Leaderboard

The original VHS cover art of the Pilot has an odd, almost 70ies feeling. For those who never saw the VHS release the best coverart image I could find is the German version. But the Ozzy version had the same artwork albeit in english: I must have rented out the store copy a dozen times

Hey guys, here’s a Crockett-inspired look I am proud of. It’s a vintage linen Valentino blazer from the 80s, matched with a pink t-shirt, wide linen pants, and canvas Toms.

It certainly did, in something like Magnum PI they would all be sipping tea on Higgins lawn saying what a great job they all did catching the bad guys. Spielberg endings.

You do

Not sure I am in agreement/ understood a couple of your snarky comments , but re: Sonny sticking up for Gina to Cross--I think this was similar to a sibling pair who fight and argue with each other, but let an outsider come in and pick on one, and the other one rushes to their defense. Although I don't particularly see Sonny and Gina as work siblings, I believe they had actively tried to be friends without benefits and had loyalty to each other that superseded accepting this unfriendly agent of a foreign government's demands. Quoted from one of my earlier episode review comments: Was there anything deliberate on the writer's/ director's part in having the Daytona destroyed in a Gina episode??? An intriguing idea but I'm skeptical about any intentions in that direction. I always understood Carroon intended to take out the Concorde--Gina knew this and it's the reason she was there; she truly had cared for him and hoped to be able to stop him before he did something that would cause the deaths of many innocent people and couldn't be walked back. She would have killed Sean if he didn't stop, regardless of whether Sonny showed up or not--and Sean would have killed her first, if possible, in order to complete his mission. Sean didn't think Gina would really shoot him, because of her feelings for him. But when Sonny shows up and attracts Sean's attention, Gina acts without hesitation to protect Sonny--in spite of her feelings for Sean, who had led her to believe they had a real future together. From my original episode review: I left your last screenshot because it's a favorite scene for me, and gave me hope that the Sonny-Gina relationship would be revived. Sadly (for me!) that wasn't the case. I still think it shows that the two of them truly cared for each other, although the caring might be described as "it's complicated."

A 1985 industry advert for the VHS edition of the Pilot. Great ad!

Hello Vice family. I just re watched the pilot which launched the series. I was reminded all over again why this is such a fun series. It really took me back to my youth when I was single and healthy. The show has class!! The music, dialog, locations, the vibe of Miami and the 80s culture. FUN! FUN! FUN! The line when Crockett asks Tubbs if he was in Miami to work on his tan had me bust a gut with laughter. In fact there was a lot of funny dialog. This show premiered during my last year in college and Friday night date night always began AFTER watching Miami Vice. There was a tv lounge in my dormitory and it was packed each week to watch the show that defined the 80s. These MTV cops made a splash on the small screen and we watched. Thank you to whoever was responsible for creating this website so we all could go back in time to enjoy our love for this series.

If I remember correctly Sonny told this date to Cristine von Marburg.

Looking sharp, and welcome to the Vice family.

Oh, I agree that Sean was fully prepared to shoot Gina, who was the only thing that stood in his way of accomplishing his goal. Yes, he was part of a terrorist plot. When she said "You haven't done anything yet," she referred only to the act of shooting down the Concorde. It's possible that Gina wasn't aware of any other of his actions during this trip to the US. Why would he get involved with a law enforcement officer? Hubris. Plus, he may have thought Gina would provide a good cover for his activities. No, he wasn't a nice guy and Gina was definitely taken in by his "reformed zealot" persona. As many have stated with Like a Hurricane, it's possible that the apparently very short timeline may have actually taken place over a longer period of time--but it was definitely very short and points out Gina's tendency to leap before she looks.

I agree, it seemed like either DJ or EJO were the ones who had the best episodes centered around them…the rest of the cast just had little pieces of backstory here and there, or the episode involving them wasn’t the greatest. But, I do really like this episode…I liked Saundra playing both roles, and I thought this was one that actually truly focused on & even “cared for” her character of Gina. The plot, and finally her character, had depth. And it didn’t have C&T rushing in & taking over, and “solving” everything for her. Gina handled most of this herself.

To promote this summer's release of Beverly Hills Cop IV, they've been airing the first three movies on TV a lot. I was watching Beverly Hills Cop II and I noticed the bad guy's henchman is Paul Guilfoyle (Milton Glanz in Death and the Lady). Then I noticed the daughter of the murder victim is Deborah Adair (the hooker in Streetwise). It turns out AndrewRemington already documented in another thread a bunch of MV actors in that movie. Deborah/Alice Adair from “Streetwise” Brian O’Connor from “Baby Blues” Dean Stockwell from “Bushido” Tom Bower from “Bushido” Paul Guilfoyle from “Death and the Lady” Chris Rock from “Missing Hours” Frank Pesce from “Home Invaders” Robert Pastorelli from “Down from the Count Part II” There's a reason: the movie had the same casting director as MV - Bonnie Timmerman. I also noticed a shootout scene that looked familiar: We see a camera shot of this same location setting up a scene in Yankee Dollar:

I've never cared for it, either. But they never seemed to put quite as much effort into episodes that weren't showcasing DJ or EJO. At least to me. PMT always suffered in that regard, and they never gave Olivia Brown much respect, either (especially after Season 2 or so). And don't get me started on how they wasted Switek...

Dutch Oven, angle not seen in episode

I actually don’t think it would have been better. If some other actress had played Gina’s mom, it would not have had the emotional impact we needed to connect with Gina & her character. And they would have had to “explain” a lot more to let viewers know it was supposed to be Gina’s mother. In my opinion, the way it was done & handled was perfect!

Honestly, it didn't bother me. Elena is shown with a different hair color and style; as well as a style of dress and makeup that was more 1960-appropriate. Would it have been better if another actress had played Gina's mom? Maybe. But for me, it worked.

I’ve known both girls & boys, men & women who are practically splitting-images of their parents. The joke is usually, no one can say they were adopted! So, although yes it’s Saundra playing both roles, it doesn’t take away the seriousness of it for me at all. It drew me in almost immediately, as I knew it was going to revolve around Gina & her past. It actually helped enhance or deepen the plot and seriousness, in my opinion. I think Saundra did a superb job, playing both parts & helping develop the emotional attachment for her in the present & her mother in the past. The only unrealistic aspect to me is Klaus & Pedrosa…neither one aged much in 27 years, lol! But, it was the 80s…you were supposed to use your imagination and just go with it. One thing I loved about Season 3 is it started with Gina…and it ended with her. I was glad to see one of the other cast members being focused on more, instead of it always being Crockett & Tubbs over & over—once in a while Castillo was given a couple moments. But, I thought the character of Gina was really given a chance-to-enhance during this time, and “Heroes” is one of my favorites from the season!

The good collar

So, how long does Sonny hold on to that...? It's four years later, he's been married again, he's been horrifically widowed and is about to go murder the guy responsible... I saw this on my rewatch of "Deliver Us From Evil", and my jaw dropped. Well, on the one hand, thank you for sharing your feelings with the class, James... ...on the other... oh, Sonny, you are so screwed up!! It's not ok to have barely-dressed pictures of your exes somewhere your spouse will never see them. Less okay still if the reason she's barely dressed is entirely because of you. (And in the modern day, he'd be in triple trouble for having a picture of a coworker like that at work, no less.) As others have noted, except for a wedding picture when he's initially sitting in the boat and grieving, he has no pictures of Caitlin at all. And I don't believe for one second he views Gina's picture in some kind of innocent sentimental context (it's more like Caitlin's picture of Will), or that he just stuck it in there and forgot about it for three years. Not only is a psych Ph.D not required to decipher his feelings, she's between Rico and Billy, whom the show makes very clear are the other two most important people in his life. So for anyone who views the relationship as "Gina's hopelessly in love with him; Sonny wasn't interested/moved on long ago"... I would say the end of Season 4 puts some fairly graphic evidence to the contrary.

"Whatever Works, Part II" So, going back to the beginning of this episode, there's Crockett's nameless, semi-infamous, forgettable one-night-stand. Let's look at her a little more closely... "Please call me, Sonny"/ "Please dance with me, Sonny" Does he do either? No. Is it implied he's now feeling a lot more guilty about the latter? Yes. Is it also implied he probably slept with this random woman because under the influence she somehow seemed like Gina? Also yes. Do the Gina ties stop here? They don't. So as opposed to this time, where he's completely ignoring her, has to pick up a sordid mess from unfulfilling shenanigans, and loses the Daytona to boot... ...the last time we saw Sonny in his (blue, more optimistic, not-Daytona black) underpants at the crack of dawn on the boat, he was pretty damn involved and happy. And with good reason. Everybody was in such a good mood here that despite hearing about Barbara Caro's murder minutes later, Sonny holds onto this memory (as a positive) for a long, long time. TBC. As far as "Whatever Works" is concerned, though, it's a surprising amount of stuff to catch considering it's all in the background, it's not an episode about their relationship, and Gina doesn't even have any lines! Now multiply that by 100, literally...

Today I took a walk in the Harbour at Alvor in the Algarve Portugal. Lovely day with the odd gust of wind.

There's an interesting coincidence in that this is episode #88 and that was also Crockett's football number. A "bullet" for a wide receiver there would be a well-aimed pass from the QB. Might be another sign that like Burnett, things are planned much earlier than they air and Crockett may have always been meant to be shot in this ep (allowing for DJ and for the show to run that long, of course).

Alvor Portimao, Algarve Portugal on the sea front yesterday. I got a new Blazer

1984 photos of the enormous 2,300 capacity dance floor at Club Z in the old Cinema Theater building on Miami Beach. Also seen in Knock Knock, Who’s There?, Death and the Lady, Honor Among Thieves, and Deliver Us From Evil. Crowd waiting for entrance.

From Yerkovich's script:

I have a memory of reading that Don Johnson actually came up with idea to drop his glasses so Sonny would see the bomb under the car. I guess they had not worked out a reason Sonny would be looking from such a low angle. Anyone else hear that, or am I so high I need clearance to land?

I posted these pics in another thread some time ago, but I’ll put them here, too. Some season 3 looks I put together