This Week In Miami Vice History


mvnyc

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May 20th - 26th: Series Finale

"Freefall", the 17th episode of the 5th season, premiered on NBC on Sunday, May 21st, 1989 at 9PM EDT. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):
* The series finale, like the pilot, aired on a Sunday night.
* When aired in syndication, "Freefall" is aired as two parts instead of a single two-hour episode.
* The story for the episode is loosely based on the goings-on of Manuel Noriega, the military leader of Panama, who was ousted by the US military amidst charges of drug dealing and corruption.
* Three versions of the final confrontation between Baker and Crockett & Tubbs were filmed: the broadcast version, where both of them quit the force, one where both Crockett & Tubbs are killed and one where only Tubbs was killed. The decision to have both characters survive was allegedly made in anticipation of the spinoff about the Young Criminals Unit (from "Leap Of Faith"), which Crockett and/or Tubbs would have made occasional appearances in, had it been picked up.
* Baker's ultimate threat to Crockett & Tubbs following the final shootout ("I'm gonna have your badges for this...!") seems perhaps a little restrained, as the two police officers had just gunned down several government agents. This is a crime that, regardless of the corrupt nature of the case, would have undoubtedly resulted in both men going to jail, if not worse.
* Some of the riot scenes from Costa Morada look like they came from stock news footage of similar events in Central America.
* Crockett tries the coin toss on Tubbs, but Tubbs catches the coin and decides what to do himself (but still ends up "losing" as he is captured by Montoya).
* We see the sign outside the doors of OCB and what it says: Organized Crime Bureau, Strategic Intelligence, Tactical Intelligence, Vice/Narcotics.
* Don Johnson is wearing a University of Kansas shirt under his sportcoat in the final scene of this episode. Johnson attended the school in his younger days.
* Castillo gives his final "staredown" to Crockett & Tubbs for quitting the force.
* We see Crockett use a shotgun (the Armsel Striker he carries in the final firefight), for the first time. We also see him use a conventional rifle (a Remington 700), when rescuing Tubbs from Montoya. And we also see that Crockett loads his Smith & Wesson Model 4506 with FEDERAL 230 grain Jacketed Hollow Points.
* It is interesting to note that none of the photos in Crockett's locker are of Caitlin; all of them are of Caroline and Billy.
* It is also interesting to note that, considering this is the final episode of the series, Gina and Trudy have only a couple of scenes each and do nothing of any real importance. Castillo fares little better with just two scenes (including the climactic standoff with Baker), while even Switek, who gets a good portion of screen time and has an active role in the plot, is left hanging at the end of the episode. His ultimate fate (after being indefinitely suspended and subsequently killing Montoya's men), is never revealed.
* The scene involving Switek placing a bet from a payphone was not originally part of this episode; it was to be included in the episode "Too Much, Too Late." However, as NBC never broadcast that episode due to its controversial content, the scene was moved to the series finale to help explain why Montoya is able to exert influence over Switek. Consequently, the scene is used in both episodes, creating something of a continuity error.
* Tubbs is shown loading up his Ithaca Stakeout and his Smith & Wesson Model 38 prior to the final confrontation with Borbon, but uses neither one in the subsequent shootout, opting instead for two SIG Sauer P226's he brings back from Costa Morada.
* While shooting at Borbon's plane, Tubbs' gun locks empty, but in the next shot he is firing again without having reloaded.
* In the final drive in the Testarossa to the confrontation with Baker, Crockett's shoes are different than the ones he was shown wearing moments earlier while arming himself in the OCB locker room.
* The closing credits are in an orange font instead of the usual white, are much longer, playing the Terry Kath song "Tell Me" instead of the "Miami Vice Theme" and show clips of the past five years of Miami Vice instead of the usual Miami stock landmark footage.
* Tubbs has the last line in both the first and the last episode of "Miami Vice."
* In June, 1989, NBC moved the series to Wednesdays at 10:00pm to air three "lost" episodes and reruns of the series, with the last NBC broadcast of a "Miami Vice" episode airing on July 26, 1989. The fourth "lost" episode, "Too Much, Too Late", would not be aired until January of 1990 on USA Network, on a Thursday night.
* "No Way Out" was composed by Tim Truman, Don Johnson came in late at night to the studio and performed the singing on the track. Although it was discovered shortly before airing that Don Johnson was not entitled (by his record company) to record for someone else, they (Universal) received clearance for the song. Subsequently, Don Johnson was not allowed to include it on his 1989 album, "Let It Roll."
* As co-writer of this episode, a "Frank Holman" is listed. This name is a pseudonym for Michael Mann, as he used the character in his TV series "Crime Story."
* The "official" reason given for the series cancellation was "due to high budget exceedings and lowered ratings." It was Michael Mann's decision to cancel the series, with NBC following suit. Don Johnson stated that it was "time to move on" and that "all good VICE stories had already been told."
* The cast and crew attended a farewell party at "Woody's On The Beach" (a club owned by The Rolling Stone's Ron Wood), shortly after this episode was shot in April, 1989.

 

 

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These are just wonderful, informative notes.  I find it tough to watch this episode so many of these details are really interesting to me.  I didn't know (or have forgotten) that Michael Mann really decided to end the series, which for some reason, sits better with me.  And what a bummer that the spin-off never happened!  That would have been awesome! 

Thanks as always mvnyc.  :thumbsup:

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2 hours ago, Susanna Girl said:

These are just wonderful, informative notes.  I find it tough to watch this episode so many of these details are really interesting to me.  I didn't know (or have forgotten) that Michael Mann really decided to end the series, which for some reason, sits better with me.  And what a bummer that the spin-off never happened!  That would have been awesome! 

Thanks as always mvnyc.  :thumbsup:

Thanks for the kind words, Susanna Girl! Just trying to keep things interesting.  As I did previously, I'd like to thank RedsFan5 (from this site) and Miami Vice Wiki for providing a good deal of this information.  

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As always, I enjoy reading these details about the episodes and thanks again mvnyc for making these threads to be discussed here on the site. :thumbsup:

I don't like this last episode unfortunately and have only watched it one time. The story/plot just didn't interest me. Gina and Trudy only get like 5 seconds of screentime with Crockett saying - "I'll see ya later girls" or something like that. Maybe the writers/producers couldn't find anywhere to place them in the story, I don't know... 

I did like the ending though, which was emotional saying farewell to the show. Killing of either one or both of the main character's would have been ridiculous, I'm glad Crockett and Tubbs survived and the producers didn't go in that direction. Crockett started a new life as Nash Bridges in a new place continuing working as a cop with an even flashier car and at some point reuniting with Tubbs again. ;) Now I'm kind of making my own story there of what happened years after this last episode. :)

I also didn't know Michael Mann decided to cancel the show, but either way it ended in the right decade for me. I think it's time for a Miami Vice cast reunion soon!

Edited by summer84
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