Remington Posted February 24, 2018 Report Share Posted February 24, 2018 (edited) Season 1 Pros:Everything. The perfect season. I really enjoy almost every episode. The season has a real Scarface vibe, especially early on. The show really stands out from everything else on TV. The only season without a truly bad episode. Cons:The first few episodes have a 70s cop show vibe. Still awesome though. Also a few episodes start out good but kind of run out of gas halfway through, such as Glades and The Maze. Season 2 Pros:Stylistically, this is the series as its absolute peak. Everything looks and sounds great. Great music, fashions, and action. Lots of classic episodes like The Prodigal Son and Definitely Miami. Cons:A lot of the guest stars couldn't really act and the writing wasn't as good as the first season. The Dutch Oven should've been left out and replaced with a sequel episode to Payback. Season 3 Pros:I love the darker look, tone, and music. Crockett's short haircut is my favorite of the series. This is the season where I truly fell in love with the show although I prefer the first two seasons nowadays. The show felt more like a serious cop show but with a sense of style. Great guest stars as well. The cinematography during the first half is awesome as well. Cons:Too much melodrama at times and the dark endings got kind of predictable. And I truly hate the soft focus cinematography later on in the season. Crockett's mullet also wasn't really welcome. Season 4 Pros:I love the feel of this season. It combines the fun of S1 and S2 with the darkness of S3. The show felt very mature apart from some of the weirdness. Underrated season IMHO. Cons:A lot of Crockett's clothes were too baggy, Tubbs kind of got sidelined, and the budget obviously wasn't as high. Crockett's marriage to Caitlin was rushed. Missing Hours, Cows of October, and Vote of Confidence shouldn't have been made. Season 5 Pros:The right tone for the final season. The music was good and I loved a lot of the colors. I remember absolutely loving it when I first saw it even though it's gone down in my ranking. I love the Burnette arc and the burnout of Crockett and Tubbs. Cons:It feels pretty depressing at times and the small budget makes it feel pretty cheap throughout. And Tubbs clothes were atrocious. Honestly, each season was good in its own way. However, nothing will ever beat the first two seasons in overall enjoyment and re-watchability. Edited March 18, 2018 by Remington 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Hanna Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Season 2 Pros -- The production values and style are outstanding. Everyone is on top of their game whether it's the cast, Jan Hammer, the writers and directors. Episodes like Out where the buses don't run, Payback, One way Ticket, Definitely Miami are Miami Vice at it's zenith. Con -- Some of the episodes are not very well written and contain a lot of filler montages and stuff (Dutch Oven, The Fix, Florence Italy etc). Some of the celebrity guest stars are poor actors too but that can be forgiven. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicegirl85 Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Season 2 Pros--Season 2 has to be my favorite, although that might be mostly because it was the season I was introduced to MV. Some of the episodes mentioned by Vincent Hanna above are tops for me, too! I felt like we had opportunities to get to know most of the vice squad members a bit better and I enjoyed that. Cons--Yes, some of the stories are a bit heavy on style to the expense of story. But the style is integral to what Miami Vice is, so I'm OK with it most of the time. I would have liked to have more in-depth exploration of some of the storylines, or a follow-up to some of the situations. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agent 47 Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 (edited) Season 1 Pros - Hit the ground running in a way for a series just starting in terms of action and style, no truly bad or filler feeling episodes, lot of character building and development while remaining on point. Cons - Music choices while very good not as dynamic and era defining as future seasons have, finale episode not as strong as future season finales. Season 2 Pros - Defining season of the show, largest amount of best episodes in the series, enormous soundtrack. Cons - Maybe not as much character exploration as the fist season. Season 3 Pros - The darker theme does make for something different, Maynard and Orlando Calderone plot lines followed up on, use of more harder sounding rockers like Iggy Pop and The Damned. Cons - Not as strong as previous season in number of great episodes I guess, maybe having two Crockett love interests that turn out to be involved in sordid things a bit overkill. Season 4 Pros - The vibe throughout might be my favorite of the whole series, the overall weirdness does keep it lively, the ample use of Yello's music, one of the best cliffhanger endings ever. Cons - Cows of October. Season 5 Pros - Perfect vibe for a final season, the Sonny Burnett saga is one of TV's best, the acting has always been stellar for the main characters but here everyone is particularly great getting across the massive strain that their friendships have taken throughout the series and their weariness without really having to spell it out, a finale that actually puts a perfect bookend on the series (as well as the era itself). Cons - I guess boo on NBC for not airing the "lost episodes". Edited February 26, 2018 by agent 47 Booed wrong network. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campion Posted March 4, 2018 Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 Season 1: It's easy to forget how ground breaking Miami Vice was when it hit the air waves. If you go back now and watch some of those early episodes, they are a little clunky at times, sometimes some misplaced humor attempts, sometimes things don't go as smooth as they would in future seasons, but that's because the writers and directors were crafting an entirely new type of police drama. Clearly they knew the style they were going for, it just took some time to smooth out the rough edges. By the end of the first season, Miami Vice was hitting its stride in both story telling and style. Smugglers Blues, Milk Run, Home Invaders are just a few of the episodes that, in my opinion, became the template for Miami Vice. Of course Evan is one of the best hours of television in the history of TV. Season 1 was, simply put, great television. Season 2: This is the season fans think about when they think about Miami Vice. By this time, the directors and writers had perfected that MV style. I think if you were to choose one episode of the entire series that best represented what Miami Vice was all about, you'd have to choose "Definitely Miami". There are other episodes that may be "better", but this one just captures the feel of the entire series, IMO. There were a couple of episodes that were misses IMO, such as "The Fix" (horrible acting by the judge) and Tale of the Goat/Junk Love, maybe a few others. But overall, season 2 hits all the right notes, although I know it has been accused of focusing on style over substance--I'm not sure I entirely agree. Still, great season with lots of episodes that are easy to watch over and over again. Season 3: I admit it, season 3 is my favorite season. Maybe it's the Testarossa, maybe it's the music (more alternative music/college radio which is my favorite type of music), maybe it's Tubbs' style (I liked his look in the 3rd season). But it is a departure. Vice was never afraid to take chances. Still, a friend of mine started calling the show "Miami Depression" during the third season because it turns even darker than before. The color change only adds to that feeling. I think the first three episodes are first-rate, along with El Viejo, Shadow in the Dark, and Forgive Us Our Debts real hits. The Down for the Count episodes were very exciting and sad--the car chase one of the best action sequences in the series. I also think Theresa and Lend Me an Ear are first-rate. I'm also one of the few that likes Viking Bikers from Hell; the simplicity of the episode was a nice change and the ending actually swings upbeat, sort of. The last two episodes of the season seem like add-ons. Not sure why they went with 24 episodes. Overall, I enjoyed season 3 a lot although I know I'm in the minority. Season 4: In my eyes, season 4 starts with tremendous potential. Some of the early episodes--although a little slow and lacking in action--seem more "mature" (not exactly the right word I want). It's as if the writers wanted to turn vice into more of a police procedural with a Miami twist. Death and the Lady, Child's Play, and God's Work are three of my favorite all-time vice episodes. Contempt of Court and Amen, Send Money are okay but started the season at a slow pace. Things, IMO, go downhill when they decide to marry off Crockett (notice I'm skipping over Missing Hours--nothing needs to be said there). At this point the show starts into what I think was its death spiral. I believe that Don Johnson's salary and decline in ratings start sapping the budget and what results is a show that--in my view--feels claustrophobic. With a few exceptions, gone are the sweeping panoramic views of Miami and exterior shooting, replaced by too much sound stage work filmed with an over emphasis on the color blue (yeah, now I'm getting really specific). IMO, Indian Wars and Badge of Dishonor are the only episodes in the second half of the season that have that old Miami Vice feel in terms of cinematography (and neither of those episodes are fantastic, but at least Indian Wars is interesting). Maybe Baseball of Death fits it, too, but it's hard to say. Nonetheless, I actually really liked Mirror Image, primarily because 1) it was so shocking to see Sonny Burnett go on a murder spree and 2) there was an obvious effort by Compton to use as much old & memorable Jan Hammer music as possible. The opening with "Marina" playing as well as the cues from Lend Me and Ear gave the episode a classic feel, IMO. To me, Mirror Image is really the last true Miami Vice. Season 5: I've stated elsewhere that I simply do not like this season, not at all. I know some people do, and every one has different opinions. There were a few moments that I liked, such as some parts in Hostile Take Over, Line of Fire, Fruit of the Poison Tree, and the Lost Madonna. Freefall starts interesting to me, but suffers from a lack of budget and poor writing. I find episodes such as To Have and To Hold, Miami Squeeze, the Cell Within, and the "lost" episodes to be right down there with Missing Hours & Cows of October as the worst that MV had to offer. My biggest problem isn't the change in music, but that the series feels amateurish; almost a parody of itself. I remember Vice became painful to watch back in '88/'89. On the plus side, Crockett's style is fine and some of the licensed music is good (Underneath the Radar, Desire, Twist in My Sobriety). Overall, though, my feeling is that Vice was a show that now needed to be put out of its misery because no one--actors, producers, writers--seemed to care anymore. Those are my thoughts on the five seasons. Everyone has a different opinion, of course. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian321 Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 Season 1 Pros: It opened the series with a lot of classic/memorable episodes and gave us a perspective of the future potential the show may or may not have. The most consistent season in regards of episodes. Almost none of the episodes here was weak, with an exception of 1-2. We got some of the most memorable scenes, like "In the air tonight", the boat race around Miami, Crockett-Tubbs chase, Rodriguez getting killed, Crockett and Tubbs driving the Stinger to the Caribbean, etc and memorable quotes (Castillo: Don't ever come to me, like this again, understand detective ?) Introduced characters like Elvis, Noogie, Izzy, that gave us a comic relief Introduced first antagonist -Calderone- along with an ark that involved our main characters taking him out Quite stylish and 2nd most music used in a season of MV The Stinger boat Most episodes keep you engaged, especially the 1st time you watch them The best season opener in the entire series for me We had both Rodriguez, and then Castillo Cons: Some episodes really are forgettable (Rites of passage, The maze, Glades, and more subjective on this one-Lombard-) Sometimes it was too silly (Made for each other is a good example of what that means in my opinion) A phony car Some endings were quite predictable Season 2 Pros: The most music for a season, all kinds of it, everywhere Strong season opener The "Daytona" recieved a make-over and looked more like an original Daytona Defining MV episodes: Definitely Miami, Sons and lovers, Out where the buses don't run, Bushido, Buddies,etc Intresting plots The peak of style is found here, as the S1 style is took over and improved Memorable scenes and quotes aswell Keeps you engaged with new characters oftentimes Still has goofy moments for some comic relief Gives Castillo a chance to shine like in S1 MV at this time knows its strenghts and weaknesses the best A better finale than the previous one Cons: Some episodes are also forgettable and just not good (French twist and Free verse are a very good example) The iconic Stinger gets replaced A phony car (again) MANY TIME GOOFS (placing of episodes in wrong chronological order) Lost potential (good plot that was executed poorly) Season 3 Pros: A new...... AMAZING and authentic and new car (The Ferrari Testarossa) A lot of mind games (Shadow in the Dark/Forgive us our debts) Entertaining car chases (Down for the Count II chase is a very good example) A new approach that was kind of neccesary to avoid overusing the previous aspects of the show A lot more night scenes Fresh plots that were often intresting Memorable scenes all over the place A new intro scene (to match the new athmosphere) A lot of action and shootouts A lot more emotional episodes, like The good collar, Down for the Count I, Killshot, Steetwise Many guest stars that had a fine performance We witnessed the death of another main character, Zito, and this created a nice plot that carried on Cons: The style went through the floor and it just looked more depressing The dark athmosphere leaved many predictable endings, as if you knew what would happen in the end A heavy shift towards rock music and a general replacement of the light pop we all love The music budget gets lower unfortunately Starting this season, more episodes are "meh" and forgettable, some of them could even be skipped and it wouldn't matter much The episodes feel oftentimes depressing The "Daytona" continuity goof, is cited often as the biggest goof in the entire series The fact that Zito is not present for half a season and that he was killed in Down for the Count I Season 4 Pros: The producers tried to return the style back to its original The Ferrari Testarossa We get some intresting episodes like Child's play, Like a hurricane that reintroduce us to previous characters like Crockett's son, or Crockett's new wife Nice music sometimes that fits very well (Dangerous Game,In the air tonight helped make some scenes really memorable) Some of the nicest scenes in the entire series (especially if accompanied by good music) New guest stars including popular singer Sheena Easton join the cast The Burnett ark story beggins at the end of Season 4 and we get the only cliffhanger in the series also We also get good episodes like Honour among thieves, Contempt in court, A bullet for Crockett, Blood and Roses, The rising Sun of Death, Baseballs of Death, Death and the Lady (quite a lot of titles containing "Death", eh ?) We get a continuation to one of the best episode in the entire series (Forgive us our debts) in Deliver us from evil that is also one of the best of the series No continuity goofs like S1 Frank Mosca is a nice antagonist to have revealed and put in hold Cons: VERY INCONSISTENT WITH MANY BAD EPISODES !!!! ALMOST HALF IF NOT HALF THE SEASON IS THIS WAY !!!! THE ABSOLUTE WORST EPISODE IN THE SERIES LITTERALLY "MISSING HOURS" The music budget also gets lower We get the only episode with no popular music whatsoever Some plots are too silly, like "The big thaw" or "The cows of october" Some episodes are perfect deffinition of filler content like Vote of Confidence or Amen...... Send Money It is bothering that the season started with so much potential, yet it was ruined........ Not even 1 long episode Season 5 Pros: It finnished the Burnett ark story that began in Season 4 Put well into perspective the "depressing" nature the show was litteraly in with Crockett and Tubbs' burnout Had that '89 vibe into it Some iconic episodes like Line of Fire, Fruit of the poison tree, The lost Madonna, To have and to hold The Ferrari Testarossa The grand finale (my favourite episode) Tied some untied ends from previous seasons Gave SwiTek a serious story More focus on gun-fights Clothes become more modern Cons: Felt depressing for a big part Had a lot of filler episodes The least music in a season of the show Some episodes have no place in the show, like Miracle Man The finale still leaves some untied ends (which can be a good thing also) Jan Hammer is replaced by Tim Truman, marking the end of contribution from a person that made the show what it is Shortest season (originally 17), but even with the "lost episodes", I say the Season's quallity isn't changed much, the only episode from the lost ones that is good is Too much too late, the rest don't count that much The actors really felt tired This is my opinion. Hope it will give you a new perspective on the seasons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdiegolo78 Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) On 2/24/2018 at 4:33 PM, Remington said: Crockett's mullet also wasn't really welcome. Did Crockett stop going to the barber towards the end of season 3?! Edited February 7, 2021 by sdiegolo78 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdiegolo78 Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 2 hours ago, Adrian321 said: The best season opener in the entire series for me I liked more the intro tune of the first few episodes, before EJO joined the show. I don't know, to my ears it sounds better than the normal version. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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