Episode #19 "The Home Invaders"


Ferrariman

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Definitely one of my favourite episodes of Season One. It's got good action, an interesting storyline bringing back Crockett's mentor and having Castillo square off with him, and the other essentials to a Vice episode; good looking women, good soundtrack and great shots of the streets of Miami at night. I was hooked from the beginning till the end, quite remarkable for me10/10!! :)

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  • 5 months later...

wish there was more Castillo episodes, the guy was too cool. He has an epic moustache, puts bad guys to sleep instantly & lobs chairs through bay windows. What can't he do?I love all the police work going on, complete with castillo doing the obligatory think out loud whilst looking at map move.The hookers were kinda cute but pretty dumb. Sylvia miles was interesting. With a mini car chase, and some humorous moments.I kinda like that tubbs ain't involved, It looks like the quality of the acting has gone up a bit without him, In the next episode he shows up again and starts acting like a douche to gina and brenda.Anyways good episode. Loved Crockett's pink t shirt, cream jacket and blue pants combo. Lots of pastel colors in the jewellery store.

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wish there was more Castillo episodes' date=' the guy was too cool. He has an epic moustache, puts bad guys to sleep instantly & lobs chairs through bay windows. What can't he do?I love all the police work going on, complete with castillo doing the obligatory think out loud whilst looking at map move.The hookers were kinda cute but pretty dumb. Sylvia miles was interesting. With a mini car chase, and some humorous moments.I kinda like that tubbs ain't involved, It looks like the quality of the acting has gone up a bit without him, In the next episode he shows up again and starts acting like a douche to gina and brenda.Anyways good episode. Loved Crockett's pink t shirt, cream jacket and blue pants combo. Lots of pastel colors in the jewellery store.[/quote']I agree! Loved Castillo and I swear there was hardly anything the dude couldn't handle. ;) Sylvia Miles was hilarious and actually added a heart-felt touch to this one, even though she was goofy. Loved the scene at the end with her, the cops, and the champagne! :cheers:I don't think the quality of acting improves just because Tubbs wasn't there...it was just an awesome written and carried out episode! :clap: There were some later season episodes without Crockett that were awesome too, such as "Heart of Night". Also...do not remember Tubbs being a "douche" (as you so colorfully put it :p ) to either Gina nor Brenda in the next episode?? Brenda was not attractive, controlling, and annoying! :evil: One of Sonny's many ugly, bizarre girlfriends. :rolleyes: There's no way she and Crockett would have made it work...Tubbs was just honest with her about that. She may not have liked what he said...but he wasn't rude or nasty with it. That doesn't make him a jerk...and the truth, is the truth, is the truth. ;) When was he horrible to Gina, at any point in the series?? :confused:The pastels were awesome in this one, and I loved the fashion throughout! :clap: This was my original review/rating of this episode:
I love this episode! I remember watching it when it originally aired. I was fairly young and spending the night at a friend's house. It was storming outside and I remember thinking--what would it be like if all of a sudden these crazy thugs just burst in our door like they did at the beginning of this episode! :) I had a very vivid and wild imagination...some things don't change. ;)Anyway' date=' I loved the storyline with Sonny being caught in the middle of the sparring between Castillo and his old boss and friend John Malone. I thought everyone did a superb job and I liked the interaction between Crockett and Castillo. I also love Castillo smashing the sliding glass doors out and shooting the bad guys at the end! Also interesting is that Tubbs was not in this episode--supposedly he had taken some time off and was visiting Valerie back in New York. I've read in later years that Philip Michael Thomas had hurt his ankle, or leg, or something like that and that's why he wasn't there. Tubbs hadn't been there that long, so the idea that he could suddenly take time off was kind of funny to me. :rolleyes:Overall I loved this episode and I gave it an 8! :thumbsup:[/quote']
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Yup...awesome episode...wild action and plot! :thumbsup:My original review:

I love this episode! I remember watching it when it originally aired. I was fairly young and spending the night at a friend's house. It was storming outside and I remember thinking--what would it be like if all of a sudden these crazy thugs just burst in our door like they did at the beginning of this episode! :) I had a very vivid and wild imagination...some things don't change. ;)Anyway' date=' I loved the storyline with Sonny being caught in the middle of the sparring between Castillo and his old boss and friend John Malone. I thought everyone did a superb job and I liked the interaction between Crockett and Castillo. I also love Castillo smashing the sliding glass doors out and shooting the bad guys at the end! Also interesting is that Tubbs was not in this episode--supposedly he had taken some time off and was visiting Valerie back in New York. I've read in later years that Philip Michael Thomas had hurt his ankle, or leg, or something like that and that's why he wasn't there. Tubbs hadn't been there that long, so the idea that he could suddenly take time off was kind of funny to me. :rolleyes:Overall I loved this episode and I gave it an 8! :thumbsup:[/quote']
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  • 1 year later...

Cory Barker of the website This Was Television reviews "The Home Invaders".  This line cracked me up:

"Edward James Olmos is so good providing stone-faced critique. He's like the ultimate disappointed, stern father."

:D

 

 

Read the full review:

http://thiswastv.com/2012/11/07/review-miami-vice-the-home-invaders-and-nobody-lives-forever/

 

 

 

 

Edited by airtommy
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  • 4 weeks later...

I just gazed this one again last night. Outstanding episode. Really enjoy the night driving Sonny scenes while Castillo studies files, as they both try to find a clue on the investigation. Speaking of which, great moment in the office where Castillo links everything to the Hair Emporium! Definitely a top MV episode. I only I wish they had spent a little more time refining the opening scene. It is supposed to be disturbing, but seems a little rushed and disjointed, the acting could have been better. 

 

I'd give it an 8.

Edited by DeepCover333
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  • 1 year later...

A very nice episode. I've never thought about it this way, but "The Home Invaders" is a 'Castillo episode', because there you'll see his discipline and investigation powers in a field he said he had not much experience on (robbery). That scene in which he crosses information and gets to "Hair Emporium" is fantastic in every sense (lighting, lines, music, importance to the plot). The music is superb: it would feed later episodes like "Out Where the Buses Don't Run" and "Down For The Count".

Well, I never quite understood what Castillo does to that man in the car in the final action scene. He says "better yet, good night" and apparently puts the guy to sleep. It was quicker than vulcan nerve pinch. Funny enough, I've always seen some "vulcan" quality in Castillo. Watching the Blu-Ray didn't bring any new light to that scene. Could anyone explain that?

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"The Home Invaders" was another one of those episodes that could easily have been made into a two-hour standalone movie. Definitely one of my favorite season 1 episodes... :thumbsup: And proof of Michael Mann's attitude towards the show back then, that they were effectively making a one-hour movie every week, and not just another cop show.

 

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4 hours ago, ivoryjones said:

A very nice episode. I've never thought about it this way, but "The Home Invaders" is a 'Castillo episode', because there you'll see his discipline and investigation powers in a field he said he had not much experience on (robbery). That scene in which he crosses information and gets to "Hair Emporium" is fantastic in every sense (lighting, lines, music, importance to the plot). The music is superb: it would feed later episodes like "Out Where the Buses Don't Run" and "Down For The Count".

Well, I never quite understood what Castillo does to that man in the car in the final action scene. He says "better yet, good night" and apparently puts the guy to sleep. It was quicker than vulcan nerve pinch. Funny enough, I've always seen some "vulcan" quality in Castillo. Watching the Blu-Ray didn't bring any new light to that scene. Could anyone explain that?

"Home Invaders" is one of my favorite episodes......since I get my haircuts at the Hair Gazebo, it always reminds me of Miami Vice.

Concerning Castillo's strong arm tactics.........I worked with a guy who was in the Marine Corps and he used to say he learned a hold that would, as he said it ........"asleep in three, dead in ten,"  meaning seconds!

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On 06/03/2009 at 2:05 AM, Tony D. said:

"The Home Invaders" was always one of my favorites. It's in my top 5 episodes. There is camaraderie & humor, when Sonny sees his buddies in Robbery & one says, referring to his clothes, Hey, the circus is in town. Sonny says because you work Homicide, you don't have to dress like a dead body! There is suspense, & action. Good investigative work, especially when Castillo narrows the common denominator between victims down to the Hair Emporium. Gina getting her "Do" there is a glimpse into the Miami High Life! Mrs. Goldman is a blast, the shootout with the punks keeps you on the edge of your seat, & the party where Malone announces his retirement is both sad & happy. I could watch this one over & over! Too bad Tubbs is on leave. I still rate it a 10!

Great review Tony ! 

Great episode and direction from film director Abel Ferrara ( who also went on to direct "The Dutch Oven" filmed after "Lombard" )

:D:shout:

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  • 5 months later...

Another episode i used to not like. Now i consider it one of the best.

To me its a precursor to Shadow In The Dark.

I love the guys who played the home Invaders.

Love Castillo in this one.

Really dig the houses.

Am I the only one who got freaked out at the old womans scream.

9/10

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  • 1 month later...

Call me out if I'm late on this one:

The old lady they wake up in bed seems to be the same old lady that takes pictures of and complains to C&T during the final stakeout in "Whatever Works". Has this been confirmed? Have I asked this before? :)

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On 03/07/2017 at 4:10 AM, Dadrian said:

Call me out if I'm late on this one:

The old lady they wake up in bed seems to be the same old lady that takes pictures of and complains to C&T during the final stakeout in "Whatever Works". Has this been confirmed? Have I asked this before? :)

Never knew that before ! She was hilarious in "Whatever Works" a real complainer !

:hippie:

Edited by Matt5
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  • 1 month later...

I watched The Home Invaders again last night, and stumbled upon something - sorry if this has already been covered.

It is never fully explained why the home invaders didn't hit Muriel Goldman's house but that of her daughter. It can't have been a case of mistaken identity, even if she drove her daughter's car to the Hair Emporium that day. Romano likely got the addresses of his potential victims from the Hair Emporium's customer file, so he would have had only Muriel's address as she was the customer, and would have had no way of knowing where her daughter lived. The home invaders were shown always casing a house before they hit it, taking photographs and all, so that, too, would have made any kind of mistaken identity obvious to them.

What do you think?

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26 minutes ago, Daytona74 said:

I watched The Home Invaders again last night, and stumbled upon something - sorry if this has already been covered.

It is never fully explained why the home invaders didn't hit Muriel Goldman's house but that of her daughter. It can't have been a case of mistaken identity, even if she drove her daughter's car to the Hair Emporium that day. Romano likely got the addresses of his potential victims from the Hair Emporium's customer file, so he would have had only Muriel's address as she was the customer, and would have had no way of knowing where her daughter lived. The home invaders were shown always casing a house before they hit it, taking photographs and all, so that, too, would have made any kind of mistaken identity obvious to them.

What do you think?

I always assumed they got the address from the license plate of the car, hence the revelation of why the robbers' were a no-show when Mrs. Goldman reveals the Corvette was her daughter's car. 

Edited by Dadrian
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vor 3 Minuten schrieb Dadrian:

I always assumed they got the address from the license plate of the car. 

Interesting. Can you just do that in the U.S., call the DMV and ask personal details for a particular license plate number?

 

It's not very easy here in Germany. You are going to have to bring forward a legitimate concern, like if you were the victim of a hit and run or something.

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Even simpler than that...if Florida DMV is like mine all the crooks would have to do is open the glove box and read the registration doc, which has the address of the vehicle owner. In my state it is required to have the registration with the vehicle. (Recall that one of the crooks was a valet at the Hair Emporium and so had access to the vehicles.)

Edited by Sonny-Burnett
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18 minutes ago, Dadrian said:

Didn't he open the glove box of the Corvette when he parked it?

I had to rewatch this scene just now and he did in fact do what I was suggesting....he pulled out the registration and read it,  giving him the address of the owner who is Mrs Goldman's daughter.

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31 minutes ago, Sonny-Burnett said:

I had to rewatch this scene just now and he did in fact do what I was suggesting....he pulled out the registration and read it,  giving him the address of the owner who is Mrs Goldman's daughter.

"Nailed ya to it". Case closed. :thumbsup:

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oh ok... didnt know that... :thumbsup:

It's not required to leave your registration in the car here... it's even discouraged to do that, at least to have it out in the open, because the way of thinking is that the registration gives you all the info that a car thief would need to forge a title for the car... making it even easier to pass a car off as a legitimate buy if they get stopped on the way to Eastern Europe...  :p 

Most people just put their registration in their wallet, so they'll have it on them either way if police pull you over... 

Edited by Daytona74
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  • 1 year later...

Ok, I know Mann is big on lingo and I think I get the gist of these terms, but does anybody know the direct meaning of "ram car" and "extra draw" or "draw" here?  Sonny also uses the term "knock" for one of the cases.  Is that a home invasion slang?  Thanks.

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16 hours ago, Bren10 said:

Ok, I know Mann is big on lingo and I think I get the gist of these terms, but does anybody know the direct meaning of "ram car" and "extra draw" or "draw" here?  Sonny also uses the term "knock" for one of the cases.  Is that a home invasion slang?  Thanks.

No idea, this episode was written by Chuck Adamson who was a retired special division cop who worked with Mann as a consultant on his 1981 movie “Thief”. He also wrote other Miami Vice episodes “Give a Little Take a Little”,  The Fix” and “Shadow in the Dark”.

Edited by Matt5
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