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The Movie: An immensely popular TV drama that did spectacularly well on NBC in the 80's, "Miami Vice" was exec produced Michael Mann ("Collateral", "Heat", "Thief"), whose feature film remake (starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx) hits theaters next Summer. The show starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as Crockett and Tubbs, two Miami detectives who go after hustlers, drug dealers and other assorted criminals. The series may be a bit dated in aspects of its "look" at this point, but other aspects of the show (cinematography, production design, music, performances, direction, writing, editing) still stand up well and give the show a cinematic quality that was groundbreaking. Cinematographers on the show included Oliver Wood ("The Bourne Identity"), James Contner ("Firefly", "Enterprise") and Tom Priestley Jr. ("Deep Impact") In terms of performances, Johnson and Thomas remain a classic TV pairing, as the two have great chemistry and each offer superb, memorable performances. John Diehl, Edward James Olmos and others offer excellent supporting efforts, and their characters are a little more developed this time around. The 2-hour season opener, "Prodigal Son", takes the "Vice" pairing North to New York City to track down Colombian drug dealers. Penn Gilette of "Penn & Teller" fame guest stars in this stylish, strongly directed episode that takes Crockett and Tubbs out of Miami, but still works well. Some of the other highlights of this season are: "Definitely Miami" (Crockett falls for the wife of a drug dealer - guest stars rocker Ted Nugent), "Phil the Shil" (Phil Collins guest stars as a TV show host who could lead the cops to a drug dealer), "Payback" (a drug dealer thinks Crockett has his stolen money) and "Back in the World", Johnson's directorial debut, which deals with Crockett's Vietnam experience and how someone from his past may lead to a heroin dealer. 2nd Season 1985 2- 1 27 Sep 85 Prodigal Son (1) 2- 2 27 Sep 85 Prodigal Son (2) 2- 3 4 Oct 85 Whatever Works 2- 4 18 Oct 85 Out Where the Buses Don't Run 2- 5 25 Oct 85 The Dutch Oven 2- 6 1 Nov 85 Buddies 2- 7 8 Nov 85 Junk Love 2- 8 15 Nov 85 Tale of the Goat 2- 9 22 Nov 85 Bushido 2-10 29 Nov 85 Bought and Paid For 2-11 6 Dec 85 Back in the World 2-12 13 Dec 85 Phil the Shill 2-13 10 Jan 86 Definitely Miami 2-14 17 Jan 86 Yankee Dollar 2-15 24 Jan 86 One-Way Ticket 2-16 31 Jan 86 Little Miss Dangerous 2-17 14 Feb 86 Florence Italy 2-18 21 Feb 86 French Twist 2-19 7 Mar 86 The Fix 2-20 14 Mar 86 Payback 2-21 4 Apr 86 Free Verse 2-22 2 May 86 Trust Fund Pirates 2-23 9 May 86 Sons and Lovers The DVD VIDEO: "Miami Vice" is presented by Universal in 1.33:1 full-frame. The presentation quality was certainly not flawless, but aspects of it were impressive. Some scenes appeared remarkably crisp and detailed for an 80's series, while others looked a tad soft. Still, the presentation looked largely crisp overall. Print flaws were spotted on some occasions, but the picture appeared clean for long stretches of time. When they did appear, print flaws were limited to some minor dirt, specks and the occasional mark. Some slight grain also was spotted here-and-there, as well. No shimmering was seen, but a few minor instances of edge enhancement were spotted. A couple of slight artifacts were seen, as well. Colors remained natural and did not look smeary or otherwise problematic. Overall, despite some rough moments, the image quality was largely quite solid here. SOUND: The show's mono soundtrack has been remixed here for Dolby Digital 5.1. In an era where original music often doesn't appear due to costly music rights, this is one instance where the original music is included. The audio is not particularly aggressive, but it does open up the music tracks a bit and spread out the sound effects. Audio quality is fine - dialogue and music remain clear, and effects sound crisp (but rather dated.) EXTRAS: Unfortunately, none. Final Thoughts: "Miami Vice"'s fashions may look somewhat dated, but the rest of the show stands up well, as the entertaining action/drama offers a lot of thrills, flashy visuals and solid performances. Universal's DVD set provides fine audio/video quality, but the lack of supplements is a bummer. Still, this second season offers a bunch of great episodes, and is recommended. |