Episode #109 "Leap Of Faith"


Ferrariman

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  • 2 years later...
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The only reason I gave it a 1 was because zero wasn't an option. Total garbage.

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It's not near as bad as it's made out to be, imo, but it's certaintly the weakest episode of Season 5, and one of the weakest in series history. It's biggest problem is, not to knock 21 Jump Street because Seasons 2-3 the show was really awesome, but I feel that Miami Vice taking a stab at that concept could've done SOOOOO much better, with the massive resources at their hands they had that Jump St. didn't.Granted MV didn't have a Johnny Depp, but the whole thing needed major re-casting from top-to-bottom. The lead LT was too over the top and needed a more subtle leader like a Edward James Olmos or Steven Williams-type (Jump St.) The silent but strong-type.The young cast was weak as hell too. I was always kinda shocked MV kept banking on Justin Lazard after Line of Fire. The guy just didn't have "show lead". I don't think he was a bad actor per say. Then you have a Laura San Giacomo, good actress, who's role is minimalized in the episode. And the biggest problem is Adam Storke ("The Surf Cowboy") is the strongest young actor you have on the episode, HE should've been the cast for the lead, and you kill him off half-way in. WHAT?The episode was a clunker for sure. And took missteps at every moment. Plus by the time the producing staff was conceptualizing "Miami Jump Street", the concept was tired. Even Jump St. was seeing a decline in ratings at the time and by the following TV season (1989-90) was canceled by Fox (it went another year in syndication).The whole episode seems tired too, because of it. Miami Vice is obviously tired, the concept they are using to freshen the series up is 2-1/2 years old THEN.... alot of problems. Crap.... if the series ever saw it, yes.... but AT LEAST it was still a cop show. Missing Hours... bleh.I think i'd give it a '2' as in - "poor". If there were any highlights it was that Keith Gordon was a great, younger bad guy of the week that was totally lost in a terrible and forgotton episode, which is a shame. He should've been on a better Vice episode, and the appearence of Guns N' Roses "Paradise City" in the opening. That's about it.I recently re-watched it and during the "drug-induced" scenes, I nodded off. Those scenes were terribly done and atrocious.

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The one and only Vice episode I turned off halfway through. I'd rather be subjected to a constant loop of Missing Hours than watch Leap of Faith.And it's not even because I usually dislike obvious "spinoff" opportunities, it's because none of the characters here were as unique or interesting as the ones from 21 Jump Street that Dick Wolf and co. were trying to ape. Johnny Depp and the 21 Jump Street cast could expertly pull off the slacker vibe while still convincing us they were seasoned undercover cops. The Leap of Faith kids only got the slacker part right.Plus, at this point in the series MV was copying what was popular instead of defining it. Big time fail. :thumbsdown:

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Posted: June 26 2008 at 11:23am - Well, here is my un-biased evaluation. I agree with KingOVC that "Leap" is not that awful, & that it's Cutter's Young Criminal Unit. Crockett looked like he was laying in an alley before he went on camera, but at least he was there for 10 min. We see Tubbs for 3 min. & that's it! The young cops had to fit in with the college crowd but they made no fashion statements. Prof. Baines was OK, but why was he making the spaced out kids take a leap? So they don't go to the cops? I liked Crockett punching the guy & throwing him over the bar in the beginning & saying what he likes about this job is you get to meet such nice people. I liked the target practice at the range. They were all good shots! I liked Capone's house....cool! I liked Joey's car which looked like Sonny's black Daytona. All-in-all the story was not bad but, to me, it wasn't Miami Vice. 6/10

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  • 1 month later...

The only reason I gave it a 1 was because zero wasn't an option. Total garbage.

Amen, send zeros!I didnt finish it yet, im always sleeping when i watch it. Seems Sonny is in the begining of it...but correct me if im wrong....they doesnt even appears in the end????And think i said "Missing Hours" was the worst. To say a minimum the cast was there.... but not on this one...."And the Miami Vice Vomit Award goes to.....Leap of Faith.... BLAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
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I feel this idea just didn't fit tinto the world of vice, so I must vote with a lowly 1. I can applaud the intent of venturing into the realm of spinoffs, but this entourage simply would not have been able to carry the torch. Sonny and Rico were truly unique, and no next generation unit could have succeeded them, in my view.

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  • 1 year later...

OK, finally seen the infamous Leap Of Faith.Have to say I think the hate is unjustified. So it didn't have the MV team in it for more than a few minutes. That doesn't make it a bad episode for me, just not a MV episode. I actually enjoyed it - it was a bit silly but wasn't boring. If I had to list my favourite episodes of season 4 and 5 this would probably come around half way, partly because there are so many awful episodes of course.And I'm a Hill STreet Blues fan so have no problem with Kiel Martin. 6/10Oh and what on earth is 21 Jump Street? Some spin-off show? I don't think we ever got it in the UK.

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It is the only Miami Vice episode I skip on my DVDs'. Have watched it twice but cannot sit through it again. Is a pityt because I am 2 episodes away from this in my current, cronological, viewing of Vice.:cry:But the good thing about the DVDs' is once the last episode has been watched I will start from the begginig again. Probably in a few maonths.:thumbsup:

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Posted: June 26 2008 at 11:23am - Well' date=' here is my un-biased evaluation. I agree with KingOVC that "Leap" is not that awful, & that it's Cutter's Young Criminal Unit. Crockett looked like he was laying in an alley before he went on camera, but at least he was there for 10 min. We see Tubbs for 3 min. & that's it! The young cops had to fit in with the college crowd but they made no fashion statements. Prof. Baines was OK, but why was he making the spaced out kids take a leap? So they don't go to the cops? I liked Crockett punching the guy & throwing him over the bar in the beginning & saying what he likes about this job is you get to meet such nice people. I liked the target practice at the range. They were all good shots! I liked Capone's house....cool! I liked Joey's car which looked like Sonny's black Daytona. All-in-all the story was not bad but, to me, it wasn't Miami Vice. 6/10[/quote']Some good points - although NBC hoped this episode would spin off another MV series - it was never going to work with this script :D
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the story to have no bearing on to m v ,crockett , tubbs and all the rest from police department are only 5 min too see :thumbsdown: .i like not such a mv story :thumbsdown::thumbsdown: i give 1 points

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I can think of several epsiodes that, for me, it's better than:MazeLittle PrinceIrish Eyes are smilingTheresaContempt of CourtAmen... Send Moneygod's workmissing hourslike a hurricanecows of octoberindian warshonour among thievesvictims of circumstance

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  • 4 months later...

I'm of the opinion that this ep isn't quite as bad as it's made out to be. There are things that suck about it, obviously. No Crockett and Tubbs and the Vice crew and it's a ripoff of 21 Jump Street. Vice was always it's own thing and completely original. It never ripped anything off so for it to rip off another vastly inferior show is annoying.However, I think there's good points about this ep. The opening scene with Paradise City is really good. Joey Hardin is good character, played well (his ep Line of Fire is a top 5 favourite of mine) and he does a good job carrying the episode. Keith Gordon is a very good actor and he gave an excellent performance as Baines. He was also great in the film Christine. There's also some very nice scenery in this ep.Overall it's not quite as bad as it's reputation suggests. I think there's a lot worse episodes then this, but it's far from quintessential, good Vice.

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  • 8 months later...

Okay...many here go on and on about how horrible and bad this episode was. Well, it wasn't spectacular or anything, this is true. But, it wasn't that horrible either. People, there were WAY worse episodes in the season than this one...such as "Hard Knocks", "Jack of All Trades", and "Miracle Man". :done:I think the biggest issue is this wasn't really a "MV" episode. Crockett and Tubbs were only in the first few minutes...then it turned into the "Joey Harden Show". :p I get the feeling or impression that this episode was supposed to be some sort of "pilot" for a series starring Justin Lazard as Joey. However, if it was it doesn't surprise me it never got off the ground. I liked Justin Lazard as an actor, and I liked his recurring character of Joey Harden...but I don't know if he really had show "lead" quality--at least at that time. I think if they had created an actual series around this episode, the show would not have lasted very long...maybe one season at best. This "group" just didn't have the "magic" to captivate viewers enough.But, really this wasn't that bad of an episode for a one-time thing...decent plot and action! Keith Gordon was a good actor and he was perfect for the creepy, sociopathic Professor Terry Baines! :clap: But he'll always be Arnie Cunningham from the 1983 horror movie Christine to me. :) I also loved the song Paradise City by Guns N' Roses at the beginning! :radio: Decent filming locations too.Overall this wasn't much of a "MV" episode at all, and hardly any of the cast had a role in it. But, it still wasn't as bizarre and stupid as "Miracle Man" or "Jack of All Trades". ;) I give this one a 4.

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  • 1 year later...

I understand this was supposed to be a backdoor pilot to a show similar to 21 Jump Street, but the chemistry between the younger actors just wasn't there.  Plus, it shouldn't have been part of the final 5 episodes of Miami Vice when the series was trying to get some closure with its characters.  Most of the time I was wondering after the first 5 minutes of the episode, "Uh... when are Crockett, Tubbs, or anyone from OCB gonna show up now?"

 

If they had the younger actors working more with the OCB characters rather than being so separate from them, it could have been more entertaining, especially to hear the OCB team impart their wisdom upon their experiences in being in the Vice department, which subtly could have give more insight to the established OCB characters and just how far they have transformed from the first season.

 

By itself, it could have easily replaced one of the stinkers from Season 4 and been more tolerable, but the fact that it "takes up space" when Miami Vice is counting down its final episodes and the OCB characters don't have a great part in the episode, makes "Leap of Faith" intolerable, forgettable, and somewhat loathsome.

 

The one and only Vice episode I turned off halfway through. I'd rather be subjected to a constant loop of Missing Hours than watch Leap of Faith.And it's not even because I usually dislike obvious "spinoff" opportunities, it's because none of the characters here were as unique or interesting as the ones from 21 Jump Street that Dick Wolf and co. were trying to ape. Johnny Depp and the 21 Jump Street cast could expertly pull off the slacker vibe while still convincing us they were seasoned undercover cops. The Leap of Faith kids only got the slacker part right.Plus, at this point in the series MV was copying what was popular instead of defining it. Big time fail. :thumbsdown:

To add to that, since this was produced so late in series of Miami Vice, it seemed more like desperation to have some type of filming production in Miami rather than something originating in creativity.

Edited by Vice Immersion
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  • 1 year later...

1 star. easily my least favorite MV episode.... doesn't even feel like MV half the time, it wasn't until years later when i found out this was supposed to be a off shoot pilot of MV spin off which explains the bizarre nature of basically having no C&T for the main plot. Atleast with Missing Hours and the cows eps it was chessy MV, this feels like generic 80s/90s cop show. :sick:

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  • 7 months later...

I aint gonna call this episode underrated. But it's not as bad as some say it is.

Big Guns N Roses fan so I enjoyed the opening.

Again I've only seen this episode once.

Good music and filming locations.

I liked Keith Gordan.

Its a cheesy episode but it ain't boring.

5/10

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  • 1 year later...

I decided to give this another chance and yes it is terrible. I'll give some random observations I made while watching. The acting is very bad and the relationships don't work. No chemistry. It was unintentionally funny at times and I laughed when I wasn't supposed to. The guy from "Texas" was particularly bad. I do not like Paul Cutter either. Totally unconvincing. Baines was the best thing in this besides Sonny, who appears to be in a different dimension compared to these people. Joey Hardin deserves better than this. Guns n Roses in the beginning is fine but it isn't much. And Edie Brickell certainly fits. I remember What I Am getting massive airplay back then to the point I was sick of it. Lots of exploitive skin in this ep too. Pig looks laughably too old to be a college thug. And the henchman with glasses is just ridiculous. This episode is incredibly (holey) denim-heavy as well as midriff shirt happy. Sonny in a biker jacket, that's cool I guess. He pulls it off. Sonny looks like he's fighting Mr Perfect Curt Hennig in the bar. Funny Dan Quayle reference by Sonny in the beginning. Hardin has a black convertible the way Sonny once did. There are a couple scenes where red is featured, particularly the ending with the art structure pointing upwards towards danger. And the red lines along the wall in the drugged out chase scene, maybe symbolizing drugs in the bloodstream? The tripping stuff reminded me of Ah-Ha's Take On Me for some reason. Oddly, there are a ton of Baltimore references in this ep. Being a Marylander myself that's pretty cool to see but still weird for Vice. If I was Mundy I wouldn't have given up my gun and gone for the headshot on the guy holding Claire. I mean the guy was 2 feet away for God's sake. Obvious stunt double brawl on the roof.The ending rips off Child's Play too.

Playing devil's advocate, it does take about a season's worth of material for a new show to go thru its growing pains and find its voice. MV itself is a good example of that. While it didn't take that long, I pinpoint No Exit as the ep that truly consolidated the show into what it was and what it would be (best at) going forward. That being said this backdoor pilot never had a chance. Maybe if they didn't use Vice airtime for it and spent more time on it quality-wise to give it its own 2hr pilot. Even so, 21 Jumpstreet had it beat by a mile in terms of quality, especially by 89. I wonder, would people like this ep better if it was a normal Crockett and Tubbs show? Obviously they couldn't be students so the story would have to be altered, but still.. Baines imo could have made a good recurring villain terrorizing Miami by designing new drugs.

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  • 9 months later...

Keith Gordon got me through this episode.  Great actor who, unfortunately, decided to step behind the camera.  Was the spin-off show with these knuckleheads an actual idea, or just a myth?? 

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1 hour ago, Mr. Vigilante said:

Keith Gordon got me through this episode.  Great actor who, unfortunately, decided to step behind the camera.  Was the spin-off show with these knuckleheads an actual idea, or just a myth?? 

Oh, I'm sure someone thought it was an actual idea. NCIS LA has the somewhat recurring Red Team popping up in one season to sort of dangle a spin-off, and of course NCIS itself grew from JAG if I remember correctly. But as others have pointed out, this had already been done (and done better) by this time. And Vice was fading. I'm sure someone thought they could latch onto what was left of Vice and maybe Band of the Hand and launch something. Of course Band of the Hand didn't fare too well, so that should have told them something...

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  • 1 month later...

I  like it.  Hardin is always cool and Keith Gordon does a solid job as the villain.  Laura San Giacomo is also very cute and Tim Truman's score is particularly atmospheric and memorable. It's either a very underrated episode or I'm just easily pleased :)

 

 

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