A host of new faces--and new dangers--await Lt. Zeke Anderson and the men of Bravo Company in the second season of the gritty Vietnam War drama
Tour of Duty. Joining the cast for the sophomore season are Kim Delaney as war correspondent Alex Devlin, and Dan Gauthier as chopper pilot Lt. Johnny McKay, who would transport B Company to the jungle from their new base at Tan Son Nhut. But the changes between the first and second seasons went beyond cast and setting--the series took a much closer look at the emotional toll of the war on its soldiers, with episodes devoted to Ruiz (Ramon Franco) suffering a breakdown, grunts contemplating (and committing) suicide, and Bravo’s men dealing with incompetent and even dangerous fellow soldiers (Michael Madsen stars as a sniper with a taste for violence in "Sleeping Dogs"). Of course, the action and tension that caught audiences’ attention in
Tour’s debut season is still in effect, abetted by a touch of romance (Miguel Nunez’s Taylor pairs with guest star Angela Bassett, as do Gauthier and Delaney), and the excellent scripting and performances by Terence Knox (who would win the Viewers for Quality Television’s top acting award for this season) as Anderson and the rest of the cast. The four-disc set compiles all 16 episodes from the second season; unfortunately, no extras are included, and much of the incidental music featured in the original broadcasts has been replaced due to copyright issues. However, neither should deter series fans from revisiting this exceptional series.
--Paul Gaita
Filmed in Hawaii, this drama series is about the United States Army soldiers on combat duty in 1967's Vietnam.
1 No Original Music...No Sale
Music is as integral to this series as it is to Miami Vice, and we got the original soundtrack for that DVD without a huge pricetag. Sorry - without the same music it was created with, Tour is not the same show, and I can do without it.
2 Great TV ... but its still TV
This was a "groundbreaking" TV show for its time -- not unlike Miami Vice -- and the music does make the episodes more interesting. To me the lack of the original music soundtrack from the first run does slightly detract from the series.
I don't think it takes away from the good plotlines or performances though.
I'll probably buy Season 2 used, because of all three seasons this was my least favorite. It's not so much of the love triangle soap opera stuff but just that it wasn't written all that well like the first season.
That said, the reason this season is shorter, people might remember, is due to the fact there was a writers guild strike that ran from mid to late 1988. That meant no new scripts were ordered for tv or movies. It was so bad, the ABC network put Mission Impossible back in the line up as a new show but used old scripts from the 1960s and 1970s to dodge around the strike.
Tour of Duty was great the first year, so-so the second, but the third season was when it really hit its stride. The platoon becomes part of a special ops group, known as SOG. There were some great episodes that year.
So, I'm holding out for season three.
3 Here we go again.
I guess the negative feedback from customers on the first season DVD set didn't faze Sony/Columbia-Tristar one bit. Again, no original music and the transfer is awful. The picture most of the time is grainy and I even noticed the audio track doesn't match characters lips at times. There are VHS tapes out there with better quality picture and sound than this. Sony should be ashamed to release trash like this. The only thing giving this set even 2 stars is the content of the series itself. It still remains a great groundbreaking sereies, but these DVD sets have much to be desired. This series and everyone involved in it's production along with the diehard fans deserve much better than this. Just as an example of how much Sony/CTSE care about this sereies and how much effort they put into these DVD sets, take a close look at the cover photo for season two. If you know anything about the show, or the military for that matter, you will notice that the MAC-V insignia patch is on the wrong shoulder of everyone in the photo, also look closely at the U.S. ARMY strip on Ramon Franco's (Ruiz)right chest and the Devlin name tape on Kim Delaney's (Alex) left chest. See anything wrong? Yeah, that's right, they printed the negative backwards. Gee, they spent alot of time on this one. Hey, Sony, do us all a favor and sell the rights to this series to someone who will spend the time, effort and money to do this great series the justice it deserves.
4 I still have my Tapes
Sorry guys, but I still have the VHS tapes I used for taping the series when it came on CBS and they still look great. I am not buying a half put-together DVD. Sounds like a very poor effort to me.
5 Same name on the show, but a different show in season 2...
Season 2 sees the grunts transferred out of the front line, into a "in the rear with the gear" situation.
What really happened is CBS wanted to try and attract female viewers, to what was essentially, a male targeted show. In short, isolated instances, it worked. As a full season, it didn't work so well.
This is also the season that saw the show loose the backing of the US military, because of their objections to the story lines, which saw someone going nutjob practically every week: in the first 9 episodes, at least one character, main or secondary, goes nutjob.
That and the show seems to have changed from the "this is the life of a combat soldier in the Nam" of season 1, to a cross between ER and any early evening female oriented soap opera, which just happens to be set in Vietnam (something we are reminded of by the obligatory 2 to 5 minutes of "combat" added into the episode which frequently are jarring to the rest of the show, as they really have no reason to be there other than to remind us the story is taking place during a war). Heck, even Anderson isn't a rock anymore (in season 1 when he went flaky it was striking because it was so out of character, in season 2, it is the norm).
The combat no longer seems to be the main point of the show in season 2, it just seems to be there to set up the requisite psychotic episode that the other 38 minutes will focus on.
ToD was (and is) one of my all time favourite shows. Reading this review, it might seem like it isn't. Its still a good show in season 2, its just not really the same show as in season 1....
6 GREAT show but Disappointing transfer
truthfully the music that wasnt included doesnt really matter....its the SHOW that makes it a fun experience...cmon people get OVER IT!
The reason alot of films and shows DONT have the original music is because of how it was licensed! Most of the time they are only allowed to use it ONCE on television. So when it comes to dvd they cant include it. If the music is SUCH an issue for you then you arent a true fan. I liked the SHOW not the Rolling Stones...if I want to hear paint it black Ill buy the cd.
Some have complained that the show is "grainy" more so than some shows. This could be due to the fact that some of the masters are just a mess OR they are in fact just "cheapos". But it wont get any worse like vhs did! Its a great season of a great show. But because of the grainyness it looks like an old vhs tape...yep, its THAT bad and the reason it only got 3 stars. I mean there are shows from the 60s and earlier that are cleaned up. so minus 2 stars for quality.
7 Mixed feelings...
Amazing, but I never knew about this series when it was originally telecast. I love war films of all kinds. I agree with everyone here that the picture quality is very grainy. I thought it might have been my DVD player but I guess it wasn't. Since I had never seen the show when it was on TV, I don't know how the original soundtrack sounded. It is true that music sets the mood for the drama. I don't think the soundtrack from the DVD detracted any from the drama. I'm totally confused. The last episode of season 2 ends with an explosion right where the LT and Anderson were taking cover. Since I haven't seen the third season, I don't know if they were killed or not. One thing I have to say... the acting in this series is sooooooo 80's! By that I mean BAD! Sgt. Anderson says his lines as if he's reading from a teleprompter. Does anyone else see this?
8 still the best thing on dvd
just as good as the first season. i cant wait for season 3! there is NOTHING about these dvds i didnt like. but some extra features would be nice. maybe a get together with the stars to talk about the series.
9 Good Show, Rushed Release
Skipping past the debate about the music issues, this is a dvd set that seems to have been rushed out for release. As you work through the 4 dvds included in the set you find problems build the further in you get. The black spots where the commercial breaks had occurred bother you less and less the more you watch, but as you do work past that other problems appear. There are problems with the video footage that jumps from very clear to very grainy almost instantly. The biggest problem I ran into, and what I can't work past is the fact that on discs 3 and 4 some complete chapters within the episodes have the video and audio feeds completely out of sync. I have never seen this problem on any other sets and as much as I was looking forward to getting this set, I am beginning to wonder if Season 3 will be worth the money or if I will just skip it. This is a real poor way for them to treat fans who, after almost 15 years still have yet to get over the music issues.
10 Even more disappointing than season one
yes the music has been doctored again and the video transfer is much worse, very grainy for some reason. have barely made it through the first two hours so far. poor menus, episodes look thrown together. can't recommend this set, even though I loved the original series.
11 THANK GOD IT CAME OUT !!!
First of all NO, THE SOUNDTRACK WAS NOT FIXED !!! Its still generic music, but this series is not about music right ??? SECOND OF ALL, ITs STILL AS GREAT AS THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT ON TV, SO yeah I was one of the FIRST to PRE ORDER IT. I JUST CANT wait for them to release the THIRD and final Season of this amazing and forgotten series on dvd so that again I can be one of the first to buy it. NO NEED for me to say more or to recommend this because If you were a true fan you would know that its a miracle they ever decided to get this out on dvd, so Im sure music or no music this is still one of the best series ever made.
12 Tour of Duty Movie or Soundtrack?
What's wrong with this picture? People complain about the sound track for the beginning of the movie being dubbed / changed. If you were a true fan you would have noticed the last time it aired on TV it was changed. It was not changed just for the DVD collection. Yes, I wish the sound track had the original song Fade to Black in it, but it was removed. How does the changed sound track diminish the story plot or change any of the historical problems they tried to address? If you are so upset about the one song missing, go buy the music cd, the rest of the true fans will buy the DVD set to WATCH the movie.
13 Don't Pre-Order this!
If you were disappointed with the way they lifted the music from the original series and replaced it with generic "musak" - DO NOT pre-order this until some poor sap buys it and comes here to let us know if they've fixed what they broke in the first season release.
I for one will not be buying any more box sets of this superb series unless the music (Paint it black, All along the watchtower, etc.) from the original airing is left in place.
14 One of My Favorite Shows, 5 Stars for a very Exciting Show
Today when I Checked Amazon site I found what I nearly gave up hope for releasing. I am very happy for the continuation of releasing this Excellent Military Drama Show.
Tour of Duty first telecast on September 24, 1987 and the last telecast was on August 25, 1990.
Tour of Duty returned for its Second Season in January 1989, the platoon had been reassigned to Tan Son Nhut airbase, just outside Saigon. Added to the cast were Alex Devlin, a pretty wire service re-porter covering the war: Dr. Jennifer Seymour, a psychologist helping the men deal with teir emosional problems; and Lt. Jhonny McKay, a helicopter pilot who transported members of the platoon on their missions.
Morale and discipline continued to deteriorate, with the impact on the platoon seen in the growing drug addiction of Percell. Even getting out didn't seem to help-when Johnson returned to the states after his tour ended he found people as confused and angry as the soldiers in Vietnam.
