Season 2 - Final Remarks

[LNGLK]

My favourite ones:3 "Out Where the Buses Don't Run" 5 "Buddies" 4 "The Dutch Oven" 10 "Back in the World" 15 "Little Miss Dangerous" 19 "Payback" 1 "Prodigal Son" 12 "Definitely Miami" 7 "Tale of the Goat" 9 "Bought and Paid For" 14 "One Way Ticket" 22 "Sons and Lovers" 8 "Bushido" 13 "Yankee Dollar"

[MrsEvanFreed]

This was the last hurrah for "Signature Miami Vice" IMH0.Major changes were a comin in S3 under Dick Wolf's watch.

[Spyder]

This was last hurrah for "Signature Miami Vice" IMH0.Major changes were a comin in S3 under Dick Wolf's watch.

Which is why it's so hard to pick a super #1 favorite from Season 2! But if I were pressed, I might say Out Where the Buses Don't Run.

[MrsEvanFreed]

Which is why it's so hard to pick a super #1 favorite from Season 2! But if I were pressed' date=' I might say Out Where the Buses Don't Run.[/quote'] Also my choice as well.

[Matt5]

Favourite Season 2 episode was always gonna be "Prodigal Son":D

[juscat]

Prodigal Son - it's classic Miami Vice. :glossy:Payback would be my next vote.

[Victor]

I voted for the payback:thumbsup:

[alleycat]

This was so hard,I was racking my brain on this one.I voted for tale of the goat.I know not the best but its a favorite of mine,yeah I am a bit wierd,I know that.But love the closeness of Sonny &Rico in this one and the concern Sonny has.There is alot others in the poll I really love but you could only pick up and thats my one.

[ViceFanMan]

I love this season, and it's my favorite season out of the whole show ...although I like each season for different aspects.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! The poll of which episode was the best for Season 2 was unbelievably hard and heart-wrenching! There are so many superb episodes it was almost impossible to vote for just 1! 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! (But, oddly enough my favorite episode/s of the entire series is/are actually from Season 1: the 2-part "Calderone's Return".)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"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""Trust Fund Pirates""Sons and Lovers"The only episodes that are still okay and watchable...but not as enjoyable as the others are:"Back in the World""The Fix"Overall...I always love going through Season 2, and it truly is "Miami Vice"!

[Vincent Hanna]

Where are all the drug deals? Besides hookers killing themselves, thats the reason i watch the show:eek:Season 1 was mainly business, it had no time for sappy melodrama.Besides Prodigal son, Yankee Dollar, Payback & Trust fund Pirates(Arms deals) there arn't any drug deal related episodes. Instead we have Santeria, Voodoo, Poetry, a hitman trying to kill annoying teenager(french twist). Whoever greenlit those episodes must have been high and I bet Michael mann wasn't impressed.I think i have a theory on why the gap between great and terrible episodes is so huge. They must have gone over budget on stuff like the car chase in Bought and paid for, so other episodes had to take a cut to compensate.

[ViceFanMan]

Where are all the drug deals? Besides hookers killing themselves' date=' thats the reason i watch the show:eek:Season 1 was mainly business, it had no time for sappy melodrama.Besides Prodigal son, Yankee Dollar, Payback & Trust fund Pirates(Arms deals) there arn't any drug deal related episodes. Instead we have Santeria, Voodoo, Poetry, a hitman trying to kill annoying teenager(french twist). Whoever greenlit those episodes must have been high and I bet Michael mann wasn't impressed.I think i have a theory on why the gap between great and terrible episodes is so huge. They must have gone over budget on stuff like the car chase in Bought and paid for, so other episodes had to take a cut to compensate.[/quote']I don't think at this point anything was too much "over budget". This was "MV's" primetime. What they wanted, they got...and it usually worked! As for drug deals and/or dealers...there were many that usually revolved around them, even if the plot also included something else too. What about "Out Where the Buses Don't Run", "Dutch Oven", "Junk Love", "Tale of the Goat", "Back In the World", "Phil, the Shill", and "One-Way Ticket"...all of these episodes were about or revolved around or included drug deals/dealers, even if voodoo or incest or other personal storylines were also included. If you only had the same thing over and over, a certain kind of drug deal/dealer that the OCB dealt with in every episode...that would get boring and not very innovative or captivating. The show would have faded out way sooner than it did. You need a mix of shocks, the bizarre, and the never-done-before type episodes to keep fans coming back---and they did! :done:I still stand by my original review of this season:

I love this season' date=' and it's my favorite season out of the whole show ...although I like each season for different aspects.I love the music & colors, [u']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! The poll of which episode was the best for Season 2 was unbelievably hard and heart-wrenching! There are so many superb episodes it was almost impossible to vote for just 1! 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! (But, oddly enough my favorite episode/s of the entire series is/are actually from Season 1: the 2-part "Calderone's Return".)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"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""Trust Fund Pirates""Sons and Lovers"The only episodes that are still okay and watchable...but not as enjoyable as the others are:"Back in the World""The Fix"Overall...I always love going through Season 2, and it truly is "Miami Vice"!

[Leigh Burne]

Out Where the Buses Don't Run, easily. Not just my favourite of the season, but of the whole series. That ending.Payback was brilliant too. Could've done with being slightly longer though, the modern fad of extending episodes on DVD would probably have worked wonders with that. Always gutted they never followed it up with a sequel. I mean Cates flat out says Fuente will be after Crockett, but he never came back. A shame, I thought Zappa did a surprisingly good job of being a vicious drug lord.

[ViceFanMan]

Out Where the Buses Don't Run' date=' easily. Not just my favourite of the season, but of the whole series. That ending.Payback was brilliant too. Could've done with being slightly longer though, the modern fad of extending episodes on DVD would probably have worked wonders with that. Always gutted they never followed it up with a sequel. I mean Cates flat out says Fuente will be after Crockett, but he never came back. A shame, I thought Zappa did a surprisingly good job of being a vicious drug lord.[/quote']Definitely!! "Out Where The Buses Don't Run" was my favorite of the season, and one of my fav's of the series too...however, the 2-part "Calderone's Return" (aka "Hit List" & "Calderone's Demise") are my all-time favorite/s of the show."Payback" was also a superb episode, and I agree...they totally should have followed it up with a sequel--possibly as a season finale? But, I guess "Sons and Lovers" fit that bill pretty good.

[Castillo71]

Hard to vote just one! Here's my picks: Out Where The Buses Don't Run, Payback, The Prodigal Son, Little Miss Dangerous and Buddies.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Castillo71

[James]

Am I the only person who likes Florence Italy? 

Edited September 17, 2014 by SL1DE

[Crockettt]

I like it too I love Jan's music from Florence Italy

[Susanna Girl]

I absolutely love 'Out Where the Buses Don't Run' , but recently have been very impressed again with 'Payback'.  If I had to pick one episode though, it would have to be the former.  Hank is so darn cute/funny and the ending is one of the best ever imho.

[Vincent Hanna]

If every episode in S2 was equal in quality to Out where buses, payback, one way ticket, yankee dollar, Bought and paid for. I'd would have been amazing.

[ArtieRollins]

Episode 24: Prodigal Son 9,5/10

Episode 25: Whatever Works 5/10

Episode 26: Out Where the Buses Don't Run 10/10

Episode 27: The Dutch Oven 4/10

Episode 28: Buddies 6/10

Episode 29: Junk Love 4/10

Episode 30: Tale of the Goat 5/10

Episode 31: Bushido 7,5/10

Episode 32: Bought and Paid For 7/10

Episode 33: Back in the World 6,5/10

Episode 34: Phil the Shill 4/10

Episode 35: Definitely Miami 8/10

Episode 36: Yankee Dollar 6/10

Episode 37: One Way Ticket 6/10

Episode 38: Little Miss Dangerous 7/10

Episode 39: Florence Italy 5,5/10

Episode 40: French Twist 5,5/10

Episode 41: The Fix 6/10

Episode 42: Payback 5,5/10

Episode 43: Free Verse 5/10

Episode 44: Trust Fund Pirates 4/10

Episode 45: Sons and Lovers 6/10

That's it then, I have finally completed season 2 for the first time since summer 2008, and compared to season 1 it is a big let down. Too many weak and forgettable storylines, with uninteresting guest characters that does not bring along any other quality to the show beside being famous. Season 1 was not perfect, but I would probably find myself watching one of its lesser moments than to have another go with the all-to-many in season 2.

A lot of the mediocre episodes which often starts up really good, but somehow turn bad or just seem to "dumb" it down in the second act, which is a real shame because so many of them involves fine acting along with a tense build-up, but then it goes downhill halfway through. Ted Nugent stood out as a great baddie, sadly Frank Zappa was wasted as Fuentes. The whole scene with Crockett and Tubbs taking him away from his boat was like a bad parody, Frank even says something like "You gotta be kidding me" which I don't think was from the script, but just a reminder of how ridiculous that scene was, which was sad because Payback began so well and ended up not so great.

I wrote in the mini-review of Phil the Shill that Back in the World was another dud, which is not true, I mixed it with Stone's War from season 3 which I never really liked.

Anyway Season 2 is not all that bad, it opens fantastic. Almost perfect in fact with 2 classic Miami Vice episodes out of the first 3, (Whatever Works is not one of them) right from the beginning, then follows some down right poor ones, and even though the show bites back with Bushido, Bought and Paid For, Definitely Miaimi and Little Miss Dangerous, there are just too many weak episodes in between, that only serves as forgettable fillers, which I probably will never see again. 

If I was to introduce a friend with the finest episodes from season 2, it would be a very short list, with only Prodigal Son and Out Where the Buses Don't Run to show for.

In the end, Season 2 gets a very kind 7/10 which is not great but if it had better episodes in it, I would probably end up with a 7,5/10 but compared to season 1 (which In my book is a rock solid 9,5/10) season 2 is just not good enough as a whole. 

Best episodes: Out Where the Buses Don't Run, Prodigal Son, Definitely Miami, Little Miss Dangerous, Bushido and Bought and Paid For

Worst episodes: Phil the Shill, Trust Fund Pirates, The Dutch Oven and Tale of the Goat

Edited July 28, 2016 by ArtieRollins

[ZAQ 178]

   I like S2 almost as much as S1. My top favs would be Payback, Out where the busses don't run and Prodigal Son. What I didn't care for much was Tale of the Goat & Phil the shill however I'd still watch them over again on my next binge watch! Never skip over an episode

[Matt5]

Yes some really great episodes .

[Remington]

1 The Prodigal Son

2 Payback

3 Phil The Shill

4 Bushido

5 Out Where The Buses Don't Run

6 Definitely Miami

7 Tale Of The Goat

8 Little Miss Dangerous

9 Yankee Dollar

10 One Way Ticket

11 Back In The World

12 Trust Fund Pirates

13 Bought And Paid For

14 Junk Love

15 Whatever Works

16 French Twist

17 The Fix

18 Free Verse

19 Buddies

20 Sons And Lovers

21 Florence Italy

22 The Dutch Oven. Bleh.

Not as good as S1 but a damn good season.

[SwissTubbs]

Here are my final thoughts of Season 2:

Honestly: I dont get the big love for Season 2. Of Course overall its a good Season but the fanbase most of the time acts like its the golden nugget of Miami Vice Seasons.
And at the same time the overall better scripted season 3 gets trashed. I simply dont get it.

In Season 2 they found the perfect Vice Style. All is even more polished and works full force.
But scriptwise its a step down from Season one. Yes there are some absoluteley brilliant episodes like "Out where the buses dont run" or "Prodigal Son".
There are still strong episodes like in Season 1 but overall season 2 has much more mediocre Episodes than Season 1 and also clunkers.!
Tale of the goat is awful in my opinion for example. Or French Twist and Florence Italy: Bot mediocre. The bad really is more bad in this season in comparison with season 1.
So overall especially the first half of the Season is very uneven in quality.
And even with the good episodes its for sure more Style over Substance than in Season 1. Example: I really love Definitely Miami but honestly the writing is very standard in this Episode. It is the style and coolness alone that makes it a classic. Something in Season 1 that was much more balanced.
There are episodes in Season 2 i love for the way of directing and the style but not for the writing.

Higlights:
- Prodigal Son
- Out where the buses dont run
- Sons and lovers
- Definitely Miami
- Little Miss Dangerous
- Payback

Lowlights:
- Tale of the goat
- Florence Italy
- French Twist
- The dutch oven
- Rosella
 

Overall i give this Season a 8/10.
Its the most "Style over Substance" Season of Miami Vice for me. Some Episodes survived only because of the overall style and directing as good ones and would be mediocre if only reviewed by scripts.
Only reviewed for Style, Music and all that stuff it was maybe the best Season of MV.

[Matt5]

On 6/1/2018 at 2:26 PM, SwissTubbs said:

Here are my final thoughts of Season 2:

Honestly: I dont get the big love for Season 2. Of Course overall its a good Season but the fanbase most of the time acts like its the golden nugget of Miami Vice Seasons.
And at the same time the overall better scripted season 3 gets trashed. I simply dont get it.

In Season 2 they found the perfect Vice Style. All is even more polished and works full force.
But scriptwise its a step down from Season one. Yes there are some absoluteley brilliant episodes like "Out where the buses dont run" or "Prodigal Son".
There are still strong episodes like in Season 1 but overall season 2 has much more mediocre Episodes than Season 1 and also clunkers.!
Tale of the goat is awful in my opinion for example. Or French Twist and Florence Italy: Bot mediocre. The bad really is more bad in this season in comparison with season 1.
So overall especially the first half of the Season is very uneven in quality.
And even with the good episodes its for sure more Style over Substance than in Season 1. Example: I really love Definitely Miami but honestly the writing is very standard in this Episode. It is the style and coolness alone that makes it a classic. Something in Season 1 that was much more balanced.
There are episodes in Season 2 i love for the way of directing and the style but not for the writing.

Higlights:
- Prodigal Son
- Out where the buses dont run
- Sons and lovers
- Definitely Miami
- Little Miss Dangerous
- Payback

Lowlights:
- Tale of the goat
- Florence Italy
- French Twist
- The dutch oven
- Rosella
 

Overall i give this Season a 8/10.
Its the most "Style over Substance" Season of Miami Vice for me. Some Episodes survived only because of the overall style and directing as good ones and would be mediocre if only reviewed by scripts.
Only reviewed for Style, Music and all that stuff it was maybe the best Season of MV.

Great review - I agree in the most part of style over substance in this Season. Something they tried to even out at the beginning of Season 3.

I give Season 2  9.5/10

[vicegirl85]

I tend to agree that style over substance was somewhat of a theme during Season 2, although I enjoyed Tale of the Goat and thought Junk Love (Rosella's ep) was good; French Twist also had its good points for me.  Your highlights were mine as well, but I would also include Back in the World, Bought and Paid For, and Bushido.