Deux flics à Miami

This classic ground breaking series followed two very different Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami.

It holds up, the characters are still as endearing as they were back then. The first season has its faults mainly the abrupt cutting between scenes (due to planned adverts) but also at times the writers or directors don't seem to know how to finish a scene before the next as with many of the shows of the time. New comers may find this a little jarring and frustrating as this has been finely tuned in modern quality TV shows.

The first season has some rough episodes but of the 22 they are the few and far between. The characters are great and the acting is decent for the most part. The meeting of the both leads is great, Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), a New York street cop collides with James "Sonny" Crockett (Don Johnson) Former football star and 'Nam vet' now undercover detective. It's good to watch their friendship grow through good and bad times. The supporting cast are on fine form, notably Det. Gina Calabrese (Saundra Santiago) and Lt. Castillo (Edward James Olmos) who becomes their new boss a few episodes in.

Its fitting that the exposition isn't forced and you need to take note to what the characters are saying. Many of the cast are while not major stars are veteran bit part actors who have familiar faces. In addition, as well as the many guest stars including Bruce Willis it's surprising how many of the supporting cast are stars now, for example Ving Rhames.

Even after being viewed through 80's rose tinted glasses and overlooking some cheese - it encapsulates a fanciful nostalgia, the clothes, the cars, the boats, soundtrack and even Miami itself. The style and panache of Crockett and Tubbs sums it up, but that's not to say the locations, story lines and character are not without a dark side, prostitution, kidnapping, murder and drugs (mainly heroin) to name a few. These maybe sanitized slightly due to censorship of the time but there's enough to give it an edge especially for the time.

Restrictions and the unkindness of time aside, like the Equalizer, from its motion picture shooting style and production/wardrobe design, to the landmark music Miami Vice is as entertaining today as it was back then.

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.

What can I say about Miami Vice that hasn't already been said, except that it is the greatest TV show ever made in the history of television. It quite obvious the best season of Miami Vice is the first season. Season one was the season where Vice really focused all it's episodes in real life situations. Situations which really happen in real life. Vice started with a bang with the excellent pilot episode, and it never looked backed for the next 22 episodes. Season one was everything that made Mimai Vice what it is now. Action, drama, intensity, thrills , music, style, and relationships. One episode that features all this, is Calderone's Return- Part 1 and 2. Two really fantastic episodes. Other great episodes of season 1 are The Great McCarthy, Little Prince, Milk Run, I can go on and on. One truly classic season.

As good as Season 2 was and it was good, it doesn't compare to Season 1. The problem with season 2, is the show focusing on bizarre situations such as voodoo, satanism, and other weird stuff. Season 2 featured three episodes that I consider awful. Whatever Works, Tale of the Goat, and Bushido. Three episodes that season 1 would of never of thought of making. Even though I don't like these episodes, I still consider season 2 a very good season. It just doesn't even come close to the flawless season 1. I do think though that season 2 features the greatest Miami Vice episode of all time which is The Prodigal Son. A well directed, very entertaining Vice episode that features lots of action, drug busts, romance, and totally awesome 80's music. Your not a real Vice fan if you don't like The Prodigal Son.

It's sad to say, out of all five seasons of Vice, only the first two seasons defy what Miami Vice was and are the only two seasons that really kick Miami Vice ass!! Season 3 became more of a darker Vice that took away everything that made the first two seasons such a highly entertaining show. Gone was the pastel background colors, snappy pop tunes, and Crocketts famous look that made him an icon among men and his fast wheeling car. Dark broody colors were replaced in the background, the music was replaced with unknown artists, and Crockett looked more like a banker/rock star, and his beloved Spider Ferrari was replaced with a Testarossa. Which was blown up in the season premiere of season 3 When Irish Eyes are Crying.

Season 3 took out all the fun and excitement of the first two seasons and replaced it with a more darker depressing Miami Vice. The outcome, ratings dropped, and the show was not Miami Vice that everyone fell in love with. I think the problem lies with the shows producer John Nicolla, who left and was replaced by Dick Wolf who probably was never in favor of the pastel energetic Mimai Vice of the first two seasons. So if anyone is to blame of Vice's downfall, it's Dick Wolf. Creator also of the lame Law and Order series.

I have nothing to say about seasons 4 or 5 except that was this really Miami Vice the show that was unlike any other in the history of television. I have nothing good to say about seasons 4 or 5, except horrifically awful, especially season 4. Can't get any worse than that.

There is great news though as of this writing Miami Vice is finally being released on DVD. Season 1 that is. The complete season of all 22 episodes and it's original music intact. Wow what a collection that will be, I can't wait. Presume to come out later this year, around Christmas time. What a Christams present that will make! Miami VICE LIVES ON!!! THE GREATEST DAMN SHOW EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF TELEVISION!!!

At the time of writing, the anti-80s sentiment that was so strong particularly in the 90s has more or less disappeared. Finally, we can again appreciate this strange decade's fashion. Miami Vice was cutting-edge, the coolest of the coolest, and a must-see for those fascinated by 80s aesthetics. Some of the episodes are actually slow and contemplative, focusing much more on building a cool atmosphere rather than on endless action scenes. Somehow, it captures much of the optimistic "no problem" attitude of the decade that has recently been dismissed as "kitsch". At least, this is the case for the first couple of seasons. The speculative elements that at the time raised some criticism look innocent and almost charming compared to what's being shown today. You can see cool design, cool clothes, cool architecture, cool attitudes, cool cars, cool boats, listen to cool music. Though one may like or dislike the style, everyone will see that there has been put quite an enormous effort into all this. As for the stories, they fit the spirit of the series quite well - they're interesting enough to catch your interest - never complex, but not devoid of intriguing and well-developed characters. This is simply one of the best showcases for what the 80s were all about.