Crockett's Metro Dade Career

[Robbie C.]

This is a snippet from a rather large essay I've done regarding Crockett's background in general and his Vietnam service in particular. There's another section dealing with his college football I might post at some point. I'm sure I missed some references during the series, but I hope this catches all the high points and charts a reasonable flow for Sonny in law enforcement. I also challenge to a degree how the show paints him as "green" during parts of "Evan."

It’s not even clear within the context of the series how long Crockett’s been with Metro Dade. His statement about working “ten years undercover” in “Heart of Darkness” clearly can’t apply to just Metro Dade; if it did, he would have been working for the department during the evacuation of Saigon! He also would have had to go straight to undercover from the police academy, which is also not possible based on his accounts of working the streets with Evan Freed and Mike Orgell from the episode “Evan.” In the first season alone we hear that Crockett came up under John Malone in Robbery Division (“Home Invasion”), has the previously-mentioned ten years of undercover experience, worked with Lieutenant Rodriguez in Vice for six years prior to Tubbs arriving in Miami (the pilot), and finally went directly from the Academy to the streets with two other cops (“Evan”). Crockett’s time in Robbery Division comes up later in the series (most notably during the Hackman arc), so this could be considered the ‘definitive’ background. Still…Crockett’s character is the only one with this many differences in his law enforcement background. Even the supporting cast (Switek, Zito, Gina, and Trudy) benefit from more stable backgrounds than Crockett.

Based on the episodes mentioned, Crockett likely did a year or so on uniform patrol (with Evan and Mike, possibly working with Vice in some sort of support role but not assigned to the unit) and then moved up to Robbery Division. He would have done two years there before moving over to Vice and Lieutenant Rodriguez, giving Crockett a total of nine years with Metro Dade when the series opens. The “ten years of undercover work” simply isn’t possible no matter how one twists Crockett’s careers. His stint with Robbery would have been more investigative than undercover in any case. One episode even mentions Crockett teaching ethics at the Police Academy, adding yet another twist to his career and one we can likely ignore. Given the flow of writers through the series, it was likely more of an ironic jibe than a serious addition to the character’s backstory.

One unresolved tension from this is the picture we’re given of a green and inexperienced Crockett in “Evan”, in particular during his conversation with Tubbs at the abandoned gas station. While talking about Mike being gay and his eventual suicide, Crockett makes much of his inexperience. How is this to be reconciled with his two tours in Vietnam and considerable life experience before he went to the Academy? With at least six years of military service and college time prior to that, Crockett would have come to the Academy with more experience than most of his fellow trainees, including Evan and Mike. While it’s possible, although not probable, Mike was the first homosexual he might have known, Crockett by his own later admission had seen buddies die (“Smuggler’s Blues”) and saved his college friend in a firefight with NVA troops (“Buddies”). He was no stranger to violence, and in Vietnam he would have seen much of the worst humanity had on offer. I seriously doubt he would have been as passive and confused as that scene implies.

In the end the writers and show runners sacrificed another aspect of Crockett’s background to make a point. Sadly, it’s a point that could have been better-made had they used Crockett’s constructed background.

[Bren10]

Something else that kinda bothered me was his helplessness in the woods in Glades.

[Robbie C.]

9 minutes ago, Bren10 said:

Something else that kinda bothered me was his helplessness in the woods in Glades.

That, too. Granted if he was an MP (which I think is the only likely MOS for him) he wouldn't have had tons of bush time, but he would have had at least basic jungle training.

[Campion]

Is it possible he did police work between tours in Vietnam (assuming the tours were not back-to-back)? 

[Robbie C.]

42 minutes ago, Campion said:

Is it possible he did police work between tours in Vietnam (assuming the tours were not back-to-back)? 

Not likely. He would still have been in the service, but if he happened to be an MP he would have been doing that sort of police work. If you go with the working assumption that Sonny was a volunteer (and that allows best for his two tours), there wouldn't have been a gap in service allowing for that.

[vicegirl85]

2 hours ago, Robbie C. said:

(snipped) Still…Crockett’s character is the only one with this many differences in his law enforcement background. Even the supporting cast (Switek, Zito, Gina, and Trudy) benefit from more stable backgrounds than Crockett.(snipped)

(snipped) One unresolved tension from this is the picture we’re given of a green and inexperienced Crockett in “Evan”, in particular during his conversation with Tubbs at the abandoned gas station. While talking about Mike being gay and his eventual suicide, Crockett makes much of his inexperience. How is this to be reconciled with his two tours in Vietnam and considerable life experience before he went to the Academy? With at least six years of military service and college time prior to that, Crockett would have come to the Academy with more experience than most of his fellow trainees, including Evan and Mike. While it’s possible, although not probable, Mike was the first homosexual he might have known, Crockett by his own later admission had seen buddies die (“Smuggler’s Blues”) and saved his college friend in a firefight with NVA troops (“Buddies”). He was no stranger to violence, and in Vietnam he would have seen much of the worst humanity had on offer. I seriously doubt he would have been as passive and confused as that scene implies.(snipped)

 

Great analysis, Robbie C.

Just to add my two cents worth... true that Crockett's law enforcement background is very contradictory as it is described at different times during the show's run (as you have described very well!).  However, I have never been able to see that Switek, Zito, Gina, and Trudy were given enough detail regarding their background to decide if it's more consistent.  

I was going to add something about Crockett's naivete regarding his friend's homosexuality.  I do think it's quite possible he was surprised and even shocked to learn his buddy was gay.  Back in the 1970s this would have been more shocking (IMO) because gays were much more likely to stay in the closet.  Just the fact that Mike revealed something Sonny hadn't suspected may have shaken him in spite of his experience with violence.  He wasn't sure how he should react and he may have seen Mike's homosexuality as a threat to his own sexual identity.  In some ways I agree with your point but in other ways I can see Sonny being truthful about his reactions, based on the time period and the fact that he apparently didn't suspect until Mike told him and Evan that he (Mike) was gay.  If someone who was as experienced and battle-hardened as Sonny didn't pick up the clues about Mike, (he may have thought), then what else was he (Sonny) missing?  This is all off the top of my head.  Not that I've never thought about it, but I haven't thought about it with the full detail of his military service and history in the police department.   

[Robbie C.]

I usually compare Crockett's background to Tubbs and Castillo mostly, but with the other four even though they didn't go into huge detail they did leave the basics intact throughout. For example, Stan didn't go from being an Elvis fan to a Beatles junkie.

The main reason I thought they did Sonny a major disservice with the Mike naivety was that he would likely have seen some of this in the military, or at least been exposed to it. Your point is solid, and I'm not really arguing against it, but it always bothered me that they'd flip back and forth with Sonny in such fundamental ways. It gets back to my idea that Sonny's intended as more of a window into what a particular episode is doing than an actual character.

[vicegirl85]

1 minute ago, Robbie C. said:

(snipped) it always bothered me that they'd flip back and forth with Sonny in such fundamental ways. It gets back to my idea that Sonny's intended as more of a window into what a particular episode is doing than an actual character.

Yes, I can definitely see that as a possibility.

[sdiegolo78]

On 3/25/2019 at 7:27 PM, Bren10 said:

Something else that kinda bothered me was his helplessness in the woods in Glades.

Crockett " à la Indiana Jones"

[sdiegolo78]

On 3/25/2019 at 9:41 PM, Robbie C. said:

I usually compare Crockett's background to Tubbs and Castillo mostly, but with the other four even though they didn't go into huge detail they did leave the basics intact throughout. For example, Stan didn't go from being an Elvis fan to a Beatles junkie.

The main reason I thought they did Sonny a major disservice with the Mike naivety was that he would likely have seen some of this in the military, or at least been exposed to it. Your point is solid, and I'm not really arguing against it, but it always bothered me that they'd flip back and forth with Sonny in such fundamental ways. It gets back to my idea that Sonny's intended as more of a window into what a particular episode is doing than an actual character.

Speaking of Tubbs background, it doesn't seem he did Vietnam. And all we know from the canon story is his stint with the NYPD.

[Robbie C.]

1 hour ago, sdiegolo78 said:

Speaking of Tubbs background, it doesn't seem he did Vietnam. And all we know from the canon story is his stint with the NYPD.

That could be explained by him being slightly younger than Crockett and having a high draft lottery number. 

[sdiegolo78]

56 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

That could be explained by him being slightly younger than Crockett and having a high draft lottery number. 

...i thought they were same age...even if Tubbs was slightly younger, he still could have volunteered.

[Robbie C.]

Yet (according to canon) he didn't volunteer. I don't recall them ever specifying Tubbs' age, but even if he was the same age as Crockett draft calls were declining in 1969 and they were switching over to the lottery system. If you had a high number, your odds of being called up were fairly low. Vietnam wasn't a universal experience in the '60s, and there are any number of ways Tubbs could have either avoided it or simply not been called up.

[vicegirl85]

They definitely tried to make Tubbs seem younger in the pilot, I thought.  Later on, they seemed written to be about the same age.  Another inconsistency!

[Robbie C.]

38 minutes ago, vicegirl85 said:

They definitely tried to make Tubbs seem younger in the pilot, I thought.  Later on, they seemed written to be about the same age.  Another inconsistency!

One of many, sadly. 

[sdiegolo78]

11 hours ago, vicegirl85 said:

They definitely tried to make Tubbs seem younger in the pilot, I thought.  Later on, they seemed written to be about the same age.  Another inconsistency!

Yup...

[sdiegolo78]

18 hours ago, Robbie C. said:

Yet (according to canon) he didn't volunteer. I don't recall them ever specifying Tubbs' age, but even if he was the same age as Crockett draft calls were declining in 1969 and they were switching over to the lottery system. If you had a high number, your odds of being called up were fairly low. Vietnam wasn't a universal experience in the '60s, and there are any number of ways Tubbs could have either avoided it or simply not been called up.

...Personally, I wouldn't really see Tubbs avoiding it even tough he wouldn't feel as strongly as Sonny about serving the country in 'Nam.

[Glades]

5 hours ago, vicegirl85 said:

They definitely tried to make Tubbs seem younger in the pilot, I thought.  Later on, they seemed written to be about the same age.

The Pilot script says that Tubbs is in his mid-twenties, his brother Raphael in his mid-thirties, Crockett 34, and Rodriguez in his mid-forties.

I conclude from this, that DJ was set as Crockett, while they were looking for a suitable casts for the others.
And also, that a dynamic in the team was planned with Crockett in the middle between the younger Tubbs (young professional, still without his own family) and the older Rodriguez (mature family man, who has found his place in life and profession).  And Crockett is stuck in the problems with family and job.

Obviously, though, they didn't find an actor for Tubbs in his mid-twenties. And in the end they took PMT.
PMT definitely doesn't appear 10 years younger than DJ, though. So a different dynamic developed between DJ and PMT. Already in the pilot, the producers left out the part where it was clearly stated that Tubbs is 10 years younger than Crockett. The two also act more like equal partners who have different strengths and weaknesses than as big brother and little brother. Despite this, the show still tried to portray Tubbs as a bit younger in the first episodes. All in all, there is a lot of inconsistency about Tubbs in the beginning.

When G Sierra left the show and was replaced by EJO, who unlike G Sierra was only slightly older than DJ and PMT, the dynamic between Crockett, Tubbs and the Lieutanent eventually turned out to be different than originally planned.

To me, this explains some of the things about Tubbs and his role in the show that I found odd at first and couldn't really grasp.
I think that Tubbs was originally born in about 1959 also explains why Vietnam was never an issue with him and he had little previous life.

 

 

[pahonu]

58 minutes ago, Glades said:

The Pilot script says that Tubbs is in his mid-twenties, his brother Raphael in his mid-thirties, Crockett 34, and Rodriguez in his mid-forties.

I conclude from this, that DJ was set as Crockett, while they were looking for a suitable casts for the others.
And also, that a dynamic in the team was planned with Crockett in the middle between the younger Tubbs (young professional, still without his own family) and the older Rodriguez (mature family man, who has found his place in life and profession).  And Crockett is stuck in the problems with family and job.

Obviously, though, they didn't find an actor for Tubbs in his mid-twenties. And in the end they took PMT.
PMT definitely doesn't appear 10 years younger than DJ, though. So a different dynamic developed between DJ and PMT. Already in the pilot, the producers left out the part where it was clearly stated that Tubbs is 10 years younger than Crockett. The two also act more like equal partners who have different strengths and weaknesses than as big brother and little brother. Despite this, the show still tried to portray Tubbs as a bit younger in the first episodes. All in all, there is a lot of inconsistency about Tubbs in the beginning.

When G Sierra left the show and was replaced by EJO, who unlike G Sierra was only slightly older than DJ and PMT, the dynamic between Crockett, Tubbs and the Lieutanent eventually turned out to be different than originally planned.

To me, this explains some of the things about Tubbs and his role in the show that I found odd at first and couldn't really grasp.
I think that Tubbs was originally born in about 1959 also explains why Vietnam was never an issue with him and he had little previous life.

 

 

PMT is actually a few months older than DJ and definitely doesn’t LOOK any younger.  EJO is only two years older than both of them.  Casting definitely tossed the older/younger storyline for the duo.

[Robbie C.]

2 hours ago, sdiegolo78 said:

...Personally, I wouldn't really see Tubbs avoiding it even tough he wouldn't feel as strongly as Sonny about serving the country in 'Nam.

As Glades pointed out, the original concept was for Tubbs to be younger. Therefore Vietnam wouldn't be a concern. But even if he was Crockett's age, the dynamics of the draft at that time would have made it much less likely he would have been called up. And given the dynamics of the late '60s, and Tubbs' origins, it's far more likely Crockett would have volunteered.

As for Tubbs having a thinner background, I think some of that had more to do with DJ's popularity as the series grew and the departure of Yerkovich. We get hints of Tubbs having an interesting background, but they tend to vanish in his supporting role. That's part of the reason I write him the way I do. There's more to Tubbs than meets the eye...like so many of the characters.

[sdiegolo78]

5 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

As for Tubbs having a thinner background, I think some of that had more to do with DJ's popularity as the series grew and the departure of Yerkovich. We get hints of Tubbs having an interesting background, but they tend to vanish in his supporting role. That's part of the reason I write him the way I do. There's more to Tubbs than meets the eye...like so many of the characters.

If I'm not mistaken, Yerkovich left after the first season. And yes, I do agree there's more to Tubbs than meets the eye. He has way more "film time" than say, Castillo. Yet in the canon story the latter is written nearly in the same depth as Crockett.
 

[Glades]

7 minutes ago, sdiegolo78 said:

f I'm not mistaken, Yerkovich left after the first season.
 

Yerkovich isn´t mentioned as executive producer after Season 1 Episode 6 (One Eyed Jack). So he left quite early in S1.

[Robbie C.]

22 minutes ago, sdiegolo78 said:

If I'm not mistaken, Yerkovich left after the first season. And yes, I do agree there's more to Tubbs than meets the eye. He has way more "film time" than say, Castillo. Yet in the canon story the latter is written nearly in the same depth as Crockett.
 

EJO had serious control over his character. That was one of his conditions for joining the show. PMT did not have that level of control. The depth you see with Castillo is pretty much EJO's doing.

[sdiegolo78]

7 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

EJO had serious control over his character. That was one of his conditions for joining the show. PMT did not have that level of control. The depth you see with Castillo is pretty much EJO's doing.

True! He had control to the extent on how his character should dress and requesting his desk cleared leaving nothing on it

[vicegirl85]

1 hour ago, sdiegolo78 said:

True! He had control to the extent on how his character should dress and requesting his desk cleared leaving nothing on it

According to interviews with EJO that I've seen, his control extended farther than that.  EJO indicated he insisted on full control of his character, including his backstory.