This Week In Miami Vice History

[mvnyc]

September 30th - October 6th:

 

"Cool Runnin'", the 3rd episode of the 1st season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 5th, 1984. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

* This episode marks the debut of Charlie Barnett as informant Nugart Neville Lamont aka The Noogman. Barnett would go on to reprise the role in several further episodes, making his last appearance in “Missing Hours."

* Tubbs uses a 1980’s version of a TASER on Winston (one of the Jamaicans) to put him out of action.

* The $28.95 lobster Tubbs drops into the ocean would cost $66.13 as of 2016.

* Biscayne General Hospital (where Noogie is seen leaving and where Jake is recovering) was also used as a hospital backdrop in the series “The Golden Girls.”

* This is the first of two times Crockett and Tubbs crash a van while pursuing suspects. The second would be in "Back In The World."

* The Cardozo Hotel, visible in the background at the site where Bobby and Jake are ambushed, was remodeled after this episode. It is now called the Cardozo Hotel at South Beach and is owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan.

* The footage of Crockett and Tubbs speeding through the night in Crockett’s Daytona (with the car skipping off of the camber of the Miami streets), would be reused in "Calderone’s Return, Part 1” and "Give A Little, Take A Little.”

* The opening teaser marks the only time Crockett is on the job without wearing any type of blazer or jacket while in Miami.

* Exterior shots of the van during the opening chase show Crockett with his arm hanging out of the passenger window, but in the interior shots, he clearly has his arm inside the vehicle.

* The version of the "Miami Vice Theme” used in the opening credits is incorrectly mixed and is missing the distinctive synthesized guitar hook. The problem occurs in every episode up to "Calderone’s Return, Part I."  This was acknowledged as an error by producers.

 

"Whatever Works", the 2nd episode of the 2nd season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 4th, 1985 at 10PM EDT. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

* This episode marks the debut of Izzy's sidekick Manny. Manny would go on to appear in several further episodes of the series, making his last appearance in "Too Much, Too Late."

* The Santeria religion was previously referenced in the episode "Milk Run", related to the cocaine-packed statues used to smuggle the drugs into Miami.

* The role of the Santerian priestess was reportedly offered to Tina Turner first, then to Eartha Kitt when Turner declined.

* When this episode was repeated in May, 1986, it marked the final time that “Miami Vice” would air in its original 10:00pm time slot until 1988.

* The Power Station performed live on this episode, one of five such live musical performances throughout the series.

* In the club, one of the “dirty” cops mentions that Crockett "used to be a hot-shot in robbery", tying into the episode "The Home Invaders", in which it was revealed Crockett used to be a robbery detective before joining vice.

* In the scene where Crockett takes a look at his confiscated Ferrari at the City Property lot, you can see a high-rise building under construction in the background. This is the Miami Tower, which was completed at the end of 1986. A nighttime shot of the newly completed building was used in the opening credits from Season 3, onward, when Philip Michael Thomas's name appears on the screen.

* During the briefing at OCB, Castillo incorrectly give's Davila's last name as Davilo.

* When Izzy reclines in his limo at the very end of the episode and says, "These people respect me," his lips clearly aren't moving.

 

"Stone's War", the 2nd episode of the 3rd season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 3rd, 1986 at 9PM EDT. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

* Saundra Santiago and John Diehl do not appear at all in this episode.

* The final shot of the opening (where the woman is carrying her dead or wounded child), is reminiscent of similar photographs from the Vietnam War where children were being carried from napalm strikes.

* When Stone is trying to convince Crockett to allow him to crash on the boat, actor Bob Balaban (Ira Stone) seems to stumble on his line "In spite about the protection, this is real."

* Maynard never appears again, making him the only recurring villain in the series to not only survive, but escape prosecution altogether.

* Crockett gets his new cover car, a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, in this episode. It would remain his car for the rest of the series, although his Daytona reappears in "El Viejo” as the result of a continuity error.

* Some of the footage of the firefights at the beginning of the episode would be reused in the series finale "Freefall."

* The "ear necklace" Maynard presented to Salvador was frequently used during the Vietnam War by soldiers on both sides.

* When Stone wants to hook up his camera to Crockett's TV, Crockett tells him he doesn't have a TV. Sometime between this episode and "Forgive Us Our Debts" he buys one, as in that episode he hears about Frank Hackman on a small TV in his bedroom.

* This is the first of two times Crockett is shot in the line of duty during the series. He is later almost killed by a gunshot to the chest in "A Bullet For Crockett." He is also stabbed in the shoulder by Lois Blyth in "Love at First Sight". Additionally, in "Leap of Faith" it is mentioned that Crockett was shot a third time in 1976 (in an incident involving Captain Paul Cutter). In comparison, Tubbs was shot no less than five times during the series -- in "Brother's Keeper", "Viking Bikers from Hell", "Mirror Image" (by Sonny Burnett), "To Have and to Hold" and "Freefall".

* Raymond Forchion (O'Hara) also appeared in three episodes of season 1 as Don, one of the many officers at OCB.

* This is one of several episodes that does not end on a freeze frame.

* When O'Hara's partner knocks Crockett out on the St. Vitus Dance, he hits him over the back of his head with his pistol. When Crockett comes to, blood is coming from the front of his head, near his temple.

* Footage of Crockett's Testarossa speeding through the alleyway just before it goes under the semi trailer has obviously been sped up.

 

"Amen...Send Money", the 2nd episode of the 4th season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 2nd, 1987 at 9PM EDT. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

* When Miami Vice was first syndicated, the toll-free number (1-800-555-LOVE) for IGG Ministries, was blocked out. Recent airings and the DVD releases display the number in full.

* IGG (the abbreviation for Proverb's "In God's Glory" ministry) is also an abbreviation used for "Ill-Gotten Gains", the term used for monetary or other personal gains obtained through illicit means.

* This episode was the first filmed for Season 4 (some TV listings at the time actually had it listed for airing on 9/25/1987), but NBC wanted to start the season with Crockett in jail in "Contempt of Court", so it aired the following week.

 

**There was no season 5 premiere episode this week due to the writer's strike of 1988.**

Edited September 30, 2016 by mvnyc