Episode #103 "The Cell Within"


Ferrariman

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Hi Vice Immersion........I appreciated PMT's acting ability in this episode. :thumbsup:

 

I can't understand how people can rate it a 1 or a 0 and still say they are fans of Miami Vice. ?(

 

A true Fan will find  something to enjoy in every episode, even if the story is not your favorite. :thumbsup:

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Hi Vice Immersion........I appreciated PMT's acting ability in this episode. :thumbsup:

 

I can't understand how people can rate it a 1 or a 0 and still say they are fans of Miami Vice. ?(

 

A true Fan will find  something to enjoy in every episode, even if the story is not your favorite. :thumbsup:

Thanks Tony D. :p

 

It's just that considering how much philosophical detail Manning was going into when Tubbs arrived at his home, and the specific people he imprisoned, I figured the writers of the episode were maybe trying to convey something.  ...Rather than just a cliche plot of a psychopath getting revenge.

Edited by Vice Immersion
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  • 1 year later...
  • 7 months later...
15 minutes ago, Matt5 said:

Wish me luck ! I'm about to start watching "Cell Within" :p:):o

Haha. Good luck! I'm sure, you're going to come across something positive in that episode to make a review about. :) :p

Edited by summer84
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1 hour ago, summer84 said:

Haha. Good luck! I'm sure, you're going to come across something positive in that episode to make a review about. :) :p

Ha ha - I consider this the worst episode of Miami Vice - written by Jack Richardson the same writer who wrote Season 4s "Honor Amongst Thieves" . 

The content here is actually disturbing I find all these years later- at least "Missing Hours" could be passed off as a dream but it had some good scenes with C&T in Missing Hours.

This episode shows poor production in my opinion- it's more like a bad episode of TJ Hooker than Miami Vice . Episodes either side "Jack of all Trades" and "Lost Madonna" were excellent however.

Again just one song in the whole episode and a little DJ in the opening scene. Positives however are (1) the scene in the Ocb with C&T (2) good acting throughout from PMT as Tubbs (3) some different locations used (4) nice Trudy and  Gina scenes.

6/10

Edited by Matt5
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1 hour ago, Matt5 said:

Ha ha - I consider this the worst episode of Miami Vice - written by Jack Richardson the same writer who wrote Season 4s "Honor Amongst Thieves" . 

The content here is actually disturbing I find all these years later- at least "Missing Hours" could be passed off as a dream but it had some good scenes with C&T in Missing Hours.

This episode shows poor production in my opinion- it's more like a bad episode of TJ Hooker than Miami Vice . Episodes either side "Jack of all Trades" and "Lost Madonna" were excellent however.

Again just one song in the whole episode and a little DJ in the opening scene. Positives however are (1) the scene in the Ocb with C&T (2) good acting throughout from PMT as Tubbs (3) some different locations used (4) nice Trudy and  Gina scenes.

6/10

I was kidding about the positive part, but still nice to know, there are some positive examples after all in this MV episode, which has gotten mostly negative reviews. 

Not sure, how I feel about this episode yet, I'll have to watch it again to give a better opinion. :) But of course only a little of DJ and music is a big downside, I like it, when the whole squad is in action during an episode. 

True what you said about "Missing Hours," that's also how I see it. Can definitely pass off as a dream, I find the episode more acceptable that way.

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On 3/16/2017 at 1:02 AM, summer84 said:

I was kidding about the positive part, but still nice to know, there are some positive examples after all in this MV episode, which has gotten mostly negative reviews. 

Not sure, how I feel about this episode yet, I'll have to watch it again to give a better opinion. :) But of course only a little of DJ and music is a big downside, I like it, when the whole squad is in action during an episode. 

True what you said about "Missing Hours," that's also how I see it. Can definitely pass off as a dream, I find the episode more acceptable that way.

The opening scene with Sonny and Rico in the opening credits was nicely done. However at this time in January 1989 - this episode was filmed at the same time as "Jack of all Trades" - the director of "Cell Within" was Michael B.Hoggann who was an assistant director on the show for most of the show's run so this felt like a second unit episode to me.

This episode was sick in places , the electric chair scene - the hooker who was turned into an angel for the villain then killed by him. Really unncessary stuff - however the actor who played Manning was believable as a sick twisted ex killer pretending to be reformed. I would place this episode as so un-Vice like and the worst of the show's run.

Amazing such a bad episode was between two good ones "Jack of all Trades" and "Lost Madonna":thumbsup:

Edited by Matt5
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  • 2 months later...

Ok I like the actor who played Manning. He was pretty damn believable as a psycho. Dug his house and the Truman music that kicked in when Tubbs is waiting by his car.

Nothing to say on the rest.

3/10

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How fitting this episode is being discussed today.........on Philip Michael Thomas'... Birthday !

  The Cell Within is not my favorite episode but it does give PMT a chance to display his talent. For that reason I enjoy every minute of it. :done:

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  • 6 months later...
On 24/07/2015 at 6:14 PM, Tony D. said:

Hi Vice Immersion........I appreciated PMT's acting ability in this episode. :thumbsup:

 

I can't understand how people can rate it a 1 or a 0 and still say they are fans of Miami Vice. ?(

 

A true Fan will find  something to enjoy in every episode, even if the story is not your favorite. :thumbsup:

Very true - no episode should receive 0 or 1 - I agree ?(

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13 hours ago, Matt5 said:

Very true - no episode should receive 0 or 1 - I agree ?(

It bothers me Matt , after all the cool things Tubbs has said & done in other episodes, a true fan of Miami Vice can't overlook the plot and give a decent rating for Philip Michael Thomas' acting in their rating. He deserves that....at least!

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4 hours ago, Tony D. said:

It bothers me Matt , after all the cool things Tubbs has said & done in other episodes, a true fan of Miami Vice can't overlook the plot and give a decent rating for Philip Michael Thomas' acting in their rating. He deserves that....at least!

I know Tony - I understand and sympathise with your viewpoint one I share with you.

”Cell Within” was not a good episode in my opinion however I could never rank 0 or 1 as like you said there are other points in this episode I could appreciate - such as more Tubbs time , locations and music. :hippie:

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I would give this 6/10 one of my lowest rankings for a Miami Vice episode . I found sons of the subject matter very dark and a little disturbing in places - but there were still other positive points such as I mentioned previously , locations , music and seeing Crockett go off fishing in the opening credits I thought was a nice touch :xmas:

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On 8/20/2013 at 12:53 AM, ViceFanMan said:

I know most here hate this episode, and go on about how horrible and bad it is. I agree it's not a famous or memorable one...but I don't think it's as bad as some claim. That kind of "butchering" only belongs with Missing Hours or Cows of October. ;) However, I agree though that this one is pretty weird. It's creepy, and eerie, and I think it's supposed to be psychologically suspenseful...but it ends up being more bizarre, and kind of "sick" than anything else. :wuerg: But, it has its moments...despite the "bizarre-ness" and being somewhat whacked out, the acting was pretty awesome! Tubbs does a superb job, and John P. Ryan was outstanding as the psychopath, mentally deranged Jake Manning!  :clap: I also liked the action/chase scene where Gina, Trudy, and Stan are after the goofy movie director Phelps! :thumbsup: This is not really one of my favorites but it's not one of my worst ones either. I give it a 5.

This was my review / thoughts a few years ago...still stand by them. Not one of my all-time favorites, but not one of the worst either. :tasse: 

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7 hours ago, ViceFanMan said:

This was my review / thoughts a few years ago...still stand by them. Not one of my all-time favorites, but not one of the worst either. :tasse: 

Nice ViceFanMan!:xmas:

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On 19/03/2017 at 4:59 PM, Matt5 said:

The opening scene with Sonny and Rico in the opening credits was nicely done. However at this time in January 1989 - this episode was filmed at the same time as "Jack of all Trades" - the director of "Cell Within" was Michael B.Hoggann who was an assistant director on the show for most of the show's run so this felt like a second unit episode to me.

This episode was sick in places , the electric chair scene - the hooker who was turned into an angel for the villain then killed by him. Really unncessary stuff - however the actor who played Manning was believable as a sick twisted ex killer pretending to be reformed. I would place this episode as so un-Vice like and the worst of the show's run.

Amazing such a bad episode was between two good ones "Jack of all Trades" and "Lost Madonna":thumbsup:

This is my review from this year also- I would say the opening credit scene with Crockett as well as the locations and music along with a lot of PMT time were the positives in this 1989 episode :hippie:

Edited by Matt5
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Well I decided to rewatch this one. At the time of my review I hadn't seen it for 3 years. 

I enjoyed it much more this time. The first 15 minutes are really good. The remainder isn't exactly classic MV but variety never hurt.

Still like Manning. He was a creepy bastard.

It feels like a low budget Stephen King adaption lol.

Has a real creepy atmosphere. Look at it as the Halloween episode of S5.

6/10

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  • 10 months later...

Just watched it for the first time last night. I actually liked it, however I feel its cramped. The whole philosophy about society's vices and such was intriguing, I was wondering if it would push something onto the viewers but nah. Also, it seems odd to me how fast Tubbs was to his conclusion that Manning had changed. I'll give it a 3/5, not bad.

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  • 1 year later...

A terrific sojourn into Creepy Vice; this is more unnerving than even Shadow in the Dark! The whole concept of a madman with rooms and cells in his mansion housing people he's kidnapped is truly freaky. It partly reminds me of The Avengers episode, "The House That Jack Built" in which Emma Peel is also trapped in a crazy house. 

This was my Season 5 favorite the last time I watched this set; I'll have to see where it stands when I assess this rewatch. 

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5 hours ago, Jack Gretsky said:

A terrific sojourn into Creepy Vice; this is more unnerving than even Shadow in the Dark! The whole concept of a madman with rooms and cells in his mansion housing people he's kidnapped is truly freaky. It partly reminds me of The Avengers episode, "The House That Jack Built" in which Emma Peel is also trapped in a crazy house. 

This was my Season 5 favorite the last time I watched this set; I'll have to see where it stands when I assess this rewatch. 

I think this inspired David Fincher's Se7en in some way. Like John Doe, Jake Manning is disgusted with the world and takes matters into his own hands.

 

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3 hours ago, RedDragon86 said:

I think this inspired David Fincher's Se7en in some way. Like John Doe, Jake Manning is disgusted with the world and takes matters into his own hands.

 

There is kind of a pre-Fincher vibe to this episode.

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15 hours ago, Jack Gretsky said:

A terrific sojourn into Creepy Vice; this is more unnerving than even Shadow in the Dark! The whole concept of a madman with rooms and cells in his mansion housing people he's kidnapped is truly freaky. It partly reminds me of The Avengers episode, "The House That Jack Built" in which Emma Peel is also trapped in a crazy house. 

This was my Season 5 favorite the last time I watched this set; I'll have to see where it stands when I assess this rewatch. 

It was a freaky episode—an maniacal but intelligent madman plays his twisted ‘games’ with people...sort of ‘Hannibal Lecter’ meets Ricardo Tubbs (although no one ate anyone :p)! “Dark” plot, and decent performances. However, Shadow In the Dark seemed creepier & scarier to me; more realistic...and it was actually based on a true story/case! :o It’s one of my favorites! :thumbsup: But, both episodes are definitely on the bizarre side! :eek:

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