Episode #74 "God's Work"

[Tom]

This ep has an interesting history that also explains why it ended up a bit indecisively. 

The writers wanted to address AiDS which was quite new at the time and deemed a mysterious „penalty” disease for gay people by conservative circles and how strangely the Catholic Church handled that issue accordingly, i.e. they refused help for this self inflicted disease in the first place. That intended storyline led to many interventions by the Church at NBC and the script had to be softened several times. Even directrice Jan Eliasberg mentioned in an interview that she felt the final product had been somewhat diluted compared to original storyline. I felt the same when watching this show the first time but could not explain why until I did some research on it.

 

[Robbie C.]

I think this episode gets missed because it's in season 4 and a lot of people out there don't understand just how risky and powerful this episode was when it was aired. In Evan we never see the gay character (not even in flashback). He's an idea. Nothing more. Here we have a face to go with the issue, and one that's both attractive and successful. I wouldn't be surprised if the Church did intervene as Tom mentioned, but it really doesn't weaken the episode when viewed in the context of its times. 

Consider: not only is Felipe attractive and intelligent, he's being groomed to take his father's place in control of his crime empire. Yet he turns away from it for the man he loves, who also happens to be connected to crime. And it's the family priest, who also happens to be Castillo's friend from his civil rights days, who knows the truth and is punished for it. This was VERY progressive for 1987, even though today it's a footnote in a typical Law & Order SVU episode. And Vice was open about it, showing the terrible conditions available for AIDS patients back then as well as the blinkered attitudes even their own families had regarding their suffering. Frankly, I don't care if Crockett wasn't heavily featured here. He's not really a suitable character for an episode like this. Castillo is.

As for the boat chase, I could really care less. It was the fact that Vice took on this topic, and showed the cost of the AIDS epidemic at that time, is what impresses me the most.

[Rattlehead]

I recall watching this a couple of years ago and finding it dull. Upon a recent rewatch, I actually enjoyed it. Couldn't agree more with Robbie C.

[Glades]

For me, this is a Castillo episode that is rarely mentioned as one. I noticed some connections between Ernesto and Castillo in this episode:

Castillo fought shoulder by shoulder with Ernesto for what is important to him, as he now fights with his team.
Visually this is nicely shown at the meeting of the Vice-Team in the woods. The camera first circles around Castillo , Crockett and Tubbs (as if to emphasize their camaraderie) and then shows the three men walking shoulder by shoulder.

And just as Ernesto is part of the System of the Catholic Church, Castillo and his team are part of the system of the police, federal agencies, justice and politics. Both are supported by their system, but also repeatedly hindered.  Both are very concretely committed to the people, while the system also acts inhumanly again and again.

Ernesto taught Felipe compassion and love is what (christianity) is all about. I wonder if this means that the Vice-Team's work should in the end also be about compassion and love? Does this episode show how the Vice-Team sees itself and its work in a larger context?

 

 

 

 

[mjcmmv]

8 minutes ago, Glades said:

For me, this is a Castillo episode that is rarely mentioned as one. I noticed some connections between Ernesto and Castillo in this episode:

Castillo fought shoulder by shoulder with Ernesto for what is important to him, as he now fights with his team.
Visually this is nicely shown at the meeting of the Vice-Team in the woods. The camera first circles around Castillo , Crockett and Tubbs (as if to emphasize their camaraderie) and then shows the three men walking shoulder by shoulder.

And just as Ernesto is part of the System of the Catholic Church, Castillo and his team are part of the system of the police, federal agencies, justice and politics. Both are supported by their system, but also repeatedly hindered.  Both are very concretely committed to the people, while the system also acts inhumanly again and again.

Ernesto taught Felipe compassion and love is what (christianity) is all about. I wonder if this means that the Vice-Team's work should in the end also be about compassion and love? Does this episode show how the Vice-Team sees itself and its work in a larger context?

 

 

 

 

That's beautiful! I never thought about this episode that way. You've given me something to think about. Now, I'm determined to watch it again today!

[Matt5]

I enjoyed it. Good to see Castillo a bit more in this one and Gina looked beautiful.

[Robbie C.]

I think it relates to how Castillo sees his role in the system and the struggles he has with that system. I’ve always considered it a Castillo episode and one of the stronger ones at that. 

[Glades]

I think the stories of the MV episodes are quite often reflected in the main characters. Or the main characters in the stories. Often it is Crockett this time Castillo. And I love that.

 

 

[Matt5]

22 minutes ago, Glades said:

I think the stories of the MV episodes are quite often reflected in the main characters. Or the main characters in the stories. Often it is Crockett this time Castillo. And I love that.

 

 

Yes it works very well.

[zidders]

The scene where Esai Morales as Felipe talks about it being a part of who he was like the color of his hair and eyes, etc was shocking to me. For a mainstream popular show like that to tackle AIDS in such a straightforward way was surprising. The show hinted at homosexual characters before but even in Evan it danced around it. The scene with the dying boyfriend was heartbreaking as I'm sure it was for so many who were affected at the time. This honestly gets a 10/10 from me for taking on the topic and presenting Felipe as a real, sympathetic character. Nothing felt forced here. I'm glad as time has gone by more people on the forum are appreciating it because it deserves it. 

Edited February 3, 2020 by zidders

[TylerDurden389]

I'm about 5-6 episodes into season 4 (and my 2nd viewing of the entire series) and figured I'd chime in here. This, and "Death and the Lady" are 2 really well made episodes and so overall so far, I'm beginning to feel that I've been too harsh on season 4 over the years (granted, I still haven't rewatched 'missing hours' yet, lol). I think the overall issues with season 4 that many of us have are as follows:

 

- Little to no action (5-6 episodes in and I think I've heard 3 gunshots, not one fight, nor a single car chase)

- less 'cinematic' shots that gave the first 2 seasons (and part of season 3) that "film noir" vibe. After seasons 1&2, Miami no longer feels like a 'character' in its own show

- tonally it's all over the place

- yet another 'new look' for almost all the characters (Don's mullet, PMT's beard, Brown's longer hair, Saundra's semi-rockstar look)

- more parts from actors that played different characters in earlier episodes causes a loss of overall continuity

[summer84]

On 7/10/2020 at 10:43 PM, TylerDurden389 said:

I'm about 5-6 episodes into season 4 (and my 2nd viewing of the entire series) and figured I'd chime in here. This, and "Death and the Lady" are 2 really well made episodes and so overall so far, I'm beginning to feel that I've been too harsh on season 4 over the years (granted, I still haven't rewatched 'missing hours' yet, lol). I think the overall issues with season 4 that many of us have are as follows:

 

- Little to no action (5-6 episodes in and I think I've heard 3 gunshots, not one fight, nor a single car chase)

- less 'cinematic' shots that gave the first 2 seasons (and part of season 3) that "film noir" vibe. After seasons 1&2, Miami no longer feels like a 'character' in its own show

- tonally it's all over the place

- yet another 'new look' for almost all the characters (Don's mullet, PMT's beard, Brown's longer hair, Saundra's semi-rockstar look)

- more parts from actors that played different characters in earlier episodes causes a loss of overall continuity 

Thanks for sharing! I'm about to watch S4 soon and I think S3 also had some of those flaws with lack of action, boat scenes, Miami not being presented as it used to. At least the stories were more consistent. 

[Jack Gretsky]

The extensive use of my favorite Hammer music cue - first heard in "The Maze" for the scene when Gabriella slow dances and subsequently used in several other episodes - is enough to make me look favorably on this episode.  Fortunately it has more than just that going for that - family intrigue, a beautiful scene of Castillo relaxing and joking with friends, good location shots, a meditation on compassion - to make this one of the better episodes of S4. 

[Tom]

Am 5.4.2019 um 22:29 schrieb Robbie C.:

Consider: not only is Felipe attractive and intelligent, he's being groomed to take his father's place in control of his crime empire. Yet he turns away from it for the man he loves, who also happens to be connected to crime. And it's the family priest, who also happens to be Castillo's friend from his civil rights days, who knows the truth and is punished for it. This was VERY progressive for 1987, even though today it's a footnote in a typical Law & Order SVU episode. And Vice was open about it, showing the terrible conditions available for AIDS patients back then as well as the blinkered attitudes even their own families had regarding their suffering..

Thanks for addressing that as this episode is one of the many examples that the prejudice against MV being style only was unjustified. Show me another 80s show where they addressed HIV, child molestation, gay discrimination, 3rd world baby adoption, juvenile gang crimes, artificial crack, etc. Vice was way ahead of its time but not only visually also story wise. Those who deny that have just not succeeded to see beyond the visual layer and most likely have their own problem with superficiality.

Edited September 3, 2020 by Tom

[Robbie C.]

I've mentioned this many times, actually. But Vice was also a victim of its own emphasis on style. It makes it easy for people to miss or discount the more important or significant episodes because they used fog machines or Sonny wore the wrong shirt or his hair was too long/too short.

[pahonu]

34 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

I've mentioned this many times, actually. But Vice was also a victim of its own emphasis on style. It makes it easy for people to miss or discount the more important or significant episodes because they used fog machines or Sonny wore the wrong shirt or his hair was too long/too short.

Robbie C.

I can attest to you pointing out this fact in the past, and I also enjoy these episodes that essentially challenged the comfort zone of viewers of the era.  Then I remember the many criticisms I’ve also read more recently here deriding these episodes as “story of the week” or “ripped from the headlines” scripts, and describing them less fondly.  To each his own as they say. 

[Robbie C.]

True, but I also think some of the people who make those criticisms are coming from a more Dick Wolf-based framework. He's made his entire career doing this very "ripped from the headlines" thing. Back when Vice first aired it was far less common. Much of Vice once you get past the style is based on it being 'in the moment' as they love to say these days. What seems trite and (as I mentioned with my comment about SVU) commonplace wasn't back then. Vice was a product of its time, and without that context it can be hard to appreciate some of things the show did once you get past the production values. Context still matters.

[pahonu]

2 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

True, but I also think some of the people who make those criticisms are coming from a more Dick Wolf-based framework. He's made his entire career doing this very "ripped from the headlines" thing. Back when Vice first aired it was far less common. Much of Vice once you get past the style is based on it being 'in the moment' as they love to say these days. What seems trite and (as I mentioned with my comment about SVU) commonplace wasn't back then. Vice was a product of its time, and without that context it can be hard to appreciate some of things the show did once you get past the production values. Context still matters.

Agreed.  I was just pointing out that many forum members in the past haven’t particularly liked those kind of “Dick Wolf”  episodes even though I, and perhaps you, have enjoyed the “in the moment” topics.
 

This is a pretty large generalization any way you look at it, but on many fan forums I’ve noticed that there’s typically a group that don’t like episodes that stray to far from the show “formula”.  Then there are those that are critical when a series becomes too formulaic.  That’s what I meant by to each his own.  I imagine episodic television writers have to balance those competing views in real time today with all the online fandom.  In the past, it was likely just the producers and writers going in whatever direction they chose.

[ivoryjones]

Any idea what was the third electronic item Francesco mentions on the first scene? I hear "Trinitrons", "auto-focus cameras" and... "PC Tools with software". I am not sure if that is correct, once "PC Tools" was the software itself (made by Central Point Software, acquired by Symantec in 1994).  If he said "PC-2's", it wouldn't make sense in 1987, as I believe PC-2 was a Personal Computer made by Eagle in 1984, too old considering MV 4th Season. If he said "PS/2's", then it would fit the context, IBM had released that generation of personal computers in April, 1987.

[Tom]

vor 7 Stunden schrieb ivoryjones:

Any idea what was the third electronic item Francesco mentions on the first scene? I hear "Trinitrons", "auto-focus cameras" and... "PC Tools with software". I am not sure if that is correct, once "PC Tools" was the software itself (made by Central Point Software, acquired by Symantec in 1994).  If he said "PC-2's", it wouldn't make sense in 1987, as I believe PC-2 was a Personal Computer made by Eagle in 1984, too old considering MV 4th Season. If he said "PS/2's", then it would fit the context, IBM had released that generation of personal computers in April, 1987.

He clearly says "PC-2s". It refers to an IBM compatible small business system including spreadsheet SW introduced around or before Feb 84 and it makes sense it this case. The 3 year period is not an issue as the computer could be extended with additional gadgets and was not outdated in 87 with its small business capabilities. Here is a link that explains what the specs and the price of the PC2 were. It was certainly something that a fence could or would have pushed around in 87, at least for a "business audience".

https://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v10n2/28_Eagle_PC2.php

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Tom

[ivoryjones]

Thank you very much for the comprehensive information and context, @Tom.

 

[RedDragon86]

On 4/5/2019 at 9:29 PM, Robbie C. said:

I think this episode gets missed because it's in season 4 and a lot of people out there don't understand just how risky and powerful this episode was when it was aired. In Evan we never see the gay character (not even in flashback). He's an idea. Nothing more. Here we have a face to go with the issue, and one that's both attractive and successful. I wouldn't be surprised if the Church did intervene as Tom mentioned, but it really doesn't weaken the episode when viewed in the context of its times. 

Consider: not only is Felipe attractive and intelligent, he's being groomed to take his father's place in control of his crime empire. Yet he turns away from it for the man he loves, who also happens to be connected to crime. And it's the family priest, who also happens to be Castillo's friend from his civil rights days, who knows the truth and is punished for it. This was VERY progressive for 1987, even though today it's a footnote in a typical Law & Order SVU episode. And Vice was open about it, showing the terrible conditions available for AIDS patients back then as well as the blinkered attitudes even their own families had regarding their suffering. Frankly, I don't care if Crockett wasn't heavily featured here. He's not really a suitable character for an episode like this. Castillo is.

As for the boat chase, I could really care less. It was the fact that Vice took on this topic, and showed the cost of the AIDS epidemic at that time, is what impresses me the most.

Marty sure did get around a lot for being a deep background, government agent. 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by RedDragon86

[Robbie C.]

No more so than Tubbs getting hired on with Metro-Dade after committing a couple of felonies in NYC...

[FlemFan]

Castillo laughing about the Catholic softball league teams! The way the art bowl with beads gets shot to pieces!

And I'd vouch that was Jeroen Krabbe (Heroes of the Revolution) in a blonde dye-job as the meddlesome, political priest.

[FlemFan]