23 replies to this topic

[sharpsshooter]

I have the complete first season of TOUR OF DUTY. It is suppose to be around 1967. I see that some troop members are wearing helmets with the large clamp on split chin straps. I thought that these were post war straps, I have one dated 1985 still sealed in its factory bag. Almost every one is also carring some kind of large packet behind the helmet band. What is this, it does not look like the accessary packet from a boxed food ration. I never saw their backpacks before. What is the model type?

[BOLO]

your correct the clip on chin straps with web chin cup are the wrong type, Tour of Duty has lots of incorrect details , they also show the guys wearing the 1980's woodland helmet covers in some early episodes

in one scene I also noticed the Sgt had a modern fiber plastic type retractable buttstock on his XM177 type carbine, the originals back in the 1960's were made of aluminum with a black coating

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Edited by BOLO, 13 November 2010 - 08:22 PM.

[NCnam]

I believe the rucksacks they were wearing in a majority of the first season were ARVN rucks.

I think the woodland helmet covers were only wore in the first episode, till they fixed the mistake.

[Andrei]

As far as I can remember, the Sgt had a correct short barrel XM-177 E2 type carbine in the early seasons and then in the last ones he had a commercial version CAR-15 with the 16" barrel and a long flash hidder, it looked way bad.

[BOLO]

As far as I can remember, the Sgt had a correct short barrel XM-177 E2 type carbine in the early seasons and then in the last ones he had a commercial version CAR-15 with the 16" barrel and a long flash hidder, it looked way bad.

the originals had all metal aluminum stocks with black coating like this

the plastic type like this one with the reinforcing ridges came out later post VN war, they are more lightweight , I remember a scene when the Sgt was getting on a Huey chopper and his had the plastic stock.

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[LostDutchman]

Just as an FYI I recently found the complete series for sale at target for (I think) $15 a season.

[m14msgt]

Just as an FYI I recently found the complete series for sale at target for (I think) $15 a season.

Netflix has it also..

[B229]

The first season was actually filmed in Hawaii, including on Schofield Barracks, with the cooperation of the Army. This helped a lot because they had access to vehicles, helicopters, weapons, semi-authentic terrain, etc., plus lots of extras from the 25th ID. However, I think the helmet cover mix-up resulted from the production team relying on the Army to supply some of the gear. Since it was filmed in 1987, the woodland covers were the current standard. They fixed it after a few episodes.

Too bad the network destroyed the show in season two by trying to introduce non-combat realated themes, like a romance. The Army bailed out and the production moved to California, and the show sucked.

[M1Marksman]

The first season was actually filmed in Hawaii, including on Schofield Barracks, with the cooperation of the Army. This helped a lot because they had access to vehicles, helicopters, weapons, semi-authentic terrain, etc., plus lots of extras from the 25th ID. However, I think the helmet cover mix-up resulted from the production team relying on the Army to supply some of the gear. Since it was filmed in 1987, the woodland covers were the current standard. They fixed it after a few episodes.

Too bad the network destroyed the show in season two by trying to introduce non-combat realated themes, like a romance. The Army bailed out and the production moved to California, and the show sucked.

As much as "China Beach"?

[BOLO]

I never liked the episodes about personal matters like going on leave to Hawaii, or Lt Goldman and his girlfriend when she said she wont marry him, those were a waste of film, because it was turning the show into a "soap opera".

or the one when the chopper full of Playboy bunnies went down in the jungle, that was so cheesy

they should have made all the episodes about combat duty only, no love story bs.

Edited by BOLO, 12 December 2010 - 12:16 PM.

[ClaptonIsGod]

I remember seeing on YouTube a clip of a Huey flying around dropping crates of ammunition/explosives/etc. on North Vietnamese while blasting "Born to be Wild"

[303lithgow]

The first season was good, the second season was bad and then the third season was good again when the women were killed off and they became SOG.

[Longhorn92]

I remember seeing Blackhawks on the airfield in an episode or two.

[Art]

A big complaint about the Tour Of Duty DVD's is that most of the original 60's music was replaced with generic stuff. The intro with Fade To Black was always cool. I read that in England season 1 was released with ALL the original music & includes some special content, interviews, etc.
I just bought Tour Of Duty season 1 from Amazon UK & it's true. I have to watch them on my PC because of the DVD region code but it is nice to watch it again like it was originaly broadcast with the Stones, Hendrix, Doors, CCR, etc. Some DVD players can have the region code changed but mine cannot.

[Hawk 101]

Yeah i also have this release via Fabulous films,There was a small cock up with episode 4 "War Lover" it is missing 2 of the 3 original songs, the 2 songs missing are:
We Gotta Get Out of This Place" - The Animals and "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye. You might want to check your version? If you do have this version? you can contact
Fabulous films, and they will send you out the re edited disc with the 2 mentioned missing songs reinstalled.

I tend to agree with most on Tour of Duty, yes, there are mistakes,but to be honest i overlooked that. But i found myself losing interest when it basically became Dallas based in Nam or eastenders for us Brits. :crying:

[Hawk 101]

Yeah i also have this release via Fabulous films,There was a small cock up with episode 4 "War Lover" it is missing 2 of the 3 original songs, the 2 songs missing are:
We Gotta Get Out of This Place" - The Animals and "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye. You might want to check your version? If you do have this version? you can contact
Fabulous films, and they will send you out the re edited disc with the 2 mentioned missing songs reinstalled.

I tend to agree with most on Tour of Duty, yes, there are mistakes,but to be honest i overlooked that. But i found myself losing interest when it basically became Dallas based in Nam or eastenders for us Brits. :crying:

Sorry about second post PC had funny 5 minutes :thumbdown:

Edited by Hawk 101, 19 February 2012 - 05:44 AM.

[sgtdorango]

Heres the original opening with Paint it Black by the Stones.....mike

[MPage]

I really don't understand this whole Vietnam-as-rock-video idea. A lot of people think it's "cool"; I think it's silly and almost perverse, and far more worthy of criticism than all the technical errors combined.

[Wolfhounds]

TOD was cool back in the day when it first came out. When I was a kid, I used to look forward to watching the new episodes every week, and I thought they were the greatest thing in the world. Once the series was over I, like probably everyone else, forgot all about that series and moved on. Years later when the series was released on DVD, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them, and watch them all over again. However, once I started watching them again, I came to realize that they were not as "cool" as they used to be when I was a kid. Actually, I thought they were pretty lame. Granted, they were many good episodes within each season, but as stated above, they began to seem like a giant soap opera. There was far too much drama (not combat drama) and way too much romance and other BS throw in there just to appease everyone else. I remember that the DVD's did not have the original soundtracks, but in my opinion that was minimal. I guess some things don't always get better with time, and that's why I sold all three seasons ??? I think the main reason this series really seemed to suck so much is that technology has come a LONG way since this series was first produced. After watching all of the modern war movies and mini-series such as BOB and The Pacific, TOD really seems pretty cheesy and lame. What would be awesome, would be if someone would produce a new series on Vietnam, similar to TOD, but without all of the drama, romance, and overall BS. I'd be willing to bet the series would be a big hit, if it was taken seriously, and produced in the same manner as BOB and The Pacific.

Just my 2 cents

Sean

[patches]

I really don't understand this whole Vietnam-as-rock-video idea. A lot of people think it's "cool"; I think it's silly and almost perverse, and far more worthy of criticism than all the technical errors combined.

I agree, there was alot more differant music during that time that the Stones, and the other "signuture" songs one is inundated with when watching these sort of things, though not related to the actual period, I think the worse thing that came out was that idiotic dance video, I dont even know what its called, it came out in the 80s, 19 or somthing, it kept repeating over, and over again Nineteeen, NNNNNinteen, Nineteen, NNNNinteen, interspersed with some dialoge. When I first seen playing on a hugh screen in a dance club, I was what the F, is this crap, it was a very lame attempt in my view to explain on the War, If you remember, the song was one that people would dance to, also remembering that they showed footage of that KIA, Shannon from the Anderson Platoon documentary being taken away, his body being dragged away by his M56 suspenders, AHH no one noticed that when I seen it, the people on the dance floor ? they just kept on Dancing, I felt the whole thing was highly inapproriate, and as a vet that served with Vietnam vets in 1980-82, and had my own cousin in the Marines overthere, I found it insulting.

Though I was young at that time when it came out, I let my dislike of this piece known, LOL, like one time, when driving as a passenger with some friends, that thing came on the radio, I got upset and said turn this s.... off will ya, no I said, I dont like this, and went on a principled/historical rant, even way back then, LOL, sorry but to me and I'm sure thousands, and thousands of Americans this thing was a degrading, insult. So this ROCK stuff that was heard over and over again in the Movies and TV shows that soon followed was in the same vein, to hip it up, to make it cool or something. Take a look at Platoon and you'll see what I'm taking about, like that dude at the end of the movie that,s part of the reinfocements, you know the guy on the APC, with the hugh Nazi flag, the guy with the hugh Mohawk and beads hanging all over him, and cut off sleeves and pants, did he have a earings ? too LOL, I mean this guy look like he just stepped out of CBGBs to grab a smoke for christ sake, get my drift.