Weekend Buff

Miami Vice (1984-1989)

Miami Vice

I went to Miami for the first time last year, mainly to catch a baseball game as I am working on getting to every MLB park. Can’t say I was overly impressed with the town. Storefronts closed, homeless everywhere, terrible public transportation, and I’m not much of a nightclub guy. It kind of felt like a city on the edge of becoming a ghost town. What was worse was the baseball. That stadium is awful, it’s in a terrible location, and the Marlins are a joke.

I really never took much interest in that city, so it’s not surprising that, until last week, I never saw one single episode of Miami Vice. I gave the show a shot, and I must say I was entertained.

The premise of the show is that Miami’s Metro-Dade Police Department undercover Detective Sonny Crockett gets teamed up with NYPD cop Rico Tubbs, who is out to find the drug dealer that killed his brother. I never knew there was an NYPD angle to the show.

The two don’t exactly hit it off at first but realize that they are both equally determined to get the same murderous drug lord. The two reach a grudging respect for each other and agree to work together on the case – and many other cases for the next 5 years that the show was in production.

Don Johnson’s Sonny Crockett was one of television’s classic characters. He set the tone for the Miami inspired fashion of the 1980’s, the growth in popularity of the Farrari, and maybe even speedboats. Johnson is great as the flamboyant, gunslinging, detective with a flair for the dramatic and disastrous personal life.

Philip Michael Thomas is Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs. Tubbs is a man set on revenge and it’s clear that extralegal means would be fine with him. It is plainly obvious that Thomas is neither Hispanic nor from New York, but once that narrative fades into the background, he does a nice job with the character.

Defining 80’s cool

Saundra Santiago, Michael Talbott, Edward James Almos, and Olivia Brown round out the members of the squad supporting Crockett and Tubbs.

The show is full of car chases, boat chases, shootouts and beautiful women. It’s more action than drama. The show captures the feel of Miami as most scenes are shot in the streets of the city. Although not stated by the producers, Miami Vice feels like the police’s answer to Al Pacino’s Scarface made the year earlier.

I was never a narco ranger, and never would have survived as an undercover, but Miami Vice is all about drugs. Crockett and Tubbs are always buying up and making cases against the next kingpin. The drug trade produces dealers faster than the police can lock them up. Viewers will have to suspend credulity a bit as Miami Vice’s dynamic duo get their cover blown about once an episode and likely wouldn’t be able to buy a joint in the city after the 4^th episode. It’s a fun show nonetheless.

I’ve checked out about half of the first season and haven’t been disappointed. Apparently, the 3^rd season gets dark, and the show takes a downturn after that, but Miami Vice had a great few seasons. You can buy the episodes for $2 a pop or $20 a season on most streaming services. This weekend, break out your white blazer, linen pants and a designer tee shirt and get ready for Miami Vice.

Thanks for reading The Ops Desk. Stay Safe!