Miami Vice

Ah. This brings back memories.

One of the seminal TV shows of the 80's it is sadly remembered more for it's style, music and fashion content than anything else. Which is unfair as it was also brilliantly acted. Then there is the scream of it's being "unrealistic" due to the fact the cops are wearing armani designer lables and driving a ferrari...WHOLY wrong. The characters are supposed to be undercover cops posing as drug dealer playboys. To have them driving a ford and wearing second hand costumes and cop uniforms would be unrealistic as drug dealers tend be very stylish and showing off thier wealth like a peacok. Urgo the Organised Crime Buerau Vice unit have to fit in. Ussually well written (irellevant of if or not it's the first two seasons gritty realism or the remaining three seasons which were more formulaic).

Season One started off with a pilot that is extrememly lame. And indeed while enjoyable the earlier episodes which followed weren't up to much either. But then along with the (shock) death a lead character early in the season and a new theme tune the show found it's foot. Thanks to the American viewing public for sticking by the show in it's developmental stage. Once Season 1 gets going properly it's a rollercoaster ride of spills and thrills which looked flashy and also delivered plot and characters that kept your attention. Best Episdoe: "Hit List" (aka: Caulderone's Return Part 1). Worst Episode: "Give A Little Take A Little".

Season 2 is more of the same really. Characters are developed more but the plotlines and style remain the same. Best Episode: "Definitley Miami". Worst Episode: "Tale Of The Goat".

Season 3 Shows an definite change of tact for the show. But it works incredibly well and is IMHO the best of the lot. The actors have grown into their characters by this point and can make them totally convincing and sympathetic. The voilence is as action packed and sizling as ever. And the look on Don Johnson's face when his ferrari Daytona gets destroyed is an amazingly comical moment. Best Episode: Too may to choose from really but Johnson's sanity slipping on a case in "Shadows In The Dark" is amazing stuff up there with Pacino and DeNiro in the acting stakes "Forgive Us Our Debts" comes a very close second. Worst Episode: "Viking Bikers From Hell".

Season 4 is the least of the bunch. The stories try to return to a more realistic style but fail totally in their delivery. There are a few good moments but for the most part the stories get very boring. Also someone had the bright idea to cancel Miami Vice and slip a new show called "The Adventures Of Sonny Crockett" on in it's place. In this new show where Crockett and Tubbs were equal partners in the show and the rest of the OCB crew were FAR more than extras who had plenty to bring to the table. in this season we're greeted to a show where Tubbs is reduced to nothing more than a sidekick and the rest of the the OCB are also rans with the exception of some very poor filler episodes. Best Episode: "Mirror Image". Worst Episode: Too many to choose from but "Death And The Lady" is the lowest of the low with only a memorable guest appearence by Paul Guifoyle (sp?) Better known nowadays as Brass in C.S.I. playing a seriously weird villian.

Season 5 is my second fave season after Year 3. Everyone is back on a level playing field again as "The Adventures Of Sonny Crockett" are canned after one season and Miami Vice returns. Jan Hammer takes his music with him to pastures new but Tim Truman arrives with some amazing and atmospheric work for the season that I personally consider to be the best of the bunch when it comes to the music. The realism is out the window with the producers realising that the previous years "high drama" approach had been a complete failure it was time to make sure the final year was a hard hitting full on gunfest. There are OCCASIONAL breaks from this with a couple of comedy episodes "The Lost Maddonna" works brilliantly with Micheal Chiles -I THINK that's his name- from The Shield playing a New York art detective in a genuinley amusing episode. However "Miracle Man" is dire beyond words and is actually painfull to watch making it the worst MV episode. There is some effective character work in there too and the plots while aiming towards a big finish still come across well. The first episode resumes where Season 4 finished with Crockett suffering amnesia believing he really IS a drug dealer and putting on a brilliant "villian" performance. The cliff hanger ending ot the season opener is IMHO the BEST TV cliffhanger ever shown with Crockett (still on planet memory loss) and Tubbs going at it. The story arc is resolved in the seasons best offering "Redemption In Blood". The rest of the season focuses on the other members of the OCB and makes it obvious Crockett is burned out with it only being a matter of time before he either quits the Police Force or gets himself killed. Thankfully the show saw sense to finish while it was ahead and while the final story "Freefall" does not have a great plot the story OOZES in atmosphere and has a sense of farewell to it that is brilliantly realised in the final scene where Crockett and Tubbs bid each other farewell. Best Episode: "Redemption In Blood". Worst Episode: "Miracle Man".

Maybe one day people will remember the show for the reasons it deserves more than the style and the music. I can but hope.

I remember back in 1985, when I was in Grade 9 that the teacher wanted to have the students talk about themselves. We were given a personal questionnaire, then we would divulge our answers. When it came to our favorite T.V. show, 18 out 30 students said "Miami Vice". And that's how I was introduced to this show.

Running during the years when NBC was dominant in prime-time and daytime (1984-1991), when the other networks were struggling as opposed to the pathetic NBC we have now, Miami Vice was probably the second most popular show in the U.S. after The Cosby Show.

Miami Vice is a crime-drama about two detectives, Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and a transplant from New York, Ricardo Tubbs (Phillip Michael Thomas) who fight crime in Miami. Unlike other by-the-book cop shows, this one brought back the cool trend brought in years back with Starsky & Hutch. The men are dressed in cool pastel clothes (Johnson became quite a fashion plate during these years), have a sleek white Ferrari and certainly have 80's panache in dealing with criminal element.

Like many programs during the "Flashdance" era, there is music in the background at all times but Miami Vice played the current hits as well. It was a big honour for artists to have their music played on the show.

Of course, today the show is a bit dated and a lot of people think that Don Johnson dominates too many episodes but he was THE MAN and PMT didn't mind playing second fiddle (who was hotter than Don?). Still, as a lover of the 80's this show is a must-watch for me. Too bad it's on the more pathetic TNN (WE GOT POP!!) but I tolerate it. Also, Don Johnson's current hit "Nash Bridges" is good, too. He may be a little heftier but that voice and his fashion sense haven't changed.

"MIAMI VICE"-A Crime Drama Series Produced by Universal Television. Produced by Michael Mann. Number of Episodes Produced: 114 for NBC-TV. First Telecast of the Series: September 16,1984. Last Telecast of the Series: July 26, 1989.

NOTE: Michael Mann was also the show's creator as well as executive producer and sometimes head writer for several episodes,which he also directed. The series was filmed on location in Miami,Florida.

This show was one of NBC's Biggest Hits of the mid-1980's and it continued to remained so until the end of the decade. This show was a Friday Night Institution for five years of its run(1984-1989)and it went up against some tough competition including several shows that consisted of "Dallas","Falcon Crest",and others not to mention the newsmagazine "20/20",which was the prime-time lineup for Friday nights. The pulse and rhythm of a glamorous resort city of Miami,Florida was the juxtaposed against the seamy haunts of the drug underworld in this gritty action series,which made heavy use of rock music backgrounds and music video effects,not to mention some of the most violent content ever conceived for television happened on this show since it was shown later on Friday nights at the 10:00 hour. Sonny Crockett(Don Johnson)was a rough-edged Miami vice detective who lived on a sailboat called "St. Vitus' Dance",that was guarded by his dyspeptic pet alligator,Elvis,named after the singer Elvis Presley. Ricardo Tubbs(Philip Micheal-Thomas)was a black ex-New York street cop who had to come South to find the drug dealer who murdered his brother. They were an unlikely but effective team,working undercover on the flashy Gold Coast and down the seedy alleyways that made the city of Miami such a city of contrasts. Often they sped around town in Sonny's black Ferrari-Spider sports car(which was later upgraded to a state-of-the-art Ferrari Testarossa,custom-made just for the show). Lt. Castillo(Edward James-Olmos)was their moody superior,and Gina(Saundra Santiago)and her partner detective Trudy(Olivia Brown)were a hip female undercover team,while the other team consisted of Stan(Michael Talbott)and Larry(John Diehl)became the conventional backup.

The stylish,MTV-influenced series(music by rock composer Jan Hammer)was a smash hit that the show itself was one of the top-ten shows in the Nielsens for the first three seasons of its five year run,and was Emmy nominated twice,and transformed struggling actor Don Johnson into a major sex symbol,and made Philip Micheal-Thomas,who was an unknown actor at the time with several movies to his credit,became the heartthrob of fans.especially the women during the mid-1980's. It was also around the time the show was on the air,the soundtrack to the television series,Miami Vice,composed by Jan Hammer became a huge hit,and it was from the album that the show's theme song went on to win both the AMA(American Music Awards),and the Grammy for best instrumental score.

Getting to the character of Sonny Crockett,played by Don Johnson was an rough looking but cool as a cucumber with his expensive pastel sports jacket worn over a T-shirt,with stubbly beard,no socks,and an angry scowl started a fashion trend for those who were into the macho/grubbly look. Female characters on the show fawned over him-and usually got blown up or shot for their trouble. His partner,Ricardo Tubbs was the opposite,a clean cut individual who was always armed with weapons for any situation that came up and usually sometimes to bail Crockett outta a tight problem with some vicious murderer or ruthless drug lord. As for Crockett himself,he was a divorce widow who estranged wife and son were rarely seen,and later a quickie bride player by singer Sheena Easton appeared in several infrequently segments,occasionally as Caitlin Davies(for that one season during the 1987-1988 season)in the show's third season.

This hip-series attracted many famous celebrities,who were normally seen in TV acting roles to do cameos roles. This show had singers from the 1950's(Little Richard,Chuck Berry),the 1960's(James Brown,Eric Clapton),the 1970's(Patti LaBelle),the 1980's-a lot of music from that decade(Phil Collins,Tina Turner,Journey,Ted Nugent,Neil Young,Peter Gabriel,Gloria Esteban to rap groups like The Fat Boys and others)that really influenced this show. Other special guest stars included Watergate felon G. Gordon Liddy,who made quite an impression in the role of a sneaky Real Estate broker;also seen fleetingly were such special guest stars as boxing promoter Don King,boxing champ Roberto Duran,comedian Tommy Chong,the chairmen of Chrysler corporation,Lee Iacocca,and the President of NBC-TV,Brandon Tarkioff,as a bartender!

I don't care what the Don Johnson detractors think, this show is still distinct to this day! I'm glad it won Emmys without pretending to be Masterpiece Theater. This how had a distinct visual style and distinct lingo, which I still use today (esp. "Jou got it, meng!"). And the year is 2011! LOL Don Johnson plays Detective Sony Crockett, a troubled cop who one day meets up with Rico Tubbs, a New York police detective who comes to Miami to avenge the death of his brother. Thus, a legend was born, along with a working relationship and a friendship.

I got a bit fed up with so many people bitching that MV was no good in the 3rd season just because it got darker and more depressing. No, it wasn't QUITE the same, but that was the idea of MV. It's good to see IMDB users such as yarborough sticking up for Season 3, though I think his assessment of the series overall was pretty harsh. There were many episodes I really liked besides those he mentioned and those I've mentioned, granted his opinion is somewhat agreeabl whjen it comes to Season 2.

Critics whined that the music video format would be old hat, but who cares? It's still around, just online instead of on MTV or VH1 much anymore, for gosh sake!!! Miami Vice, despite its detractors, brings back memories of when I was in college too. It reminds us what a fun, memorable decade the '80s were. Thank God for DVD box sets. And as for the casting, it's like a who's who of guest stars, many of whom would take Hollywood by storm: Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts, David Strathairn -- along with other famous entertainers such as Miles Davis and Phil Collins.

Kinda annoyed me when the 2006 movie came out. A friend of mine liked it because "It's not a Don Johnson thing. It had a storyline." This series had HALF A DECADE of story lines. I still can't forget "Evan" to this day, or "Return of Calderone!" Two of the best TV eps ever! Don't get me wrong: the movie isn't bad for what it is. I just got a bit tired of people hating on this show just because they didn't like Johnson. At least he was colorful. Long live Miami Vice, pal!

I won't bore you with what I think are the best episodes, but season 2 was where I started watching it originally as a kid and I've revisited the show again on DVD just recently some 25 years later

The things that strike me now are that Don Johnson is a damn fine actor, Jan Hammers music was and is awesome, and the show had a noticeable upturn in production values from around about 'Yankee Dollar' onward - from that moment we have real on-set undubbed dialogue, proper location ambiences, camera shots onboard speed boats. It really does get awesome from here. I just watched the episode and loved it

You can tell that Mann is primed and ready to get into film work at this point and really had honed his skills as a Producer

All I can tell you is if you've never seen it, watch the show. It has Edward James Olmos who went on to star in my other favourite TV show of all-time 'Battlestar Galactica'. Don Johnson who really should be recognized for his acting talents imho and some of the coolest music you will ever hear in a TV show in Season 2. I'm definitely not talking about the pop music btw, but the Jan Hammer tracks - if you like vintage retro synths you will absolutely love it

While some of the fashion styles might seem silly now, interestingly Miami Vice had a huge influence on popular culture and fashion during the 80's rather than vice versa. I still think Sonny and Crocket look slick most of the time, but some of the extras do look like aliens from outer space, and the shorts are Bjorn Borg short!!! The 80's were a pretty crazy decade

Great show. Brings back a lot of memories seeing it again, and very satisfying that Michael Mann went on to become one of the best movie Directors of all time with films like 'Manhunter' and 'Heat'