Episode #54 "Streetwise"


Ferrariman

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  • 1 year later...
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I thought this was a really great ep. It showed the stress of working undercover and how some cops deal with it better than others.I gave it a 9.

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"Streetwise", although not one of my favorite episodes, is an enjoyable one. Trudy starts it off with a prostitute's rap to a rock beat. This may be the beginning of rap music!! The first 20 minutes or so give Trudy, Gina, & Stan some air time. I didn't notice Larry. Wesley Snipes was good as The drug pusher-pimp, Silk. PMT makes a pretty convincing pimp & I liked his pimp-hat. LOL. He was so sweet to Carla until she wouldn't give him the key to the safety box. Boy, did he turn mean but then showed his badge. It was a real shame that Vic Romano didn't listen to Sonny & not get so involved with Carla. It cost him his wife & also his life! Good shootout at the end. Rico was so wrong thinking Carla would get out of the hooker profession after Romano died. She ended up doing Trudy's rap tune! I'd like to get a turquoise jacket like Crockett wore. Beautiful! Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like Sonny gets different jacket & pants combinations but Rico is usually stuck with the same greenish suit...until Season 5. Lots of vice in this Miami Vice episode. I rate it 7

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Season 3 temporarily returns to Style over Substance for this episode. It's isn't a bad episode, it just isn't special in any way really. Let's start off with a few negatives. The intro was fairly ridiculous and odd to say the least and Tony D I very much doubt this episode heralded the start of rap music. The acting from Bill Paxton was pretty poor in places and the story between him and the hooker fairly boring. Moving onto positives - how brilliant was PMT in this episode? He was fantastic playing it out like a pimp and I thought his scenes were brilliant. Also loved the bit where he rugby tackled the fat bloke after the intro sequence. The style is on top form, the music all fairly decent and Hammer tones good and Tubbs' suits were very slick! There is also a few bits of action to keep the pace up. All in all, a standard Vice episode that doesn't do anything that special, there isn't a substantial story to it but it's enjoyable for the most part. 7/10

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This episode is pretty poor. You could call it another filler episode.This ep is boring. It has a weak storyline, not much action, nothing much happens. Music isn't too good. About the title song, don't give up the day job DJ. Trudy talking on that song was embarassing to watch too.Notable for early appearances by Wesley Snipes and Bill Paxton but neither of them are good actors so it doesn't make much difference.The only real highlight of this ep is Trudy and Gina looking so hot.Overall a weak episode. 4/10But season 3 is about to get spectacular starting with next week's ep

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The only real highlight of this ep is Trudy and Gina looking so hot.

YEEESSSSS! Something I forgot to mention, although Gina wasn't that hot, but Trudy was certainly top notch!
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pros: great guest cast, good story, and this: Eingefügtes Bildcons: not enough jan hammer score, DJ song is kind of cheesyall in all: good ep for me. 7/10

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"Trudy starts it off with a prostitute's rap to a rock beat. This may be the beginning of rap music!!

Beginning of Rap music?, never heard of The Sugarhill Gang?:rolleyes:
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Liked it more when originally aired, watching it back, well it's very week, maybe not filler, but close.I liked the opening with Streetwise, a glaring missing track from my collectionMind you if I was scoring this for how hot Deborah J Adair was playing Carla, it would be a 10!4/10

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From the rather stupid opening to the cheesy romance between cop and prostitute, this episode sucks, there's no other way of putting it.4 out of 10(Fun Fact: Vic Romano was also the name of the host on the Spike TV show, MXC, coincidentally (or not) Vice aired on that channel for years.)

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My original review 30 May 2007 at 10:01pmI love this episode. I freely admit that I like DJ's song, so that has a lot to do with it. However, I'd only rate this episode a 9 This story treats one of the underlining themes I've noticed in vice. A cop has to be careful how deep undercover he goes and not lose sight of who he really is. Vic obviously has gone over the line. He's dating a hooker, protecting that hooker, and claims he's in love with this hooker. Sonny calls him on it, but does identify with him, which makes me wonder if Sonny went way over the line before the incidents in the Burnett Trilogy. Remember he says he's been where Vic is and knows where Vic is going. He also aluded to this in "Dutch Oven" when he told Trudy the only time he finds that line is when he's over it. He also tells Marty and Rico that Vic is so far under he doesn't know which way is up and then says that we've all been there. This is a slight change in Sonny's attitude from the "Heart of Darkness" episode, in that one he kept saying he (Sonny) had been under so deep and seemed to think that Tubbs and Lou couldn't and wouldn't ever understand this and they should. Sonny obviously realizes that he's not the only one in this position. We also get another admission from Crockett that although he's been at the Undercover game for lots longer than 10 months, he has to take time out everyday to remember who he is. (Check the guy in the mirror) Vic is way out there. He somehow thinks he can go off with this hooker, even though he's married to a nice stand up woman. Did he really give his home phone number to Carla? I can see giving an undercover phone number (like Sonny does) to a confidential Informant, but give the phone number where your wife might answer to a hooker! That was very strange and stupid. Another example of where Vic isn't thinking is when he thinks he can handle his situation himself, and Sonny bluntly tells him the kind of trouble he's in: "You don't know what you're into. You got bagged with a hooker who had a gram of pharmeceutical..." I loved the opening musical sequence with DJ singing Streetwise and Olivia lip syncing the lyrics the hooker says.(Didn't Olivia Brown and Whoopie Goldberg both do a rap on Streetwise audio in the Heartbeat video?) It let Trudy operate as she watched to see when the Ramrod hotel (love that name) was full so that Vice could sweep the motel. Larry is noticeably absent here, but otherwise the whole Vice squad was involved in this episode which is what I like. Rico was great as Butch the Pimp and I loved the way he treated Silk and Carla. I'm wondering about the name of this episode Streetwise, who was streetwise? The Vice squad obviously they are pretty streetwise, Vic wasn't he didn't have a clue, Silk of course was, and Carla, except for being naive to fall for a cop and think they could be together always. My problem how did either one Vic or Carla ever think it would work out that they could be together for good? Now as to the plot about the pharmaceutical leak. I don't know how realistic this would be. It seems to me that anyone using that grade of pharmaceutical would have all sorts of safeguards so that it would be discovered sooner than when it was. Once again we see Sonny lose something, he loses his battle saving Vic, and he loses the battle saving Carla although he probably never thought he could get Carla clean. I also like the ending where he squeezes Gina's shoulder in thanks for her and Trudy's support for writing their report as Romano trying to get the girl off the street when it was obvious that he and she were going to drive away somewhere and Vic was still not thinking clearly. I also found the coffee straw and the little packet of sugar spilled out interesting as the first time I saw this episode's ending I thought it was drugs and the coffee stirrer was a coke straw One last note This episode has one of my favorite lines Sonny Crockett says and I use it as my signature. 11/3/2009 - I still love this episode for all the things I said, but over several viewings I also much mention Rico dresses as a classy pimp, and he acts the part very well. Trudy also does her bit well as the pampered stuck up hooker that looks her nose down on the other hookers because she has the best pimp. I love her sassyness to Sweitek "Do you need some help with that score?" as she sashays toward Butch's car. I also like Gina's simpering when she talks to Carla about her man and what he could do for Carla, and then says she'll give him her name his name is Butch. I really still love this whole episode and can watch it at any time. Having seen Heartbeat the video, I'm still a little surprised when Streetwise starts playing and it's not the scenes in Heartbeat, but the street action and Trudy lypsincing her rap does go well with the street action that's going on there. One side note to Nash Bridges fans. Was the fat guy the one that played Diesel in Nash? Diesel was this huge guy (much like the cashbox man in Streetwise) who was shown occasionally in Nash's holding cells at the SIU.) I still rate this episode a 9.

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A 9 purely because of Trudy's wet-look leggings. It's a bloke thing :)

Whereas I love the killer heels Trudy is wearing ... now that's a woman thing lmaoThe episode wasn't a memorable one for me so I have given it 6/10
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  • 1 month later...

I'll judge this episode with a 7. It was not too much removed from 'Heart Of Darkness', as it focuses again on a policeman who lost his stepping because of the company he was keeping. Romano reformed for the most part at the end, but only to be killed. And Carla reverted back to her old habits.

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  • 4 weeks later...
It was not too much removed from 'Heart Of Darkness'' date=' as it focuses again on a policeman who lost his stepping because of the company he was keeping [/quote']The thought crossed my mind as well. In addition, did you notice how just as with Artie Rollins, Crockett identifies and sympathises with Romano to the point where he tries to look out for him. It's never made explicit, but Crockett obviously can identify deep down how easily it could be for he himself to be sucked into the dark side. Only by the time we get to "Mirror Image" is Crockett so burnt out that he loses the will to resist anymore.I thought the beginning to this episode was good. A slight slip into a lack of realism with Trudy singing and hooking at the same time, but they still managed to get away with it. I always wondered for years if this was DJ singing "Streetwise". He has a very distinctive and recognisable singing voice.What was going on with Bill Paxton's acting? Lucky for him by the time of "Titanic", he'd improved.I thought Wesley Snipes played a good pimp.I liked Gina's outfit. It was a shockingly bright shade of luminous green but none the less it was... well.... very tight fitting.My favourite scenes were the shootouts. Notice how when Crockett catches the Hitman (Mark Macauley), he shoves him against what was obviously a fake wall. The wall moves as he hits it. Also, was it me or did the Testarossa look false as Crockett dived over it? Notice that during the final shootout, Silk fires directly at the Testarossa, yet it sustains no bullet holes. Also, am I dreaming, or at the end of the episode when all we see is everyone's hands at table (interesting direction) is Gina seen to be in the middle of snorting cocaine? What I also find amusing about this scene is that Trudy is the one who tells Crockett and Tubbs that she will back them on their decision. Gina follows up with a more passive "definately", yet Crockett ignores Trudy and thanks Gina. Trudy was the one who suggested it in the first place!I thought the Jan Hammer music was good all the way throughout, but in particular at the end of the episode, which then merged back into "Streetwise". by repeating the same music that opened the episode, together with the same scenes of Carla hooking, it's almost like the story comes full circle, and the overall impression is that despite everything that Romano did to protect Carla, life still goes on and the world still keeps turning. Tubbs asks Crockett at the end of the episode what's bugging him. I believe that once again the fact that someone with whom Crockett identified with has died, brings into focus for him the consequences of getting sucked into the black hole of his alter ego, Burnett.I thought this was another great Season 3 episode, and I'll give it 8.5 out of 10.
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  • 6 months later...
My favourite scenes were the shootouts. Notice how when Crockett catches the Hitman (Mark Macauley)' date=' he shoves him against what was obviously a fake wall. The wall moves as he hits it. Also, was it me or did the Testarossa look false as Crockett dived over it? Notice that during the final shootout, Silk fires directly at the Testarossa, yet it sustains no bullet holes. [/quote']No, you are absolutely correct. The Testarossa IS a "fake". If you go back and look carefully, you'll see the rearview mirror that's usually perched on the driver's door is nowhere to be found. I was rewatching this episode night before last and spotted it right off even though I'd seen it a million times before and never noticed it.Probably done to prevent damaging the "real" car and/or to prevent Don damaging it or him when he did his stunt dive.
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  • 3 months later...

I gave the episode an 8, probably a little too high but I like the ending how the hooker is still hooking. This show had 2 big name actors who were on the verge of bigger things in their own careers (Paxton and Snipes). It had some nice twists and I thought a very nice score by Jan. Trudy and Gina looked hot and appropriately dressed (which certainly was not always the case-see the previous episode where T&G were waiting for the plane to land on the tarmac dressed in their skimpy outfits while the swat team was decked out in full camo). Well acted though probably should be knocked down a peg or two b/c everything was neatly wrapped up in the end. Still I gave it such a high grade b/c in comparison to the crap that's on TV today even the worst MV episode is no less than 4 in my books and a mediocre episode is in the 5-6 range.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...

I absolutely agree with the glossary. Streetwise doesn't reach unsurpassable Season 3 - eps such as Stone's War or The Good Collar, but - as I said in my Better Living Through Chemistry-post - it is impossible to only produce such episodes.So, Streetwise features a good plot, strong actors, a nice Jan Hammer-score and a cool Donnie-song and especially outstanding fashion and design.:happy::clap::happy:The lightings of the locations are impressing!!!:glossy::clap: Each corner, window and building gleams in another (neon-)light; best example is the scene where Stan interrogates Carla and the window in the background is illuminated gorgeously.:happy: Or the phone at Castillo's desktop reflects a green light - really really fantastic or rather artistically valuable!!The plot isn't political, it's normal police routine-work: VICE makes a raid in a cathouse and gets a police office busted who loves a hooker. So, VICE tries to get at her pimp. Behind this simple plot, there are several highlights: for example the dialogues between Sonny and Vic Romano and Sonny and Romano's wife, initially inside OCB, then in the Testa and in front of Romano's home.Sonny tells Romano that he exactly knows his difficult situation, caused by living months with a false identity, unaware whether he's a good or a bad guy.:cool:I really love these scenes because every time, I wonder how convincingly and expressively Donnie acts.:clap:The next highlight is the focus on Rico during the last 15 minutes. Rico operates awesome as a pimp. He's threatening because once he's charming and acts like a gentleman and suddenly he gets choleric and unreckonable:o - fantastic!And not to forget Gina's and Trudy's performance on the street, wearing skinny clothes - HOT !:hot: Although everyone only praises Trudy, I have to say that I love Gina's ... ... ... curves.:)Finally there's a good shootout and dramatical end because Carla hooks again - so Vic's death counts for nothing...All in all, a great 9 1/2 points - episode cause of overwhelming style and design and strong dialogues.

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