When I first sat down to watch 'Miami Vice' I thought it was going to be 'just another cop show' but it soon became clear that this was something different. The opening episode introduces the two stars of the show; Miami cop Sonny Crockett and New York cop Ricardo Tubbs, who is in Miami to find the man who killed his brother. Inevitable Tubbs ends up staying and so began one of the great TV police partnerships. Most episodes follow these two but they aren't the only cops in the department that matter; episodes also involve female cops Trudi and Gina; Switek and Zito, who frequently provide light relief, and their taciturn boss Lt. Castillo.
The show was almost as much about the glamorous lifestyles then the cases as Crockett drives around in a Ferrari, lives on a yacht with his pet alligator and races around in a powerful speedboat this is all justified by the fact that he needs to be able to play the role of a successful criminal for his undercover work. This of course also justifies some great chase scenes both on the water and on the roads of Miami. These scenes are almost invariably accompanied by the music of Jan Hammer to great effect.
The acting was good; Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas did great jobs as Crockett and Tubbs and Edward James Olmos was brilliant as Castillo. During the course of the series there are guest appearances from actors who will go on to be some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
There are of course some negatives; as the series approaches its end it is obvious that the budget has been slashed; the exciting chases are few and far between, more and more episodes don't feature both Crockett and Tubbs in major roles and Jan Hammer is no longer providing the music. The series is still very watchable and doesn't seem too dated although these days if a man in a white suit gets machine gunned I'd expect to see more blood than featured here! There are a handful of poor episodes, one or two are terrible, but overall the quality is pretty high, especially in the middle seasons. If you enjoy classic cop shows this one is well worth picking up.
The show was almost as much about the glamorous lifestyles then the cases as Crockett drives around in a Ferrari, lives on a yacht with his pet alligator and races around in a powerful speedboat this is all justified by the fact that he needs to be able to play the role of a successful criminal for his undercover work. This of course also justifies some great chase scenes both on the water and on the roads of Miami. These scenes are almost invariably accompanied by the music of Jan Hammer to great effect.
The acting was good; Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas did great jobs as Crockett and Tubbs and Edward James Olmos was brilliant as Castillo. During the course of the series there are guest appearances from actors who will go on to be some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.
There are of course some negatives; as the series approaches its end it is obvious that the budget has been slashed; the exciting chases are few and far between, more and more episodes don't feature both Crockett and Tubbs in major roles and Jan Hammer is no longer providing the music. The series is still very watchable and doesn't seem too dated although these days if a man in a white suit gets machine gunned I'd expect to see more blood than featured here! There are a handful of poor episodes, one or two are terrible, but overall the quality is pretty high, especially in the middle seasons. If you enjoy classic cop shows this one is well worth picking up.