# Tour of Duty (TV series)

Tour of Duty is an American military drama television series based on events in the Vietnam War, broadcast on CBS. The series ran for three seasons, from September 24, 1987, to April 28, 1990, for a total of 58 one-hour episodes. The show was created by Steve Duncan and L. Travis Clark and produced by Zev Braun.
The show follows an American infantry platoon on a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. It was the first television series to regularly show Americans in combat in South Vietnam and was one of several similarly themed series to be produced in the wake of the acclaimed Oliver Stone film Platoon (1986).
The series won an Emmy Award in 1988 for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series, and it was nominated again in 1989 and 1990.

## Overview

Tour of Duty examined the issues of politics, faith, teamwork, racism, suicide, fragging, terrorism, civilian deaths, sexuality, drug abuse, and how the lives of soldiers and civilians were permanently affected by the Vietnam War.
The first season began in 1987 and followed Bravo company's second platoon located at Camp Ladybird. Second platoon was standard light infantry platoon conducting "search and destroy" missions in Vietnam, under the command of 2nd Lieutenant (1st Lieutenant from the start of season 2) Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey) and Staff Sergeant (later Sergeant First Class) Zeke Anderson (Terence Knox). It was filmed on location in Hawaii at Schofield Barracks.
For the second and third seasons, the series was filmed at Indian Dunes/Newhall Orchards and Farms about 4 miles west of I-5/Santa Clarita, California between Hwy 126 and the Santa Clara River to reduce filming costs. This area was also used to film China Beach, Baa Baa Black Sheep and many other TV series and movies from the mid-1970's to 1990.
The change of location also led to a change in the show's direction. Beginning in the second season, the platoon was relocated to a base near Saigon, Tan Son Nhut. Production staff interviewed in Vietnam Magazine said this change in premise doomed the series because it shifted from being a realistic chronicle about the life of an average combat infantryman to an action/romantic/drama show. CBS wanted female characters because ABC had premiered China Beach, a Vietnam Army nurses drama, which was aimed directly at attracting more female viewers.
In Tour of Duty's third season, the remaining female character was killed off, and the platoon was transferred to a SOG unit at Camp Barnett, under the command of Colonel Brewster (played by Carl Weathers). The unit conducted covert operations in Vietnam and Cambodia which included a fictional version of the raid on Son Tay Prison. The show was cancelled at the end of this season due to falling ratings.
Guest stars included Lee Majors, James Hong, Mako, Kelly Hu, Angela Bassett, Ving Rhames, Melora Hardin, Everett McGill, Olivia d'Abo, David Alan Grier, Richard Brooks, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, William Sadler, Carl Weathers, and Michael Madsen.

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 21 | 21 | September 24, 1987 (1987-09-24) | April 30, 1988 (1988-04-30) |
| 2 | 16 | 16 | January 3, 1989 (1989-01-03) | May 16, 1989 (1989-05-16) |
| 3 | 21 | 21 | September 23, 1989 (1989-09-23) | April 28, 1990 (1990-04-28) |

### Season 1 (1987–88)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Rating/share (households) |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Bill L. Norton | Steve Duncan & L. Travis Clark | September 24, 1987 (1987-09-24) | 10.6/17 |
| 2 | 2 | "Notes From the Underground" | Bill L. Norton | Bill L. Norton | October 1, 1987 (1987-10-01) | 10.3/17 |
| 3 | 3 | "Dislocations" | Aaron Lipstadt | Steven Phillip Smith | October 8, 1987 (1987-10-08) | 12.0/19 |
| 4 | 4 | "War Lover" | Jim Johnston | Rick Husky | October 15, 1987 (1987-10-15) | 10.4/17 |
| 5 | 5 | "Sitting Ducks" | Aaron Lipstadt | Steve Bello | October 29, 1987 (1987-10-29) | 10.8/16 |
| 6 | 6 | "Burn, Baby, Burn" | Reynaldo Villalobos | Story by : L. Travis Clark & Steve Duncan Teleplay by : L. Travis Clark & Steve Duncan & Steven Phillip Smith | November 5, 1987 (1987-11-05) | 10.2/16 |
| 7 | 7 | "Brothers, Fathers and Sons" | Bill L. Norton | Bill L. Norton | November 12, 1987 (1987-11-12) | 9.5/14 |
| 8 | 8 | "The Good, the Bad and the Dead" | Reynaldo Villalobos | Brad Radnitz | November 19, 1987 (1987-11-19) | 10.8/17 |
| 9 | 9 | "Battling Baker Brothers" | Bill L. Norton | Story by : Bill L. Norton Teleplay by : Bill L. Norton & David Wyles | December 10, 1987 (1987-12-10) | 10.6/17 |
| 10 | 10 | "Nowhere to Run" | Randy Roberts | Rick Husky | December 17, 1987 (1987-12-17) | 10.7/17 |
| 11 | 11 | "Roadrunner" | Jim Johnston | Robert Burns Clark | January 7, 1988 (1988-01-07) | 12.5/18 |
| 12 | 12 | "Pushin' Too Hard" | Bill L. Norton | Story by : David Hume Kennerly & Dennis Foley Teleplay by : Steven Phillip Smith | January 14, 1988 (1988-01-14) | 11.7/17 |
| 13 | 13 | "USO Down" | Ronald L. Schwary | Jim Beaver | January 21, 1988 (1988-01-21) | 11.5/17 |
| 14 | 14 | "Under Siege" | Stephen L. Posey | Story by : Steve Bello Teleplay by : Steve Bello & Robert Burns Clark | February 11, 1988 (1988-02-11) | 12.5/19 |
| 15 | 15 | "Soldiers" | Bill L. Norton | Rick Husky | February 18, 1988 (1988-02-18) | 11.9/17 |
| 16 | 16 | "Gray-Brown Odyssey" | Randy Roberts | Bruce Reisman | February 25, 1988 (1988-02-25) | 12.9/19 |
| 17 | 17 | "Blood Brothers" | Charles Correll | Christian Darren | March 12, 1988 (1988-03-12) | 9.0/16 |
| 18 | 18 | "The Short Time" | Bill Duke | Story by : Bruce Reisman & Peter Lubliner Teleplay by : Bruce Reisman | March 19, 1988 (1988-03-19) | 10.5/18 |
| 19 | 19 | "Paradise Lost" | James L. Conway | Robert Burns Clark | March 26, 1988 (1988-03-26) | 9.8/19 |
| 20 | 20 | "Angel of Mercy" | Bill L. Norton | Unknown | April 9, 1988 (1988-04-09) | 9.5/17 |
| 21 | 21 | "The Hill" | Robert Iscove | Steven Phillip Smith | April 30, 1988 (1988-04-30) | 8.3/15 |

### Season 2 (1989)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating/share (households) |
| 22 | 1 | "Saigon: Part 1" | Bill L. Norton | Rick Husky | January 3, 1989 (1989-01-03) | 18.0 | 11.3/16 |
| 23 | 2 | "Saigon: Part 2" | Bill L. Norton | Rick Husky | January 10, 1989 (1989-01-10) | 14.6 | 9.6/14 |
| 24 | 3 | "For What It's Worth" | Ed Sherin | Dennis Cooper | January 17, 1989 (1989-01-17) | 14.3 | 9.6/14 |
| 25 | 4 | "True Grit" | Ed Sherin | Steven Phillip Smith | January 24, 1989 (1989-01-24) | 15.5 | 10.2/15 |
| 26 | 5 | "Non-Essential Personnel" | Jim Johnston | Elia Katz | January 31, 1989 (1989-01-31) | 13.0 | 8.4/13 |
| 27 | 6 | "Sleeping Dogs" | Stephen L. Posey | Jerry Patrick Brown | February 7, 1989 (1989-02-07) | 15.3 | 10.0/15 |
| 28 | 7 | "I Wish It Would Rain" | Bradford May | Story by : Rick Husky & Dennis Cooper & Steven Phillip Smith Teleplay by : Robert Burns Clark | February 14, 1989 (1989-02-14) | 14.4 | 9.2/14 |
| 29 | 8 | "Popular Forces" | Bill L. Norton | Story by : Dennis Cooper & Elia Katz & Jerry Patrick Brown Teleplay by : Cynthia Darnell | February 21, 1989 (1989-02-21) | 13.7 | 9.2/14 |
| 30 | 9 | "Terms of Enlistment" | Charles Correll | Story by : Dennis Cooper Teleplay by : Dennis Cooper & Rick Husky & Steven Phillip Smith & Jerry Patrick Brown Rick Husky | March 21, 1989 (1989-03-21) | 14.8 | 9.8/15 |
| 31 | 10 | "Nightmare" | Tommy Lee Wallace | Story by : Rick Husky & Dennis Cooper Teleplay by : Bruce Reisman | March 28, 1989 (1989-03-28) | 13.3 | 9.2/14 |
| 32 | 11 | "Promised Land" | Helaine Head | Steven Phillip Smith | April 4, 1989 (1989-04-04) | 12.6 | 8.3/13 |
| 33 | 12 | "Lonesome Cowboy Blues" | Charles Correll | W.K. Scott Meyer | April 11, 1989 (1989-04-11) | 14.0 | 9.6/15 |
| 34 | 13 | "Sins of the Fathers" | Jim Johnston | Rick Husky | April 25, 1989 (1989-04-25) | 14.8 | 10.4/18 |
| 35 | 14 | "Sealed With a Kiss" | Stephen L. Posey | Story by : Dennis Cooper & Elia Katz Teleplay by : Elia Katz | May 2, 1989 (1989-05-02) | 11.6 | 7.7/12 |
| 36 | 15 | "Hard Stripe" | Jim Johnston | Story by : Dennis Cooper & Jerry Patrick Brown Teleplay by : Jerry Patrick Brown | May 9, 1989 (1989-05-09) | N/A | N/A |
| 37 | 16 | "Volunteer" | Stephen L. Posey | Steven Phillip Smith | May 16, 1989 (1989-05-16) | 12.2 | 8.5/14 |

### Season 3 (1989–90)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) | Rating/share (households) |
| 38 | 1 | "The Luck" | Stephen L. Posey | Jerry Patrick Brown | September 23, 1989 (1989-09-23) | 16.4 | 10.2/18 |
| 39 | 2 | "Doc Hock" | Randy Roberts | Robert Bielak | September 30, 1989 (1989-09-30) | 13.3 | 8.1/15 |
| 40 | 3 | "The Ties that Bind" | Stephen L. Posey | Carol Mendelsohn | October 7, 1989 (1989-10-07) | 15.0 | 9.3/17 |
| 41 | 4 | "Lonely at the Top" | Edwin Sherin | David Kemper | October 14, 1989 (1989-10-14) | 10.9 | 6.9/12 |
| 42 | 5 | "A Bodyguard of Lies" | Jim Johnston | Brian Herskowitz | October 28, 1989 (1989-10-28) | 12.4 | 7.5/13 |
| 43 | 6 | "A Necessary End" | Stephen L. Posey | Jerry Patrick Brown | November 4, 1989 (1989-11-04) | 12.5 | 7.7/13 |
| 44 | 7 | "Cloud Nine" | George Kaczender | Robert Bielak | November 11, 1989 (1989-11-11) | 13.5 | 7.9/14 |
| 45 | 8 | "Thanks for the Memories" | Paul Lynch | Carol Mendelsohn | November 18, 1989 (1989-11-18) | 14.1 | 8.5/15 |
| 46 | 9 | "I Am What I Am" | Bradford May | David Kemper | December 2, 1989 (1989-12-02) | 11.2 | 7.1/12 |
| 47 | 10 | "World in Changes" | Helaine Head | James Kearns | December 9, 1989 (1989-12-09) | 11.7 | 7.3/13 |
| 48 | 11 | "Green Christmas" | James A. Contner | Steven Phillip Smith | December 23, 1989 (1989-12-23) | 14.4 | 8.2/14 |
| 49 | 12 | "Odd Man Out" | James A. Contner | David Ehrman | January 6, 1990 (1990-01-06) | 12.7 | 7.6/13 |
| 50 | 13 | "And Make Death Proud to Take Us" | George Kaczender | Jerry Patrick Brown | January 20, 1990 (1990-01-20) | 13.2 | 7.9/13 |
| 51 | 14 | "Dead Man Tales" | Bradford May | Robert Bielak | February 3, 1990 (1990-02-03) | 12.8 | 7.7/13 |
| 52 | 15 | "Road to Long Binh" | Steve Dubin | David Kemper & Carol Mendelsohn | February 10, 1990 (1990-02-10) | 11.7 | 7.4/13 |
| 53 | 16 | "Acceptable Losses" | Bradford May | David Kemper & Carol Mendelsohn | February 17, 1990 (1990-02-17) | 13.2 | 7.9/14 |
| 54 | 17 | "Vietnam Rag" | George Kaczender | Robert Bielak | February 24, 1990 (1990-02-24) | 12.6 | 7.7/13 |
| 55 | 18 | "War is a Contact Sport" | Stephen Caffrey | David Kemper | March 24, 1990 (1990-03-24) | 13.8 | 7.9/14 |
| 56 | 19 | "Three Cheers for the Orange, White & Blue" | Stephen L. Posey | Carol Mendelsohn | April 14, 1990 (1990-04-14) | 11.4 | 7.4/14 |
| 57 | 20 | "The Raid" | Jim Johnston | Jim Johnston | April 28, 1990 (1990-04-28) | 12.7 | 8.1/15 |
| 58 | 21 | "Payback" | Jim Johnston | Jerry Patrick Brown | April 28, 1990 (1990-04-28) | 12.7 | 8.1/15 |

## Characters

| Character | Actor | Rank(s)/Job | Seasons | Seasons | Seasons |
| Character | Actor | Rank(s)/Job | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Main cast ||||||
| Clayton Ezekiel "Zeke" Anderson | Terence Knox | Staff Sgt. (SSG)/Sgt. 1st Class (SFC) | Main | Main | Main |
| Myron Goldman | Stephen Caffrey | 2nd Lt./1st Lt. | Main | Main | Main |
| Daniel "Danny" Percell | Tony Becker | PFC/Cpl./SP4 | Main | Main | Main |
| Alberto Ruiz | Ramón Franco | Pvt./PFC/SP4 | Main | Main | Main |
| Marcus Taylor | Miguel A. Núñez Jr. | Pvt./PFC/SP4/Sgt. | Main | Main | Main |
| Marvin Johnson | Stan Foster | SP4/Sgt. | Main | Main | Main |
| Scott Baker | Eric Bruskotter | Pvt./SP4 | Main | Does not appear | Guest |
| Roger Horn | Joshua D. Maurer | Pvt./PFC/SP4 | Main | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Randy "Doc" Matsuda | Steve Akahoshi | SP4 | Main | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Rusty Wallace | Kevin Conroy | Captain | Main | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Johnny McKay | Dan Gauthier | 1st Lt. | Does not appear | Main | Main |
| Alex Devlin | Kim Delaney | Reporter | Does not appear | Main | Main |
| Francis "Doc Hock" Hockenbury | John Dye | PFC/SP4 | Does not appear | Does not appear | Main |
| Supporting cast ||||||
| Nikki Raines | Pamela Gidley | 2nd Lt. | Recurring | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Dalby | Bruce Gray | Lt. Col. | Recurring | Does not appear | Does not appear |
| Darling | Richard Brestoff | Major | Does not appear | Also starring | Does not appear |
| Dr. Jennifer Seymour | Betsy Brantley | Civilian Contracted Psychiatrist / then Major U.S. Army Medical Corps | Does not appear | Recurring | Recurring |
| Marion Hannegan/Putman | Charles Hyman | Master Sergeant (as Hannegan), SFC (as Putnam) | Does not appear | Recurring | Recurring |
| Mike Duncan | Michael B. Christy | Major | Does not appear | Does not appear | Also starring |
| Sister Bernardette | Maria Mayenzet | Civilian Nun | Does not appear | Does not appear | Also starring |
| Stringer | Alan Scarfe | Colonel | Does not appear | Does not appear | Also starring |
| Jack Elliot | Peter Vogt | General | Does not appear | Does not appear | Also starring |
| Edward Higgins | Michael Fairman | Major General | Does not appear | Does not appear | Also starring |
| William Griner | Kyle Chandler | Pvt. | Does not appear | Does not appear | Recurring |
| Duke Fontaine | Patrick Kilpatrick | CIA Agent | Does not appear | Does not appear | Recurring |
| Joseph "Skip" Beller | Greg Germann | 1st Lt. | Does not appear | Does not appear | Recurring |
| Carl Brewster | Carl Weathers | Colonel | Does not appear | Does not appear | Special Guest Star |
| Thomas "Pop" Scarlett | Lee Majors | Private | Does not appear | Does not appear | Special Guest Star |

### Notes

* 1 2 3 4 Not main cast for the whole season.

## Music

The opening theme song was an abbreviated version of The Rolling Stones hit "Paint It Black" that had featured in the end titles of the 1987 Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket; this was removed for the US DVD release. The closing consisted of an instrumental, synthesized tune with a distinctive Asian sound mixed in with acoustic guitar; it was performed by Joseph Conlan, and was never released for public consumption other than in the series. That music was used as background music for most of the series. On the US DVD release, most of the Vietnam War–era popular songs were replaced by instrumental bits to cover the blank spots of music.
All three seasons that have been released in the United Kingdom feature the complete original soundtrack, including "Paint It Black".
The show was known for its classic American rock soundtrack including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, and Jefferson Airplane. One first-season episode, "USO Down", used "live" versions of "Wooly Bully", and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" as performed by a USO band, the latter song being used also for ironic comment. The songs in this episode were retained in the DVD soundtracks. But for copyright reasons, the VHS and DVD soundtracks of the majority of episodes were replaced with soundalikes, a move which was widely protested by buyers and resulted in a significantly lower sales volume for the third-season DVD set than for the first two.
In the Netherlands, amongst other European nations, a total number of seven albums were released, containing most of the songs featured on the show. As a result, "Paint It Black" was re-released as a single, again hitting the number 1 position in the Dutch top 40 pop charts in May 1990.

### The original soundtrack albums

The Tour of Duty television series soundtrack was released by CBS on Columbia Records as four different compilation albums during 1988 and 1989. The original albums are now out of print. Their track listings are as follows:
| Tour of Duty Soundtrack, Volume 1 (1988) "Baby Love" – Diana Ross and The Supremes "Here Comes the Night" – Them "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" – The Animals "A Whiter Shade of Pale" – Procol Harum "Itchycoo Park" – Small Faces "All Along the Watchtower" – Jimi Hendrix "Hurdy Gurdy Man" – Donovan "Time of the Season" – The Zombies "And When I Die" – Blood, Sweat & Tears "War" – Edwin Starr "Ball of Confusion" – Temptations "What's Going On" – Marvin Gaye "Time Has Come Today" – Chambers Brothers "I Want to Take You Higher" – Sly & The Family Stone "Groovin' Is Easy" – The Electric Flag "Oye Como Va" – Santana "Ball and Chain" – Janis Joplin "Ballad of Easy Rider" – The Byrds | Tour of Duty Soundtrack, Volume 2 (1988) "Paint It Black" – Chris Farlowe "Tin Soldier" – Small Faces "Stone Free" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Sunshine of Your Love" – Cream "Born to Be Wild" – Steppenwolf "Reach Out I'll Be There" – Four Tops "People Get Ready" – The Impressions "Jennifer Juniper" – Donovan "Your Precious Love" – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell "Groovin'" – The Rascals "Eight Miles High" – The Byrds "Cloud Nine" – The Temptations "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" – Gladys Knight & the Pips "Piece of My Heart" – Janis Joplin "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" – Al Kooper & Stephen Stills "Ring of Fire" – Eric Burdon & The Animals "Spinning Wheel" – Blood, Sweat & Tears "Bridge Over Troubled Water" – Aretha Franklin |
| Tour of Duty Soundtrack, Volume 3 (1989) "White Room" – Cream "Highway Chile" – Jimi Hendrix "Lazy Sunday" – Small Faces "Gloria" – Them "Sky Pilot" – Eric Burdon & The Animals "Natural Born Bugie" – Humble Pie "White Rabbit" – Grace Slick & The Great Society "The Weight" – The Band "Go Now" – The Moody Blues "San Francisco" – Scott McKenzie "Draft Morning" – The Byrds "Evil Ways" – Santana "Dance to the Music" – Sly & The Family Stone "Tell Her No" – The Zombies "Barabajagal" – Donovan "Killing Floor" – The Electric Flag "Black Night" – Deep Purple "Paranoid" – Black Sabbath | Tour of Duty Soundtrack, Volume 4 (1989) "This Wheel's on Fire" – Julie Driscoll "Rag Mama Rag" – The Band "On the Road Again" – Canned Heat "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" – Chicago "American Woman" – Guess Who "Race with the Devil" – The Gun "Down the Dustpipe" – Status Quo "Living in the Past" – Jethro Tull "Bird on the Wire" – Leonard Cohen "Tears of Rage" – Bob Dylan "Save the Country" – Laura Nyro "To Love Somebody" – The Bee Gees "There Won't Be Many Coming Home" – Roy Orbison "Melting Pot" – Blue Mink "Hi De Ho" – Blood, Sweat & Tears "Chestnut Mare" – The Byrds "Sweet Baby James" – James Taylor "Listen to the Music" – The Doobie Brothers |

#### Charts

| Date | Title | Chart | Peak position |
| May 1988 | Volume One | Australia (Kent Music Report) | 3 |
| August 1988 | Volume Two | Australia (ARIA Charts) | 5 |
| April 1989 | Volume Three | Australia (ARIA Charts) | 15 |
| April 1989 | Volume Three | Australia (ARIA Charts) | 15 |
* Note: The official Australian chart was the Kent Music Report until June 1988, and which time it changed to ARIA.

### Compilation soundtrack CDs

In 1992, Sony Music released a compilation CD titled The Best of 'Tour of Duty'. It contains only twenty of the songs featured in the four original Tour of Duty Soundtrack albums.
* The Best of Tour of Duty (1992)
* "Born To Be Wild" – Steppenwolf
* "Tin Soldier" – Small Faces
* "This Wheel's On Fire" – Julie Driscoll
* "Barabajagal" – Donovan
* "Time Of The Season" – The Zombies
* "The Weight" – The Band
* "Get Together" – The Youngbloods
* "Chimes Of Freedom" – The Byrds
* "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" – Procol Harum
* "Piece Of My Heart" – Janis Joplin
* "Evil Ways" – Santana
* "25 Or 6 To 4" – Chicago
* "Killing Floor" – The Electric Flag
* "Dance To The Music" – Sly & The Family Stone
* "And When I Die" – Blood, Sweat & Tears
* "On The Road Again" – Canned Heat
* "American Woman" – The Guess Who
* "Race With The Devil" – The Gun
* "Shapes of Things" – The YardBirds
* "Sky Pilot" – Eric Burdon & The Animals
* Tour of Duty Top 100 (2008)
* Disc 1
* "I Can Hear Music" – The Beach Boys
* "White Room" – Cream
* "Are You Ready" – Pacific Gas & Electric
* "Eight Miles High" – The Byrds
* "Hush" – Deep Purple
* "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" – CCR
* "Question" – The Moody Blues
* "Reflections – Diana Ross & The Supremes
* "Here Comes the Night" – Them
* "Son of a Preacher Man" – Dusty Springfield
* "Lady Willpower" – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
* "Black Magic Woman" – Santana
* "Death of a Clown" – Dave Davies
* "It's the Same Old Song" – The Four Tops
* "You Wear It Well" – Rod Stewart
* "Mannish Boy" – Muddy Waters
* "I'd Rather Go Blind – Chicken Shack
* "All Right Now" – Free
* "Roll Over Beethoven" – The Electric Light Orchestra
* "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (Parts 1 & 2)" – James Brown
* Disc 2

## Home media

In 2004–2005, Sony Pictures released all three seasons for the first time in the US, both as individual season sets and a complete series set. Due to licensing issues, all original music was replaced with sound-alike versions, much to the dismay of fans. These releases, which have also been criticized for having substandard sound and picture quality, have since been discontinued.
In 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the US rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Tour of Duty. In 2014–2015, they re-released all three seasons on DVD, again as individual season sets and a complete series set. These releases have the same poor A/V and replacement music of the Sony issues.
Between 2011 and 2013, Fabulous Films released identical DVDs in the UK and Australia, both as individual season sets and a complete series set. They have improved audio and video quality over the US issues, and retain the complete original soundtrack, including "Paint It, Black". They also contain extras including cast and crew biographies, hundreds of publicity photos and a feature-length, three-part documentary. The latter includes interviews filmed in Los Angeles in July 2011 with key cast members Terence Knox, Joshua D. Maurer, Steve Akahoshi, Tony Becker, Eric Bruskotter, Kevin Conroy, Miguel A. Núñez Jr. and Dan Gauthier, and key production crew members Zev Braun (producer) Bill L. Norton (writer/director), Steve Smith (writer/producer), Steve Duncan (creator) and Paul Sinor (military advisor).
The complete series was also released on DVD in Germany by Koch Media between 2012 and 2014, both as individual season sets and complete series sets. These releases replicate the poor quality, music-replacement and extras-free US DVDs but they do reinstate the original version of "Paint It, Black" in the opening credits.

## Reception
### Television ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of Tour of Duty :
| Season | Episodes | First aired | First aired | First aired | Last aired | Last aired | Last aired | TV season |
| Season | Episodes | Date | HH rating | Viewers (millions) | Date | HH rating | Viewers (millions) | TV season |
| 1 | 21 | September 24, 1987 | 10.6 | — | April 30, 1988 | 8.3 | — | 1987–88 |
| 2 | 16 | January 3, 1989 | 11.3 | 18.0 | May 16, 1989 | 8.5 | 12.2 | 1988–89 |
| 3 | 21 | September 23, 1989 | 10.2 | 16.4 | April 28, 1990 | 8.1 | 12.7 | 1989–90 |

### Awards

The series won an Emmy Award in 1988 for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "Under Siege"), and it was nominated again in 1989 and 1990.
Emmy Award nominations:
* 1989: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "I Wish it Could Rain")
* 1990: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (for "And Make Death Proud to Take Us")
Eddie Award nominations
* 1988: Best Edited Episode from a Television Series (for the pilot episode)