Willem Dafoe in solider camouflage looks uneasily into the distance in Platoon.
The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial conflicts in history, one that divided the nation on moral and political lines. It left an indelible black mark in the annals of the American military, and, by extension, American pride, and saw the young men returning from Vietnam treated not as heroes, but as pariahs, losers in a war that was lost from the start.
Following the end of the war in 1975, Hollywood brought the conflict to the silver screen, in critically-lauded films like The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. But it wouldn't be until the 1986 release of Oliver Stone's Platoon that the reality of what the war was like for those that fought it, including Stone himself. As Roger Ebert says in his review of the film, it's"a movie about the war that is not fantasy, not legend, not metaphor, not message, but simply a memory of what it seemed like at the time." The success of the film opened the doors for an honest look at the war itself in other media, not as subtext or as the common element between the members of the lighthearted series The A-Team, but, for the first time on television, as the setting for a war series that follows an American infantry platoon on a tour of duty in an authentic, gritty, and captivating manner. The title of the show, appropriately enough, is Tour of Duty, and it premiered on September 24, 1987. 'Tour of Duty' Gives an Authentic Look at Life as a Soldier During the Vietnam War Somewhat cheekily, the writer in the previously cited The Independent article suggests Tour of Duty could have been called Platoon: The Series, and they're not far off. Gory, gritty, and authentic, Tour of Duty took the strengths of Platoon and brought them successfully to television. Right from the start, the series draws you in with a stunning visage of helicopters flying through the smoke to the tune of the Rolling Stones classic "Paint It, Black" . We're introduced to Bravo Company's second platoon, stationed at Camp Ladybird, in the series opener. The light infantry platoon is under the command of 2nd Lieutenant Myron Goldman and Staff Sergeant Zeke Anderson , and their goal is simple: search for enemy targets, attack, and withdraw immediately, a strategy known as search and destroy. But nothing in war is simple, and it certainly isn't for the men of Bravo Company. The first season pulls no punches, offering a look at harrowing losses and haunting decisions. One of the best examples occurs in"The Short Timer," where Marcus Taylor takes over as group leader after the former group leader, only recently having assumed the role, is killed by a Vietnamese booby trap. The rest of the patrol proceeds without incident, but later, Taylor barely manages to survive an attack on a North Vietnamese Army machine gun nest. It's two close calls for the soldier who is days away from returning home. But Núñez Jr. does a masterful job here, showing how Taylor is torn between the fear and ugliness of Vietnam and the prospect of returning to a home that may be safer, but in many ways is just as ugly. Then he gets a"Dear John" call from home, and makes the heartwrenching decision to sign up for another tour, choosing the life he knows over a future he doesn't. 'Tour of Duty' Changes Scenery and Loses Focus in Season 2 Taylor's story is one of many in Tour of Duty that echo the real-life situations of American soldiers in Vietnam, and actually mirrors the story of one Lt. Al Turgeon, who chose to"return to the storm." Other storylines saw conflicts over morals , racial tensions, drug abuse, civilian deaths accidentally kills an 8-year-old while pursuing an enemy soldier), and more. One of the series' most troubling episodes,"Under Siege," sees what can happen when a commanding officer makes the wrong decision, choosing to lead an attack on a nearby enemy location, leaving the base open to attack. It's a rash decision made by a leader who believes in shooting first, and it results in tragedy, personalized by the loss of Doc Matsuda , who dies 15 days short of his tour of duty. However, despite earning high praise from critics and Vietnam vets alike, Tour of Duty couldn't find an audience, ranking 74th out of 105 primetime programs. It wasn't cancelled, but was tweaked after its first season, a move that would ultimately doom the series. The first change made was to change filming locations, from Hawaii — which had terrain that closely mimicked that of a Vietnamese jungle — to an area outside of Santa Clarita, California... which does not. The move, which saved the network a lot of money, was explained in the show as the platoon being moved to a base near Saigon, which made it easier to incorporate the next big change: more women. According to Tour of Duty supervising producer Rick Husky, bringing in women was always part of a five-year plan mapped out for the series, only for executive producer Zev Braun to contradict that by saying,"Our chief goal is to make the show more accessible to women" . But the more cynical, and likely more truthful, reality is that Tour of Duty was up against China Beach, a highly-popular ABC series exploring the lives of women behind the lines. As a result, Tour of Duty stopped being a realistic depiction of the life of the war and turned into an action romance, kicking off with the very first episode of Season 2,"Saigon: Part 1," with Goldman taking a romantic interest in Alex Devlin , reporter. The tactic didn't work, and in spite of some solid episodes , the series was cancelled after its third season. 10/10 Tour of Duty 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 War Drama Action Adventure Release Date 1987 - 1989 Network CBS Cast See All
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