The Short Timer

 

As Taylor approaches the end of his tour, mixed emotions cause him to question his stated desire to return home.

 

His fear and distaste for Viet Nam is equaled only by the darkness of the life waiting for him at home. This is emphasized when he runs into a buddy from home who makes it clear that Taylor will have his choice of two careers , being a drug dealer or being a pimp.
 

Meanwhile, the re-enlistment officer Sgt. Ralph Carlton, is attempting to add Taylor to his infamously long list of recruited "re-uppers".
 

Taylor tries to save his pride by complaining that Carlton had gotten him drunk and tricked him into re-enlisting.

The boy’s, infuriated by this , start a fight to be a distraction, steal Taylor’s re-enlistment papers and shuffle him off on a Huey .

When Carlton confronts Anderson with the theft, a verbal and physical battle erupts.

In the end , Taylor returns just in time to stop Zeke from pounding Carlton’s face in. He tells the boys that Nam is his home and that they are his family.

 

Director: Charlie Correll                                            Writer : Bruce Reisman
The songs used in the original airings
Paint It Black The Rolling Stones -(M. Jagger/K. Richards)

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place Performed by the cast	Detroit City Bobby Bare	The Fightin’ Side Of Me Merle Haggard
Hello Stranger Barbara Lewis	Sock It To Me Baby Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels	Long As I Can See The Light Creedence Clearwater Revival

The following messages that were posted on the message board, by Chuck,
who had the opportunity to be an extra in this episode of Tour of Duty, so I have included it here .
The second message was a follow up and mentions more details.

Tour of Duty
Friday, 05-Jan-01 13:21:50

Message:
136.2.1.101 writes:

Good day to all. While I was stationed in Hawaii with the US Army, I had the opportunity to be an extra during the first season. I was on the "Short Timer" episode and it was very interesting to see how the show was done. Also had a photo opp. with Terrence Know and Tony Becker.

It was set up at the 25th Infantry Division's Air Assault School, and the buildings were incorporated into the set. In addition, all the huey helicopter flights were through the Hawaiian hills. Looked a lot like some of the foliage in Vietnam (from pictures that I have seen).

It was an excellent experience.

Chuck

Re: Tour of Duty
Monday, 08-Jan-01 08:24:34

136.1.1.33 writes:

Craig,

To expound further on the "Short Timer" episode:

Bill Duke, from Predator fame as well as many other films, was the executive director for the episode. Started off on day one flying through Hawaii in Huey helicopters before landing to start the episode. As the helicopters landed, we carried "bodies" off of the landing zone into the base camp as the cast members walked to their quarters.


Later in the episode, on day 2, they staged the fight scene between Zeke and the Re-enlistment NCO.  

It was interesting to see how they shot different angles with the cast and placed the stunt doubles in and out.

 The fight scene took about 3 hours to shoot, but to watch the scene you wouldn't know it.

The final scene that I was in on was when the club was blown up.
We were in the scene carrying the debris out as the cast walked toward the blown out structure.


The cast members were very approachable and willing to take pictures with the extras. And the food they provided was top notch (for a catered event). One point is that he actors did not use the "fake sweat" from water in the scenes that they appear to be sweating. They played football rather than be hosed or watered down.

All in all, a very cool experience.

Chuck

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