Episode #4 "Hit List"


Ferrariman

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Probably my all time favorite along with "Calderone's Demise" The show really kicked into high gear with the death of Rodriguez. Every cop show I've ever seen has had an episode where one of the main characters gets shot but they always pull through. Not this time, I was blown away! Also great music and an equally great score by Jan Hammer. 10 all the way!!

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  • 6 months later...

Calderone's Return" ( Hitlist)Hey gang! this is the week to review Episode 4. This week's episode," Calderone's Return" ( Hitlist) is one of my favorites. You get to see that Sonny does love his family, although his job puts them in jeopardy. Love the part when he tells the lawyer if he talks to Caroline like that again, he'll wrap him around his endangered species briefcase. Good shoot out with the hitman. I didn't like to see Lou get shot while saving Sonny from the sniper! Although, it opened the way for Castillo. My favorite quote : Larry: " Is that all these drug dealers do all day- buy clothes?" Stan: "No they also buy cars!" I rate this episode 9 . :D

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Here we go, this episode marks the point where the Vice style really gets going. This is an excellent episode. The music is all very good, especially Russ Ballards song, Jan Hammer's score is very good in this one, the first ep where he regularly covers scenes with music like in many seasons to come...first hear crocketts theme in this episode too, all brilliant stuff.We see Lou getting shot, and then C&T working to bring down the assassin. Importantly however, this episode involes all the vice crew. Zito and Switek are great, some funny lines, and trudy and gina are looking hot especially in the club scene. Am i right in saying this is the only episode where Tubbs gets to go crusin in the Daytona??? Also nice to see plenty of Daytona shots in this episode! Just a point to make, just after C&T have chased down Linus Oliver, crockett sounds a bit like Roger Moore when he's talking, maybe im the only one who thinks that lol???So yeah nothing that i critise this episode for, just deciding on a grade...think im gonna give this one 9.5/10, because i dont think its 100% perfect, its just missing a little something...maybe castilo?? lol!!! This part is better than the 2nd part too!

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9/10 for me.Lou was not a very strong character for me. In some ways I was sad to see him killed off, but I'm grateful for the lead in for Castillo.Great ep.

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the fact that we were introduced to crockett's theme would make this ep a 10 all alone to me, but the ep would still be a 10 without it. so i give it a 20.great locations, great shots, great music. easily one of my faves. i've watched this one countless times and it never gets old. switek's "america's favorite couple" (is that right?) quote in the teaser says it all about where the show stood already in american pop culture. chaucer said, "A man may seye full sooth (truth) in game and pley." well said, geoff!

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This is one of my favourite episodes in series one. I've watched it loads of times and still enjoy it. The Miami locations are truly iconic. It's a shame that Rodriguez is killed - and it was a shock first time around because, as others have said on here, usually major characters weren't killed off in a series. I, too, liked the way you saw Sonny with his family .. it expanded his character.I wasn't keen on the second half of the story when they head for "the Caribbean".Sue

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9/10 from me it was a good episode. Great tunes Crocket's theme, R.Ballards In the night with a great scene the Daytona racing well in the night, even in the small car chase, chasing Linus, the J.Hammer tune was good (as always). The drama came from Lou getting shot but I agree with timm525 that he really wasn't a strong character too cliche with the yelling boss type, but somebody had to give room for Castillo and the way he filled Lou's shoes is awesome as we later find out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Aside from the forgettable Cool Runnin'(it was disheartening to have such a poor episode so early in the show's run), season one starts excellently and Calderone's Return continues the high quality of the start of the season. This has the hallmarks of a great episode. The scenery is beautiful, a lot of great Vice style.Jan Hammer's music was excellent and underscored the tension of the episode very well. The weather in Miami was lovely and sunny the week they filmed this episode. The whole OCB crew got good exposure in this ep. I was surprised rewatching the early episodes to see that Saundra Santiago's acting was quite alright. Of course it got progressively worse as the series went on. There is an overriding sense of paranoia in this episode, what with Crockett's name on the hitlist and Rodriguez taking a bullet for him. Crockett's paranoia was really consuming him when he pulled his gun on the gentleman who gave him back his dropped cigarette packet. The hitman Armstrong is like a vulture, stalking and hovering over his prey. I very much like the scene at the Atlantis Condo (also seen in Scarface). Shooting up the limo was great and I loved the subsequent chase around Brickell, which is a beautiful part of Miami. A lot of memorable scenes in this episode. I really liked the scene on Lincoln Road with Linus Oliver. That actor also did the voice of Bleedin' Gums Murphy on The Simpsons. I loved the scene where Crockett and his family are in protective custody at the lighthouse in Key Biscayne. It looks beautiful and we hear Crockett's Theme for the first time. The ending is very well done. Apprending Mendez lulled them into a false sense of security. But then with the realisation that Mendez wasn't the hitman, Crockett is in grave danger.The race to Crockett's house and the ensuing shootout resulting in the death of Armstrong is great. The closing scene with the news of Rodriguez's death and the line "I'm always ready" very nicely sets up next week's episode. Anyways, all in all a terrific episode. 9.5/10

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I easily give this episode(a.k.a. Calderone's Return part I) a 10! I found the ep to be dramatic and very MVesquue from beginning to end. The music score was epic, and the ending was emotional. Of both Sonny having to leave his family because of danger in his career, and having lost his long time lieutenant for years. One of MV's very best eps!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hit ListI loved Sonny's paranoia as he searches the faces of the people around him, and scans the windows for snipers. I agree that it was unusual to have a main character killed on the show. That was a real shocker. The assassin's shooting scene by the limo was amazing!! What I didn't understand was why Caroline decides to leave Sonny at the end. They were reunited, happy...then he gets attacked and she bails??? He never told her he'd leave his job or stop going under cover, so nothing had changed. I just found this inconsistent. Never the less, this is one of my favorites. I give it a 10.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So far, this series falls between goofy and stylish, this episode shatters that persona! While having a suprisingly short teaser, this episode is riviting, the music is used well, Crockett's Theme is a beatiful piece of music, Tush is used well in a club fight. (I grew up listening to ZZ Top.) Better than most action films, well, better than any action film, this episode surpasses the action film! This is a grounbreaking piece of TV history, the end, even though I've seen it many times, is gut-wrenching, this is the episode that shows what Miami Vice, it's definitive and compelling, beatifully shot (this is where the building with the whole in the middle shot from the credits came from.) and wonderfully scored, I give it 9.5 out of 10!

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  • 4 months later...

One of my all time favorites. Especially the first half. Some of Hammer's greatest, and a real movie quality to the episode. 10/10

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I just finished watching the episode. It's one of my fav Miami Vice episodes. Super music - I'm So Excited and In The Night. Also Jan Hammer music is great. I have seen it 6 times already, but every time I find something new. This episode is very Miami Vice. It's so 80s. I don't like that Sonny is back with Caroline again and they want to start over again. He has already been with Gina, like which woman he wants to be with then? This episode is very emotional too. The ending, when Rico tells that Rodriguez is dead is so sad. And when they are talking about that Calderone is in Bahamas.. And the 'To be Contuined', it's so exciting that you need to watch next episode right away. This episode goes very fast, at least for me. It's like I just started to watch it, and now it has ended. Probably because it's so interesting.I give it 10 points. I hope that I wrote text correctly, english is not my first language :cool:

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  • 4 weeks later...

Great episode. I don't want to say anything bad about Lt. Rodriguez, but he just wasn't a great character. It's sad that they had to kill him off, but I wasn't sad to see him go. Castillo was a much better Lt. and was a real asset to the vice unit. Sonny really loves Caroline, but they both realize that it's just not going to work out. It's too bad they had to kill of Linus Oliver he would have been a great character to have keep coming back for future episodes. I give this episode an 8.

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  • 5 months later...

Like Lou said right at the beginning of the thread, this is where Vice started to turn up a gear. The transition from Rodriguez to Castillo seemed to be a turning point for the show. This is one of my favourite episodes and I loved the initial scenes of the episode. I love how the whole episode starts off in such a laid back way, then all hell breaks loose when Castranova gets hit. Picking Jim Zubiena, one of America's top marksmen, was an excellent choice for a realistic hit man. The shootout scenes outside the Atlantis Condo were awesome, especially Zubiena's speed at producing and firing the gun.When Tubbs goes after the hitman at the hotel, notice how you just see the hitman escaping at the back of hotel as Tubbs runs down the hotel corridor. Notice as well how the people round the back of the hotel appear to be genuine pedestrians, not extras. Although they don't particularly seem surprised or alarmed to see PMT running out into the street with a shotgun, they look genuinely puzzled. You also saw this in the street scenes in "Cool Runnin". You don't see any of this in later episodes though. By that point Vice was so well established, that there was no way that they could get away with filming a street scene without using extras. The person who played the hitman in this scene (whether it was Jim Zubiena or someone else), must have genuinely run down the street before PMT as well, because you see all the pedestrians look over to the right in bemusement as PMT is running in their direction.You see some great views of Bayside in this episode, particularly from the Freedom Tower.I have to agree that it just didn't make sense though why Calderone wanted to put a hit out on Crockett and not Tubbs. Surely as Calderone himself witnessed, Tubbs was more of a threat. Crockett was just someone who was involved in arresting him. Tubbs actually wanted to kill him!Good scene where Tubbs tries to reign in Crockett "You're not listening to me Man, you can't go out there!". This shows how Tubbs tries to stamp his rational side onto Crockett's impulsive side. You also witness this in "Cool Runnin" again where he acts as dipolomat when Crockett starts having a go at the SWAT commander guy.The cinema doors where Crockett and Tubbs stop Linus Oliver on Lincoln Road is the same cinema where I went to watch the Miami Vice film in 2006.Personally I think it was crazy to agree to organise the arrest of a supposedly dangerous individual take place in a nightclub. Like Linus said, there were too many people and therefore too many civilians there to take a bullet if anything went wrong. But then again that's Michael Mann for you. He always loves his "sh!t going down in nightclubs" scenes.Tito Goya, who played Mendez, died of liver disease only a year after this episode was filmed.Notice the Daytona as it speeds towards where Crockett and his family are. The second time that sparks fly from underneath the car, you almost see the driver fly up into the air.I seem to remember Jim Zubiena himself saying that some of explosive charges in the wall in the shootout between Crockett and the hitman ended up going off a bit too close for comfort to DJ's face.I guess also that having a hitman running through your home firing bullets at your husband would kind of put you off a reconciliation with him.Good acting from DJ at the end of the episode. You can tell that he's fighting back tears after Tubbs tells him that Rodriguez is dead.8.5 out of 10.

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I gave this ep a 7I viewed it again recently.I liked the acting of DJ and PMT in this ep but have a little difficulty with some bits of the story line, almost the same ones as Papa Legba has written.

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  • 5 months later...

First...I know for some reason the 2-part "Calderone's Return" was later sometimes seperated into two different titled episodes--sometimes called "The Hit List" and "Calderone's Demise." I don't know if this was done later for syndication?? Anyway, I combine both episodes and personally view them as the originally aired 2-part "Calderone's Return.""Calderone's Return"-PT. 1 (aka "Hit List"--and along with PT. 2--aka "Calderone's Demise") is my favorite episode/s of first season...and 2 of my all-time favorite of the whole series!!You have to have the "Pilot" to truly understand "Calderone's Return" but "Return" just exploded with action, music, fashion, plot, more depth of the characters, it just was superb!! This was also Gregory Sierra's (Lt. Rodriquez's demise--sad and I really liked him too--but I also loved that this opened the door for when Castillo comes in and really helped bring things together!I can watch the 2-part "Calderone's Return" over and over...and hardly ever really get tired of it! It was just some of those select or "special" episodes that truly defined "Miami Vice!" Superb--and I gave this a 10!! :thumbsup:

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  • 2 months later...

Ah yes, the one where some MAJOR events happen.Rodriguez is shot and killed, while saving Crockett.Sonny and Caroline finally split up for good. Calderone returns.It's a shame "The Argentinean" lasted for only one episode, he was an interesting character.Must agree, one of the best episodes of the entire series.Hands Down. :clap::clap::clap:

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  • 3 months later...
Great episode. I don't want to say anything bad about Lt. Rodriguez' date=' but he just wasn't a great character. It's sad that they had to kill him off, but I wasn't sad to see him go. Castillo was a much better Lt. and was a real asset to the vice unit. Sonny really loves Caroline, but they both realize that it's just not going to work out. It's too bad they had to kill of Linus Oliver he would have been a great character to have keep coming back for future episodes. I give this episode an 8.[/quote']Gregory Sierra did a fine job, but Rodriguez was straight from the "Tv Cop 101" files, right down to his cigar. I also liked Linus and would've enjoyed seeing him in more episodes.
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Gregory Sierra did a fine job' date=' but Rodriguez was straight from the "Tv Cop 101" files, right down to his cigar. I also liked Linus and would've enjoyed seeing him in more episodes.[/quote'] I liked Lou, too. He should have stuck around at least for the first half of Season 1. I can't imagine what Gregory Sierra hated so much about Miami that he backed out of a new series after just a handful of scenes in only four episodes.Still, if he didn't leave we'd have never been introduced to a character like Castillo, who brought a sense of mystery and darkness to a cop show that departed radically from the TV Cop 101 style of filming.
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I liked Lou' date=' too. He should have stuck around at least for the first half of Season 1. I can't imagine what Gregory Sierra hated so much about Miami that he backed out of a new series after just a handful of scenes in only four episodes.Still, if he didn't leave we'd have never been introduced to a character like Castillo, who brought a sense of mystery and darkness to a cop show that departed radically from the TV Cop 101 style of filming.[/quote']First, I've never understood the whole "different episode titles" for this and Part 2? :confused: The real and aired titles were "Calderone's Return" Pts. 1&2. They, together, are my all-time favorite "Miami Vice" episode/s!! :thumbsup:I liked Gregory Sierra's character of Lou Rodriguez too. Now, I'll always like Castillo's character and he probably is one of the most unique and memorable Police Lieutenants in TV history. But, Don Johnson and Edward James Olmos did NOT get along and could barely stand each other. There are scenes and times in episodes you can tell that. Rodriguez and Crockett had much more chemistry as cops together than Crockett and Castillo. Even though I'm glad Castillo came on board...I still sometimes wish Rodriguez could've stayed a little longer--or what they should've done is have Rodriguez move up in ranks and become a Captain, with Castillo right below him as the new Lieutenant. Then Rodriguez could've still made appearances in episodes and still be involved.I've always read and heard before that the producers decided they didn't like Gregory Sierra and so they killed his character off. Then they brought in Edward James Olmos. But, did Sierra not like the show and back out himself?? Just curious.
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As I recall' date=' Sierra didn't like the idea of having to stay in Miami while filming. So he decided to leave the show.[/quote']Interesting! :baby: I did not know that. I'd read they cut Sierra's character, so I always felt sorry for him. But, not now! LOL! :) I actually like that he left on his own, rather than he got "canned" (even though I do wish he himself would have stayed, or agreed to make occasional appearances in some way).
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