Season 2 - Final Remarks


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You named some good ones!  I'd pick Buddies over Florence, Italy, but the rest are solid for me!

I'd definitely choose Bushido as well

Flipping back through the thread, I'd have to pick Bought and Paid For, one of my all-time favorites.

Too hard to choose! :)

Edited by vicegirl85
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I would have chosen "Bought and Paid For." One of my favorites of the whole series as well. Great performance by Saundra. And "Whatever Works" was great too. 

 

Edited by summer84
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Damn it ladies, thanks for reminding me! I knew I'd forgotten some episodes, Buddies and and Bushido are on there too! :)

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In order for me: 

OWTBDR

PAYBACK

PRODIGAL SON

DEFINITELY MIAMI

BUSHIDO

BUDDIES

BACK IN THE WORLD

 

Payback was written by one of my favorite Detective Authors, Robert Crais, and he did a great job with this one. Lots of tension, suspense, emotion. If it weren't for the great acting and scenes with the music "Brother in Arms", Payback would be my number one! Oh, shoot. Let me add Bushido!! 

Edited by mjcmmv
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  • 3 weeks later...

My top 10

1. Prodigal Son

2. Little Miss Dangerous

3. Yankee Dollar

4. Buddies

5. Bought & Paid For

6. Phil The Shill

7. OWTBDR

8. Whatever Works

9. Back In The World

10. Payback

 

 

Edited by RedDragon86
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  • 1 year later...

Season 2 is not quite as stellar as 1, but it still is classic Vice and overall hugely entertaining.  Lesser episodes all have compensations: "One-Way Ticket" contains a memorable performance by John Heard, "French Twist" has some good atmospheric night action scenes, "Tale of the Goat" looks at the intriguing subject of voodoo, although one wishes the story had been sharper; there are good things in all the episodes that keep them watchable, an aspect that's not always the case with several of the seasons 3-5 shows. 

My favorites:

1. Bushido: Castillo-centric episodes are always cool.  We get a background story with mythical overtones, many iconic scenes, one of Jan Hammer's best scores, songs by house favorites Bryan Ferry and Kate Bush, David Rasche's Surf, and Stockwell - I especially like his line, "We lay there waiting in the dark and the air was so thick and ancient you couldn't breathe it."

2. Out Where the Buses Don't Run: Masterful performances from Bruce McGill and David Strathairn.  Baba O'Riley and Brothers in Arms.  The famous shock ending which overturns our perceptions about the two main guest characters.  

3. Payback: Starting with a great trio of guest stars, Hedaya, Beckel, and Zappa, we get one of the most layered Vice tales.  It kept me guessing to the end, which isn't often the case.  

4. Definitely Miami: Some reviewers here did not like the two storylines (Callie and Clemente) competing with each other, but I thought they meshed nicely.  The outcome of the Clemente/Maria plot is devastating.  Eric Rohmer ingenue Arielle Dombasle and rocker Ted Nugent bring plenty of sex appeal to their villainous roles.  I find it odd that one of the Jan Hammer cues used here is called "Maria's Dance" after events in this episode as if it's this music's first appearance, yet it was first used a season back (in a slower version) for when Gabriella dances during "The Maze."

5. Little Miss Dangerous: This is one of the best "vice in the dirty night city" episodes.  Fiona's scratchy-voiced Jackie is heartbreaking and her friendship with Tubbs gives PMT an excellent showcase. Nugent's title song is brilliant and perfect; I'm puzzled why so many people in the thread for this ep want it replaced with Billy Idol's otherwise fine Flesh for Fantasy.  

Coming close to making this list are The Prodigal Son (especially the New York scenes), Bought and Paid For, and Buddies. 

Edited by Jack Gretsky
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On 8/30/2020 at 12:09 PM, Robbie C. said:

Little Miss Dangerous and Buddies were both written by Frank Military. And I agree Nugent's song of the same title is perfect for LMD.

It's always funny to think of Military's crazed punk from Nobody Lives Forever writing these episodes! :)

Edited by Jack Gretsky
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  • 8 months later...

These are basically my original thoughts & ‘review of Season 2’ (as Rico would say, I’m a poet & my mama knows it :p) I still stand by them:

I LOVE this season, and it's my favorite season out of the whole show :thumbsup: ...although I like each season for different aspects. With Season 2 I love the music & colors, the MV color scheme really got defined & showcased here, awesome and/or interesting filming locations, the storylines/plots/episodes were superb, acting jobs improved from first season, characterization got more in-depth and believable here, the action was off the charts and kept you captivated, etc....all this made Season 2 the best season of the whole series, in my opinion! :dance2: 

The poll of which episode was the best for Season 2 was unbelievably hard and heart-wrenching! :eek: There are so many superb episodes it was almost impossible to vote for just 1! :rolleyes: But, ultimately I voted for "Out Where the Buses Don't Run". There's just something about the plot, acting, colors, music, action, everything that just really sticks in my mind and it's always been one of my favorites...not only of Season 2 but of the entire series as well! :clap: 

However, here are the other episodes from Season 2 I love and also feel are superb (and I would have voted the best too, if I could have): "Whatever Works", "The Dutch Oven", "Tale of the Goat", "Bought and Paid For", "Phil, the Shill", "Definitely Miami", "Yankee Dollar", "One-Way Ticket", "Little Miss Dangerous", "French Twist", "PayBack", and "Sons and Lovers".

These are the episodes that are still awesome and I also enjoy...but perhaps aren't necessarily what I consider the ‘best’: "The Prodigal Son", "Buddies", "Junk Love", "Bushido", "Florence Italy", "Free Verse", and "Trust Fund Pirates". The only episodes that are still okay and watchable...but not as enjoyable as the others are: "Back in the World" and "The Fix". Overall...I always love going through Season 2, and it truly is "Miami Vice"! :clap::glossy:

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  • 3 months later...
On 8/30/2020 at 12:00 PM, Jack Gretsky said:

Season 2 is not quite as stellar as 1, but it still is classic Vice and overall hugely entertaining.  Lesser episodes all have compensations: "One-Way Ticket" contains a memorable performance by John Heard, "French Twist" has some good atmospheric night action scenes, "Tale of the Goat" looks at the intriguing subject of voodoo, although one wishes the story had been sharper; there are good things in all the episodes that keep them watchable, an aspect that's not always the case with several of the seasons 3-5 shows. 

My favorites:

1. Bushido: Castillo-centric episodes are always cool.  We get a background story with mythical overtones, many iconic scenes, one of Jan Hammer's best scores, songs by house favorites Bryan Ferry and Kate Bush, David Rasche's Surf, and Stockwell - I especially like his line, "We lay there waiting in the dark and the air was so thick and ancient you couldn't breathe it."

2. Out Where the Buses Don't Run: Masterful performances from Bruce McGill and David Strathairn.  Baba O'Riley and Brothers in Arms.  The famous shock ending which overturns our perceptions about the two main guest characters.  

3. Payback: Starting with a great trio of guest stars, Hedaya, Beckel, and Zappa, we get one of the most layered Vice tales.  It kept me guessing to the end, which isn't often the case.  

4. Definitely Miami: Some reviewers here did not like the two storylines (Callie and Clemente) competing with each other, but I thought they meshed nicely.  The outcome of the Clemente/Maria plot is devastating.  Eric Rohmer ingenue Arielle Dombasle and rocker Ted Nugent bring plenty of sex appeal to their villainous roles.  I find it odd that one of the Jan Hammer cues used here is called "Maria's Dance" after events in this episode as if it's this music's first appearance, yet it was first used a season back (in a slower version) for when Gabriella dances during "The Maze."

5. Little Miss Dangerous: This is one of the best "vice in the dirty night city" episodes.  Fiona's scratchy-voiced Jackie is heartbreaking and her friendship with Tubbs gives PMT an excellent showcase. Nugent's title song is brilliant and perfect; I'm puzzled why so many people in the thread for this ep want it replaced with Billy Idol's otherwise fine Flesh for Fantasy.  

Coming close to making this list are The Prodigal Son (especially the New York scenes), Bought and Paid For, and Buddies. 

That is my summation from last year of Miami Vice Season 2.  The top 5 remains the same.  The next three listed as "coming close" also remain favorites.  To make it a top ten I'll mention "Yankee Dollar" and "Trust Fund Pirates."  I also note that "Junk Love" and "Back in the World" worked better for me during this cycle of viewing.

The lesser episodes all have their lulls, but they all have good qualities as compensation.  I prefer Season 1, but S2 comes close.  I very much like the sharp sunny lighting (and the sharp night scenes too) we find these seasons, and the humor, the more interesting stories, and the sense of immediacy.  There's lots to like in the remaining three seasons, but I don't have the affection for them as I do for the first two.  

Favorite songs used these seasons:

"You Belong to the City," "Windswept," "Take Me Home," "Baba O'Riley," "Brothers in Arms," "King of Babylon," "Slave to Love," "Boys and Girls," "Cold Wind Blows," "Knock on Wood," "Par Avion," "Your Time is Gonna Come," "Face the Face," "Little Miss Dangerous," "Assault and Battery," "Order of Death," "Naughty Naughty," "p:Machinery," "Miami," "What You Need," "After the Fire."

Edited by Jack Gretsky
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  • 1 year later...

Think I missed on this when it was the time; anyways.

The best season of MV, per whole, even if my top 3 favorite episodes are from S3 to S5. Also the most iconic, when most people talk about MV, they refer to S2 with a couple exceptions.

Absolutely fresh. Nothing majorly bad to say with the exception that maybe it didn't go *ALL THE WAY* that it could have had. What I mean is that they perfected every aspect regarding style, and were a little more mature than S1 regarding writing and what people enjoy and just had entertaining stuff.

"Definitely Miami" is my 4th favorite episode in the entire series, and overall the most iconic of MV. If I could show someone about MV, I think I would do this one.

Music was phenomenal, mostly light pop, it fit the scenes very well, in quantity also, and it was varied (we even got live performances like in S4's  "Deliver us From Evil" my 2nd favorite episode)

The acting was... human ? I guess that is the best word. The actors really played it well for the most part.

Some iconic scenes all over the place.

A 2 hour long episode. Although, not the most fresh, was the 3rd best season opening for me, behind the pilot and S5's opening. I feel it was a LITTLE bit out of place, and a little too sudden, but 2 hours is 2 hours so gotta give Caesar's what is his.

A better finale than S1's.

More character development along the way.

The fake Daytona received some aesthetic upgrades to make it look and feel more authentic. 

The colors were very bright and beautiful most of the time.

It made more use of the sea than later seasons.

Yea....... and only a single mediocre episode in the entire season, something which makes S3,4 and 5 jealous and S1 look unpolished.

 

Overall rating ? For me, it is 9/10. Not perfect by any means, but the best of them all, per total.

(for comparison, I give S1 a 8.5/10, S3 a 7.25/10, S4 a 5/10 and S5 a 5.5/10)

 

 

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