Vincent Hanna Posted September 9, 2014 Report Share Posted September 9, 2014 I think i've changed my mind on these ep. By no means is it a good episode but i think it's atleast watchable. The late season 2 style looked awesome, Crockett wears shoulder padded Jackets and his mullet's grown out at the back. My 2 favourite scenes were Tubbs asking out the poet's daughter and she sarcastically says "what do you have in mind, casual sex"..I still can't believe this stuff was allowed on TV..It was awesome. and my other fav scene was Crockett in the hospital and he's arguing with the same chick and he's like "I'd love to debate the issue with you anytime lady, but right my job is to look after your father"..paraphrasing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyder Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 I think i've changed my mind on these ep. By no means is it a good episode but i think it's atleast watchable. The late season 2 style looked awesome, Crockett wears shoulder padded Jackets and his mullet's grown out at the back. My 2 favourite scenes were Tubbs asking out the poet's daughter and she sarcastically says "what do you have in mind, casual sex"..I still can't believe this stuff was allowed on TV..It was awesome. and my other fav scene was Crockett in the hospital and he's arguing with the same chick and he's like "I'd love to debate the issue with you anytime lady, but right my job is to look after your father"..paraphrasing.Just a few more episodes and Michael Mann will have changed that look for the remainder of the show. I think that's what Tubbs did have in mind. He should have just said "Yes," hehe. Anytime Crockett calls a woman "lady" or even "pal," you know that he's pissed and means business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Hanna Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 A good barometer of measuring the quality of an episode is how enthusiastic Don Johnson is in it. If he doesn't show up for half of an episode like for instance this one, you know it ain't too good . The same with Cows of october and The james brown alien one.. DJ got a scowl on his face the entire episode like "can't believe we're making this crap" xD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyder Posted September 13, 2014 Report Share Posted September 13, 2014 A good barometer of measuring the quality of an episode is how enthusiastic Don Johnson is in it. If he doesn't show up for half of an episode like for instance this one, you know it ain't too good . The same with Cows of october and The james brown alien one.. DJ got a scowl on his face the entire episode like "can't believe we're making this crap" xDOr, in episodes like The Cell Within, when he's there in the beginning of the episode for about 30 seconds, but he's more enthusiastic because he's happy to be leaving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicegirl85 Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 The most unbelievable (to me) part was addressed right at the beginning by Tubbs' question: "Why us and not the Feds?"The answer/ real reason may have been weak but at least it acknowledged it was a detour from standard operating procedures... Sandoval himself was annoying to an extent that made his character hard to believe. I get that he was egotistical and excited about being in the US (where he had free speech) to receive his award. But after being told by several of the police officers whose job it was to protect him that he needed to lay low and not place himself in an exposed position--he kept doing that very thing. I actually liked the political aspect of the ep; during the 1960s-80s it seemed there was constant unrest in many of the countries of Central and South America, with military coups and dictatorships taking the place of the weakened colonial-heritage government or US-sponsored puppet governments. Nicaragua, Panama, and others experienced reigns of terror by the ruling parties. And of course on MV, the double-cross was always alive and well (Guerrero being willing to assassinate his old mentor), but this also had some basis in reality. You get some crazy nuts out there tho - an extremist lefty might just want to take this poet out if he felt perhaps that he had seen the best of his most influential days - to kill him now would indeed make him a legend rather than wittling away into obscurity. (snipped) Yes, I agree that Sandoval might have been assassinated in order to make him into a martyr for the left. If the assassination happened when he was out of his country, it would have been even easier to spin what happened to make it look like his enemies (or the big bad US) were to blame. And maybe Sandoval had become a loose cannon--unpredictable and less influential as his writing had suffered. Still it seems quite hard to accept that Guerrero could have pretended to love Sandoval's daughter and to be a friend to him for so many years if he really intended to kill him. Sandoval's daughter was almost equally unbelievable in going off on her own after being warned how dangerous it was (and after the thwarted assassination by Bianca Jagger). But otherwise the actress did a good job with the part; I liked it when Tubbs was trying to flirt with her and she called him on it Bianca did a good job in her small part, and I loved the colors (lots of blue and purple) and locations in this ep; good music as well. I give the producers points for trying to tell a little bit different story and also to introduce some topical storylines that didn't depend on drugs, gunrunning, or prostitution. To me, it was a unique ep that made me think about the power of words (Sandoval's poetry was what made him a target in the first place). But overall the execution was kind of weak, with a couple of major implausibilities in the Sandovals' behavior. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepCover333 Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 The most unbelievable (to me) part was addressed right at the beginning by Tubbs' question: "Why us and not the Feds?"The answer/ real reason may have been weak but at least it acknowledged it was a detour from standard operating procedures... Exactly, my thoughts at the beginning of this episode,and a solid description of my opinion throughout. Trying to properly give "Free Verse" a in depth review is difficult for me, akin to Sandoval throwing crumpled yellow papers around outside the safe house. I can't shake the the unrealistic content here, specifically in the way he was guarded (transported in Tubb's car? Allowed to somehow give the team "the slip" at a hotel, the list goes on),I must however give high praise to the guest actors in this one! There are many much better episodes which suffer a bit from lackluster acting, but this one was well played by most all involved. Someone started a thread around here recently about episodes that seem as though they were written for another show instead of Miami Vice. I can,t help but feel this one almost fits that bill for me. Entertaining, interesting, nice Miami backdrops, but by no means thrilling. 7/10 (Now I must cut this review short, as Don Johnson is appearing on Jimmy Kimmel right now as I write this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daytona74 Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 I watched the episode last night again. I think it was a harbinger of things to come, in that the episode had a much more serious and slow-paced tone than most preceding episodes. They were definitely already toying with the heavy-handed approach of world politics and human casualties of crime to which the show changed its formula beginning with season three. Even some of the scene setups are already as dark and gloomy as season three, for example when the vice team is discussing its next moves in the strategy room at the OCB. Take away even the last pastels in this episode, and you've practically got yourself a season three episode. Definitely not the worst episode they ever did, but certainly an early deviation from the widely popular Miami Vice formula of seasons one and two. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remington Posted May 12, 2017 Report Share Posted May 12, 2017 My feelings for this episode mirror those of The Fix. It's enjoyable but unremarkable. I do like Sandoval. Lol at times he reminds me of my late Gpa. Good scenery as usual. I actually haven't watched this in forever. So can't remember much on it. 6/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie C. Posted March 15, 2019 Report Share Posted March 15, 2019 This is another of those episodes that is very topical and a product of its time and place. Vice's Cold War episodes played well at the the time, but without that context and framing they don't usually hold up over time. Don't forget you're talking the era of Iran-Contra, the Sandinistas, and all that Reagan-era intrigue. Vice always positioned itself as something of a critic of Reagan's foreign policy, and episodes like this reflect that stance. Poets were always considered the standard-bearers of resistance and protest, and writing Sandoval as a difficult, contradictory literary genius plays right into that idea as well as popular perceptions of poets and radicals. And assassins or fear of assassins was another big deal at the time. It's not my favorite episode, but it's also far from being one of the worst. I think it also shows what happens when you take a unit that's seen to be elite (Vice/OCB) and make it do a job it's not really trained for (VIP protection). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjcmmv Posted March 15, 2019 Report Share Posted March 15, 2019 48 minutes ago, Robbie C. said: This is another of those episodes that is very topical and a product of its time and place. Vice's Cold War episodes played well at the the time, but without that context and framing they don't usually hold up over time. Don't forget you're talking the era of Iran-Contra, the Sandinistas, and all that Reagan-era intrigue. Vice always positioned itself as something of a critic of Reagan's foreign policy, and episodes like this reflect that stance. Poets were always considered the standard-bearers of resistance and protest, and writing Sandoval as a difficult, contradictory literary genius plays right into that idea as well as popular perceptions of poets and radicals. And assassins or fear of assassins was another big deal at the time. It's not my favorite episode, but it's also far from being one of the worst. I think it also shows what happens when you take a unit that's seen to be elite (Vice/OCB) and make it do a job it's not really trained for (VIP protection). Good observation! I never thought about this before! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campion Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I just watched this one again yesterday, as part of my "start to finish" plan to watch all Vices, first through 5th season. First observation: everyone is missing why this is probably the MOST groundbreaking episode in Vice history! Mark--the constant background character who walks around and sits at his desk--has a speaking line! I believe this is the ONLY time he speaks in the entire series, but I could be wrong. He even gets to push the guest star's wheel chair, putting him at the center of the action for three whole seconds! In all seriousness, I've always found Free Verse a bit boring. Sandoval is an ass--but I'm glad they made him that way. He could have been just a brooding poet, instead he's an annoying womanizer. Performances are solid all around and the topic of Central American revolutions was all over the news in the 80s and a part of our lives. I like how both the "right" and the "left" are equally despised by Sandoval. It was a real tribute to the outright mess in the Americas during the Cold War. But, in the end, I just don't find it very compelling. While there are some outstanding episodes during the last third of Vice's second season, there seem to be too many meh episodes (or outright bad ones). Disappointing after the middle of the season was so strong. Yet, I know there's at least one person out there who things this is the greatest episode ever (Mark!). Not sure why he wasn't included with the guest stars at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 (edited) On 9/13/2014 at 9:46 PM, Vincent Hanna said: A good barometer of measuring the quality of an episode is how enthusiastic Don Johnson is in it. If he doesn't show up for half of an episode like for instance this one, you know it ain't too good . The same with Cows of october and The james brown alien one.. DJ got a scowl on his face the entire episode like "can't believe we're making this crap" xD If he did I don't know why. The story was sensible. Edited August 13, 2019 by RedDragon86 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assasinge Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Not gun lie I wasn't too impressed with this episode in of itself, it was one of those few "It's fine but not very...enjoyable" type episodes? And lol @Vincent Hannafor the DJ quality measure. I guess it could be looked at it that way in some sense. One thing I will give it though, Bruce Cockburn's Maybe the Poet made for a nice ending in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren10 Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Yeah but it's got Suicidal Tendencies! It was fun seeing a real hardcore/punk band and the stylish C & T in the same episode. It was like when worlds collide. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 (edited) On 3/18/2019 at 7:01 PM, Bren10 said: Yeah but it's got Suicidal Tendencies! It was fun seeing a real hardcore/punk band and the stylish C & T in the same episode. It was like when worlds collide. I really liked the music and it was funny seeing Hector dancing to it in his wheelchair. Why do some think Don looked disinterested this? I think its a simple case of that he wasn't at the heart of the episode like he obviously was previously in "Payback", whenever he was in a scene he was motivated. If you were looking at the script before hand you would say to yourself this sound interesting and the story is sensible. Edited August 13, 2019 by RedDragon86 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie C. Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I don't consider DJ's interest or lack thereof to be a good way to rate an episode. Some do...that's totally fine. But Vice was always larger than the sum of its parts, and plenty of solid episodes didn't put Crockett front and center. And not every episode that showcased Crockett was a great episode. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicegirl85 Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 I also hesitate to state that DJ was or was not interested in a particular episode. It might have been true, but I feel like it's also important to keep in mind that he was acting and playing a character. Some of the perceived "disinterest" might be more a reflection of Sonny Crockett (the character) rather than DJ (the actor). I did have the impression that Sonny Crockett felt like this assignment was a bit ridiculous, mainly because Sandoval refused to follow any of the precautionary measures the squad tried to get him to take. Sonny, as a result, was disgusted and didn't take it as seriously as maybe he should have. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie C. Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 Sonny NEVER did well with bodyguard stuff. Add to that a cultural scene (poetry) he wasn't at all familiar with and you get what we see from him. In some aspects he was very much a "one trick pony" in that regard. Tubbs could shift covers fluidly and quickly. Crockett was either Burnett or a neo-Nazi of some flavor or another. He was solid in those two roles, but if you expected something else you were going to be disappointed. Sort of like expecting Castillo to do stand-up comedy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincent Hanna Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 Damn posted that 4 and half years ago. I think what I mean't was that DJ not showing up for the first 15 mins could be a sign of his disinterest, or he didn't really have much to do. Don't think he looks visibly disinterested in this one unlike some S4 episodes though, don't know why I said that. Overall this ain't that bad. The music's good with Maybe the Poet. Sandoval and his daughter were cool. I'm a sucker for safe-house scenes. Definitely not the worst S2 episode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt5 Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 I enjoyed this one. 10/10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt5 Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) 22 hours ago, RedDragon86 said: I really liked the music and it was funny seeing Hector dancing to it in his wheelchair. Why do some think Don looked disinterested this? I think its a simple case of that he wasn't at the heart of the episode like he obviously was previously in "Payback", whenever he was in a scene he was motivated. If you were looking at the script before hand, you would say to yourself this sound interesting and the story is sensible. 7/10. I agree this was more of a Tubbs episode or Team episode to give Don a bit more of a break. Sonny didn’t have much rapport with the main characters as he was not in large parts of the episode so that saw rapport build with Tubbs and Hectors daughter and Hector. Besides Hector had so many scenes in the one he carried the episode well as the star. Byrne Piven (Hector) was an accomplished actor , father also to Jeremy Piven the actor. Edited March 19, 2019 by Matt5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedDragon86 Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) On 3/19/2019 at 5:37 PM, Matt5 said: I enjoyed this one. 10/10 Watched this one last night and I really like it. Byrne Piven was fine in his performance. The story was good and music was too. Jan's cue at the airport is one of my favorites. Edited August 13, 2019 by RedDragon86 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt5 Posted March 19, 2019 Report Share Posted March 19, 2019 2 minutes ago, RedDragon86 said: Watched this one last night, and I really like it, Byrne Piven is an excellent guest star, one of the best on the show, his acting was first rate and he played his character to perfection. I agree he was the star of the episode he had such a lot of screen time . 10/10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detective_Crockett Posted August 13, 2019 Report Share Posted August 13, 2019 Boring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebax Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) Negative points: -Bizarre and dumb storyline -Kinda boring- Too obvious action (shooting a fraction of a second before the bad guy kills the good guy..) -Alfredo Gomez is ugly as f*ck Positive points: -Hector, charming, handsome, crazy. Great guy -Good outfits. -Argentina is mentioned! -Suicidal Tendencies I'll give it a 6.5 Edited October 24, 2019 by Sebax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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