I know his character was written out in season 2 & that he returned for an episode in season 3 but does anyone know why Eric Bruskotter didn't return after the 1st season.
I remember being disappointed when season 2 resumed that Baker & Horn were gone - they were two of my favorite characters on the show. I wasn't really surprised Horn didn't come back as he got wounded in 'The Hill' episode but was curious why Baker (Bruskotter) didn't return?
With Horn (Joshua Maurer), this character had just run his course as a conscientious objector. By the end of season 1, Maurer was so bored and wanted more to do on the show but there was only so far that the writers could take his storyline. Also, by the end, his character had grown and changed. Maurer left the show.
With Baker (Eric Bruskotter), as well as Maurer, it was money decision. The lead actors have big salaries and by that time, New World Productions was struggling and the production costs of Tour of Duty in Hawaii were huge.
They moved the show to LA to cut costs but it turned out that it was actually more cost-effective to film in Hawaii. They also let the more lead actors go, such as Captain Wallace (Kevin Conroy) and Doc Matsuda (Steve Akahoshi), during the course of season 1 for the same reason - cost cutting.