Episode #50 "Shadow In The Dark"


Ferrariman

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  • 1 year later...

this is better than manhunter and one of my favourite all time episodes. I gave it a 10. love the way Sonny goes to the edge of sanity and returns.... just

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Yes, I loved this episode as well, and it's one of my favourites. I've come to realise from doing these reviews that I am particularly drawn to the more supernatural episodes e.g "Tale of the Goat", "Whatever works" (I draw the line at "Missing hours" though!). Of course it's no coincidence that Shill mentions "Manhunter" as the plotline for this episode obviously borrows from that idea.I was having a conversation with Ferrariman the other day in which we were talking about how even now we keep finding out new things about Vice. Despite watching this episode repeatedly over the last 21 years, I always assumed that the music at the beginning of the episode was Jan Hammer. I only found out last week it's actually Brian Eno.Notice the house that the burglar is walking around at the beginning of the episode is the same one as the one that Crockett and Tubbs gatecrashed in "The Home Invaders", and the house at the end of the episode is the same as Brenda's from "Nobody lives forever". The producers obviously only had access to a certain limited number of houses. Did anyone else think that the Cat Burglar looks like Jan Hammer?I always assumed that this episode was supposed to immediately follow "When Irish eyes are crying", but come before "Stone's War", as Crockett has no car and Tubbs has to drive him everywhere. This could have been the point where the producers were having the Testarossa resprayed between the two episodes.One thing that occured to me was when Georgie (the guy in the wheelchair) came out with that vague comment about knowing some guy who used to "climb 15 stories to look at some ugly Hausfrau". How did Gilmore know exactly who he was talking about?!Again, why is this a Vice investigation? If you look at it within the context of this being one of Crockett's dreams then I guess no sense would make sense though, and in particular as Crockett used to work in Robbery then his mind may have been mixing up the past and present.Notice how when Crockett drags the rest of the team out late at night, he almost says "I sense that he's here", but manages to stop himself in time and change the words to "I swear that he's here". He's very much aware that he doesn't want them to think he's a nut case. Again I think DJ's acting in this episode is very good, and I think he put a lot of effort into it. Crockett asks Tubbs at the end of the scene "Do you think I'm crazy?". Tubbs replies "No, I just think neither of us has had much sleep recently". Crockett accuses him of not answering his question. If you notice, he did though!The Doctor at the hospital was the same actor who played the crooked DEA cop Bill Lyons in "Sons and Lovers".I also like how when Crockett is going into this semi trance while telling Tubbs how he wants to "take pictures of all these houses", he happens to catch sight of Tubbs staring at him as if he's crazy, and that snaps him out his trace, because at that point he realises that he's actually sounding crazy.Notice how impatient Crockett is with his obsession. Watch his reaction when the Psychiatric nurse at Gilmore's hospital stops to take the clip board. Once again, great acting by DJ.Note again the similarites in the concluding scene to "Manhunter". Bad guy breaks into woman's home (she lives alone). Just as the bad guy looks like he's about to attack the woman, our protagonist breaks in and ultimately manages to overpower him. In the original BBC version, the 7 or 8 punches that Crockett delivers to the Cat Burglar turned into about 2 or 3.My favourite scene of the whole episode is where Crockett is the dream sequence from when Crockett is sat at his desk.Finally, the conversation between the Cat Burglar and the police officer at the end of the episode is that amusing that I think it deserves repeating.."Where do you live?""In a house""I need the exact address""Where the sun never shines. I need tin foil""Whaddya need tin foil for?""To protect my heart"."Where were you born?""In your mind""How old are you?""Older than you""What's your second name?""I don't have a name""That'll make ya sick""I am sick".9 out of 10 for this episode from me!

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My opinion of this episode is continuously changing When i first watched i thought it was weird and strange and I hated it. Upon successive viewings it has improved albeit going up and down in my opinion all the time. There is no doubt that Don Johnson performed very well in this episode, theres some very amusing parts, Jan hammers music is absolutely fantastic and there are some nice houses in this episode. Also the scene where they are cruising in the caddy with the blistering sunshine beating down is brilliant. However, the intro is weird, the burglar guy is weird and sometimes this episode boarders on being totally ridiculous, but it is enjoyable. I give it an 8/10 because it is an original story, a little funny, and quite enjoyable but then again completely weird.

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This episode, rather than Miami Vice, has for me the feel of a phycological thriller. The acting is great all around, but DJ gives an exceptional performance as he becomes one with the demented cat burglar. As he shows his badge to the girl after punching the daylights out of the perp, he franticly yells, "I'm a cop, I'm a cop", as if trying to convince himself rather than her! Even the psyco catches it, & says laughing," You live with me don't you?" Great episode I give it a 10 for the acting & suspense: from- .org For this Poll I gave it a 9 & I'll stick with an overall 9, since there are other episodes that I like better.

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I give it a 10, which I do rarely. I remember NBC replaying it in the winter of '87, even though it had just been shown a few months earlier. This was right before the first showing of The Afternoon Plane on February 20, 1987. They showed both episodes that night.

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This one gets a 10 from me! It's such a change of pace from the normal Vice episode. Even Jan Hammer outdid himself with some of the most original scoring I have ever heard! and the coolest thing about this episode? It was first aired on Halloween night in '86!!

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This episode is so dumb. It is one of my least favourite episodes. Crap basically.Full review in a couple of days

It's very rare when you say you really like an episode, Tommy. ;):D
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was that planned Lou' date=' or a coincidence?[/quote']I would think it was planned.......Walker, Texas ranger had seasonal episodes & Nash Bridges, also. :xmas:
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31st October 1986 fell on a Friday, the usual night of airing MV. They probably knew that was going to happen so they aired a dark MV episode...

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Shadow Reviewed originally 04 May 2007 at 3:28pmThis is one of my favorites in Season 3. From the creepy music to DJ’s performance. This episode is creepy from the start. Also The guy playing the stalker should be given credit for a creepy silent performance except the last few scenes where he speaks. We’re all wondering what makes this guy Tick, and Sonny literally has to try and figure that out on a personal level. I’m also impressed with the amount of lee-way Castillo gives Sonny trying to figure this guy out and solve the crime. Even at the end when he finally tells Sonny to go home and he’s off the case, it’s obvious that Sonny hasn’t gone home and has been brooding and thinking about the case. Rico in a last ditch effort to get Sonny to go home agrees to Sonny’s plan to have Gilmore pick the same house that Sonny did, if Gilmore doesn’t they all can go home. So evidently Rico told Castillo this and Castillo agreed to let Sonny try so that Sonny would finally be convinced to go home. When Gilmore does pick the same house as Sonny Castillo doesn’t even hesitate he tells Rico to go. It turns out that Sonny’s got it right. I love the scene on the roof where they talk to Georgie. It’s pretty much the only nice scene in the episode nice ocean view pretty blue skies, but even it gets marred by Gilmore flaming out and dumping Georgie out of his wheel chair. The guy playing Gilmore did a good job acting intense and crazy, especially his eye expressions. It’s also interesting to note that Sonny was beginning to act like Gilmore, not sleeping thinking about the case 24 hours a day, trying to think like the prowler. Also interesting is Castillo recognized this and was trying to monitor it and remind Sonny of it also. The interaction between the partners was good. Rico doesn’t understand how Sonny can be so obsessed but he’s trying to help. He’s there for his partner, as Sonny gets more dragged into the Prowler’s psyche Rico seems to be his shadow and anchor to reality 24/7. Rico unceasingly tries to remind Sonny that he may be getting obsessed. Sonny is in control but barely. He comes close to hitting Rico but instead removes himself from the immediate confrontation when Rico says anyone can get a little crazy…. Another scene of interest is when Rico and Sonny are going through burglary reports looking for MOs Sonny evidently has known Captain Cahill for years and is on friendly terms with him. Even jokes with him “ I still see your wife has you working the midnight shift. Cahill replies “It’s cheaper than a divorce, so you’re working with Gilmore good man.., then later when Captain Cahill is so sure they’ve gotten the prowler when they book lido Starr, Sonny becomes very insubordinate, and Captain Cahill becomes angry and even ridicules Sonny. “I’m not going to waste valuable manpower just because one tired cop thinks he’s got the vibe….†Sonny right back in his face. “He’s still out there, and this time he’s going to go further.He's going to draw blood, and some of that blood is going to get on you….†I can’t even imagine watching this Halloween night 1986, but I imagine it was even more creepy. I did make the mistake of watching this once late at night and that was creepy enough. I was checking my sliding glass balcony door for at least a month afterwards. I give this episode a 10 10/6/2009 - I still think this was a very good episode. Unlike some people I really believe this episode happened and was not a dream. I still think DJ gave one of his best performances in Vice if ever. Some one asked if they thought the prowler looked like somebody. I kept thinking of Lindsey Buckingham (from Fleetwood Mac)

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This episode is quite clearly influenced by Manhunter, which Mann directed that same year. It's also one of the most ludicrous episodes you'd find outside of season 4.The good points about this ep; it's well directed, executed, very good performance by DJ, excellent tunes by Jan Hammer, interesting look, feel and atmosphere. Good scene between Crockett and Castillo in the cafe. Nice house at the start too.But this episode is so silly, stupid and hammy it borders on parody. You think it's a comedy episode at times. All that stuff about pants, flour and lipstick referred to in all seriousness. WTF? It's ridiculous how they catch the prowler. Crockett and Gilmore randomly pick the same house so that's automatically where he is. There's so many lame and cliched things in this episode, like Crockett's nightmares. Is there anything more cliched than a nightmare scene? This episode is too ridiculous. But at least with the ending we can pretend the whole episode was a dream.A major problem is the prowler was a complete doofus who was not in the least bit intimidating. He was about as menacing as Pee Wee Herman. Crockett says he's like Casper the Ghost. He's not as scary as Casper. What was the girl so scared of? She could kick his ass. I can't give this episode a high score because it's so ridiculous. 6/10

Edited by Tommy Vercetti
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This episode is quite clearly influenced by Manhunter' date=' which Mann directed that same year. [/quote']I had heard /read somewhere that the episode was loosely based on a real case by the writer Chuck Adamson who was a cop.
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What I think made this guy so creepy.The cops were losing it, because the people were puting pressure on TPTB. Also evidently before the prowler wakes up the scared girl which ends up in the hospital. They knew nothing about this guy. He was getting into houses picked only houses in a certain grid. Got a knife out drew distubing scenes on the walls, took a big chunk out of raw meat, and made grunting noises but din't speak. That right there would indicate a savage person, that seemed to be able to move at will through people's houses and the police couldn't do a thing about him. Crockett described him as Casper the ghost. Then after they talked to the hysterical girl in the hospital. Tubbs said he's human and that he wore size 10 shoes, Sonny figures out he was getting in by removing the sliding glass doors off the track. It's always scarier to chase some nebulous thing that seems to act without rhyme or reason. Drug Dealers have a reason they do the things they do Same with regular killers, but this stalker they didn't know what he was going to do next, they couldn't figure out what he was thinking, that's why he was harder to pin down, and that's why the neighborhood was scared. Some psycho was running around (never mind he hadn't killed anyone yet) some weird guy was running around eating raw meat out of the victim's home using a big kitchen knife for some purpose, and running around with flour on his face making grunting noises. Their peace of mind was shattered. I was very scared when I watched this episode late at night in my apartment when at the time I was on the second floor but had a sliding glass door on my balcony. This guy was all around creepy!

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This is a great episode, while I agree with Tommy that it is a bit close to Manhunter, although I think the one thing you have to remember about the prowler is he was a whackjob, and even if Minnie Mouse broke into the house and ransack the refrigerator a housewife in some expensive house would probably freak out, of course I would freak out, then shoot him.Bu th this episode has some great, dark cinematography and a more psychological-tinged storyline. I personally think the episode shows the series getting a more realistic flavor than what we are used to, the whole season shows that, instead of badly dressed drug dealer of the week like the previous season.But back on the episode, I don't believe the episode is a dream, that's just too absurd to dream up ALL that, that one scene at the end is the true dream, remember, this case somehow hit him psychologically. (although I'll admit I thought that was a little cheesy he would just immediately go whack over this case after all the violence he's endured and the weirdos he's met before in previous seasons.)I may be going soft on this one, but I give it a 10.

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This one grew on me...I absolutely HATED it the first time I saw it or recently saw it and after four or five times, I actually saw what made it so goo(to me anyway) was the acting that Sonny did in this one. The scene cracked me up where Sonny is doing shots and Martin is sitting with them and the drink order gets changed a few times...(Anyone see a Challenger drive by?) Good call Papa on the familiar house(s) in this one..You beat me to it...Tossed this one a nine....Nights does this to a person...I know-I work third shift....Mike

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Nights does this to a person...I know-I work third shift....Mike

"y'know it's funny when ya work all night.. world gets kinda outta sync with ya... it's like you can just... sneak up on it!"
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  • 3 weeks later...

Strange, as it seems that I've already voted on this episode, but don't remember doing so, lol. But at the moment, I give it a 5. I just found it to be too bizzare and pretty disturbing for an ep of MV.

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