''Miami Vice'' is an American
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
television series created by
Anthony Yerkovich
Anthony Yerkovich is an American television producer and writer.
He is best known for creating the 1980s cop show ''Miami Vice''. He served as the show's executive producer along with Michael Mann before handing over full executive responsibilit ...
and produced by
Michael Mann
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ...
for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
. The series stars
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
as
James "Sonny" Crockett
Detective James "Sonny" Crockett is a fictional character in the NBC television series ''Miami Vice''. Crockett was originally portrayed by Don Johnson in the television series from 1984 to 1990, and later by Colin Farrell in the feature film in ...
and
Philip Michael Thomas
Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...
as
Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two
Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. The series ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
began airing reruns in 1988 and broadcast an originally unaired episode during its syndication run of the series on January 25, 1990.
Unlike standard
police procedurals
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...
, the show drew heavily upon 1980s
New Wave culture and is noted for its integration of contemporary pop and rock music and stylish or stylized visuals. ''
People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
'' magazine states that ''Miami Vice'' was the "first show to look really new and different since color TV was invented".
[
Michael Mann directed a film adaptation of the series, which was released July 28, 2006.
]
Conception
The conception of the show is unclear. One version of events states that the head of NBC's Entertainment Division, Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was the president of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as ''Hill Stre ...
, wrote a brainstorming memo that simply read " MTV cops", and later presented it to series creator Anthony Yerkovich
Anthony Yerkovich is an American television producer and writer.
He is best known for creating the 1980s cop show ''Miami Vice''. He served as the show's executive producer along with Michael Mann before handing over full executive responsibilit ...
, formerly a writer and producer for ''Hill Street Blues
''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
''.[ Yerkovich, however, has indicated he devised the concept after learning about ]asset forfeiture
Asset forfeiture or asset seizure is a form of confiscation of assets by the authorities. In the United States, it is a type of criminal-justice financial obligation. It typically applies to the alleged proceeds or instruments of crime. This ap ...
statutes allowing law enforcement agencies to confiscate the property of drug dealers for official use. The initial idea was for a movie about a pair of vice cops in Miami.[ Yerkovich then wrote a script for a two-hour pilot, titled ''Gold Coast'', but later renamed it to ''Miami Vice''.][ Yerkovich was immediately drawn to South Florida as a setting for his new-style police show.][
]
Production
In keeping with the show's title, most episodes focus on combating drug trafficking and prostitution. Episodes often end in an intense gun battle, claiming the lives of several criminals before they can be apprehended. An undercurrent of cynicism and futility underlies the entire series. The detectives repeatedly refer to the "Whac-A-Mole
Whac-A-Mole is an arcade game, originally known as or in Japan. A typical Whac-A-Mole machine consists of a waist-level cabinet with a play area and display screen, and a large, soft, black mallet. Five holes in the play area top are filled wit ...
" nature of drug interdiction, with its parade of drug cartel
A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when th ...
s quickly replacing those that are apprehended. Co-executive producer Yerkovich explained:
The choice of music and cinematography
Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...
borrowed heavily from the emerging New Wave culture of the 1980s. As such, segments of ''Miami Vice'' sometimes used music-based stanzas, a technique later featured in ''Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bo ...
''. As Lee H. Katzin
Lee H. Katzin (12 April 1935 - 30 October 2002) was an American film director.
Early life and education
He was born in Detroit, Michigan, and became a TV director in the late 1960s, including episodes for ''Bonanza, Mission: Impossible ''and '' ...
, one of the show's directors, remarked, "The show is written for an MTV audience, which is more interested in images, emotions and energy than plot and character and words."[ These elements made the series into an instant hit, and in its first season saw an unprecedented fifteen Emmy Award nominations.] While the first few episodes contain elements of a standard police procedural, the producers soon abandoned them in favor of a more distinctive style. Influenced by an Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
revival, no " earth tones" were allowed to be used in the production by executive producer Michael Mann
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ...
.[ A director of ''Miami Vice'', ]Bobby Roth
Robert Jay Roth (born 1950) is an American television and film director, screenwriter and producer.
Life and career
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Roth began his tertiary education at the University of California, Berkeley studying philoso ...
, recalled:
''Miami Vice'' was one of the first American network television programs to be broadcast in stereophonic sound. It is mixed in stereo for its entire run.
Casting
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...
and Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...
were considered for the role of Sonny Crockett, but since it was not lucrative for film stars to venture into television at the time, other candidates were considered. Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films.
During the star of the 1980s, Rourke played supporting roles i ...
was also considered for the role, but he turned down the offer. Larry Wilcox
Larry Dee Wilcox (born August 8, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as California Highway Patrol officer (later captain) Jonathan "Jon" Baker in the television series '' CHiPs'', which ran from 1977 to 1983 on NBC. A Vietnam ve ...
, of ''CHiPs
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...
'', was also a candidate for the role of Crockett, but the producers felt going from one police officer role to another would not be a good fit. After dozens of candidates and a twice-delayed pilot shooting, Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
and Philip Michael Thomas
Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...
were chosen as the vice cops.[ For Johnson, who was by then 34 years old, NBC had particular doubts about the several earlier unsuccessful pilots in which he starred.][ ]Jimmy Smits
Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama '' L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama ''NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...
played Eddie Rivera, Crockett's ill-fated partner, in the pilot episode.
After two seasons, Don Johnson threatened to walk from the series as part of a highly publicized contract dispute. The network was ready to replace him with Mark Harmon, who had recently departed '' St. Elsewhere'', but the network and Johnson were able to resolve their differences and he continued with the series until its end.
Locations
Before production started, the idea was to do all or most of the exterior filming in Los Angeles, and pass it off to viewers as urban Miamian approach put into practice two decades later during the filming of '' CSI: Miami''. But instead, nearly all filming, both exterior and interior, was done in Miami and Florida. Many episodes of ''Miami Vice'' were filmed in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, an area which, at the time, was blighted by poverty and crime, with its demographic so deteriorated that there "simply weren't many people on the street. Ocean Drive's hotels were filled with elderly, mostly Jewish retirees, many of them frail, subsisting on meager Social Security payments. ... They were filming all over Miami Beach. ... They could film in the middle of the street. There was literally nobody there. There were no cars parked in the street". In early episodes in particular, local elderly residents were frequently cast as extras.
Some street corners of South Beach were so run down that the production crew actually decided to repaint the exterior walls of some buildings before filming. The crew went to great lengths to find the correct settings and props. Bobby Roth recalled, "I found this house that was really perfect, but the color was sort of beige. The art department instantly paints the house gray for me. Even on feature films people try to deliver what is necessary but no more. At ''Miami Vice'' they start with what's necessary and go beyond it."
''Miami Vice'' is to some degree credited with causing a wave of support for the preservation of Miami's famous Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
architecture in the mid-1980s to early 1990s;[ and many of those buildings, among them many beachfront hotels, have been renovated since filming, making that part of South Beach one of South Florida's most popular places for tourists and celebrities.
Other places commonly filmed in the series include locations around Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Interior scenes were initially supposed to be filmed at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, but to simplify cross-country logistics, the decision was made to use the facilities of Greenwich Studios in North Miami instead, and only carry out post-production in L.A. In a few scenes, particularly in earlier episodes, Greenwich Studios' rear loading dock is repeatedly used as the back room of the Gold Coast Shipping building, where the offices of the vice squad are located.]
Music
''Miami Vice'' is noted for its innovative use of stereo broadcast music, particularly pop and rock hits of the 1980s and the distinctive, synthesized instrumental music of Jan Hammer. While other television shows used made-for-TV music, ''Miami Vice'' would spend $10,000 or more per episode to buy the rights to original recordings.[ Getting a song played on ''Miami Vice'' was a boost to record labels and artists.] In fact, some newspapers, such as ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'', would let readers know the songs that would be featured each week. Among the many well-known bands and artists, as well as underground or 'new wave' associated acts, who contributed their music to the show were:
Several artists guest-star in episodes, including Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
, Phil Collins,[ ]Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
,[ ]Power Station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many ...
,[ ]Glenn Frey
Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...
,[ ]Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...
,[ ]Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...
,[ Frank Zappa,][ ]The Fat Boys
The Fat Boys were an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark " Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon "Kool Rock-Ski" Wimbley, ...
,[ ]Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...
, Gloria Estefan, and[ Gene Simmons. An iconic scene from the ''Miami Vice'' oeuvre involves Crockett and Tubbs driving through Miami at night to Phil Collins' song "]In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value'', in January 1981.
Collins co-produced "In the Air Tonight" w ...
".
Jan Hammer credits executive producer Michael Mann
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ...
with allowing him great creative freedom in scoring ''Miami Vice''.[ The collaboration resulted in memorable instrumental pieces, including the show's title theme, which climbed to the top of the ''Billboard'' charts in November 1985.]
The ''Miami Vice'' original soundtrack, featuring the theme song and Glenn Frey's " Smuggler's Blues" and "You Belong to the City
"You Belong to the City" is a song written by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin, and recorded by Frey during his solo career. It was written specifically for the television show ''Miami Vice'' in 1985. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...
" (a No. 2 hit), remained at the top of the U.S. album chart for 11 weeks in 1985, making it the most successful TV soundtrack at the time. The theme song was so popular that it also garnered two Grammy Awards in 1986. It was also voted the number-one theme song of all time by ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' readers. " Crockett's Theme", another recurring tune from the show, became a No. 1 hit in several European countries in 1987.
During the show's run, three official soundtrack albums with original music from the episodes were released. Hammer also released several albums with music from the series; among them are '' Escape from Television'' (1987), ''Snapshots'' (1989), and after many requests from fans, ''Miami Vice: The Complete Collection'' (2002).
Fashion
The clothes worn on ''Miami Vice'' had a significant influence on men's fashion. They popularized, if not invented, the "T-shirt
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
under Armani
Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
jacket"–style, and popularized Italian men's fashion in the United States.[ ]Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
's typical attire of Italian sport coat, T-shirt, white linen pants, and slip-on sockless loafers became a hit. Crockett initially wore an 18k Rolex Day-Date
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date is a COSC certified, self-winding chronometer manufactured by Rolex. Initially presented in 1956, the Day-Date was the first watch to display the date as well as the day, spelled in full.
The calendar displ ...
"President" model in the first season, until Ebel
Ebel is a Swiss luxury watch company that was founded in 1911 at La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
History
Ebel was established in 1911 by Eugène Blum and his wife, Alice (née Lévy). The brand name originates from th ...
won the contract for the remaining seasons. Similarly, Crockett's perpetually unshaven appearance sparked a minor fashion trend, inspiring men to wear designer stubble at all times.[ In an average episode, Crockett and Tubbs wore five to eight outfits,][ appearing in shades of pink, blue, green, peach, fuchsia, and the show's other "approved" colors.][ Designers such as Vittorio Ricci, ]Gianni Versace
Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...
, and Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...
were consulted in keeping the male leads looking trendy.[ Costume designer Bambi Breakstone, who traveled to ]Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Paris, and London in search of new clothes, said that, "The concept of the show is to be on top of all the latest fashion trends in Europe."[ Jodi Tillen, the costume designer for the first season, along with ]Michael Mann
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ...
, set the style. The abundance of pastel colors on the show reflects Miami's Art-deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United ...
architecture.[
During its five-year run, consumer demand for unstructured blazers, shiny fabric jackets, and lighter pastels increased.][ After Six formal wear even created a line of ''Miami Vice'' dinner jackets, Kenneth Cole introduced ''Crockett'' and ''Tubbs'' shoes, and ]Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
opened a ''Miami Vice'' section in its young men's department.[ Crockett also boosted Ray Ban's popularity by wearing a pair of Model L2052, ]Ray-Ban Wayfarer
Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses have been manufactured by Ray-Ban since 1952, which in turn has belonged to the Italian Luxottica Group since 1999. Wayfarers enjoyed early popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, returning to popularity again after a 1982 ...
s, which increased sales of Ray Bans to 720,000 units in 1984. In the spring of 1986, an electric razor became available named the "Stubble Device", allowing users to have a beard like Don Johnson's character. It was initially named the "Miami Device" by Wahl, but in the end the company opted to avoid a trademark infringement lawsuit. Many of the styles popularized by the TV show, such as the T-shirt under pastel suits, no socks, rolled up sleeves, and Ray-Ban sunglasses, have become the standard image of 1980s culture.[ The influence of ''Miami Vice''s fashions continued into the early 1990s, and to some extent persists today.][
]
Firearms
''Miami Vice'' also popularized certain brands of firearms and accessories. After Johnson became dissatisfied with his gun holster, the Jackass Leather Company (later renamed Galco International) sent their president, Rick Gallagher, to personally fit Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
with an "Original Jackass Rig", later renamed the Galco "Miami Classic".[
The ]Bren Ten
The Bren Ten is a semi-automatic pistol chambered for 10mm Auto that was made by Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. from 1983 to 1986. While the Bren Ten's design has an appearance similar to the 9×19mm Parabellum CZ-75, it is larger and stronger ...
, manufactured by Dornaus & Dixon, was a stainless-steel handgun used by Don Johnson during ''Miami Vice's'' first two seasons.[ Dornaus & Dixon went out of business in 1986,][ and ]Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
was offered a contract to outfit Johnson's character with a S&W Model 645 during season three.
Several firearms never before seen on TV were featured prominently for the first time in the show, including the Glock 17
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
pistol. In addition, firearms not yet well known to the public, including the Steyr AUG, MAC-10
The Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially abbreviated as "M10" or "M-10", and more commonly known as the MAC-10, is a compact, blowback operated machine pistol/submachine gun that was developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964. It is ...
and the Desert Eagle
The Desert Eagle is a gas-operated, semi-automatic pistol known for chambering the .50 Action Express, the largest centerfire cartridge of any magazine-fed, self-loading pistol.
Magnum Research Inc. (MRI) designed and developed the Desert Eagle ...
, were showcased to a wide audience on this show. Even heavy guns came to use, as Zito is seen maneuvering an M60 machine gun from a roof top in the episode "Lombard".
Cars
Two automobiles drew a lot of attention in ''Miami Vice'', the Ferrari Daytona
The Ferrari Daytona, officially designated the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, is a two-seat grand tourer by Ferrari from 1968 to 1973. It was introduced at the Paris Auto Salon in 1968 to replace the 275 GTB/4, and featured the 275's Colombo V12 bored ...
and Testarossa. During the first two seasons and two episodes of the third season, Detective Sonny Crockett drove a black 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder 365 GTS/4[ kit replica built on a Chevrolet Corvette C3 chassis.] The car was fitted with Ferrari-shaped body panels by specialty car manufacturer McBurnie Coachcraft. Once the car gained notoriety,[ Ferrari Automobili filed suit demanding that McBurnie and any others cease and desist producing and selling Ferrari replicas and infringing upon the Ferrari name and styling.][ As a result, the Daytona lasted until season 2, at which point it was 'blown-up' in the season three premiere episode, "When Irish Eyes Are Crying".][ Neither the kit car nor its backup were actually destroyed, as the production company simply blew up a small, plastic model for both cost and safety reasons. The fake Ferraris were removed from the show, with Ferrari donating two brand new 1986 Testarossas as replacements.] The Ferrari Daytona is the subject of a huge continuity goof on the show, when it suddenly reappears in "El Viejo", six episodes after its destruction, without explanation. Originally "El Viejo" was set to be the third-season premiere, but studio executives felt the Daytona's destruction would serve as a more dramatic opening to the season. Don Johnson's contract-holdout at the start of the season also played a part, delaying filming to the point where "El Viejo" could not finish in time for the season premiere.
The series' crew also used a third Testarossa look-alike, which was the stunt car.[ Carl Roberts, who had worked on the Daytona kit cars, offered to build the stunt car.][ Roberts decided to use a 1972 ]De Tomaso Pantera
The De Tomaso Pantera is a mid-engine sports car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso from 1971 to 1992. Italian for "Panther", the Pantera was the automaker's most popular model, with over 7,000 manufactured over its twenty-ye ...
, which had the same wheelbase as the Testarossa and thus was perfect for the body pieces.[ The vehicle was modified to withstand daily usage on-set, and continued to be driven until the series ended.]
Crockett was also seen driving a black 1978 Porsche 911 SC Targa in a flashback to 1980 in the Season 3 episode "Forgive Us Our Debts."
Crockett's partner, Ricardo Tubbs, drove a 1964 Cadillac Coupe de Ville Convertible. Stan Switek drove a turquoise 1961 Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pr ...
.[ Gina Calabrese drove a 1971 Mercury Cougar XR-7 convertible. When Stan and Larry were undercover, they drove a Dodge Ram Van.][ Other notable vehicles that appear in ''Miami Vice'' include Lamborghinis,] AMG Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
es, BMWs, Maseratis, Lotuses, DeLoreans, Porsches, and Corvettes
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop ...
.[ American ]muscle car
Muscle car is a description according to '' Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...
s, such as the Pontiac GTO
The Pontiac GTO is an automobile that was manufactured by American automaker Pontiac from 1963 to 1974 for the 1964 to 1974 model years, and by GM's subsidiary Holden in Australia for the 2004 to 2006 model years.
The first generation of the G ...
and Firebird Trans Am, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro ...
, Plymouth GTX
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth' ...
and Barracuda
A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...
, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, and the Buick Grand National
The Buick Regal is a line of mid-size cars marketed by Buick since 1973. For nearly its entire production, the Regal has served as the premium mid-size/intermediate offering of the Buick product range. Introduced as a submodel of the Buick Centu ...
also made appearances.[
]
Boats and flying boats
Throughout the series, Sonny Crockett lived on an Endeavour sailboat, ''St. Vitus' Dance'',[ while in the pilot episode, Crockett is seen on a 38-foot Cabo Rico sailboat.][ In season 1, he is seen living on an Endeavour 40 sailboat, while in the rest of the series (seasons 2 to 5) he is seen living on an Endeavour 42 sailboat (priced at $120,000 in 1986). The allure of the sailboats was such that the Endeavour 42 used for the 1986 season of ''Miami Vice'' was sold to a midwest couple, while the Endeavour 40, was sold to a chartering service in ]Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. At the same time, Endeavour was building a new 42 for the 1987 season of ''Miami Vice''.[
In the pilot episode, and for the first season,] Crockett piloted a Chris-Craft Stinger 390 X – a 39-foot deep-v offshore racing boat. For the other four Stingers, Chris-Craft showed the production crew a color scheme that included the red – however, since Michael Mann decided that the color red was to never show up on the show, a blue color scheme was chosen instead. The Stingers used on the show were not free from Chris-Craft. This situation caused the production team to switch to using Wellcraft 38 Scarab KVs for the remainder of the show. The Scarab 38 KVs were a 28-hued, twin 440-hp boat that sold for $130,000 in 1986.
As a result of the attention the Scarab 38 KV garnered on ''Miami Vice'', Wellcraft received “an onslaught of orders", increasing sales by 21% in one year.[ In appreciation, Wellcraft gave ]Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
an exact duplicate of the boat. Afterward, Johnson was frequently seen arriving to work in it.[ Altogether, 100 copies of the boat , dubbed the Scarab 38KV Miami Vice Edition, were built by Wellcraft. The ''Miami Vice'' graphics and color scheme, which include turquoise, aqua, and orchid, was available by special order on any model Scarab from 20 to 38 feet.][
Don Johnson also participated in the design of the Scarab Excel 43 ft, Don Johnson Signature Series (DJSS), and raced a similar one.] The DJSS was powered by twin 650-hp Lamborghini V-12 engines, which caused some problems to the design of the boat due to their size.[ Overall the boat cost $300,000 with each engine amounting to between $60–$70,000.][ His interest in boat racing eventually led Johnson to start his own offshore powerboat racing team, named ''Team USA''.] Joining him were Hollywood stars
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
including Kurt Russell and Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts champions ...
. Johnson won the Offshore World Cup in 1988 and continued racing into the 1990s.[
In both the pilot episode, "Brother's Keeper", and the season 4 episode, "Baseballs of Death", a Grumman Turbo Mallard (G-73T) amphibious airplane (registration # N2969) made an appearance. In the former episode, the drug dealer Calderone used N2969 to successfully escape from Crockett and Tubbs at the climax of the episode. In the latter episode, Guerrero made an attempt to escape from the vice team in N2969 but ran out of fuel and was killed after he stole a fisherman's boat that ran ashore and exploded. In December 2005, N2969 suffered a catastrophic structural failure when the right wing separated from the fuselage as the plane climbed out of Miami bound for the Bahamas. Both crew members and all 18 passengers were killed upon water impact. N2969 was completely destroyed.
]
Episodes
Overview
Scripts were loosely based on actual crimes that occurred in Miami over the years.[ This included both local and international and global organized crime. Many episodes focused on drug trafficking (for which real-life Miami was a main hub and entrance point into North America in the early 1980s). Other episodes were based on crimes such as firearms trafficking, for which Miami was equally a gateway for sales to Latin America, as well as the Miami River Cops scandal (a real police corruption ring that involved narcotic thefts, drug dealing and murders), street prostitution, serial home burglaries, crimes committed by Cuban immigrants to Miami following the ]Mariel Boatlift
The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and E ...
, and Yakuza and Mafia activity in Miami. The series also took a look at political issues such as the Northern Ireland conflict,["When Irish Eyes Are Crying", airing September 26, 1986.] the drug war in South America (e.g. "Prodigal Son"), U.S. support of generals and dictators in Southeast Asia and South America,["Golden Triangle Pt. 1", airing January 22, 1985.] and the aftermath of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. Social issues like child abuse, homophobia,[Episode "Evan", airing May 3, 1985] and the AIDS crisis
The AIDS epidemic, caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), found its way to the United States between the 1970s and 1980s, but was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual ...
were also covered.
Personal issues also arose: Crockett separated from his wife Caroline (Belinda Montgomery
Belinda Montgomery is a Canadian-American actress. She initially attracted notice for her starring role in the 1970s science-fiction series '' Man from Atlantis'' as Dr. Elizabeth Merrill and for her recurring role as Caroline Crockett/Ballard ...
) in the pilot and divorced in the fourth episode, and later his second wife Caitlin Davies (Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...
) was killed by one of his enemies. In the three episodes "Mirror Image", "Hostile Takeover", and "Redemption in Blood", a concussion caused by an explosion caused Crockett to believe he was his undercover alter ego Sonny Burnett, a drug dealer. Tubbs had a running, partly personal vendetta with the Calderone family, a member of which ordered the death of his brother Rafael, a New York City police detective. Lieutenant Martin Castillo is also frequently haunted by his past in Southeast Asia, which he had spent as a DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
agent in the Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle may refer to:
Places
Asia
* Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production
* Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development
* Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
.
In the first seasons the tone was lighter, especially when comical characters such as police informants Noogie Lamont ( Charlie Barnett) and Izzy Moreno (Martin Ferrero
Martin Victor Ferrero (born September 29, 1947) is an American actor. His most well known roles are Izzy Moreno in ''Miami Vice'' (1984-1989) and Donald Gennaro in the 1993 film '' Jurassic Park''.
Life and career
Ferrero was born in Brockport, ...
) appeared. Later the content was darker and cynical, with Crockett and Tubbs fighting corruption, and storylines emphasizing the aspect of human tragedy behind a crime. The darker episodes sometimes lacked a denouement
Dramatic structure (also known as dramaturgical structure) is the structure of a dramatic work such as a book, play, or film. There are different kinds of dramatic structures worldwide which have been hypothesized by critics, writers and schola ...
, each episode ending abruptly after a climax involving violence and death, often giving the episodes a despairing and sometimes nihilistic feel, despite the trademark glamour and conspicuous wealth.
Given its idiosyncratic "dark" feel and touch, ''Miami Vice'' is frequently cited as an example of made-for-TV neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
. Michael Mann, who serves as executive producer for the majority of the show's five-year run, is often credited with being one of the most influential neo-noir directors. The second-season episode " Out Where the Buses Don't Run" ranks #90 on ''TV Guide''s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time list.
Changes
During its five-year run, ''Miami Vice'' underwent several noticeable changes in its formula and content. Between seasons one and two, however, these changes were mostly subtle and involves details such as the degree of perfection with which color shades of scene backdrops, props and clothing are matched to each other.
For its third season in 1986–87 after the cancellation of ''Knight Rider
''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series '' Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...
'', the show moved from its traditional time slot of 10pm on Friday nights to 9pm, which now put it up against perennial Top 10 show ''Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
''. This began the show's decline, and in March, 1987, ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' ran a cover story entitled, ''"Dallas Drubs the Cops: Why Miami Vice Seems to be Slipping."'' ''Miami Vice''s season ratings slipps from #9 in Season 2 down to #27 by the end of Season 3.
Before leaving the series to work on his new television series, '' Crime Story'',[ ]Michael Mann
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ...
handed the role of executive producer to future '' Law & Order'' creator Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...
prior to the third season (1986–1987). Wolf had the show focus on contemporary issues[ like ]the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and capital punishment.[
In addition to losing the battle against new timeslot rival ''Dallas,'' the general tone of season 3 episodes started to become more serious and less lighthearted than in previous seasons. Comedic scenes and subplots became distinctly rare. True to Dick Wolf's "grabbed from the headlines" approach which he later employed in TV series like ''Law & Order'', storylines focused more on the serious human aspect of crime than on glamorizing the tropical lifestyles of drug dealers and other high-profile criminals. This shift in tone also reflected in the series' fashions, color schemes, and its choice of music. The cast started wearing pronouncedly dark clothing and even earthtones, which had famously been avoided by executive producer Michael Mann in seasons one and two. Color palettes of scene backdrops started becoming much darker as well, with pastels replaced by harsher-appearing shades of neon.][''"What's Black and Blue and Hurtin' All Over? Miami Vice, Pal!"'', TV Guide, March 11, 1987, p. 26 f.] Whereas seasons one and two always featured a diverse selection of contemporary, mostly "upbeat" chart music and classic rock and pop, the third season's music lineup became much more somber, with songs like "In Dulce Decorum
"In Dulce Decorum" is a song by English rock band the Damned, released on 16 November 1987 by MCA Records.
The song was originally recorded for the ''Anything'' album, but was issued as a single to promote MCA's Damned retrospective '' Light ...
" by The Damned, " Lives in the Balance" by Jackson Browne, "Mercy" by Steve Jones, and " Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix)" by Depeche Mode. All these changes were decidedly unwelcome both by critics and by many viewers who had become fans of the TV series due to the package that the first two seasons delivered. It caused the producers to retool their approach to ''Miami Vice'' for the following fourth season.
By Season 4, most of the original writers had left the series. Stories and story arcs included a courtship and marriage between Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
) and Caitlin Davies (Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...
), and a plot in which Crockett developed amnesia, during which he mistook himself for his drug dealer alter ego and became a hitman. Caroline Crockett, Sonny's first wife, as well as his son Billy reappeared briefly.
Jan Hammer departed from the series at the end of the fourth season, having already handed much of the weekly scoring workload during the season over to John Petersen. The tone of many season 4 episodes grew lighter again, albeit sometimes veering off into the bizarre, e.g. episodes like "The Big Thaw", "Missing Hours", and "The Cows of October". Fashions and scene backdrops largely reassumed the pastel hues of seasons 1 and 2, and the choice of music became more varied again. Hopes by the producers of propitiating former and remaining fans this way only materializing very mutedly, and reception was lukewarm, as evidenced by the show's still declining ratings during season four.
The fifth season (1988–1989) saw the show return to its original timeslot, 10pm on Friday nights and took the show on a yet more serious tone,[ with storylines becoming dark and gritty – enough so that even some of the most loyal fans were left perplexed.] Tim Truman took over scoring the episodes for the remainder of the series' run and brought with him a style of instrumental synthesizer music that was markedly different from Jan Hammer's.
Cancellation
After still-deteriorating ratings during the fourth season, NBC originally planned to order just a shortened fifth season of only 13 episodes, but eventually settled for another full run, which was, either way, going to be the final season. At the beginning of season five, Olivia Brown
Olivia Margarette Brown (born April 10, 1960) is an American actress, best-known for her role as detective Trudy Joplin in the NBC crime drama series ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989).
Life and career
Brown was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, and ra ...
recalled, "The show was trying to reinvent itself." Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...
said in an interview for ''E! True Hollywood Story
''E! True Hollywood Story'' is an American television documentary series on E! that pulls back the curtain and highlights some of pop culture's most fascinating people, moments and trends. The series offers exclusive interviews with new insigh ...
'', after the fifth season, it was all just "...kind of over", and that the show had "run its course".[
In May 1989, NBC aired the two-hour series finale, "Freefall". Despite its status as the "series finale", there were three episodes that did not air ("World of Trouble", "Miracle Man", and "Leap of Faith"), which appeared during the June re-runs as "Lost Episodes". A fourth, previously unaired episode, "Too Much Too Late", was aired for the first time in 1990, on the ''USA Network''. It has since been run by other networks in syndication with the fifth-season episodes.
]
Cast
Main characters
*Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
as Detective James "Sonny" Crockett: An undercover detective of the Metro-Dade Police Department. A former University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
Gators star wide receiver, he sustained a knee injury which put an end to his sports career. He served two tours in Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
– or as he calls it, the "Southeast Asia Conference". He joined Metro-Dade as a uniformed patrol officer and later an undercover detective of the vice unit. Crockett's alias is Sonny Burnett, a drug runner and middleman. His vehicles include a Ferrari Daytona Spyder (later a Ferrari Testarossa
The Ferrari Testarossa (Type F110) is a 12-cylinder mid-engine sports car manufactured by Ferrari, which went into production in 1984 as the successor to the Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer. The Pininfarina-designed car was originally produced from ...
),[ a "Scarab" offshore power-boat,][ and a ]sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Types
Although sailboat terminolo ...
[ on which he lives with his pet ]alligator
An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
Elvis. The name "Sonny Crockett" had previously been used for a criminal played by actor Dennis Burkley
Dennis Henry Burkley (September 10, 1945 – July 14, 2013) was an American actor. In a career spanning four decades, he appeared in numerous films and television series. He was best known for his role as Theo in Son in Law.
Early life
Burkley ...
on ''Hill Street Blues
''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
'' in 1983, where creator Anthony Yerkovich
Anthony Yerkovich is an American television producer and writer.
He is best known for creating the 1980s cop show ''Miami Vice''. He served as the show's executive producer along with Michael Mann before handing over full executive responsibilit ...
was a writer. Coincidentally, Gregory Sierra
Gregory Joseph Sierra (January 25, 1937 – January 4, 2021) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Sergeant Chano Amengual on ''Barney Miller'', Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbor of Fred G. Sanford on ''Sanford and Son'' ...
who later plays Crockett's boss on ''Vice'' appears in the same episodes.
*Philip Michael Thomas
Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...
as Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs: A former New York police detective[ who traveled to Miami as part of a personal vendetta against Calderone, the man who murdered his brother Rafael.][ After temporarily teaming up with Crockett, Tubbs follows his friend's advice and transfers to "a career in Southern law enforcement", fearing that after his serious violations of ]NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
codes of conduct in the pilot episode, he would not be able to resume his job in New York. He joins the Miami department and becomes Crockett's permanent partner. He often poses as Rico Cooper, a wealthy buyer from out of town.
*Edward James Olmos as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo: He replaces the slain Rodriguez as head of the OCB. A very taciturn man, Castillo lives a reclusive life outside of work. He was formerly a DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
agent in the Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle may refer to:
Places
Asia
* Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production
* Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development
* Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
of Southeast Asia during the late 1970s. During his time with the DEA he opposed the CIA in endorsing the trafficking of heroin to finance their overseas operations.
*Saundra Santiago as Detective Regina "Gina" Navarro Calabrese: A fearless female detective, who after Crockett's divorce, had a brief romance with him. Even though their relationship did not progress they still had a strong friendship.
*Olivia Brown
Olivia Margarette Brown (born April 10, 1960) is an American actress, best-known for her role as detective Trudy Joplin in the NBC crime drama series ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989).
Life and career
Brown was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, and ra ...
as Detective Trudy Joplin: Gina's patrol partner. Though tough, she sometimes struggles to cope with the consequences of her job, such as when she shoots and kills a man. Later in the series she has an encounter with a UFO and an alien portrayed by James Brown.
*Michael Talbott as Detective Stanley "Stan" Switek: A fellow police detective and Larry Zito's best friend. Although a good policeman, later on in the series he falls prey to a gambling addiction. He is also a big fan of Elvis Presley.
*John Diehl (1984–1987) as Detective Lawrence "Larry" Zito: A detective and Switek's surveillance partner and best friend. He is killed in the line of duty when a drug dealer gives him a fatal overdose.[
*]Gregory Sierra
Gregory Joseph Sierra (January 25, 1937 – January 4, 2021) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Sergeant Chano Amengual on ''Barney Miller'', Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbor of Fred G. Sanford on ''Sanford and Son'' ...
(1984) as Lieutenant Louis "Lou" Rodriguez: A police lieutenant who serves as commander of the Vice Unit. He is killed in the fourth episode by an assassin hired to kill Crockett.
Recurring characters
* Charlie Barnett (1984–1987) as Nugart Neville "Noogie" Lamont: A friend of Izzy's and informant for Crockett and Tubbs. His role was largely taken over by Izzy Moreno after the first season. In his final appearance in Season 4, his role is reduced from street informant to comic relief.
*Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...
(1987–1988) as Caitlin Davies-Crockett: A pop singer who is assigned a police bodyguard, Crockett, for her testimony in a racketeering case. While protecting Caitlin, Sonny falls in love with her and they marry. Months after their marriage, Caitlin is killed by one of Crockett's former nemeses. Sonny later learns she was seven weeks pregnant, causing him further emotional turmoil.
*Martin Ferrero
Martin Victor Ferrero (born September 29, 1947) is an American actor. His most well known roles are Izzy Moreno in ''Miami Vice'' (1984-1989) and Donald Gennaro in the 1993 film '' Jurassic Park''.
Life and career
Ferrero was born in Brockport, ...
(1984–1989) as Isidore "Izzy" Moreno: A petty criminal and fast talker, Izzy is always known for getting into quick money schemes and giving Crockett and Tubbs the latest information from the street.
*Jose Perez (actor), Jose Perez (1985, 1989) as Juan Carlos Silva, a drug dealer and father of Rosetta Silva, and as Jorge "Georgie" Esteban, cousin of Izzy Moreno.
*Pam Grier (1985, 1989) as Valerie Gordon: A New York Police Department Officer and on-and-off love interest of Tubbs.
*Belinda Montgomery
Belinda Montgomery is a Canadian-American actress. She initially attracted notice for her starring role in the 1970s science-fiction series '' Man from Atlantis'' as Dr. Elizabeth Merrill and for her recurring role as Caroline Crockett/Ballard ...
(1984–1989) as Caroline Crockett/Ballard: Crockett's former wife who moves to Ocala, Florida to remarry and raise their child, Billy. Caroline was having a baby with her second husband in her last appearance.
Guest appearances
Many actors, actresses, musicians, comedians, athletes and celebrities appear throughout the show's five-season run. They play many different roles from drug dealers to undercover cops to madams. The List of Miami Vice guest appearances, full list can be seen at the link above, as this is just a partial list. Musicians include Sheena Easton
Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...
, John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor, Andy Taylor (guitarist), Andy Taylor, Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...
, Gene Simmons, and Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...
Additionally Glenn Frey
Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...
, Frank Zappa, Phil Collins, Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
, Frankie Valli, Little Richard,[ James Brown,] Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
, the band Power Station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many ...
, Coati Mundi (musician), Coati Mundi, and Eartha Kitt.[
Other personalities include auto executive Lee Iacocca][ and Watergate scandal, Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy.] Athletes include Boston Celtics center Bill Russell, Bernard King, racecar driver Danny Sullivan, and boxers Roberto Durán,[ and Randall "Tex" Cobb.]
Notable actors include Dean Stockwell,[ Pam Grier,] Clarence Williams III, and Brian Dennehy.[
The show frequently features guest appearances from up-and-coming actors and actresses, including: Laurence Fishburne, Viggo Mortensen, Dennis Farina,] Stanley Tucci,[Baby Blues", airing November 21, 1986.] Jimmy Smits
Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama '' L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama ''NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...
, Bruce McGill, David Strathairn,[ Ving Rhames,] Liam Neeson,[ Lou Diamond Phillips,] Bruce Willis, Ed O'Neill, and Julia Roberts. Additionally Michael Madsen, Ian McShane, Bill Paxton, Luis Guzmán, Kyra Sedgwick,[ Esai Morales,] Terry O'Quinn,[ Joaquim de Almeida,] Wesley Snipes,[ John Turturro,][ Melanie Griffith] and Annie Golden to name a few.
Notable comedians included: John Leguizamo, David Rasche, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock,[ Tommy Chong,] Richard Belzer,[ and Penn Jillette.][
]
Reception
Awards and nominations
Ratings
Series Finale: 22 million viewers & a 14.7 rating on May 21, 1989 from 9 to 11pm. Competition: Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (22.9 rating) & Mickey Spillane's ''Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All'' (12.8 rating)
Final Airing on NBC: 16.1 million viewers/11.1 rating (June 28, 1989) ''China Beach'' drew 10.8 million viewers/8 rating.
Critical response
Critics object to the show's usage of violence by dressing it with pretty photography.[ Others complain that the show relies more on visual aspects and music than on coherent stories and fully drawn characters.][ Government of the City of Miami, Civic leaders in Miami have also objected to the show's airing of the city's crime problems all across America.][ Most civic leaders, however, were placated due to the show's estimated contribution of $1 million per episode to the city's economy and because it boosted tourism to Miami.][ Gerald S. Arenberg of the National Association of Chiefs of Police criticized the show's glamorous depiction of vice squads, saying "no real vice cops chase drug dealers in a Ferrari while wearing $600 suits. More often than not, they're holed up in a crummy room somewhere, wearing jeans with holes in them, watching some beat-up warehouse in a godforsaken part of town through a pair of dented binoculars".]
At the 1985 Emmy Awards ''Miami Vice'' was nominated for 15 Emmy Awards,[ including "Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series", "Outstanding Film Editing", "Outstanding Achievement for Music Composition for a series (dramatic underscore)", and "Outstanding Directing".][ At the end of the night, ''Miami Vice'' only won four Emmys. The following day, the ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner'' could only conclude that the conservative Emmy voters (at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) simply refused to recognize an innovative new series that celebrates hedonism, violence, sex, and drugs.
Television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked ''Miami Vice'' as the 51st greatest American television series of all time in their 2016 book titled ''TV (The Book)'', with Seitz stating how the show was more influenced by 1960s art house cinema from Europe than by any other contemporary television drama: "''Miami Vice'' superimposed 'ripped-from-the-headlines' details about drug smuggling, arms dealing, and covert war onto a pastel noir dreamscape. It gave American TV its first visionary existential drama".
]
Impact on popular culture
''Miami Vice'' was a groundbreaking police program of the 1980s. It had a notable impact on the decade's popular fashions[ and set the tone for the evolution of police drama. Series such as ''Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''NYPD Blue'', and the Law & Order franchise, ''Law & Order'' franchise, though being markedly different in style and theme from ''Miami Vice'', follows its lead in breaking the genre's mold; ]Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...
, creator and executive producer of the ''Law & Order'' franchise, was a writer and later executive producer of ''Miami Vice''.[ Parody, Parodies and pastiches of it have continued decades after it airs, such as the ''Only Fools and Horses'' Christmas episode "Miami Twice" (1991) and ''Moonbeam City'' (2015).
The video game ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,'' published by Rockstar Games in 2002, is heavily inspired by ''Miami Vice'' in multiple ways. It is set in a stylized 1980s Miami inspired fictional city named "Vice City".] One of the main characters, Lance Vance, was actually voiced by Philip Michael Thomas
Philip Michael Thomas (born May 26, 1949) is an American actor and musician, best known for his role as detective Ricardo Tubbs on the hit 1980s TV series ''Miami Vice''. His first notable roles were in '' Coonskin'' (1975) and opposite Irene C ...
. Two undercover police officers appear in a police sports car within the game when the player obtains a three-star wanted level. The two officers, one white and one black, resemble the two leading characters of ''Miami Vice.'' In the prequel, ''Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'', there are two officers in the multiplayer mode named Cracker and Butts, a parody of Crockett and Tubbs; these characters share the same role as the undercover cops in ''Vice City''.
Many of the fashion styles and trends popularized by the TV show, such as fast cars and speed boats, unshaven beard stubble, a T-shirt under pastel suits, no socks, rolled up sleeves, boat shoes and Ray Ban sunglasses symbolize the stereotypical image of 1980s fashion and culture.[
The show also had a lasting impact on Miami itself. It drew a large amount of media attention to the beginning revitalization of the South Beach and Miami Beach Architectural District, Art Deco District areas of Miami Beach, as well as other portions of Greater Miami, and increases tourism and investment. Even 30 years after ''Miami Vice'' first airs, it is still responsible for its share of tourist visits to the city.] The fact that Crockett and Tubbs were Dade County officers and not City of Miami police represents the growing notion of metro government in Miami. In 1997, a county referendum changed the name from Dade County to Miami-Dade County. This allows people to relate the county government to recognize notions and images of Miami, many of which were first popularized by ''Miami Vice''. The Dade County Sheriff's Office now became the Miami-Dade Police Department. The Overwatch League's Florida Mayhem who represents the cities of Miami and Orlando on January 6, 2020 announces the change of their color scheme to a ''Miami Vice''-inspired Black Neon Pink and Neon Blue.
Home media
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Studios has released all ''Miami Vice'' seasons on DVD for regions 1, 2, and 4. Seasons 1 & 2 were released in 2005, and seasons 3 through 5 were released in 2007. The Digital video disk, DVD release of the series had been significantly slow due to one of the signature features of the show: the heavy integration of 1980s pop and rock music. The music was difficult to source the rights to and acquire permission to use. (On at least one VHS release of the pilot, The Rolling Stones' song "Miss You (The Rolling Stones song), Miss You" had been replaced by generic rock music.) In the November 2004 announcement for the DVD release of the series, Universal promises that all original music in the series would be intact.[ On August 21, 2007 Universal announces the November 13, 2007 release of the complete series, with all five seasons on 27 single-sided DVDs.][ The seasons are in their own Digipak-style cases, and the set is housed in a faux alligator-skin package.][ Seasons 1 & 2 contained six single-sided discs, rather than the three double-sided discs in the initial release.] The Region 2 version has different packaging, does not use double-sided discs, and although there are no special features stated on the packaging they are contained within the season 1 discs.
On March 8, 2016, it is announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1; they subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on May 3, 2016.
On October 4, 2016, Mill Creek re-released ''Miami Vice – The Complete Series'' on DVD and also released the complete series on Blu-ray.
References
External links
''Miami Vice'' forum
Official ''Miami Vice'' DVD website
at the Museum of Broadcast Communications
*
''Miami Vice''
on Hulu.com
''Miami Vice''
on NBC.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miami Vice
Miami Vice,
1980s American crime drama television series
1980s American police procedural television series
1980s fads and trends
1990s American crime drama television series
1990s American police procedural television series
1984 American television series debuts
1990 American television series endings
Crime thriller television series
Culture of Miami
English-language television shows
Fictional portrayals of the Miami-Dade Police Department
NBC original programming
Neo-noir television series
Television series about illegal drug trade
Television series about organized crime
Television series by Universal Television
Television shows adapted into films
Television shows adapted into video games
Television shows filmed in Florida
Television shows set in Miami
Works about Colombian drug cartels
Works about organized crime in the United States