Miami Vice Series on Netflix (Hollywood, Miami Beach: rent, crime, credit)

[kmarc]

For those who might be interested, Netflix has the Miami Vice series, all five seasons (111 episodes). I've been watching the episodes in chronological order, I'm now into season 2, watched the "Little Miss Dangerous" episode last night, with '80s pop artist Fiona guest-starring in the title role. Having lived in South Florida during the 1980s, it's been great to look back on what Miami and the surrounding areas were like back in the day. There was something about all that seedy glamour that gave rise to what followed. So many locations that I recognize, but also many I don't. I had some long-ago friends who worked on the show, both in front of and behind the camera, and have enjoyed seeing some of the local actors I knew in bit parts.

It's fun to go back and watch the show develop in step with the Miami of the times, changing mood, music and color along with the characters that come and go and stay. I've said in another thread that I felt that South Florida invented the 1980s, and that Miami Vice was a huge influence in terms of popular culture and fashion. It struck me that this was a time when Miami was truly diverse, and that's how I remember it. Even so far in the series, there have been a number of secondary and minor characters that remind me of various types of people I used to know, not even over the top stereotypes, but people who were just like what you see in the series. I fondly remember some of the clothing fashions, while some make me laugh and cringe a little. And when was the last time you could rent a flop on Miami Beach for $10.00 a night, lol? And guess what? NO SMARTPHONES and other electronic gadgets (except for the law enforcement equipment) and the show still holds up, even today. It's also worth noting how less populous Miami was then.

Not only did it capture the Miami I knew (with some embellishment, yes), but it laid the foundation for the Miami that was to come. As a TV series, it was groundbreaking, with the brilliant use of South Florida and Miami locations, color, music, episode themes taken from South Florida crime and cultural events of the day, guest stars and regulars. Crockett and Tubbs had to be one of the best, if not the best, TV series buddy pairings ever. I've developed a new appreciation for Edward James Olmos as Castillo, the man of few words who said much with his eyes and with his silences. As I was watching his character develop, I realized that David Caruso totally based his Horatio character in Miami CSI on Castillo, right down to the physical mannerisms.

I got curious about a piece of music that was at the end of the "Little Miss Dangerous" episode and found it on YouTube, it was something called "Order of Death"(This is What You Want, This is What You Get) by a group called "Public Image" and was later used as part of the soundtrack for a 1990 post apocalyptic cyber punk movie called "Hardware". It was interesting to see, in the YouTube comments, how people got to the music video after having watched the Miami Vice episode just like I did, and it was great to read how Miami Vice was appreciated for its many progressive elements of its time. Apparently Michael Mann, the original producer of the series, moved on after season 2 and Dick Wolf, of Law and Order (ugh, never cared for that series) fame took over the last three seasons.

Anyway, not sure how much of a thread this will make, but for those of you who haven't seen it, if you have access to Netflix, I highly recommend it, especially if you're younger and curious about what Miami was like back in the day. For those of you who have seen it, feel free to comment on your favorite episodes, actors, locations, music, anecdotes, cultural references, differences in Miami then and now, etc.

[ItalianExec]

Six favourite episodes.

1. Evan season 1
2. The Prodigal Son season 2
3. Smugglers Blues season 1 (Smugglers blues and Prodigal Son have plots lines used in the Miami Vice movie)
4. Yankee Dollar ( Charlie Glide returns in Season 5 as another character).
5. Killshot ( filmed at the Jai Alai arena!)
6. Little Prince ( most expensive house rented in the series, the scarface movie home).

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by ItalianExec

Six favourite episodes.

1. Evan season 1
2. The Prodigal Son season 2
3. Smugglers Blues season 1 (Smugglers blues and Prodigal Son have plots lines used in the Miami Vice movie)
4. Yankee Dollar ( Charlie Glide returns in Season 5 as another character).
5. Killshot ( filmed at the Jai Alai arena!)
6. Little Prince ( most expensive house rented in the series, the scarface movie home).

Smugglers Blues is one of my faves so far, love the song and enjoyed Glenn Frey as the pilot.

I liked Yankee Dollar for the Charlie Glide character. I swear, I knew a couple of guys back in the day who, while they may not have been criminals exactly, had very similar personas and even looked and dressed like Glide. From Aventura and North Miami Beach. Glide was the quintessential Miami business hustler type.

[StreetLegal]

I have to admit I am not a huge fan of the show but I do love the visuals including the shots of Miami, etc.

The creator of the show was apparently a writer and producer for "Hill Street Blues" which was a great 80's cop drama show. I guess I am more a realist so I appreciate the starkness of Hill Street as opposed to the Hollywood version of crime fighting on Miami Vice. I absolutely get the visuals...and maybe I'll watch some episodes on Netflix and get hooked.

Miami Vice's creator indicated he always had Miami/So.Fla. in mind as the setting for the show (originally he wrote it as a movie). On a side note, "Simon & Simon" was a 1980's crime drama set in San Diego which ran for 7 years or so. The original script for that show had it set in the Florida Keys. Not sure why the producers changed the location.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by StreetLegal

I have to admit I am not a huge fan of the show but I do love the visuals including the shots of Miami, etc.

The creator of the show was apparently a writer and producer for "Hill Street Blues" which was a great 80's cop drama show. I guess I am more a realist so I appreciate the starkness of Hill Street as opposed to the Hollywood version of crime fighting on Miami Vice. I absolutely get the visuals...and maybe I'll watch some episodes on Netflix and get hooked.

Miami Vice's creator indicated he always had Miami/So.Fla. in mind as the setting for the show (originally he wrote it as a movie). On a side note, "Simon & Simon" was a 1980's crime drama set in San Diego which ran for 7 years or so. The original script for that show had it set in the Florida Keys. Not sure why the producers changed the location.

Yes, Anthony Yerkovich, the creator. Here's a quote from him taken from Wikipedia:

"Even when I was on Hill Street Blues, I was collecting information on Miami, I thought of it as a sort of a modern-day American Casablanca. It seemed to be an interesting socio-economic tide pool: the incredible number of refugees from Central America and Cuba, the already extensive Cuban-American community, and on top of all that the drug trade. There is a fascinating amount of service industries that revolve around the drug trade--money laundering, bail bondsmen, attorneys who service drug smugglers. Miami has become a sort of Barbary Coast of free enterprise gone berserk.[6]"

Michael Mann decreed that there were to be "no earth tones" used in the show (for things like cars, clothing, sets, graphics, etc.)

[kmarc]

I thought this was sort of an interesting overview of the Miami Vice phenomenon:

How Miami Vice launched the

Too bad Mann and Yerkovich didn't stay on a while longer. Their influence lasted for a while after Dick Wolfe took over, but eventually he managed to shove the show down the rabbit hole. Grrr.

[StreetLegal]

^^Interesting article. I had no idea Jan Hammer was Czech. I knew he was European but would have guessed Germany or somewhere else.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by StreetLegal

^^Interesting article. I had no idea Jan Hammer was Czech. I knew he was European but would have guessed Germany or somewhere else.

Thanks for mentioning Hammer, he was such an integral part of the show. The Miami Vice theme music for the opening montage is brilliant, I love that rapid-fire gunshot sound at the very beginning as the camera looks up through the royal palms and does a 180. And just generally, he did a great job with the background music in the various episodes. He even appeared in a bit part as a wedding musician in two of the episodes.

[transitfan]

I have a question about an MV episode from either Season 2 or 3. In the beginning of the episode (before the credits), Crockett and Tubbs are chasing a suspect, who proceeds to enter a Metrorail station. At some point, the skel turns and fires hitting either Crockett or Tubbs, who falls onto the track. Naturally, a train is coming, and the one who wasn't shot rescues the other just in the nick of time. I'm wondering which episode, and which station it was. I'm assuming it was one of the stations south of downtown Miami. When Vice was airing, I had only been to the Miami area once (in 1978, when Metrorail was but a gleam in planners eyes), also, I stayed on Miami Beach and didn't visit any areas where Metrorail was built.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by transitfan

I have a question about an MV episode from either Season 2 or 3. In the beginning of the episode (before the credits), Crockett and Tubbs are chasing a suspect, who proceeds to enter a Metrorail station. At some point, the skel turns and fires hitting either Crockett or Tubbs, who falls onto the track. Naturally, a train is coming, and the one who wasn't shot rescues the other just in the nick of time. I'm wondering which episode, and which station it was. I'm assuming it was one of the stations south of downtown Miami. When Vice was airing, I had only been to the Miami area once (in 1978, when Metrorail was but a gleam in planners eyes), also, I stayed on Miami Beach and didn't visit any areas where Metrorail was built.

I wish I could help you out here, but I hope someone else will. Although I did use Metrorail in the 1990s, I never used it south of downtown. I'm curious about some locations myself, like where were those sand pits in the season 2 Ted Nugent episode, where he met and shot the drug dealers he lured into his trap.

If I find a list of MV locations on line, I'll post.