"Tour of Duty" (1987) TV series 1987-1990

Creators:

L. Travis Clark
Steve Duncan
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

24 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam War | Vietnam | Military | Guerrilla Warfare | 1960s

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Terence Knox	...	Sgt. Clayton 'Zeke' Anderson (58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Stephen Caffrey	...	Lt. Myron Goldman (58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Tony Becker	...	Cpl. Daniel 'Danny' Percell / ... (57 episodes, 1987-1990)
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Pvt. Marcus Taylor / ... (56 episodes, 1987-1990)
Ramón Franco	...	Pvt. Alberto Ruiz / ... (55 episodes, 1987-1990)
Stan Foster	...	SP4 Marvin Johnson / ... (44 episodes, 1987-1989)
Dan Gauthier	...	Lt. John McKay (32 episodes, 1989-1990)

Series Directed by
Bill L. Norton		(10 episodes, 1987-1989)
Jim Johnston		(9 episodes, 1987-1990)
Stephen L. Posey		(8 episodes, 1988-1990)
Bradford May		(4 episodes, 1989-1990)
Randy Roberts		(3 episodes, 1987-1989)
Charles Correll		(3 episodes, 1988-1989)
George Kaczender		(3 episodes, 1989-1990)
Edwin Sherin		(3 episodes, 1989)
Aaron Lipstadt		(2 episodes, 1987)
Reynaldo Villalobos		(2 episodes, 1987)
James A. Contner		(2 episodes, 1989-1990)
Helaine Head		(2 episodes, 1989)

Series Writing credits
L. Travis Clark		(58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Steve Duncan		(58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Rick Husky		(4 episodes, 1987-1989)
Steven Smith		(4 episodes, 1987-1988)
Robert Bielak		(4 episodes, 1989-1990)
Bill L. Norton		(3 episodes, 1987)
Bruce Reisman		(3 episodes, 1988-1989)
Robert Burns Clark		(3 episodes, 1988)
Steve Bello		(2 episodes, 1987-1988)
David Wyles		(2 episodes, 1987-1988)
David Ehrman		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Zev Braun	....	executive producer (58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Brian Herskowitz	....	associate producer / assistant producer (37 episodes, 1988-1990)
Vahan Moosekian	....	coordinating producer / associate producer / ... (22 episodes, 1987-1989)
Rick Husky	....	supervising producer / co-executive producer (21 episodes, 1987-1989)
Bill L. Norton	....	co-executive producer (21 episodes, 1987-1988)
Ronald L. Schwary	....	producer (21 episodes, 1987-1988)
Robert Bielak	....	co-producer (21 episodes, 1988-1990)
Steve Bello	....	co-producer (13 episodes, 1987-1988)
Steven Smith	....	co-producer (8 episodes, 1988-1989)

Series Original Music by
Joseph Conlan		(58 episodes, 1987-1990)

Series Cinematography by
Stephen L. Posey		(20 episodes, 1987-1989)
Peter Smokler		(2 episodes, 1988)
Alan Caso		(unknown episodes)
Bob Moore		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
John Duffy		(12 episodes, 1987-1989)
Stephen Michael		(12 episodes, 1987-1989)
Thomas Petersen		(8 episodes, 1988-1990)
Ellen Ring Jacobson		(6 episodes, 1989-1990)
Kim Secrist		(5 episodes, 1987-1988)
Michael Ripps		(4 episodes, 1987-1989)
Herbert H. Dow		(unknown episodes)

Series Casting by
Barbara Claman		(26 episodes, 1987-1990)
Maureen A. Arata		(13 episodes, 1987-1989)
Mark Saks		(2 episodes, 1990)

Series Production Design by
Mayling Cheng		(4 episodes, 1987-1989)

Series Art Direction by
Mayling Cheng		(17 episodes, 1987-1988)

Series Set Decoration by
Richard Drake		(16 episodes, 1987-1988)
Henry Kanahele		(3 episodes, 1987)
Gary Fettis		(3 episodes, 1989)
Rick Caprarelli		(2 episodes, 1990)

Series Makeup Department
James R. Scribner	....	makeup artist (24 episodes, 1987-1990)
Susan Carol Schwary	....	hair stylist (19 episodes, 1987-1988)
Ora Green	....	hair stylist (3 episodes, 1989)

Series Production Management
James A. Westman	....	unit production manager (22 episodes, 1987-1990)
Lorin Bennett Salob	....	executive in charge of production (20 episodes, 1987-1988)
S. Michael Formica	....	unit production manager (3 episodes, 1989)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ronald L. Schwary	....	second unit director (20 episodes, 1987-1988)
Tony Mason	....	first assistant director / second assistant director (15 episodes, 1987-1990)
Howard Ellis	....	second assistant director (13 episodes, 1987-1988)
Gary Law	....	first assistant director (11 episodes, 1987-1988)
Tommy Burns	....	second assistant director (5 episodes, 1987)
W. Alexander Ellis	....	second assistant director (3 episodes, 1989)
Robert S. Mills	....	second assistant director (3 episodes, 1990)
Peter C. Graupner	....	second assistant director (2 episodes, 1987)
Mark S. Glick	....	second assistant director (2 episodes, 1990)
Joel Chernoff	....	second unit director (unknown episodes, 1987-1989)

Series Art Department
Richard A. Mazzochi	....	property master (21 episodes, 1987-1988)
David Aaron	....	assistant property master / property master (14 episodes, 1987-1990)
Jim Zemansky	....	property master (3 episodes, 1989)
Mychael Bates	....	set dresser (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Susan Moore-Chong	....	production sound mixer / sound mixer (36 episodes, 1987-1989)
Jeremy Hoenack	....	sound editor (11 episodes, 1987-1989)
Blake Wilcox	....	production sound mixer (2 episodes, 1990)
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist (unknown episodes)
Michael Payne	....	sound supervisor (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Larry Roberts	....	special effects (24 episodes, 1987-1990)
Roger George	....	special effects (2 episodes, 1987)
Erich Martin Hicks	....	assistant special effects (2 episodes, 1990)

Series Stunts
Phil Adams	....	stunt coordinator / stunts (14 episodes, 1987-1990)
Ted Grossman	....	stunt coordinator (12 episodes, 1987-1988)
Larry Holt	....	stunts (2 episodes, 1987-1989)
Troy Brown	....	stunts (2 episodes, 1988)
Bobby Burns	....	stunts (2 episodes, 1989-1990)
Al Goto	....	stunts (unknown episodes, 1987-1989)
Ed Anders	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Darryl Chan	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Phil Chong	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
James Jude Courtney	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Albert Furuto	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Andy Gill	....	stunt double: Terence Knox (unknown episodes)
Curtis Lupo	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Khristian Lupo	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Joe Murphy	....	utility stunts (unknown episodes)
Ronan Sakai	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Jon Sakata	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Monty L. Simons	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Gary Toy	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Gary J. Wayton	....	stunt performer (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Michael E. Little	....	camera operator / second operator: camera (58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Richard Sands	....	gaffer (23 episodes, 1987-1990)
George Cambra	....	key grip (18 episodes, 1987-1988)
Alan Caso	....	camera operator (12 episodes, 1987-1989)
James Sweet	....	key grip (5 episodes, 1989-1990)
Kevin McGill	....	second assistant camera (3 episodes, 1988)
Lennie Evans	....	camera operator (2 episodes, 1990)
Robert K. Feldmann	....	dolly grip (unknown episodes)
Frederick Iannone	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera (unknown episodes)
Lee Redmond	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)

Series Casting Department
Louise Dushkin	....	vietnamese casting (23 episodes, 1987-1990)
Marge Spencer	....	casting: Hawaii (20 episodes, 1987-1988)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dorothy Amos	....	costume supervisor / wardrobe (58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Fred Long	....	wardrobe (12 episodes, 1987-1989)

Series Editorial Department
Andy Lichtstein	....	telecine colorist (37 episodes, 1989-1990)
Karl Jacobsen	....	assistant editor (4 episodes, 1989)

Series Music Department
Art Fein	....	music consultant (20 episodes, 1987-1988)
John McCullough	....	music consultant (5 episodes, 1989-1990)

Series Transportation Department
John Reed	....	driver (11 episodes, 1988)
Leroy Reed	....	transportation coordinator (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Joseph A. Liuzzi	....	location manager (58 episodes, 1987-1990)
Bruce Nahin	....	film commissioner (58 episodes, 1987-1990)
L. Travis Clark	....	executive consultant (57 episodes, 1987-1990)
Steve Duncan	....	executive consultant (57 episodes, 1987-1990)
Michael B. Christy	....	technical advisor / technical advisor: military (36 episodes, 1989-1990)
Peter McKernan	....	aerial coordinator / helicopter pilot (22 episodes, 1987-1990)
Greg Knapp	....	set medic (21 episodes, 1989-1990)
Steven Smith	....	executive story editor (12 episodes, 1987-1988)
Robert Burns Clark	....	story editor (11 episodes, 1987-1988)
Ed Knight	....	script supervisor (5 episodes, 1989-1990)
Bruce Reisman	....	story editor (4 episodes, 1987-1988)
Jerry Patrick Brown	....	story editor (3 episodes, 1989)
Elia Katz	....	executive story consultant (3 episodes, 1989)
David Kemper	....	executive story editor (2 episodes, 1990)
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic (unknown episodes)
Bob Corff	....	voice teacher (unknown episodes)
Alan J. Lam	....	production accountant (unknown episodes)
Nicki McCain	....	assistant accountant (unknown episodes)
Bill McCamey	....	first aid nurse (unknown episodes)
Paul Sinor	....	technical advisor: military (unknown episodes)
Bill Walker	....	production controller (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Braun Entertainment Group
• New World Television

Distributors

• New World Television
• New World International (1990-1993)
• Columbia Pictures Television (1993-1996)
• Columbia TriStar Television (1996-2001)
• Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2001-)
• Sony Pictures Television (2002-)
• 20th Century Fox Television Distribution (2010) (non-USA) (all media)
• Fabulous Films (2011) (UK) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Hollywood Rags  costumes
• Larson Technology  sound mixing
• Music Design Group  music editing
• Pacific Video  electronic laboratory
• Sound Trax Studios  post-production sound
• Sound Trax Studios  sound editing (as Sound Trax)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

45 min (58 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Argentina:13

Company:

Braun Entertainment Group

Trivia:

The end credit black-and-white photos are by David Hume Kennerly, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography during the Vietnam War.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the episode where the soldiers take leave in Hawaii we see them walk to their plane at the end with a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter sitting behind them. But this aircraft would not exist until the mid-1970s

Quotes:

Sgt. Zeke Anderson:You got a big mouth, you know that?
Pvt. Francis 'Doc Hoc' Hockenbury:I was born with it.
Sgt. Zeke Anderson:You could die with it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Black Hawk Down (2001)

Soundtrack:

Eve of Destruction

The Only Vietnam Series

Where to begin? This is one of the greatest tv series ever made.

It has everything. Brotherhood, strife, politics, morality and ethics, courage, ambiguity, everything. You have to see this movie as part of the time it was made. In 1987, there was no real visual example of what the war in Vietnam was really all about. Vietnam during the seventies and sixties was something people protested against. It was the longest war the United States had ever fought. It split a nation, between people who wanted to make a stand against communism and for conservatism, and people who couldn't see how a war more than a thousand miles away could possibly affect the USA. The seventies was also an era during which many former colonies (like Vietnam) were trying to become independent, like Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia/Southwest Africa. During the eighties, there was a largely Republican leaning movement of movies tangentially about Vietnam (First Blood, about a vietnam veteran, but set in Colorado, not Vietnam), Chuck Norris' movies, even Magnum PI with Tom Selleck (1980 onwards) and later Miami Vice. The Vietnam theme was "in", but no real movies/series set in Vietnam or dealing with the real day-to-day of ordinary soldiers had been made. And then there was Tour Of Duty. Tour of Duty set out to describe the daily grind of a platoon of the 199th Light Infantry. This series is great. Yes, it may reflect earlier series like the WWII series "Combat", but it is still unique. Unlike most series in the eighties, it isn't afraid of featuring Black and Hispanic actors in major, leading roles - Stan Foster, Miguel Nunez and Ramon Franco, mainly. In no small measure reflecting that the Vietnam War was the first war during which the US military was fully integrated/desegregated. Meanwhile, the storylines are great. Most deal with the daily strain of patrols, the interaction with the Vietnamese population, and there is even a love interest thrown in, in the form of female reporter Alex Devlin (Kim Delaney, based on the real-life reporter and war casualty Dicky Chapelle). Lots of themes are explored, from the stresses of combat, to the attitude to the war, to the situation of the people of Vietnam, the psychological damage (as through psychiatrist Betsy Brantley), etc. The second part of the series has the squad enlisted as Special Forces, under Colonel Brewster (Carl Weathers), highlighting the strains and tensions between Special Forces and regular army on the one side and the CIA (Patrick Kilpatrick as Duke Fontaine) on the other. This is a great series, see it if you can.