Episode #24 "Whatever Works"

[Ferrariman]

Begin posting

[Tony D.]

This is not one of my favorite episodes....but since there are no eps I hate, there are some points on this one, I really like: Eartha Kitt, does a good job as a voodoo priestess. What a pad she has! Castillo always has a good rapport with various street people! Great fun with Izzy trying to convince the guy from taking Sonny's Ferrari. Hey Mang! I love it! Crockett is kind of rough on Izzy though, I think too much. Cool fight in the club, between all the cops with DuranDuran performing. Tubbs jumped in to help his partner. Cool color matching of clothes & surroundings. Sonny's turquoise shirt matches Gina's dress! Wierd stuff: When Sonny & Rico look for Orphil & have a shootout with his gang, he's wearing that shirt. When he's telling Castillo in the house what went down his shirt is now a sky blue color! Magic change! What was that with Castillo all dressed in white & looking drugged. Was he dreaming?? The voodoo guy looked like the blue guy in Prodigal Son ! I cracked up when Stan said Sonny can use the bug van! Cute scene of the lady taking pics of C&T as goof- off city workers. Then the action starts! All in all I enjoyed it, but give it a rating of 7 for the phony looking fight with the cops. Izzy gets a 10 from me, as usual! Poor Eartha Kitt is now singing in heaven...I hope!

[agent 47]

Pros: Good action sequences, some good humor, "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, Eatha Kitt.Cons: The whole Santeria thing feels like an afterthought, leading to a disjointed story.Score: 7 out of 10.

[Shill]

Sorry to correct you Tony but it wasn't "Duran Duran" performing. The band had split into the "Power Station" and "Arcadia" at this point, but at least we had the cameo from John Taylor, or JT as Sonny called him. I gave this a 10 - awesome

[vicenarc]

I give this episode a 7. It's a good ep with some hilarity as well as always with Izzy, lol. But I found to be one of the more graphic eps also.

[Tommy Vercetti]

The episode starts well. Good intro with the crime scene with the wasted cops and the scene with the repo man at the St. Vitus was quite entertaining. There's a lot of things I like about this episode. There is some great scenery and location work. I loved the shootout at the very nice house in Bal Harbor and I also loved the shoot-out sequence with the cops and the guys in the porshe on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. They went north of Miami to Michael Mann's stomping grounds for that scene. There's a very good club scene with a nice punch up. There's a great Castillo line "The natural order in the streets has been disturbed. I must do what i can to restore it". There's a couple of good songs('Get It On' and 'Dark Night') and the climatic shootout is very good. Storyline was decent. I didn't like the weird stuff about the religious artifacts and that sequence with Castillo with the weird man, animals and religious imagery - what the hell was that about? . This episode  had enough good points about it for me to consider it a good episode. 7/10

Edited April 1, 2018 by Tommy Vercetti

[chum981]

I went for a 7/10. I didn’t like this one so much. Maybe the problem is that it was sandwiched in between two very good episodes (Prodigal Son and Out Where the Buses Don’t Run) and so it had quite a lot to live up to, and the episode right after was very good making the one before it (i.e. Whatever Works) not seem that good…if you know what I mean…

[Pandina]

I agree with Tommy Vercetti that Whatever Works has a weak storyline. I still consider it very enjoyable thanks to all the humorous situations we get to see throughout the episode. 9/10.First of all an obvious remark on how Crockett looks sexy in his swimming trunks.Then the woman who desperately wants him to call her. “Are you going to call me?” Crockett is like “Yeah, I’ll call you” and then she says “He's never going to call me”. It's such a truth about men who make promises that they won't keep, and I don’t agree with her behavior, but dammit, I would have begged him as well! The whole scene onboard the St.Vitus with Izzy’s monologue against taking Crockett’s Daytona is priceless! And with the dead fish in his hand! I laugh at how Izzy points the dead fish towards Crockett’s arm and Sonny looks at him in a weird way.The following scene where the guy goes down deck and gets scared to death by Elvis reminds me of Tubbs’ scary first encounter with Elvis.Crockett says, “Elvis, want a little dork meat for breakfast? You see, pal, Elvis can't read a contract. All he knows is no Ferrari, no rides with the top down.” I'd loved to see Elvis riding in the back seat.Another funny scene is Crockett yelling at Castillo “That car is part of my cover!” and the rest of the team laughing, with Switek offering the use of the bug van anytime.“Nosotros queremos hablar con Orfil Rivera.” I like how they run away, with Crockett falling on Tubbs… and the green grass not affecting Crockett’s white linen suit AT ALL. We get another glimpse into Castillo's past. He evidently has known Chata for a long time already because of the way they talk together and the fact that she calls him Martin. I don’t think it’s strong enough, it seems a scene thrown there as if the writers suddenly remembered they had to go on with the plot.Another Izzy’s memorable moment is him trying to get possession of the Daytona and asking for a test-drive. The litter of kittens in the front seat of the messed up Daytona is lovely. I really like the scene with the old lady yelling at Crockett and Tubbs, snapping photos and complaining about the $267 (or was it $ 276?) electricity bill. No wonder she was upset, it was a huge amount of money back then. (I must be really old! I remember those cameras with the flash cubes, although I never had or used one).The shootout is ok, there has been many better ones; the particular aspect of it is Zito on the crane.Important: can someone of you please post Izzy’s “Hey man, hey i'm sorry but uh, i'm not gonna stand around... blah blah blah ... cesspool of lawlessness su-su-sudia”?Thanks very much. It’s really difficult for me to figure it out.

[Gina_Calabrese]

Important: can someone of you please post Izzy’s “Hey man' date=' hey i'm sorry but uh, i'm not gonna stand around... blah blah blah ... cesspool of lawlessness su-su-sudia�Thanks very much. It’s really difficult for me to figure it out.[/quote']Here pal:Hey mang! I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna stand around and let a man with this reputation get treated with about as much respect as this live bait! This man plunges himself into the murky waters of the underworld, to risk life and limb, to try to stem the crime flow and keep us all from drowning in a cesspool of lawlessness! Su-su-sudia!As for the episode, I give it an 8. Gave me a really good laugh with the Daytona being repossed, Crockett yelling at Castillo, and the litter of kittens in the Daytona was so cute! Awesome ep with only a few bad things. Personally I could have done without the Castillo/other guy/scenery scene, but it did give me a few close-ups of Edward James Olmos. I can imagine the anger that Crockett has when he's yelling at Castillo, I'd be yelling even more than that if I had a Daytona and some meathead took it!

[Guest neworder]

Yes indeed nice cameo by John Taylor, I much prefer Arcadia to Power Station though.The brilliant start to season 2 continues with this episode, whatever works. What i like, nice sub plot involving the daytona, couple of good action sequences, good performances from C&T and crockett looking good in his suites and smoking, crockett certanly looks better when he's smoking, just looks more like an undercover, burnt out cop lol. Also club scene with the fight is very good. Tubbs dancing is highely amusing. Also when tubbs is driving and being followed, another terrific scene. Negatives. Extremely weird and random scene with castilo later in the episode with all the strange things going on and the strange priest women. Overall 8/10. Enjoyable let down by some weak scenes.

[Viceman Cometh]

Not one of the greatest MV eps, and there are a lot of problems. But it is entertaining AND ... it is home to perhaps the finest Izzie moment in the show's run: the great "cesspool of lawlessness" speech, gesturing with the firsh to get his point across.I didn't mind the Santeria angle, but wished they had gone into a little more detail about it. And the ending seemed a little like, oh ****, we have to end this thing, better have a shoot-out. And isn't this the ep where the guy dressed in white does the balletic move as he bounds out of the house and sweeps his gun over his head, ending with it propped on the hood of a car? Hysterical!

[Dadrian]

i gave it a 5. there are some good parts that i really like in this ep, but too many weak parts bring it down.my main beef with the ep is that i wish the song that jan hammer is playing during the opening credits could have been used more and developed more. it sounds again when castillo tells sunny he took care of the car. i'd like to hear a 3 minute version of that song.

[Papa Legba]

This episode is actually one of my favourite Vice episodes, if not THE favourite.I like everything in this episode. Pretty much every scene always has me glued to the screen, and I've lost count of how many times I've watched it. Jan Hammer's background music throughout the episode was great, all the songs that were used (i.e Sharp dressed man, Dark Night, Get it on) are great songs. Jan's intense, rythmic, tribal music during most of the episode was addictive. I thought the action scenes were great, especially the end shootout and the Nightclub fight scene (what is it about Michael Mann and scenes where s*** goes down in nightclubs?) I love the fast pace of the episode and I feel that the Santeria angle gave the episode a colourful and quirky edge. The Porsche shootout scene was a great scene although admittedly superfluous to the storyline.I like how Crockett looks stiff and awkward when he shakes Chata's hand as they leave her house, as if he didn't understand her, or what she was about, and because of that to an extent he fears her (the fear of the unknown instinct). I thought Crockett's cynicism and lack of understanding was out of character though, bearing in mind he seems to have a clear understanding and respect for the spiritual aspects of Voodoo later on in "Tale of the Goat".Speaking of "Tale of the Goat", when you see Tubbs pull up in the car during "Whatever works" at 18:15, you can see part of the monorail bridge in the background which is attached to a row of shops on the right hand side of the street. Where the bridge meets this street corner in the background of the shot is the location of the Voodoo Arcade in "Tale of the Goat".I thought Izzy's face as he was doing his "Count Moreno" act was funny. When Crockett and Izzy go outside to check the Daytona at the end of this scene, you can see International Place (The Bank of America building) still in construction in the background.I loved the colourfully weird testosterone fuelled staring competition scene between Castillo and Ramon Morandez's Orisha. However I was annoyed with Men and Motors a few years ago when they screened this episode and shaved a large portion of this scene down, JUST so they could squeeze in more repetetive adverts for porn chat lines.Yes, the storyline was weak in the sense that certain scenes were not necessary, or necessarily integral to the storyline (such as the Porsche scene or the nightclub fight scene). However to me it wasn't a problem, because it's still a great episode, and it emphatically illustrates everything about Vice that is great.10 out of 10.

[nmathews]

My review posted originally Jan 13 2006OK, like most people said this isn't one of my favorites though it does have it's moments. I like Izzy's speech about the Cess pool of lawlessness. I'm with Crockett though, I'm still not sure if Izzy was trying to get the Daytona back for Sonny or for himself, that's a little cloudy. What in the world was in that store house for auction? Was this all the confiscated goods they gave to auction? If the guy was trying to take the Daytona, why didn't he try to take the scarab or even the St. Vitus Dance? It seems to me like any of them would cause Crockett's cover the same kind of problem. We get another glimpse into Castillo's background. He evidently has known Chata for a long time, you can see it in the body language when they are talking together, and the fact that she calls him Martin - Could Castillo have practiced this religion himself - I always wondered about that. It's evident that Tubbs knows about this Santeria stuff too, since he asks Castillo "Is that what I think it is?" when he looks into the Slain South Beach Police Officer's car. The whole ceremony meeting at the Santeria place was kind of psychodelic- I mean we had a huge live snake lounging in the tree, Castillo all dressed in white, and the Drug dealer naked from the chest up with some sort of paint on his face and chest. Then the flashing from the dealer to Castillo and then that Ourise (sp?) the divinity of justice was just plain disorienting. Other wise it looked like your classic stare down into each other's eyes. - I guess Castillo was approved since the drug dealer talked to him and explained about the South Beach cops. I never noticed it before, but in the bar where everyone knew Sonny was a cop or least his real last name When Rico is dancing he's not as into it as he normally is he's got his eye out on his partner. - He knows Crockett is boiling underneath and about to explode into a fight with the South Beach dirty cops. Another of my favorite scenes is the stake out on the drug dealer's house where they expect one of the South Beach cops to attack.- Zito with his gun out being moved on the crane to chase the guy is hilarious. Also the lady with her instamatic camera and her huge electric bill. - Did she sound sweedish to you - She sounded like Inger on Nash Bridges except that this lady was hilarious! - how many times does Crocket and Tubbs get their stake outs interrupted by citizens anyway? I can think of at least two times. When the drug dealers were having the argument about the price of doing business by paying the South Beach Cops, did anyone think of the begining of Smuggler's Blues where we overhear Morrales arguing with his people that he was going to make the drop alone because his family came first? I still think the guy with the marketing degree should be fired for causing all the commotion and for the mismangement and damage to the Daytona. Although Sonny is angry he does crack a reluctant grin when he discovers the kittens in his front seat. And what was that blue plastic wrapped thing in the back of the Daytona at the warehouse. If this is the way that guy takes care of the goods he's going to auction no wonder no one is interested in buying anything! I love Elvis chasing the guy out of the hatch - too bad he didn't take a bite out of him although then Sonny would have another problem. This episode did have the Power Station sans Robert Palmer (because he was in the studio working on the album Addicted to Love was on, so he missed the whole Power Station tour), a neat fight scene, some comic relief, and the OCB gang working together and more of Castillo, so I rate it 7 out of 10. I still have to look away a bit during the scenes with the marketing guy. Additional comments 4/7/2009. Some one asked about the Santeria plotline. I think it was used as part of the overall background of these drug dealers. How they think, and the fact that this one guy was so angry and disturbed at what the South Beach cops had done to his family, he was willing to defy his religion to take back what he saw was his honor and erase his weakness. Santeria wasn't supposed to be one of the main plotlines, it was mainly used as descriptive background of the dealers. Sort of like if the religion was Roman Catholic and it showed a Mafia guy doing things with his religious artifiacts. It was also an interesting background to add to Castillo. We run into Santeria in First season in Milk Run when Crockett's informant Angela is described as a high priestess, and the Moya brothers are described as cutting up animals an stuff for his weird religion. In Milk Run Santeria was even more just tossed into the mix At least in whatever works it's explained a little and used more effectively I think.

[Ell.a]

There isn't much to add.When I remember "Whatever Works" the comedy scenes remain in mind. Maxwell Dierks, Izzy's performance of course, the shooting in the street (anybody realized that Crockett landed on tubbs when they try to hide behind the hedge?) and also Crockett's anger everytime he discussed the indispensable need of a daytona ... It is fun to watch the gueststars, but their part in the story could have been more elaborated in my opinion. Lighting and style are also quite Vice like - especially Castillo's scene. But the storyline itself isn't as sophisticated as I expected it after "The Prodigal Son". I agree with most of the others and rate it as well as good average. 7 out of 10.

[Lar]

Pros: Good action sequences' date=' some good humor, "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, Eatha Kitt.Cons: The whole Santeria thing feels like an afterthought, leading to a disjointed story.Score: 7 out of 10.[/quote']My thoughts exactly, except I gave it a 6. Izzy was hilarious, love The Power Station (if you can call it that since Robert Palmer isn't there), and the Dark Night scene is awesome. But the plot, while adequate at best, isn't especially memorable. More than once did it draw a "Huh?". Just an alright episode for me.

[Guest neworder]

Maybe we can brand this episode as a perfect representation of the 'style over substance' tag for Miami Vice.There was lots of style, hardly any substance to the story.Still like it though lol

[Papa Legba]

Maybe we can brand this episode as a perfect representation of the 'style over substance' tag for Miami Vice.There was lots of style' date=' hardly any substance to the story.Still like it though lol[/quote']I think we're of the same mind on this one. This is as I say one of my favourite episodes, but admittedly it's the kind of episode that led to Vice being accused by the tabloid media back in the 80's of being "style over substance". If you watch an episode like "Forgive us our debts" where every single scene is integral to the plot, then you notice a distinct difference.

[Icemanmike]

I agree with the story being weak and I also wished the religion was a little deeper to understand better, yet for some reason this is one of my favorite episodes. Has a bit of everything, fashion, residences, the cars, marina and so on. Humor was on the plus side, yet scenes were easy to pick apart. If I get in a gun fight, I won't rely on a string of hedges as cover. I liked the opening scene with Sonny servicing the Scarrab and the 'chicky' begging for him to call her(I envisioned someone like this to be a steady girl for Sonny, not the others he had to play to-other than Gina). The Priestess's voice still freaks me out and on a positive note, I LOVE that chrome framed, leather 'strapped' chair she has in her living room!! The little old lady taking pics and Sonny's reaction to camera flash makes me laugh every time. Yeah, story could've been better, yet with only an hour and for what was covered, I gave it a 9....Sorry, I feel it's classic vice...Mike

[Papa Legba]

Sorry' date=' I feel it's classic vice...Mike[/quote']No need to apologise. I agree!

[jgrob]

This not the most memorable episode for me, but the use of Santeria just shows how ahead of the times Miami Vice was in using topics to help tell a story. I give this episode a 4.

[rodriguezisdead]

Liked some of the humour and some of the clothing, but overall nothing memorable in the ep for me and some weaknesses (as others have mentioned) I'd say drag the score down to 'below average' in terms of Vice scores, hence I give it a 5 out of 10.

[Papa Legba]

Just as a footnote to this episode, I'd like to add that the whole Santeria storyline is not as far fetched as it might seem. During my visit to Miami last year, DanJ, SoFlaJeremy, myself, and my dad went to visit Virginia Key again. We were walking along the beach when I noticed three dead chickens lying in a line across the beach. Dan explained that these were artifacts left by Santaria practitioners who must have been performing rituals there on the island.

[AzVice]

9/10.Funny thing is i remember the local NBC station in L.A. doing a big Santeria story at the time this episode aired. I don't know if it was because of this episode, or it was in the news.You know, there is some weirdness to this episode, along with some comedy from Izzy. If it was done in season 4 it wouldn't have worked at all, but it does here. This episode marks the beginning, i'd say, of Izzy's constant side schemes, comedy-wise. He only appeared in a few season one episodes, but from here on it's zany time for Iz.The dumbest part of the episode is Crockett and Tubbs pulling up to Rivera's house and identifying themselves. If these are deep undercover cops, why are they being sent out to talk to dealers?!

[Burnett260]

One of my favourite season two eps. Interesting but a bit confusing plot. Classic MV style - clothes, fashion. Lots of great music and very well done action scenes. 9 out of 10