Anyone remember the MV rip-offs?

[Lar]

Anyone that knows me knows how much I love old TV commercials. Indeed, collecting old VHS and Beta tapes and rescuing not only the old ads but various (sometimes quite rare) broadcasts is one of my main hobbies. I do come across the occasional MV promo, not as many as I'd like, but, whatever. I added a spot for "Indian Wars" just the other night, in fact.However, it's not the MV promos but something else I found that got me thinking. Literally just minutes ago I found an ad for the premiere of ABC's The Insiders, their 1985 rip-off of MV featuring photojournalists (they even had the guts to use a Phil Collins song during the spot!). From everything I've heard, The Insiders was really, really bad. Also recently, I found (another) one for CBS' Houston Knights, from 1987, and apparently this show actually wasn't too bad. That bumps my collection of HK ads up to a big 2 (the first was for the series premiere). As I recall, there were more MV rip-offs, which makes sense, hugely popular shows always get ripped-off, and you'd expect no less with MV, considering it was instantly iconic. Heck, even established shows such as Magnum, P.I. eventually tried their hand at the MV 'look' (I'd never, ever call Magnum an MV rip-off, but during the last two seasons there moments that were clearly patterned after MV; Believe it or not, Magnum pulled it off quite well).SO, my question is, does anyone here remember watching any of these MV knock-offs back in the day? Were they an entertaining diversion? Huge embarassment? Were they even aired outside of the U.S.? Something tells me we won't be seeing DVD releases of any of these any time soon, but I still find these rip-offs highly interesting.(I remember old reviews for these shows posted on .org long, long ago. Were those yours, C&B?)EDIT: ABC's Hollywood Beat, from '85! That's another one that went to bed praying it woke up as Miami Vice in the morning!

[Kavinsky]

Anyone that knows me knows how much I love old TV commercials. Indeed' date=' collecting old VHS and Beta tapes and rescuing not only the old ads but various (sometimes quite rare) broadcasts is one of my main hobbies. I do come across the occasional MV promo, not as many as I'd like, but, whatever. I added a spot for "Indian Wars" just the other night, in fact.However, it's not the MV promos but something else I found that got me thinking. Literally just minutes ago I found an ad for the premiere of ABC's The Insiders, their 1985 rip-off of MV featuring photojournalists (they even had the guts to use a Phil Collins song during the spot!). From everything I've heard, The Insiders was really, really bad. Also recently, I found (another) one for CBS' Houston Knights, from 1987, and apparently this show actually wasn't too bad. That bumps my collection of HK ads up to a big 2 (the first was for the series premiere). As I recall, there were more MV rip-offs, which makes sense, hugely popular shows always get ripped-off, and you'd expect no less with MV, considering it was instantly iconic. Heck, even established shows such as Magnum, P.I. eventually tried their hand at the MV 'look' (I'd never, ever call Magnum an MV rip-off, but during the last two seasons there moments that were clearly patterned after MV; Believe it or not, Magnum pulled it off quite well).SO, my question is, does anyone here remember watching any of these MV knock-offs back in the day? Were they an entertaining diversion? Huge embarassment? Were they even aired outside of the U.S.? Something tells me we won't be seeing DVD releases of any of these any time soon, but I still find these rip-offs highly interesting.(I remember old reviews for these shows posted on .org long, long ago. Were those yours, C&B?)EDIT: ABC's Hollywood Beat, from '85! That's another one that went to bed praying it woke up as Miami Vice in the morning![/quote']I think stingray was in a way a knockoff of Miami but atleast from the little bits I could find of it it didnt seem that half bad.mind you its made by the same guy who did the A team so it seems like he modified the premise to meet a more miami vice like atmosphere

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=4izq4PguFQs

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCLgagYxW_s

and well with the A team the same thing probably happened here, the premise got stale and predictabile, part of the reason why I think Vice was so keen on changing as many times as it did with this kind of competition.and also note the car, black vette with blacked out chrome save for the wheels and an all black interior (stingray is the nickname given to the vette by one of the GM design guys who made the C2 and C3 vette I believe)and why anyone would do that to a C2 vette is beyond me plus I it looks like its been repainted in the intro as there seems to be some finish issues in the close ups.

[alleycat]

I think stingray was in a way a knockoff of Miami but atleast from the little bits I could find of it it didnt seem that half bad.mind you its made by the same guy who did the A team so it seems like he modified the premise to meet a more miami vice like atmosphere

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=4izq4PguFQs

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCLgagYxW_s

and well with the A team the same thing probably happened here' date=' the premise got stale and predictabile, part of the reason why I think Vice was so keen on changing as many times as it did with this kind of competition.and also note the car, black vette with blacked out chrome save for the wheels and an all black interior (stingray is the nickname given to the vette by one of the GM design guys who made the C2 and C3 vette I believe)and why anyone would do that to a C2 vette is beyond me plus I it looks like its been repainted in the intro as there seems to be some finish issues in the close ups.[/quote']Kavinsky. I remember this show and it was a favorite and loved the stingray and the theme music

[Kavinsky]

Kavinsky. I remember this show and it was a favorite and loved the stingray and the theme music

still though it is a knock off in away, mind you seems to be one of the better ones but still that doesnt change what inspired it. and well Stephen J Cannell's A team also seemed to follow the same setup too with the whole helping someone with there plight setup with someone also chasing them as I think this also had. and I gotta be honest I'm starting to see why it died after about 3 1/2 seasons (it lasted 5 but it felt like it died in the middle) when it comes to the A team while watching the repeats of it.they never change up the status quoe or do arcs it seems like or really have the characters change from there actions, basically we never really see them grow. outside of maybe an episode per character setting up there backstory but after that its back to business as usual with the A team and the fact that despite using so many damn rounds they never actually are shown killing anyone, just blowing up cars and stuff, it was bloody ridiculious, entertaining but only so many times you can be entertained by that before it gets stale.and stingray just from the pilot seemed to follow the same A team formula mixed in with a miami vice style and car, plus the sideshot of the C2's side there in the intro next to the rear tire is a direct knock off of the side shot used in Florence Italy.and I can see bubling in the paint around the door handle, wouldnt be the first time a car was hasitly resprayed for a show, they had that on the Cuda and the burn notice charger which was originally white with a blue interior juding by the trunk area and the original blue seeping through the white interior paint.plus while I understand it sort of gives it a mean street machine look with the C2 there it just seems wrong to black out EVERYTHING on it complete with tinted out windows.so I would clasify it as a knock off using the A team formula as the basis made in 85' and running till may 87 while the A team had been running since 83' to march 87'probably just another victim of doing something too soon after a big show had ended or was loosing popularity when people were sick of the formula in a way. sort of like what they tried to do with vice with in the line of fire I think if I'm getting that episode name right.

[alleycat]

still though it is a knock off in away' date=' mind you seems to be one of the better ones but still that doesnt change what inspired it. and well Stephen J Cannell's A team also seemed to follow the same setup too with the whole helping someone with there plight setup with someone also chasing them as I think this also had. and I gotta be honest I'm starting to see why it died after about 3 1/2 seasons (it lasted 5 but it felt like it died in the middle) when it comes to the A team while watching the repeats of it.they never change up the status quoe or do arcs it seems like or really have the characters change from there actions, basically we never really see them grow. outside of maybe an episode per character setting up there backstory but after that its back to business as usual with the A team and the fact that despite using so many damn rounds they never actually are shown killing anyone, just blowing up cars and stuff, it was bloody ridiculious, entertaining but only so many times you can be entertained by that before it gets stale.and stingray just from the pilot seemed to follow the same A team formula mixed in with a miami vice style and car, plus the sideshot of the C2's side there in the intro next to the rear tire is a direct knock off of the side shot used in Florence Italy.and I can see bubling in the paint around the door handle, wouldnt be the first time a car was hasitly resprayed for a show, they had that on the Cuda and the burn notice charger which was originally white with a blue interior juding by the trunk area and the original blue seeping through the white interior paint.plus while I understand it sort of gives it a mean street machine look with the C2 there it just seems wrong to black out EVERYTHING on it complete with tinted out windows.so I would clasify it as a knock off using the A team formula as the basis made in 85' and running till may 87 while the A team had been running since 83' to march 87'probably just another victim of doing something too soon after a big show had ended or was loosing popularity when people were sick of the formula in a way. sort of like what they tried to do with vice with in the line of fire I think if I'm getting that episode name right.[/quote']You notice so many things Kavinsky like the paint bubbling.I never noticed that really never looked.Its you point that out.I remember that show had a short shelf life and it was always the same thing every week that got old very fast.Boy,that was long ago.I always liked the tires on the vette and the spinners.Couldn't get the black out windows either.The A team I also watched and enjoyed also.

[aussiefan]

There was a cheap Australian rip off of Vice. I think it was in the mid to late 80s'. It was called "Shark Paradise". Don't think it went past a few episodes. I remmember seeing some ads and they looked so cheesy. Think I saw half of the first episode. Yes I had to look. You know when something is sooooo bad but you just have to watch. All I remmember is it was such a cheap ripoff of Miami Vice.Just found this link to IMDB. Yes it did exist. Another cheap imitation, Aussie Style:D:)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091936/

[Kavinsky]

You notice so many things Kavinsky like the paint bubbling.I never noticed that really never looked.Its you point that out.I remember that show had a short shelf life and it was always the same thing every week that got old very fast.Boy' date='that was long ago.I always liked the tires on the vette and the spinners.Couldn't get the black out windows either.The A team I also watched and enjoyed also.[/quote']Thanks and here in the US you can get the windows tinted out, sometimes even if its against the law aparently. saw that once where someone got a ticket or citation for it on some oversized SUV in california on TV with it on it but there, their unusually tough on cars there to the point of insanity along with modeling some odd thing where they dont alow any spray paints with certain CO2's in them or something a friend of Doug Drexler said on his weblog that I watch for the modeling tips, this guy if you also build modelshttp://steveneill.wordpress.com/author/steveneill/really must finish the excelsior one of these days.and anything in general I like it seems.as recently they tried to force a daytona replica owner of one of the vice C3 ones to take out the modern C4 engine and replace it with its original 76 motor because it was one year short of the time excemption for it, which caused him to put it on ebay despite basically loving the thing as he refused to loose the motor because of that stupid law as he didnt want to deal with a carbed engine and its maintenance.despite the engine producing more horsepower, better gas mileage and probably less polution.yet public transit doesnt actually work past 6 pm there in LA hence some of the overflow problems and probably heavy smog at rush hour, eh go figure.

[alleycat]

http://steveneill.wordpress.com/author/steveneill/really must finish the excelsior one of these days.and anything in general I like it seems.as recently they tried to force a daytona replica owner of one of the vice C3 ones to take out the modern C4 engine and replace it with its original 76 motor because it was one year short of the time excemption for it, which caused him to put it on ebay despite basically loving the thing as he refused to loose the motor because of that stupid law as he didnt want to deal with a carbed engine and its maintenance.despite the engine producing more horsepower, better gas mileage and probably less polution.yet public transit doesnt actually work past 6 pm there in LA hence some of the overflow problems and probably heavy smog at rush hour, eh go figure.

I know were off the subject of tv shows that mimic MV.Tinted windows are not allowed here where I live.Not very dark ones they have to be lighter the police need to see who's in the car.Very loud mufflers are another thing.Don't you love laws there made to be broken also,sometimes

[Kavinsky]

I know were off the subject of tv shows that mimic MV.Tinted windows are not allowed here where I live.Not very dark ones they have to be lighter the police need to see who's in the car.Very loud mufflers are another thing.Don't you love laws there made to be broken also' date='sometimes [/quote'] yeah seems to be that way alot when it comes to what was considered common sense about 40 years ago, omg someone annoyed me, pass a law over it! and ontop of that tinted glass is actually a good thing too as I know of people who have there cars broken into just because they had something valuable in them and the tinted glass would have made it much harder for someone to look in and see it and probably prevented alot of the thefts in the first place.but for that blankets work well atleast in the back of the car, but still its just silly how they try and regulate everything now for our own good when 9 times out of 10 it seems it aint for about 70% of the time and its only the big cities with low police presence in the run down areas that most of the crimes happens in. but anyways other than stingray thats really the only one that comes to mind when it comes to this topic.

[Spyder]

Anyone that knows me knows how much I love old TV commercials. Indeed' date=' collecting old VHS and Beta tapes and rescuing not only the old ads but various (sometimes quite rare) broadcasts is one of my main hobbies. I do come across the occasional MV promo, not as many as I'd like, but, whatever. I added a spot for "Indian Wars" just the other night, in fact.However, it's not the MV promos but something else I found that got me thinking. Literally just minutes ago I found an ad for the premiere of ABC's The Insiders, their 1985 rip-off of MV featuring photojournalists (they even had the guts to use a Phil Collins song during the spot!). From everything I've heard, The Insiders was really, really bad. Also recently, I found (another) one for CBS' Houston Knights, from 1987, and apparently this show actually wasn't too bad. That bumps my collection of HK ads up to a big 2 (the first was for the series premiere). As I recall, there were more MV rip-offs, which makes sense, hugely popular shows always get ripped-off, and you'd expect no less with MV, considering it was instantly iconic. Heck, even established shows such as Magnum, P.I. eventually tried their hand at the MV 'look' (I'd never, ever call Magnum an MV rip-off, but during the last two seasons there moments that were clearly patterned after MV; Believe it or not, Magnum pulled it off quite well).SO, my question is, does anyone here remember watching any of these MV knock-offs back in the day? Were they an entertaining diversion? Huge embarassment? Were they even aired outside of the U.S.? Something tells me we won't be seeing DVD releases of any of these any time soon, but I still find these rip-offs highly interesting.(I remember old reviews for these shows posted on .org long, long ago. Were those yours, C&B?)EDIT: ABC's Hollywood Beat, from '85! That's another one that went to bed praying it woke up as Miami Vice in the morning![/quote']Didn't Magnum use a Genesis song or two at one point or another?Magnum also had a few abrupt, downbeat MV-style endings that usually closed with a gunshot ala No Exit or Killshot. I think the Magnum episodes were Echoes of the Mind and Did You See the Sunrise (which, ironically, were both produced before Miami Vice went on the air). It was pretty uncharacteristic for a show like Magnum, which always had some kind of happy tag at the end. After Vice, lots of shows started going for the realistic ending with lots of loose ends and no resolution.

[Viceman Cometh]

I've always considered "The Insiders" and "Hollywood Beat" to be the quintessential Vice knock-offs, because they came the season after MV S1 and they tried to replicate the C&T buddy formula. "The Insiders" even used Genesis' "Job to Do" as its theme song, which you alluded to Lar. I've never seen either, but actually would be very interested in finding boolegs of both series to check them out, just for novelty's sake. I'll have to look around. If I can find the complete 10-episode seriesrun of "Supertrain" (which I did) I suppose anything is possible.That said, yes, other shows started infusing episodes with a Vice feel, most noticeablyMagnum as already mentioned. Stingray may have gone for that Vice moodiness, but because it was about a lone wolf, I can't call it a direct rip-off.

[Matt5]

Hollywood Beat!

[Lar]

before Miami Vice went on the air). It was pretty uncharacteristic for a show like Magnum, which always had some kind of happy tag at the end. After Vice, lots of shows started going for the realistic ending with lots of loose ends and no resolution.

Yep, "Mama" was used in "Death & Taxes" (a very MV-styled, VERY good episode), "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" was used in "Laura" (The Frank Sinatra episode), and "The Brazilian" in "Unfinished Business". Maybe less MV-inspired, but John Denver's "Looking For Space" was played throughout "Limbo", the episode where Magnum (seemingly) dies, and Joe Cocker & The Crusaders "I'm So Glad I'm Standing Here Today" was used at the end of "Infinity And Jelly Doughnuts". Both of those songs were of course not especially MV-like, but their inclusion and the way they were integrated into the episodes certainly was.And you're definitely right about the downbeat endings. There weren't a ton, but enough to let you know that Magnum was definitely more than just lightweight "fun in the sun". My favorite example is at the end of "Faith And Begorrah" (one of my very favorite episodes, BTW), in which the cheating girl Magnum is supposed to be spying on is more or less put on the backburner, and then pawned off on Rick and TC. In the end, the guy she's seeing ends up throwing her from a building, and then it just ends! That knocked me out the first time I saw it!

[Lar]

I've always considered "The Insiders" and "Hollywood Beat" to be the quintessential Vice knock-offs' date=' because they came the season after MV S1 and they tried to replicate the C&T buddy formula. "The Insiders" even used Genesis' "Job to Do" as its theme song, which you alluded to Lar. I've never seen either, but actually would be very interested in finding boolegs of both series to check them out, just for novelty's sake. I'll have to look around. If I can find the complete 10-episode seriesrun of "Supertrain" (which I did) I suppose anything is possible.[/quote']I'd guess you can find anything if you look long enough and ask around. I don't know how easy finding "Hollywood Beat" or "The Insiders" (the one I'd personally like to see) would be, though. Sure, they were rip-offs and apparently quite bad, but aside from their blatant desire to be MV, I don't know if they're noteworthy enough for anyone to show any real interest in them. Besides us, I mean. In the case of "Supertrain", that was a legendary debacle, something people would want to see (I'd make a train wreck pun, but it hardly seems necessary). I just don't know if "Hollywood Beat" has that kind of interest. That said, there are some amazing things to be found if you go the bootleg route. I rarely go bootleg, but when I do, it's for something that just doesn't appear will ever get an official release. Think AfterM*A*S*H, which is everything it's cracked up to be, and I'm a diehard M*A*S*H fan (F*A*N?). Obviously, if it gets an official release, I'd still buy it in a heartbeat.

[Ferrariman]

I remember both of these shows and I agree with Viceman Cometh, they were the 2 main Vice ripoffs. Nicholas Campbell of "The Insiders" even wore the traditional Crockett jacket and t-shirt. I vagely remember one scene from "Hollywood Beat" where a car crashed after flying about 10 feet in the air! Either way both shows were such obviously blatant ripoffs (not to mention pretty lame ripoffs!) that I never watched beyond the pilot. Here are the links to their episode guides. I don't know if all episodes were aired or not. Back in the day shows weren't yanked off the air after only a few episodes of poor ratings but it sure seemed like it because I don't remember them being around very long!http://epguides.com/Insiders/http://epguides.com/HollywoodBeat/

[hahaguy43]

Kavinsky, you got me interested in stingray now lol. thanks for posting those videos.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

(I remember old reviews for these shows posted on .org long' date=' long ago. Were those yours, C&B?)EDIT: ABC's Hollywood Beat, from '85! That's another one that went to bed praying it woke up as Miami Vice in the morning![/quote']Yeah, I remember them. And yes, I did post a whole thread just about the rip offs with pictures. I saw one episode of the INSIDERS, and it sucked. They also used music from the original artists. The episode I saw featured the ZZ top song, La Grange.Here's the original thread.http://www.miamiviceonline.com/showthread.php?2245-MIAMI-VICE-RIP-OFF-SERIES!

[Kavinsky]

same here I wish I could find more of it, although it had a short run of 8 episodes in the first season and 15 in the next, damn near only a season run of Miami with one extra episode wouldnt be the first time I've liked something that didnt last very long.

[juscat]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091936/

I managed to find the legendary TV movie in action, lol!

http-~~-//youtu.be/9mGeTN-AmKE

[Lar]

http://www.miamiviceonline.com/showthread.php?2245-MIAMI-VICE-RIP-OFF-SERIES!

Ah yes, thanks C&B! I couldn't remember if it was a .org or .ws thread, but obviously that's how I knew about these knock-offs in the first place.

[aussiefan]

http-~~-//youtu.be/9mGeTN-AmKE

Thanks, justcat, your legendary for finding that piece of Australian TV magic:D:):)Can't half tell it was a MV ripoff. I love the bit with a holden VL commodore. JUst a slightly cheaper choice than a Ferrari:D

[Bren10]

Riptide was one.  21 Jumpstreet to an extent.

[Den Taylor]

Am 28.9.2018 um 20:55 schrieb Bren10:

Riptide was one.  21 Jumpstreet to an extent.

Nah, Riptide was on its own! And didn't it even start before MV? Yup, just checked...it started January 1984!
You may have a point nonetheless.

Because the TV intro went from this (Season 1):

To this (Season 3):  (In the preceeding teaser that guy even references Miami Vice!)
 

 As for stingray that show looks pretty cool! The actor's lacking charisma though. Funny, Stingray and TV show usually means this (sorry, can't resist!):
 

This series was produced by the same guy who did the original Thunderbirds (Gerry Anderson). Most of his series, including UFO, had a tad of Bond flair.

[Den Taylor]

vor 4 Minuten schrieb Den Taylor:

Nah, Riptide was on its own! And didn't it even start before MV? Yup, just checked...it started January 1984!
You may have a point nonetheless.

Because the TV intro went from this (Season 1):

To this (Season 3):  (In the preceeding teaser that guy even references Miami Vice!)
 

 As for stingray that show looks pretty cool! The actor's lacking charisma though. Funny, Stingray and TV show usually means this (sorry, can't resist - I find this cool!):
 

This series was produced by the same guy who did the original Thunderbirds (Gerry Anderson). Most of his series, including UFO, had a tad of Bond flair.

 

[timm525]

On 9/28/2018 at 2:55 PM, Bren10 said:

Riptide was one.  21 Jumpstreet to an extent.

I disagree. neither in my opinion was close to MV.

Riptide was more along the lines of Magnum PI or Simon and Simon. Just another detective/PI show at the same time as the others. I vaguely remember Riptide, I didn't like it so I never watched it. 

21 Jumpstreet was just a middle / high school cop show for kids. I did like this show and watched it often.