it for me. It's a shame because this is one DVD set I would love to own."
Paint it black
FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 11/08/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"'Tour of Duty' is one of my favourite televisions series. It didn't last very long, but while it did, it presented a fairly realistic depiction of life in a squad of soldiers in Vietnam. Together with the series 'China Beach', it began to open doors to a difficult subject for the American public to deal with -- the American public, after all, got to see the Vietnam war almost live, day by day, year after year, in their homes on the television sets, the first war for that to happen. The controversial nature of the war and 'peace' aftermath made dealing with the subject tricky, but the writing, acting and direction in this series was superb.
The story follows an infantry company 'in-country', Company B, that is made up of a typical mixture of young, green recruits (often draftees) and a few experienced leaders, on their one-year tour of duty in Vietnam; the series began (and this video begins) in 1967, one of the early hot years of the conflict. The base is a typical firecamp, nicknamed Ladybird, with bunkers, sandbags, jungle surroundings, and lots of mud.
Stars of the series include many second-tier Hollywood film and television actors, who are all much better actors than their stature might indicate. Key figures included experienced and battle-hardened Sgt. Zeke Anderson (portrayed by Terence Knox, who has been star or guest star on dozens of television series) and relatively-new officer Lt. Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey, soap opera star also noted for some quality film work), as they work together to guide a group of men through the literal and metaphorical minefields of the Vietnam war. Other actors include Eric Bruskotter, Joshua Maurer, Kevin Conroy, Stan Foster, and Tony Becker.
In the pilot to the series, the men have a mission to destroy a hidden NVA base headquarters. It depicts the struggles and stress of jungle combat, and portrays the relationships built under fire by the men who come to depend upon each other for their lives.
The soundtrack takes a similar device from other Vietnam-era shows and films, that of using music contemporary with the conflict. 'Paint It Black' is the opening theme, an ironic and appropriate song and lyric. Beware, however, if you get it on DVD, that this soundtrack has been altered, including the very riveting opening.
This is a superb piece on a troubled time in American history. The series lasted for three years (but the seasons didn't all have full complements of 23-26 episodes each), from 1987 - 1990, for a total of 58 episodes in all.
"
Great Stories, but lost music!
Ken | Connecticut | 12/18/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The earlier programs were far better than the later when a reporter and in-country girlfriends were involved. However, the major loss is that when the series was released for sydication on TNT and now on the DVD the original music of the period was stripped from the soundtrack and generic themes inserted.
"
NO MUSIC!!! NO BUY!
Thomas Kirchner | 05/20/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Dear Sony,
I remember this series very fondly from my childhood and would love to buy it.. but it's got no music from the series and therefore a huge character is missing!!!!
Its not the same.
I'll look for pirated copies of the series before i'd buy it without the stones or any other period music.
GET WITH IT!!!
"
Great series, BUT.....
B. Clark | Auckland, New Zealand | 12/29/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a fantastic show and box set and is highly recommended to anyone who liked the series in the 80s. Acting and production values aren't perfect but it has stood the test of time reasonably well and is slightly better than the average B grade war film/series.
However, there is one glaring problem with it which has been touched on by another reviewer, and that is all the original soundtrack music from the period has been stripped from the show, including the legendary "Paint it Black" by the Stones which played at the beginning of each show. Other than that, its a good boxed set."