(Freeze!) Miami Vice!

[mgfanjay]

Much like Dragnet '67-'70 in '87, I became a fan of this show completely by accident nearly 20 years after it went off the air. I knew of it for years, but didn't see it until a VH1 I Love the '80s show. Ironically, the stuff shown in that special (like Crockett saying "FREEZE! MIAMI VICE!") didn't end up as the reasons why I love the show. Instead, its music, style, cinematography, and character chemistry are what keep me hooked. I started watching after the pilot aired on NBC last year, and bought the first season set soon after.

After it, I was hooked. Now I'm about halfway through season 5, and I'm both looking forward to the final ep and dreading it since I've enjoyed the show so much since I started watching it. Once I finish the series, I'll watch the movie, which I've owned since the DVD came out and just haven't watched due to wanting to see the whole series first.

Since becoming a fan, I've enjoyed the various references to it in other shows (like Family Guy, or the Simpsons, which spoofed it with the Wiggum P.I. faux-spin off, that mid-season cop show Homer loved, and an homage to the intro when Grandpa visits Florida, and even Ned's Declassified, with Vice Principal Crubbs being a send-up of the show's fashion.

Of course, both GTA Vice City and Vice City Stories have huge homages to 'Vice (with Philip Michael Thomas starring in both, and various references to the show in it). The Scarface game also features a 'Vice homage, when Tony meets a black and white undercover cop, who dress like the '80s characters but have the faces of the movie's stars, but unfortunately don't drive a flashy sports car.

The only KP thing that reminds me of the show is Monkey Fist's boat ride in Big Brother, where I can always picture "In the Air Tonight" playing just like it did in the pilot, and in the show's only clip show. Maybe I'll do a KP video at some point with a compilation of cinematic shots set to the song. Any other fans of 'Vice here?

Edit - Here are some key 'Vice-related links.

www.miami-vice.org - An MV board with lots of rare 'Vice pics and a crew member as a poster.

www.rbravo.com/miami_vice.htm - Said crew member's site dedicated to 'Vice, with more rare photos.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Vice - MV Wiki

www.vgpub.com/articles/2473-1.html - A look at MV's gaming history. I might update this with some non-gaming MV stuff soon.

[j]

I remember watching it on tv with my shades on. After so long, it's still the best cops show on television. No other show signified an era with music, style, cars, or personality.

My favorite part of the series is Crockett telling his psychotrist how he loves the danger. He tells her that it is his own special high. You don't get that with today's drama.

[mgfanjay]

It's definitely more cinematic than most current dramas, and had far more heart than it's been given credit for. It's also a fantastic neo-noir series, with a lot of very dark themes, which makes me ponder just what the series would have been like had it either been on basic cable or HBO when it came out.

Then again, if that happened, the show wouldn't have had its incredibly high budget, which would have nixed at least some of the show's music and style. I'm glad it was done justice on DVD, and that Universal paid for all the music rights.

Really, it would be horrible to not do it, as the show was one of the first to really make great use of a lot of licensed stuff. I'm not quite sure if it's topped Dragnet as my favorite cop show, and it's certainly not as realistic, but it's a heck of a lot of fun to watch at any time.

[mrpotty]

It's kinda sad that people always think about the (after today's standards) pretty awkward 80's-look, when someone says "Miami Vice", because it was one of the (probably even THE) first shows, that broke several TV-rules (like "Every episode needs a happy end").
Too bad that the movie kinda sucked, although they were both made by the same person.

[Naked Mole Rat]

A girl in my school had her hair cut to look like Sonny Crocket ... being a girl it didnt really suit her! But being the 80s .... it kind of blended in with everyone elses bad hair..

[Ashley Benlove]

I remember and episode of The Golden Girls (season 1) where Blanche's niece (who was JUST LIKE HER) went to the house of this Miami Vice fan and it turned out he and Rose were both fans and he tested her on it.

In a later episode of the series, they showed the clothes that Don Johnson of Miami Vice was supposed to wear for a banquet but couldn't attend.

As I know nothing of the '80s, I assume Miami Vice and the Golden Girls aired around the same time.

P.S. Both shows took place in Miami, the main reason Miami is on my places to go one day.

[Naked Mole Rat]

ashleybenlove said:

I remember and episode of The Golden Girls (season 1) where Blanche's niece (who was JUST LIKE HER) went to the house of this Miami Vice fan and it turned out he and Rose were both fans and he tested her on it.

In a later episode of the series, they showed the clothes that Don Johnson of Miami Vice was supposed to wear for a banquet but couldn't attend.

As I know nothing of the '80s, I assume Miami Vice and the Golden Girls aired around the same time.

P.S. Both shows took place in Miami, the main reason Miami is on my places to go one day.

I have this ep of Golden Girls on DVD!
The exterior for the golden girls house used to be at MGM studios in Florida ... but they tore it down last year to build a stunt show.

[Ashley Benlove]

nakedmolerat said:

ashleybenlove said:

I remember and episode of The Golden Girls (season 1) where Blanche's niece (who was JUST LIKE HER) went to the house of this Miami Vice fan and it turned out he and Rose were both fans and he tested her on it.

In a later episode of the series, they showed the clothes that Don Johnson of Miami Vice was supposed to wear for a banquet but couldn't attend.

As I know nothing of the '80s, I assume Miami Vice and the Golden Girls aired around the same time.

P.S. Both shows took place in Miami, the main reason Miami is on my places to go one day.

I have this ep of Golden Girls on DVD!
The exterior for the golden girls house used to be at MGM studios in Florida ... but they tore it down last year to build a stunt show.

What?! That's so sad!

I've always wanted to visit the house's outside. Just because.

[mgfanjay]

mrpotty said:

It's kinda sad that people always think about the (after today's standards) pretty awkward 80's-look, when someone says "Miami Vice", because it was one of the (probably even THE) first shows, that broke several TV-rules (like "Every episode needs a happy end").
Too bad that the movie kinda sucked, although they were both made by the same person.

It definitely wasn't the first show to have a fairly bleak ending (I remember Dragnet having some, including one where a kid killed another kid), but it was definitely a rarity in the '80s.

It's quite sad that the show is basically summed up by folks just for some of the fashion in it, and not for its content. It's an especially odd viewpoint since the pastel look was only prominent in the first two seasons, and then the show got much darker visually once season 3 began.