Different kind of Vice

[Mac]

So couple of thoughts about the show.Great show, must say, but only things that feels pretty ridiculous are these black magic/voodoo and samurai themes. What's the point? Castillo, the "Dad" of vice, knows about sub-religious groups and as i said samurai thingies. Point is, that some episodes makes me laugh about those voodoo things, and "Bushido" episode made me think "hey, am I watching Teen age mutant ninja turtles, or a cop show?" What's your opinion? let me know. And another question:How many of you have been thinking, what if Miami Vice had been more dark and heavy? I mean if Crockett would be more serious, a bad cop who won't negotiate with the snitches, just beats them up to get the answers. And been more depressed, whiskey guzzling "Steven Segal" type of cop. And Tubbs, a silent and scary "over the line" player from NY. Whole show without Izzy, Noogie and Elvis. What would it be like? Would it be better or worse?Never had the chance to talk these things with anyone.Tell me what you think! - Macp.s. Show is awsome, this is not a complaint, just watching the show from the different angle. (sorry my english)

[Brenda]

Personally, I think that the reason why "Miami Vice" was so fantastic and different from other shows (and now it is still remembered while other ones are not) was its lighter tone. If MV were darker and more serious, it wouldn't stand out from the crowd of tens of other cop shows, so to speak. Many viewers were attracted by the fashion and all those gadgets, others by music. That music has a sentimental value for me but I also enjoy the dialogues very much, I really love all those quick responses, puns, plays on words and so on. I don't mind rude words in movies - when their use is justified - but I find it really amazing that almost none were present in MV, yet they weren't missed at all!As for those funny characters, it's a pity Elvis suddenly vanished into thin air. Izzy was funny, never pathetic, though, and in "Miracle Man" (yes, I know it was a silly episode) it was amazing to see him suffer towards the end... However, I could not stand Noogie, I always fast forward the movie when he appears, I find him really annoying. I feel sorry for Charlie Barnett, but I can't help it that I don't like the scenes in which he was present!

[cheetah]

Well... I'm not a great fan of voodo and ninja movies too, but just a couple or two of such episodes in the whole show made no one no harm, IMO.As for the "darker" tone... I'm most definitely wouldn't want to see Sonny as a sinister "bad cop" beating people all around him. (As if he didn't do it enough already, LOL). His "sensibility" made a great part of Sonny's charm for me. I also think that MV actually started getting "darker" to the end, it wasn't that "unserious" all the time. So I have to agree with Brenda on this one.

[Mac]

Yeah, it got more darker towards the end, and it really get more like "ordinary"TV cop show. How ever, seasons 1,2 and 5 were the best, and fifth season was something that i wanted it to be. But it was obvious that the decade lived on and the show changed its form. How ever, show was part of its time, and fashion and music was involved, but this threads matter was to get opinions, and i appreciate your posts. Still I want more opinions, just to know, have you ever thought it, like I did.-Mac

[COOPER&BURNETT]

I didn't mind the south Florida voodoo (haitians come to Florida quite often) episodes, or Castillo's Golden Triangle "ninja" stuff. Makes him more of a mysterious character that we never really knew about, and still don't. Kinda added spice to episodes, and kept story lines fresh.I liked Crockett and Tubbs as good cops. I think Brenda explained it the way I feel.

[aly 7]

Izzy..less.I can't imagine it...I just can't.....

[2morgen]

I think that the lighter tone but also the great acting and good script writing ( for most of the ep) that took place makes/made MV what it is to day!I don't know of one other serie which still hold their ground on that part as MV still does!For me ones I am drawn into the EP I don't even miss the gadget phones etc they have today.And the look and music of vice just makes it compleet.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

I think that the lighter tone but also the great acting and good script writing ( for most of the ep) that took place makes/made MV what it is to day!I don't know of one other serie which still hold their ground on that part as MV still does!For me ones I am drawn into the EP I don't even miss the gadget phones etc they have today.And the look and music of vice just makes it compleet.

[cageyJG]

So couple of thoughts about the show.Great show' date=' must say, but only things that feels pretty ridiculous are these black magic/voodoo and samurai themes. What's the point? [/quote']There are only a limited number of "settings" you can do for a show. If you did the city or the marina all the time, that would quickly grow boring. Setting can be one of the most important parts of establishing mood. (See the locations part on the forum.) Using parts borrowed from the 'deep deep' south was a great addition, that's about as spooky as it gets around here. Think of the cool sets for Live and Let Die. After we get the baseline of what the characters think, act and feel, it's fun to put them in twisted thematic 'flavors' that make them face the unfamiliar and reveal new kinds of darkness for OCB to wade through.Castillo is an old spook with a cryptic past. I like that Castillo has this 'bushido' going on. (Which was also a cool episode.) His strict code of honor and adaptation of eastern sensibilities made him a definite well of strength for the other characters to draw from while they toe the line in the chaotic Miami crime world. Nice that we were able to see eps with emphasis on different folks. Castillo rules!You definitely have a point on whether the risk-taking was a good idea. I think the weak part of the show was with Sheena Easton. A rock star marriage seemed too over the top and too mushy. I wish he would've married Pat Benetar, a much better choice.

How many of you have been thinking' date=' what if Miami Vice had been more dark and heavy? I mean if Crockett would be more serious, a bad cop who won't negotiate with the snitches, just beats them up to get the answers. And been more depressed, whiskey guzzling "Steven Segal" type of cop. And Tubbs, a silent and scary "over the line" player from NY. Whole show without Izzy, Noogie and Elvis. What would it be like? Would it be better or worse?[/quote'] Maybe you would like 'The Shield' or 'Bad Lieutenant.' I love Steven Seagal. Did you ever see 'Kill Switch'? (Where he plays a Creole/Cajun cop.) And a return to noir I think has risen in popularity in the last two decades. The Vice movie definite was dark most, if not all the way through. So that's an example of what it could've been like. The show was cutting edge for its day and age, so I don't know if people were disappointed by the lighter parts of the show. Izzy and Noogie will grow on you. There were a few episodes that many of us don't care for, which involved some supernatural elements and too many special effects. Some people don't like Cows of October but I thought it was cool to have a gag episode.

[Brenda]

Maybe you would like 'The Shield' or 'Bad Lieutenant.'

That's exactly what I was thinking about! When "a darker and a more serious" Miami Vice was mentioned, I immediately thought of "Bad Lieutenant". I wouldn't like MV to follow that direction. I mean, I liked "BL" a lot but somehow I can't imagine DJ or PMT to be such cops. I'm glad that MV remained generally light hearted...

[jongarci]

There is dark and darkThe story lines talk about murders, drugs, prostitution, loss of loved ones. I think it was dark enough from that stand point.The added value the show brought was make those cops human and fragile at times. That subtle balance between the violent world they were living in and the vulnerability the character showed, was really a great mix. Same thing with pastel/flashy clothes against murders & gunshots. You rooted for the characters because despite being cool cops, you could still relate to them:* Sonny, overworked dad with a strong sense of values but still get divorced. He doesn't see his son. He kept falling in love with different girls, trying to re-establish a life. * Tubs: dealing with the loss of his brother, then strains in his friendship with sonny, looking for love despite insane life.* Gina: I know some of you think Saundra played her too weak, but I think it was by design. She brought a very sensitive touch to theshow, often being in a situation of sleeping with the enemy and dealing with situations with her emotions. She got into bad relationships.etc.Having characters that have everyday life problems like you and I made it easier for us to relate to them at some level and root for them.The good example is the miami vice movie that completely lost that level of connection. I did not care about sonny or tubs in the movie. It was dark, stylish but I could not care less what happened to them. I could not related to them. As PMT said to the admins of this site, it could have been called 'German Vice'.What do you guys think? Were there storylines from characters that you felt like applied to you at some level?ThxJ.

[Christine]

I can only agree with what others have said before. I think the difference between Miami Vice and other cop shows was the diversity of topics the different episodes were about. Some of the topics were strange, others funny or irritating. But the show was light and filled with music.It showed the difference between the fun some people had in the sunshine state and the crime that also happened every day: The light and the dark side of a fantastic city.About Izzy and Noogie:Noogie is a very strange character with funny facial expressions, but he isn´t important, but Izzy is. He makes funny things, but sometimes he helps Rico and Sonny with their case.I like the character of Izzy.