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Tour of Duty

1987

Seasons & Episodes

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EP1 The Luck Sep 23, 1989

News that Goldman and Anderson are missing and believed dead devastates the platoon and Alex.

EP2 Doc Hock Sep 30, 1989

Goldman reveals to Zeke that it may be time for him to move to a desk job. Alex is glad to see Myron back but tells him that she is going to take the Paris job. Elsewhere, Taylor, Percell and Ruiz tease a new recruit who is a pacificist. Taylor knocks the new medic, Hockenberry on his butt. Zeke is just as horrified as the rest when he is told by Doc Hock that he won't carry a weapon. Afterwards, Anderson meets Goldman's replace, a no-nonsense but wet-behind-the-ears new LT who thinks he already knows everything there is to know. Zeke also learns that he has received a promotion. Alex arranges a final going-away party for her and Myron. Alex ends up missing her plane to Paris but not because of the party but because she has a chance to do an exclusive and dangerous interview with a VC officer. After getting out of the interview, Alex meets Myron in Saigon, for there last dinner, before going to Paris. As Alex waits for Myron in front of the restaurant, a bomb explodes, killing her with

EP3 The Ties That Bind Oct 07, 1989

Col. Carl Brewster enters the local Vietnamese town to make the ""boom-boom"" parlor off-limits because of men catching the clap. Goldman and McKay attended the funeral for Alex who was killed in the bomb explosion. Anderson and the squad have been transferred to MACV-SOG, under the command of Col. Brewster. Brewster lets Hockenberry ""volunteer"" for a special assignment ,cleaning up the whore houses. Goldman has trouble dealing with his feelings about Alex's death. Anderson is thinking about using some of his leave to go visit his daughter, but he is concerned about Goldman. Goldman returns to the unit, both he and Anderson meets up with Brewster for the first time. Goldman breaks up a party when the unit meets up with Baker again -- by telling Johnson that he is in charge of the squad while Anderson goes home for some leave. Zeke visits his ex-wife, Carol, and their daughter, Katie. Johnson finds he has a hard time filling Zeke's shoes and dealing with Percell who is on a dangerous downward spiral.

EP4 Lonely at the Top Oct 14, 1989

While Zeke is back in the States, Brewster sends the men out to locate a missing SOG team. Once in the bush, Team Viking locates the missing soldiers, who all appear to be dead. It is an NVA trap; the enemy opens up just as the American reach the bodies but retreat quickly when Johnson leads a counter-strike against them. Johnson faces a crisis of confidence because men under his command were killed. Ruiz is struggling with Doc Hock's pacifist attitudes, Johnson is getting worse and Taylor is losing faith in everyone. Anderson arrives back in Texas and spends time with Dr. Seymour. They spend the weekend together and discuss the days ahead, Zeke has trouble seeing any future that involves him returning to the World.

EP5 A Bodyguard of Lies Oct 28, 1989

Utter havoc reigns in the jungle after a newby makes a mistake and two other soldiers are killed going to his resuce. The men are led by Lt. Beller, and his unit has seen far too much action and too much death. Beller is an old friend of Goldman's, together they are sent back out to search for an NVA regiment. Beller tells command that his men need rest or they are going to snap but Brewster insists they must go out. Meanwhile everyone is happy to see Anderson return, except for the ever-depressed Percell. Goldman spends some time with Beller. Percell is going over the edge fast and no one knows that he has started to use drugs. Anderson discovers that Brewster is married to a Vietnamese girl and they have a child. The next day, on their mission, Percell (drugged up) starts to panic. Beller's unit creates a My Lai-type of massacre in the field and that sends Percell off the deep end and straight into the waiting arms of heroin dealers.

EP6 A Necessary End Nov 04, 1989

McKay has a date with a ""killer"" blonde but on the way to take her shopping he ends up hitting a child with his jeep and comes in contact, for the first time, with a makeshift orphanage where he decides to get involved with the orphans. Doc finds Purcell high on grass and drugs. Purcell leave in a huff, seeking more drugs, and ends up arrested and assigned to a ""shit burner"" detail. Goldman goes to Brewster to report the massacre. Later, Goldman and Anderson are briefed on a mission into Cambodia to kidnap a defecting NVA officer. Percell tries to desert.

EP7 Cloud Nine Nov 11, 1989

Taylor, Ruiz and Johnson go in search of Purcell after he goes AWOL. They look for 3 days, finally being taken to a heroin parlor by three drug dealers. Danny refuses to leave and the 3 thugs won't let the soldiers force Danny out. Later, Anderson and Team Viking are trying to find a road that is part of the Ho Chi Minh trail. When they find the road they return to the base where everyone knows about Danny. Brewster tells Goldman to solve the problem and Goldman insists upon talking about the massacre. Brewster puts his own career in jeopardy as he tries to get the army to deal with Phu An massacre. Anderson (under pressure from Goldman) organizes a commando raid and goes into Cholon to spring Purcell -- who then is forced to go through cold-turkey withdrawal. Brewster is ordered to shut up about the Phu An massacre.

EP8 Thanks for the Memories Nov 18, 1989

The men of Team Viking are receiving medals in a ceremony in recognition of their heroism. In the midst of the ceremony, General Higgins arrives and reads out Brewster. Higgins thinks Brewster should have kept his mouth closed about Phu An. Higgins leaves with the threat that he will destroy Brewster if the colonel keeps ""forcing the issue"". Anderson talks with Percell who is off drugs, finally, and is now spending time at the Psych Ward. Doc calls home and finds out that his girl friend is sleeping with someone else. Brewster takes the story of Phu An to the press and is relieved of duty.

EP9 I Am What I Am Dec 02, 1989

Team Viking goes out to capture a Soviet chopper but ends up surrounded and captured. Luckily the mission was just practice. Myron discovers that his father -- Gernal Goldman -- is back on the base. His father has 2-3 months left to live because of cancer. While Myron and his father fight, Johnson attempts to decide if he should re-up or go back to the World. A Mexican/American WAC takes up with Ruiz. Johnson finally decides to go back to the States. Percell wonders if he is yet ready to return to the field. Anderson and McKay butt heads when McKay tries to take over the leadership of a mission.

EP10 World in Changes Dec 09, 1989

McKay decides he is personally going to get the sniper who has been taking out helicopters... but with Anderson and Goldman on the ground and him in the air, HE ends up the next target, crashing and killing his co-pilot. Johnson, with only 72 hours left, gets a bad case of ""short timer's nerves"". Meanwhile a crazy CIA operative -- Duke Fontaine -- takes several VC suspects up in a helicopter and starts throwing them out until one of them will talk. Anderson and the team are going to go out after a VC-recruiter and get permission for Johnson not to go but because Johnson has decided that he ""must stick to the routine"" he ends up going. Taylor and Johnson are captured by the VC and tortured by a sadistic Vietnamese man.

EP11 Green Christmas Dec 23, 1989

Christmas finds Team Viking the bush trying to capture prisoners in Cambodia. Doc tries to show compassion to one of the captured men... who turns out to be able to speak English. Anderson and Goldman exchange Christmas gifts, back at camp. Ruiz takes flowers to Susanna. Taylor finds that he misses Johnson. Team Viking prepares for a Christmas party at the orphanage. Meanwhile, Sgt. Marvin Johnson returns home and finds out that bigotry is alive and well there.

EP12 Odd Man Out Jan 06, 1990

lor is expecting to be promoted at any moment, and opens his mail to find a letter from Johnson talking about how great things are back in the World. Anderson is forced to tell Taylor that he has been passed over for promotion. Taylor starts to deal with the black/white issue -- badly. Percell goes to a black ""bar"" to get Taylor when it becomes obvious that Taylor isn't coming home unless someone goes to get him. Goldman is told that Team Viking is going to go on a mission being dictated by a local Vietnamese Province Chief. The man is going to trade permission to use his village as a base for artillery (which will save many American lives) for the team's going to get his wife). Only after the team agrees do they discover that the woman is pregnant (with another man's child), sick and running from her husband.

EP13 And Make Death Proud to Take Us Jan 20, 1990

Newbie replacements arrive, including a young man that gains Anderson's attention as he and Team Viking return from the field, as the boy proves to be 15 years old. FNGs are moving in all over Team Viking. Goldman (suffering from the same shortage of room) finds himself bunked up with McKay. Team Viking gets assigned a recon mission based on Fontaine's information. Anderson and Goldman spend as much time as possible breaking in the new guys. Zeke and Myron head out with 18 FNG's. Anderson's unit stops to dig in a defensive position to work from, but before completing the bunkers they are attacked by the enemy, and due to outstanding bravery and courage, a few actually survive.

EP14 Dead Man Tales Feb 03, 1990

Team Viking earns a 3-day pass and then promptly gets itself in trouble because of their brawling. While the major is reading every one out about this, a shot from the jungle kills him. Anderson assigns Bell and Doc to work at the orphanage and takes the rest of them out. Goldman is sent out to find the sniper ""or else"". McKay's new gunner opens fire on the Americans below him -- by mistake -- killing a large number of them. The Team gets thoroughly drunk and Bell climbs up on the top of a building and ends up falling to his death. When the others realize what has happened they decide to get him listed as KIA. McKay, meanwhile, goes after the sniper himself!

EP15 Road to Long Binh Feb 10, 1990

All of the enlisted men of Team Viking end up with food poisioning. Goldman is forced, because of that, to take on an assignment himself that he had intended to assign to someone else, drafting Anderson to come along. They pick up a deserter who Anderson has known as the ""ideal"" soldier for years. As the two men spend time together they talk about their early meetings, etc. Zeke gets a letter from Johnson. The next day Digby (the deserter) escapes before Anderson and Goldman get there but is recaptured. They start off to Long Binh prison. Digby has been a soldier for 14 years but gave it up when some soldiers started to give him and his Vietnamese wife a hard time. Digby ends up saving their lives, a number of times, and he ends up ""accidentally"" escaping

EP16 Acceptable Losses Feb 17, 1990

Team Viking takes off on another Fontaine mission, where they run into heavy contact. McKay arrives back at the LZ to rescue them, only to end up being fired on by missiles. He has no choice but to leave without Taylor, Ruiz and Private Woznaik. They attempt to make it back to their own lines on their own. The team goes back to check for their men -- McKay gets tricked by the VC and nearly killed -- only Taylor's self-sacrificing smoke grenade gets the chopper pilot back up in time. Wozniak ends up dead of a snake bite, leaving Ruiz and Taylor on their own. As the days pass, Taylor and Ruiz are replaced by two new soldiers, including 44-year-old PFC Thoams ""Pop"" Scarlett, a lifer with a unique perspective on the war.

EP17 Vietnam Rag Feb 24, 1990

Taylor and Ruiz are still listed as MIA. At the camp there are still more FNGs, including a peace-loving photographer. Anderson is told by Goldman that Team Viking is about to be back to SOS (same old shit) missions -- no more special operations. Pop's son is reportedly one of the new guys. Suzanne returns from leave to hear that Ruiz is missing. The photographer gets permission to go out with Anderson's team. Things go bad fast, and they are soon losing soldiers to stupid reasons -- and mostly just because they are FNGs.

EP18 War is a Contact Sport Mar 24, 1990

Out in the field, Percell captures a VC. Doc and another soldier stand guard. A second VC attacks Danny and while Doc and the other soldier watch, the first VC grabs a gun. Doc refuses to fire, despite the fact that he has the only other weapon and the third American is killed. Colonel Brewster returns for the Phu An board of inquiry. Everyone ostracizes Doc, feeling that they can't trust him. Goldman meets up with Brewster after Pop has punched the colonel out. Meanwhile, Ruiz and taylor have crawled out of the jungle after 22 days. Doc -- told he is going to be transferred out as he is ""no longer dependable"" -- meets up with Pop and goes on a bender. Ruiz leans that Suzanne has suffered a breakdown due to the stress of the job and losing him (she thought).

EP19 Three Cheers for the Orange, White & Blue Apr 14, 1990

Anderson & Pop are having a good time at a local bar when a young trooper turns up and gets insulting to Pop -- it turns out to be Robby (Pop's son). The Phu An Board of Inquiry starts. As the situation develops and Beller realizes what his men did -- he had blocked it out -- he kills himself. Zeke and Team Viking go out with Robby on another SOG mission. They end up getting sprayed with Agent Blue. Before the end of the day, Robby ends up killed, leaving Pop to bring his son home in a body bag.

EP20 The Raid Apr 28, 1990

The monsoon seasons starts. Pop goes back to the States for his son's funeral, only to be blamed for the death of his son (by his wife). Goldman is upset over Beller's suicide -- feeling that the ex-friend was only another type of victim of the war. Brewster enlists Goldman for a volunteer mission to rescue MIA/POWs. AN ex-POW (very fragile) comes back to Vietnam to help plan the mission. Doc is still on base but no one will speak to him. Doc goes to talk to Goldman, begging to be part of the rescue mission but gets refused. The mission turns out to be a nightmare. The POWs were moved before the Team got there, Griner is blinded, Pop and McKay are hurt and get shipped to a hospital in Japan, Brewster is hospitalized at China Beach.

EP21 Payback Apr 28, 1990

Several months later, McKay -- mostly recovered -- is told that he will never fly again. Bitter, he tries to get a civilian job flying but is told that Vietnam vets are too freaky. When he finally gets a job flying air-traffic monitoring, he loses it -- not to a ""flashback"" but to sheer irritation. Ruiz returns home to New York but can't find a job. In Montana, Percell is now a carpenter and is nearly freaked' out by finding a Vietnamese worker on the crew. That same night he runs into a peace-activist at a blind date. Bill Griner returns home to North Carolina -- having been blinded. His parents turn to faith healing and Griner retreats to the ""comfort of the fields and a faithful dog"". Back in Vietnam, Taylor meets a new black soldier who tells him that he came back because the world is nowhere for a ""black"". Doc has been sent to a field hospital but gets in trouble even there because he shows compassion for a dying man.
8.3| 0h30m| TV-14| en
Synopsis

The trials of a U.S. Army platoon serving in the field during the Vietnam War.

Director

Producted By

New World Television

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Reviews

PlatinumRead Just so...so bad
Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
frozen_within I remember this show from early 90s and rediscovered it a couple of weeks ago. Have almost seen all episodes from season 1-3 now and it's is one of the best war-series there is!!!!!! >=) A total must see if you are in to war movies etc!You really get to know the characters. You feel with them, you laugh with them and sometimes cry with them. I tell you, if you miss this one you have missed out on a lot.I'm only sorry that it is 3 seasons and not more of them.In season 2 they did not have info about the war as they have in season 1 and 3. Don't know why, but I did miss that during season 2. The statistics that you learn about are horrific and I'm glad I wasn't young back in the late 60s, early 70s and born as an American.
PudgyPandaMan It has been a really long time since I have seen an episode of TOD. I think the last time was when it last originally aired. Unfortunately, I have never come across it in re-runs, as it was a great show.It's been almost 20 years, but what I remember most is that this was a show that me & my new husband could agree on watching together - which was rare! But we both loved this show and rarely missed it when possible. It was very well done and had interesting characters. I think they did a great job of casting. I especially liked Terence Knox. I also loved the opening sequence with the helicopters flying through the smoke and causing the smoke to spiral - all to the tune of "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones.I was very young when seeing this, and not having lived through the Vietnam era myself, I couldn't attest to the accuracy of the depictions. I'm sure it was somewhat glossed over and not as realistic as the truth of war. But then I'm not sure people would have turned in week after week to see a gut wrenching depiction of war.My husband and I had several family members who were in Vietnam, but they would never talk about their experiences. I know one of them was horribly treated when he returned - by complete strangers even. It always touched me what these veterans went through. And the fact that as draftees, they had NO CHOICE in serving. And yet the public still took their anger out on them. How absurd - shame on you of that generation that mistreated our Vets. They were only doing what they were told - it was kill or be killed. No matter what your views of that war - and yes, it was a STUPID war and we shouldn't have been there. But our Vets aren't the ones that sent us, it was the politicians - they were to blame.God bless our Veterans who served over there. I am forever grateful for your sacrifices! And thank you to the writers and producers of this show for giving us a glimpse of what some of these Vets went through.
captaincretin Not too "Hollywood", great production values except for overuse of stock chopper footage in 2nd series; only spotted one major whopper in the whole series (missed the helmet one though); McCay chucks a grenade of of the Huey then the long shot shows a totally different make of helicopter firing a rocket.Not being a Yank, this show goes a long way to helping me understand what went on and why it left such scars on the American people.It's a pity they haven't learnt a lesson from it though (Iraq)They don't make them like this any more.( Big Brothers Celebrety Get My Out of This Love Island Apprentice )
jcara This show is fantastic! Great stories, interesting characters. You really felt an attachment to bravo company as they lived through the hell of nam. Its a shame its not on dvd still. It is a thousand times better than the crap that gets shoved to us these days cause it has good acting, great scenery, and high quality production. Each episode is like watching a mini movie about the Vietnam War. If only they would get rid of all the cheap and crappy reality TV stuff today and make shows like this again. One gets a feeling that we'll never see anything made like this on TV again...

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