Who introduced you to Miami Vice?


Bilders

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I will be interested to hear how you all discovered the show that has changed our lives for the better!

When the movie was released in 2006, I expressed an interest in it but never watched it. I was also aware that there was a previous series which my parents mentioned.

That christmas, my first serious girlfriend at the time gifted me the first season. Complete surprise gift, and my goodness was it the crown jewel! I was hooked from the pilot episode.

We parted ways in 2008 and I have since moved on to be happily married. Every time I watched the series I have a fond reminder of her and have to be thankful for the gift. Even though I can't express it now, I am sure word on the mutual friend grapevine travels of my love for Miami Vice and my love for Crockett's style :D

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Good point, Bilders.

 

Well, I'm old enough to have watched the show at its first run in 1984. It came just as icing on the cake in the middle of what was definitely "my" time: the 80s (my vintage avatar says it all).

 

Everything was better than I could ever believe, from clothes to cars, to stories and music. I remember when I saw the name of that guy from Mahavishnu Orchestra as the soundtrack composer, I just couldn't believe it.

More, the main character had something reminding myself (yes, it went *that* way, folks ;-) and he was supposed to be the coolest of the whole crew. What else could I want? I recorded every episode on my VCR to be sure I could enjoy it when it's over. So I did for a while, until the 90s were totally "estabilished".

 

Recently I've been watching the whole series again for the first time in 25+ years (dvd, this time) and I enjoyed it again, with a mix of happiness and melancholy.

It doesn't happen with everything.

Edited by Jerry Beck
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The NBC classic In the Air Tonight promo in '84 ; ) Everybody called it Vice Squad before it aired :

Edited by Miami Vice 1984
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No one really recommended the series to me so I just ended up finding it for myself through a bunch of different things. For my generation it seems like a lot of people were first introduced to the 80s pop culture/nostalgia was thanks to the grand theft auto game "Vice City". Then over the years I saw "Scarface" which i enjoyed immensely. Then I ended up being a big Michael Mann fan and watched the 2006 MV movie and knew it was a remake of a tv show.

 

So all that accumulated to finding Miami Vice. I was little bit hesitant at first because the show looked a bit dated but then by the time I watched the Pilot with the In the air tonight scene and the boat chase where Crockett chases after Tubbs, I was hooked.

Edited by thedeparted94
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It was the NBC promos in 1984 that peaked my interests.  A new type of cop show that looked stylist.  I just had to watch it.  I was hooked from the first episode. 

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I introduced myself; season 1 reruns were showing on tv (they were re-airing the whole series from the start) and it instantly got me hooked.

To think that channel surfing could change your life, for the better, is a funny thought.

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I first saw Don Johnson in "The Rebels" in 1979.  He really made an impression on me.  When advertisements started for Miami Vice, I remember thinking "Great!  He's in a series that looks different and good."  Right about that :thumbsup:

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I was living in Miami during the show's filming and watched it initially because I was curious to see how my hometown was portayed on National TV.  I got hooked because I liked the characters, the action, music etc.  I also enjoyed recognizing familiar sights and it was neat to have a "Miami Style."  A popular passtime was trying to find the less obvious filming locations.  Everyone I worked with watched it religiously on Fri nights, as did I.  My kids now say I "forced" them to watch it but they exaggerate.

Edited by miamijimf
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Who? Rockstar Games..with GTA Vice City completely, I then peaked interest when the 2006 movie was releasing..hated it, something told me the original series was much better and more amazing...then in late 2008 I discovered the theme song...and my god, what an amazing theme...then in 2010 I bought the Season 1 boxset and fell in love completely, 2012...was when the interest went high bought every single Season and fell in love with the entire show..I started buying the clothes and music and everything to do with the show, amazing show..

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I started watching Miami Vice from the beginning in 1984 but not faithfully for the 5 seasons. We adopted our baby girl in Oct. of '83 and were very involved with her. Although living in NY, I always liked Florida, so I enjoyed the cool, pastel colors that Sonny Crockett wore, and the music that added excitement to the show.

When I retired from my job in 1992, I forgot about Miami Vice until we moved to Florida in 1997.... and while looking at a model home a couple of yrs. later, I heard "In the Air Tonight" on the home's stereo system.

 

Something clicked in my mind & I remembered it was from Miami Vice and I went to a video store & rented the Pilot Episode! I taped it and was hooked. Luckily, the re-runs were being shown on TV, so I started taping them all. I still have the complete series on VHS.

 

I also found the miamivice.org website & really became a Miami Vice fan. I bought all 5 seasons on DVD

 

DJ & PMT became my ideal of how cops should be, but I also enjoy Castillo & the rest of the crew.

 

When Don Johnson made Nash Bridges, I watched & recorded all the episodes on DVD.

 

  I guess, I'm mainly a Don Johnson fan, but I'm hoping for a revival of the Miami Vice series with DJ & PMT in managerial positions.

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In 2010, when I was 15, I was skipping school and Channel 7 had double episodes as midday TV on their "7mate" channel. So I watched Magnum PI, because I was really into Magnum PI, then Miami Vice was next, watching it I was thinking "This seems familiar...", Though I had prior knowledge of the show through GTA Vice City and looking up Crockett's Theme on YouTube in 2006, 2007. 

So I watched a couple of episodes in 2010, thought it was pretty damn cool. But it wasn't until 2013 that I got around to watching the whole series, then it was beyond cool.

So, I'd like to thank Network 7 for airing the first two seasons as midday TV, instead of an old movie. Unfortunately, no channel in Australia airs it anymore. :( I want to start my own station just so I can air Miami Vice lol. 

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I discovered Miami Vice from a tv-commercial, but I was already interested in fashion and music.

Back in 2003 I played GTA Vice City, and I loved the universe. I played the game over and over, and I was hungry for more 80s.

 

So in 2008 I saw this tv-commerical (link) and it was a perfect match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn6-oxSILKs

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Thanks to everyone for all of your feedback. What a terrific response!

This show has brought as all together and we will always have many triggers and reminders to look back on. The vibe and style of Miami will always live on with Vice!

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Early October 84. At a LA Kings home game one of the guys we talked to in between periods with who sat a couple of seats down told me and a friend of this new hip show, telling us it was going to change TV. The next home game he brought us a Beta tape with the first 3 shows on it and told us to watch it.

He said we would love it. Got home that night and watched Brothers Keeper and was hooked ever since.

I brought the tape back to the fellow season seat holder, Gregory Sierra.

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I saw a bit of an episode (I think it was Tale of the Goat) in the late 90's/early 2000's on a channel which is now called Spike TV. I think it was on after a show I watched with my Mom called Quincy, M.E. with Jack Clugman. Miami Vice struck me as a really exciting show at the time but it was around 2003 when I started watching it regularly. Oddly enough though my perception of Miami Vice was a bit different as I started watching it on a regular basis it was much later into the third season with the episode Knock, Knock, Who's There? so my impression of it was more of a darker, somewhat grim crime drama which I learned later was a bit of a depature from the style it had in the first two seasons which was a weird thing to get used to at first when I saw those two seasons on TV Land after the show ended it's Spike TV run. But I think that later season sense of style had me hooked as it was a lot more gritty and hard-edged compared to a lot of the rather static and softer network crime shows I was used to which were on at the time, it felt more like I was watching a daily crime film with recurring characters rather than a TV series.

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I was pissed off when tv land stopped showing MV and started showing Bonanza....

 

If SPIKE can show an endless number of "COPS" episodes, everyday  & TBS plays Seinfeld & Family Guy constantly, why can't we see an episode of Miami Vice, once a week, for an hour....at least on SPIKE.  ?(

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Early October 84. At a LA Kings home game one of the guys we talked to in between periods with who sat a couple of seats down told me and a friend of this new hip show, telling us it was going to change TV. The next home game he brought us a Beta tape with the first 3 shows on it and told us to watch it.

He said we would love it. Got home that night and watched Brothers Keeper and was hooked ever since.

I brought the tape back to the fellow season seat holder, Gregory Sierra.

Very cool! And he was a LA Kings season ticket holder! When you said Beta I knew it was someone involved in TV. (Does he have season six of Game of Thrones to upload lol ; )

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I remember seeing promos about the show & hearing someone mention it at school. I was in 9th grade. My aunt had the Time Magazine "Cool cops Hot show" issue but I'm not sure if I was already watching. I remember seeing the Today Show interview but again that may have come after I started watching. I just remember a buzz around the show at school.

Whatever the reason, I watched when they aired the 2 part "Calderon's Return" one Friday night & really liked it. I remember catching part of a the last 2 episodes but mostly watched reruns of earlier ones. "The Maze" was the first episode I taped. On beta no less! The same tape has "No Exit", "Made for Each Other" & "Home Invaders". Caught the pilot when it aired again on a Sunday. I was hooked! Love that first season!!

Looked at my beta tapes a few years ago & the quality is outstanding! Beta really was the better format. There are wrinkles but the picture is great!

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Was teaching at Beach High when MV premiered. Traffic could be a bear when they were in town and filming close by. Students would skip to watch the stars in action. My dear friend owned an Italian restaurant on 70th by the hotel used for the Maze.  Traffic was blocked off and he would joke that his only customers on those days were locals who walked over and the MV crew.  Have to say we were a sleepy tourist town till MV took off like a rocket. And the rest is history.......

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I remember watching it from the very beginning in the 1980s as a young kid. I can remember during the opening credits, it would say, "In Stereo Where Available." That's how important the music was to the series.

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But I think that later season sense of style had me hooked as it was a lot more gritty and hard-edged compared to a lot of the rather static and softer network crime shows I was used to which were on at the time, it felt more like I was watching a daily crime film with recurring characters rather than a TV series.

 

Interesting perspective.  After watching the first 2-3 seasons time and again, I changed it up and started paying closer attention to the 3rd and 4th seasons.  Once I reminded myself that Vice was going for something different in these seasons, esp. the 5th, I sat back and enjoyed the ride.  It got so dark and even more violent, which I wasn't opposed to.  I really enjoy some of these episodes.  The quirky was gone for the most part.  Vice created quirky on tv, and now it was the norm.  So the producers had to change it up to stay ahead.  

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I was in high school when the show debuted.  My best friends lived on the other side of town and I couldn't yet drive.  So, I had to make my own Friday night fun for a while.  That meant loads of watching tv by myself.  I was very into English music and was acutely aware of "new wave" and some other cultural changes going on.  I loved French films of the day ("Diva" comes to mind.) 

 

Vice felt like it captured all or most of these new things happening.  I was hooked from the beginning and loved staying home on Fridays.  Couldn't wait for 10pm.  I distinctly remember watching "No Exit" first run, as well as "Definitely Miami," and having my mind blown, especially with the teaser for Def. Miami.  Never seen anything like it.  Brilliant.  And when in one episode where Switek said, "Busted his nephew at a UB40 concert..."  Well, the rest was easy!

 

Not too long after, I went off to university and made a friend while playing volleyball.  He was into Miami Vice too.  As it was college, he invited me to hang out, have some shots and watch Miami Vice.  We're friends to this day and meet up twice a year in Vegas.  Can't imagine how many times we quote Vice in real life situations.  

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