MIAMI VICE (SERIES, THE) - DVD review

Ah, the 80's. Yuppies, Reaganomics, goofy clothes, and a long string of one-hit wonders that still string the discount bins of your local car wash. Say what you want of that begone decade, but damned if there wasn't some good television back then. Who cares about plane crash survivors living on a deserted island? Or a bunch of horny, suburban housewives? What happened to shows about cat-eating aliens or talking cars? Speaking of which, both "ALF" and "Knight Rider" were shows spearheaded under the watchful eye of the late Brandon Tartikoff. When Tartikoff took over as programming director for NBC in 1981, the Peacock Network was in the dumps after losing millions of dollars in ad revenue due to the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics and costly flops like "Supertrain." Tartikoff turned NBC around and seminal series like "The Cosby Show", "The A-Team", "In the Heat of the Night", "The Golden Girls", and "Punky Brewster" came about under his guiding hand. Another smash-hit was "Miami Vice", a show that came about through Tartikoff's two-word pitch, "MTV Cops."


Tartikoff turned the idea over to Anthony Yerkovich, producer/writer on "Hill Street Blues", who expanded the concept and wrote the pilot, originally titled, "Gold Coast." Along for the ride were executive producer Michael Mann and head story editor Joel Surnow, who would go on to create "24." The pilot starred Don Johnson as Detective James "Sonny" Crockett, an undercover officer working out of the vice department for the Metro-Dade Police Department in Miami. He could usually be found on his houseboat with his pet alligator, Elvis. Crockett attempts to hunt down a notorious drug lord named Calderone who has murdered Crockett's partner (played by Jimmy Smits). At the same time, Philip Michael Thomas played Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, a detective in New York City whose brother has also been murdered by the same crime boss. The two come together in the 305 and come become partners and best friends after an initially rocky relationship. The vice department was filled out with Det. Gina Calabrese (Saundra Santiago), who has an on-again off-again romance with Crockett, and her partner Det. Trudy Joplin, as well as the more comedic pairing of Detectives Stan Switek (Michael Talbott) and Larry Zito (John Diehl). As great as they all were, the cast really didn't come together until the addition of the superglue known as Edward James Olmos as their new commanding officer, Lt. Martin Castillo. Olmos brought a quiet intensity to the show and could say more with only his eyes than any other actor armed with pages and pages of dialogue.


You'd be hard pressed to come up with another television show that had such a tremendous impact on pop culture across the board. The look of the show was certainly integral in its success. The show wasn't shot like just another television show, it was shot just like a big-budget Hollywood film. "Vice" was done far more stylishly and cinematically than the rest of the competition. The series made liberal use of its gorgeous Miami locations such as the art deco architecture, the beautiful white sands of South Beach, and a score of bikini-clad beauties. The show's direction worked hand-in-hand with the soundtrack which used all the latest in pop hits to create climactic scenes that were right out of a music video. Two of the most popular songs from the show were "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins and "Smuggler's Blues" by Glenn Frey of the Eagles. Of course, who could ever forget the memorable theme song by Czech composer Jan Hammer. The "Miami Vice" theme earned Hammer two Grammy awards and became the first television theme song to land the number one spot on the Billboard charts since the theme from "Peter Gunn." Then, there's the trend-setting fashion. Everybody tried to copy the "Miami Vice" look. Sure, it's out-of-date now, but how many guys dress like Crockett and Tubbs for Halloween? The pastel-colored sports jacket with matching slacks, t-shirt, designer loafers with no socks, and dark Ray Ban sunglasses. Crockett was dressed to the nines and looked even better cruising the streets in his Ferrari.


"Vice" wasn't just a haven for fashion plates, the series was practically a who's who for guest-stars. Some were already well known like Pam Grier, Don King, Rita Moreno, Dean Stockwell, Richard Belzer, and G. Gordon Liddy. Plenty more came from the world of music. Collins, Frey, and Hammer didn't just contribute a few tunes to the series, they also made guest-appearances along with others such as Ted Nugent, Isaac Hayes, John Taylor (from Duran Duran), and Gene Simmons. Perhaps the best guest spots came from Frank Zappa as a drug lord in "Payback" and Willie Nelson as an aging Texas Ranger looking for revenge in "El Viejo." And I could go on and on about all the actors who appeared long before they became big stars. There's Steve Buscemi, Dylan Baker, John Leguizamo, David Strathairn, Jeff Fahey, Kyra Sedgwick, Dennis Farina, Luis Guzman, Ving Rhames, Joan Chen, Nathan Lane, Ian McShane, Tony Sirico, Chris Elliot, Mykelti Williamson, Bruce Willis, Wesley Snipes, John Turturro, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, and two-time Mrs. Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith. I'm sure there's plenty more I've forgotten. Directors like Abel Ferrera, Jim Johnston, and Rob Cohen lent a helping hand to the behind-the-camera duties. Even fellow TV cops Starsky & Hutch, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, came in to direct a handful of episodes each.


This new box set contains all five seasons of "Miami Vice" in their previous digipak foldout cases. All five seasons are housed in a really nice white box with alligator print and the show logo stamped on top. The case has a hinged top that opens up revealing the DVD sets and a smooth, pastel green suede lining. Most shows are still trying to find their footing in their first seasons, but "Miami Vice" truly hit the ground running. While the show kept an often comedic, light-hearted approach here and there, the tone of the series was undeniably dark using stories that were ripped from headlines. There was an almost fatalistic cynicism to the majority of episodes. The neverending battle against mobsters, drug dealers, and murderers took a "whack-a-mole" approach as the cops would take one out, only to do battle with another and another. Most victories were hollow or bittersweet at best. Many episodes didn't bother with an epilogue or final resolution, choosing instead to end abruptly right at a pivotal moment of violence or heartbreak. The haunting spectre of Vietnam was ever-present. A Vietnam veteran, Crockett is still troubled by his time there and the deaths of his comrades.

The first season highlights include the original pilot and its sequel, the two-part, "Calderone's Return" with the main characters going after the drug lord that got away and Tubbs inadvertantly falling in love with the man's daughter. Other great episodes were "Heart of Darkness" with the future Al Bundy, Ed O'Neill, as a federal agent lost in his undercover identity, and "Made for Each Other", an amusing installment focusing on Switek & Zito. There was also the two part "Golden Triangle" which revealed more of Castillo's past as a DEA agent stationed in Southeast Asia.


The second season began with another two-parter, "The Prodigal Son", in which our heroes head off to Tubbs' old stomping grounds, New York City, as they tackle Columbian drug dealers and corruption that runs straight to Wall Street. The second season also saw, in my opinion, its best episode with "Out Where the Buses Don't Run." Character actor Bruce McGill plays Hank Weldon, a former Vice cop recently released from an insane asylum. Weldon may be nuts, but he makes more headway in a matter of days than the entire department in taking down a powerful drug operation. Weldon leads Crockett & Tubbs on a hunt for the kingpin that eluded arrest. The end sees the trio discover the man was sealed behind a wall and left to die years ago by Weldon himself. Other good episodes were "Bushido", another Castillo-centric episode (which is always a good thing), and the season finale, "Sons and Lovers" which saw Calderone's son out for revenge.


By the third season, Michael Mann left to start up "Crime Story" and briefly handed the executive producer reins over to Dick Wolf, creator of "Law & Order." The series took a darker approach and phased out the brighter pastel colors. The season began with "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" with Gina falling for a former IRA terrorist (played by Liam Neeson) who claims to be a man of peace. The Vice Department would also take a heavy hit in "Down for the Count" when Zito was killed while investigating a corrupt boxing operation. Fans clamored for a return to the previous tone and colors which they got in season four. They also got the introduction of pop singer Sheena Easton as Caitlin Davies who would go on to become Crockett's second wife who would be killed by an old enemy (who Crockett actually saved from death row) before the season ended.

The fourth season also saw some of the series' weakest episodes such as "Missing Hours", where Trudy is abducted by a UFO and James Brown guest-starred as an alien, and "Honor Among Thieves" which ripped off Fritz Lang's "M" with drug dealers putting one of their own on trial when he's discovered to be a serial killer of teenaged girls. For the most part, the steam was running out by the show's fifth and final season. Johnson was ready to make the transition to the big screen and took a diminished role on "Vice", but not before kicking season five off with the Burnett Trilogy. After suffering a blow to the head, Crockett gains amnesia and believes he is really his undercover identity of drug runner Sonny Burnett. Another fifth season episode, "Too Much, Too Late" was never aired until after the show was cancelled due to its frank and disturbing portrayal of child abuse.

VIDEO:
The video is presented in full-screen. The transfer quality is really disappointing. It's certainly above broadcast quality, but no addition restoration was done at all. There's a lot of grain, dirt, and scratches throughout.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The sound is definitely a step up compared to the subpar picture. Dialogue comes in crystal clear. The music is really the highlight as the soundtrack sounds sweet.

EXTRAS:
All the extras are housed on the first disc of season one.

The Vibe of Vice (5:12) is a brief EPK-style overview of the show's look. There are short comments from crew members. No appearances from the big guns, except in archival footage.

Building the Perfect Vice (7:51) features words from series creator Anthony Yerkovich and the focus is on the show's creation, inspiration, along with the building of the cast. Also discussed is the show's rocky start as test audiences reacted negatively and ratings were low, but they stuck to their guns and the show skyrocketed to the top.

The Style of Vice (5:59) is about the fashion of the show and features interviews with Jody Tillen, the first season costume designer. She talked about the wardrobe choices for each of the characters.

The Music of Vice (6:46) discusses the sound of the show with new and old interviews with Jan Hammer. He discusses scoring each episode and how none of his themes were ever repeated, requiring him to come up with new material almost every week. They also briefly discuss how record labels rushed to get their artists' songs on "Vice."

Miami After Vice (2:22) is basically a montage of clips from the show, shots of Miami, and quick snippets of Miami citizens discussing their town.

The bonus material is rather slim. Especially disappointing is the fact that guys like Mann, Surnow, Johnson, and Thomas are not to be found. No new interviews or commentaries. I understand the studio probably shelled out quite the pretty penny to get the clearances for all the original music. I guess more substantial extras just weren't in the budget.

FILM VALUE:
"Miami Vice" took unknowns Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas and turned them into household names. While they're star power may have faded, they were kings among men in the 80's. They were smart enough not to pull a David Caruso, but did make ill-fated attempts as recording artists. "Vice" was an important part of my childhood even if my bed time and parents prevented me from catching every episode. Mann's big-screen remake may have failed to meet expectations (which I also reviewed), the original series still stands the test of time. I'm glad the miracle of DVD has brought "Vice" back to my TV set, even if the video quality and extras aren't up to snuff. If you don't have the previously released season sets, the complete boxset is the way to go just for the handsome case.