Episode #15 "Smuggler’s Blues"


Ferrariman

Recommended Posts

  • 9 months later...

Smuggler's Blues is one of my top 10 episodes! A lot of suspense, cool shots of Miami Beach as the plane is landing, cool blue jacket & orange shirt on Sonny. PMT has most of the lead in this one, which he handles beautifully. Glenn Frey is perfect as the flyboy. His song is great & the lyrics embellish the action on the screen. When I hear Smuggler's Blues on the radio, I can see Miami Vice in my mind. My favorite line, " we always carry weapons 'cause we always carry cash." Tubbs had a watch on his right wrist when he was holding Tucker, then he had a thin bracelet from that point on. A goof? I rate this episode a 10 ! Tim, I must start playing this song, since you always ask fot it at the restaurant. :radio: ( I wish there was an alligator playing a guitar! )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember all the pub this got when it first aired? The media were absolutely stupified that a TV show was going to base an episode on a song. They were beside themselves -- didn't know what to do. And that fact that the guy who recorded the song was guest starring perplexed them even more. All the advance coverage was basically "You've got to watch this because this is the nuttiest idea we've ever hard of. An entire episode. Of a TV show. Based on a song. A song, I tell you!"It's pretty amusing looking back. This one defines Vice and what it's all about.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest neworder

What an episode.Classic Vice.C&T go in, get the drugs, bring em back, get the bad guy. Simple but the application is perfect. The music and mood of the episode is perfect. Crockett & Tubbs acting all tough when negotiating for the drugs was fantastic. Glenn Frey is great, his song is great. Jan Hammer's music is very good too. Yeah, brilliant episode. I can see why Michael Mann used Smugglers Blues as one of the influences for the 2006 movie, many quotes and some scenes are lifted from this ep into the movie. Cant really see any negatives for this episode, altho maybe the end with the bomb drags on a little too long but it remains tense.This is one of the best, if not the best.10/10

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another top notch episode. I like it a lot but I think it's lacking a bit in the necessary sparkle to make it one of my favourite episodes. It starts well with a good intro that ends explosively and a then a good sequence where the DEA agent lays out the itinery. Glenn Frey's character is very similar to Mickey Munday in Cocaine Cowboys. He did a good job in the role and the title song obviously complements the episode very well. The Colombia sequences are very good, especially Crockett and Tubbs talking to the dealer and Tubbs getting busted. The shots of the graveyard with Crockett's Theme are great, as is the shootout when they finally escape the country. I love the aerial shots of Miami when they arrive back, especially that of Bal Harbor. Just gorgeous. Some great action once they get back on American soil. Trudy being held hostage is very tense. Tubbs at the bridge us very well done too. Excellent stuff. Jan Hammer did a great job as always. Excellent inclusion of Crockett's Theme and that tune I associate most with Mirror Image. Overall, an excellent episode. 9/10

Edited by Tommy Vercetti
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

this episode has a strong opening: a routine surveillance, a drug deal that seems to be a fake ... and a big big *BOOM* which take the smugglers and his wifes lives.the story itself continues with a theme i get never tired to watch: crockett and tubbs undercover in a far away country - no backup, no help at all. (we'll see that again in the very last episode "freefall" as well). i agree, Tony D.: glenn frey fits perfect in his role - he plays very convincing. i always have a smile on my face when i watch the encounter of rico, sonny and jimmy right before their start to cartagena.the time in cartagena is very thrilling: rico gets busted by corrupt policemen who are on the payroll of the drug king. and crockett has some trouble with jimmy because sonny wants to free rico but jimmy prevents his action.when i saw this episode for the first times i always thought that their return to miami is near the end of the story. but then again there is so much action and tension: sonny and his pal try to free trudy. and rico has to make a very lonely decision at the end. GREAT!smugglers blues is one of my top five. it has pastels, it has action, it has friendship and decisions between life and death ... extreme thrilling moments.this is pure 24 carat vice gold!10 points plus another 10 points (which will be left from rating worse episodes) ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Smugglers' BluesEll.a, I love how you do that with the pictures! Thanks!!!This is a ten for me. The story, the music, the locales, the themes..so much to chose from. The colors are fantastic. The action terrific-like the runway getaway!The friendship theme in this episode is another favorite of mine: Sonny's guilt and fury for leaving Rico behind was powerful...one of my favorite conversations in the whole series was when Jimmy and Sonny are talking about Nam and the buddies they left behind... and Sonny says: "Yeah, but this one I've gotta wait for!" I'm gonna watch this one right now. I never get tired of it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well written, superbly acted, and is one of the true pinnacles of the series. Glenn Frey is a diamond and the ending has a particularly good twist. Also great use of Crockett's theme in the beautifully shot cemetery deal. Also features a great use of "Lunatic Fringe" by Red Rider. 10/10.

Edited by agent 47
New review due to Blu-ray viewing.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is definately one of the gems of Season 1.Loved the opening scene accompanied by the eerie Jan Hammer music. I remember watching this episode for the first time on a satellite channel and there were English subtitles which accompanied the spanish dialogue in the opening scene. And I don't mean ones provided by the satellite channel, I mean they were actually included in the episode, in the same way that they were in "Trust fund pirates". However on my dvd version, they're not there. Not that I'm complaining. It's just interesting that there are two different versions. I only just noticed that the boat that blows up in the initial scene appears to be moored at Watson Island, home of many other Vice scenes.Watch Castillo's face after Lieutenant Jones makes the comment "Dolphins really are something huh". Classic! I like how Tubbs even opens the office door to watch him walk out as if he can't believe what an a**hole Jones is and needs to get another look at him just to prove it to himself!My favourite scene is the one where Crockett and Tubbs meet Grocero for the first time. I love the intense, rythmic Jan Hammer music that accompanies this scene and Crockett's intense silent pose as he sits at the table studying Grocero.Only thing that didn't add up was Crockett and Tubbs' second meeting with Grocero. Both of them got searched at the door, yet Tubbs still managed to pull out a gun from nowhere!I also like how Tubbs shoots his own car to flush out Wavey Davey who's hiding in it.Finally, I love how Ed Waters says to Tubbs at the end of the episode, "what's the reason, motive?", when talking about the motives that Lieutenant Jones must have had. You then immediately hear Glenn Frey say "It's the lure of easy money" in the background in the song. Again, one of the things I love about Vice is it's sense of timing!I'll give this one 8 out of 10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always really loved this episode. But there was one aspect of the plotline which never really made sense to me. If Trudy and everyone already knew she was in jeopardy of being kidnapped, why then did it happen?? Maybe I am too practical :rolleyes:.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

They knew all along Trudy would be kidnapped. The whole thing was a dangerous plan to draw the bad guys out. Trudy was simply bait.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Missing Epilog?One thing I am curious about, since I don't have the DVD and only saw it recently on Sleuth, is about the Epilog, which is misssing on Sleuth version. Is it included in the DVD?When this show 1st aired, there was an epilog after the final scene on the bridge - it was set in LA and Glenn Frey gets pulled over by a pseudo-CHP cop who is really a cartel assasin, and the episode ends (for good) with Glenn getting wasted.Anyone else seen that version??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could be - I might have seen the song video on MTV back then and kind of merged it in my memory with the actual episode - but I sure remember seeing the titling saying "Epilog - Los Angeles, two years later"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They knew all along Trudy would be kidnapped. The whole thing was a dangerous plan to draw the bad guys out. Trudy was simply bait.

Well,I guess you need good health insurance when you're a Vice cop!I never realized that.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I could change anything about this ep, it would be the last quarter or so. I wish they'd stayed in Cartegena longer. The whole bomb diffusing thing goes on a bit long. And I also wished Vice had done a full-blown remake of the Smuggler's Blues video, with Frey playing the Americano involved in shady business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This episode automatically gets my top marks! From beginning to end, it has all of MV's best attributes. I've always especially liked the trunk to trunk meeting footage at the cemetary with the slow version of 'Crockett's Theme'. One of Jan's very best pieces in my view! A very well done ep.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Terrific episode, one of the best in the series. 10/10. It's hard to believe they crammed so much into a one hour tv show. From the style, to the story it's all here. Terrific opening, where you really don't know what's going on.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They knew all along Trudy would be kidnapped. The whole thing was a dangerous plan to draw the bad guys out. Trudy was simply bait.

I noticed something else; in the initial debriefing Trudy was present in the room as was Jones, so later on when he'd kidnap her, he'd must had recognised her, so wouldn't he know he's being set up ? Or was he just that confident in his bomb set up ?Also does anyone know the title of the rock song playing in 1st minutes when they are following the smuggler in the car ? Thanks.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Great episode from season one. Bits and pieces of the strory line would be used for the movie. "Smuggler's Blues" is a great song and I always think of Miami Vice when I hear it. The music video to the song is also great. This episode was a real defining moment for the series.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Scary how the locations, some dialogue and script made its way into the 2006 Miami Vice Movie from this episode.Quite a few lines and situations were lifted from this episode by Michael Mann.:D9/10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
Guest neworder

Watch carefully when Rico+Sonny take off in Jimmy's plane supposedly in Miami, you can see a city skyline that isn't Miami and mountains in the background - I can only imagine they filmed this on the secondary location for this episode where the South America scenes were shot, Glossary says Puerto Rico as a location shoot so maybe it's from there. Still one of the few times where Miami Vice accidentially puts a mountain in the background of a Miami scene, very forgiveable if you've watched CSI Miami so much!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

I love this episode, and it's one of not only my first season favorites but is one of my all-time favorites of the series too!I think "Smuggler's Blues" is one of those episodes (and there were more than one) that just sort of defined "Miami Vice" and what it was all about!I thought Sonny's wardrobe was pretty cool, Glenn Frey's performance and subsequent song of the same episode title was superb, Oliva Brown's performance in the abandoned trailer/bomb scene was also superb and gave her a change to expand on her acting talents, the plot was awesome, and I also like the beginning meeting scene at the abandoned Floridian Hotel!Strange, I know but I love photographing and exploring abandoned places and this is one I wish I could have explored before it got torn down. :)The only part I can hardly stand to watch is when Tubbs is mad at the bad guy in his car and he starts shooting into his own Caddy!:eek: I love cars, especially classic ones from the 50's-60's and I always yell: "Just don't shoot the Caddy!"...but Tubbs always does anyway. :p:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Smuggler's Blues features a great character played by Glen Frey, wish he would've appeared in more episodes.Think Jimmy is briefly mentioned later in the series though.My favorite part is the third act, with Trudie strapped to the bomb.Very tense drama, well acted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.