This Week In Miami Vice History...

[mvnyc]

September 30th - October 6th:"Cool Runnin'", the 3rd episode of the 1st season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 4th, 1984. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

• This marks the debut of Charlie Barnett as Nugart Neville Lamont, aka "The Noogman."
• Tubbs uses a 1980's version of a TASER on Winston (one of the Jamaicans), to put him out of action.
• The $28.95 lobster that Tubbs drops into the ocean would cost $65.43 as of 2013.
• Biscayne General Hospital (where Noogie was leaving from and where Jake was recovering), was also used as a hospital backdrop in the series "The Golden Girls."
• This was the first of two times that Crockett and Tubbs wrecked a van pursuing suspects, the second was in "Back in the World" when Crockett and Tubbs chased William Maynard.
• The Cardozo Hotel, visible in the background at the site where Bobby and Jake were ambushed, was remodeled after this episode and is now called the Cardozo Hotel at South Beach, owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
• The footage of Crockett and Tubbs speeding through the night in Crockett's Daytona, with the car skipping off of the camber of the Miami streets, was reused in "Calderone's Return (Part I)" and "Give A Little, Take A Little."

"Whatever Works", the 2nd episode of the 2nd season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 4th, 1985 at 10PM EDT. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

• The Santeria religion is also referenced in the episode "Milk Run", relating to the cocaine-packed statues used to bring the drugs into Miami.
• The role of the Santerian priestess was reportedly offered to Tina Turner first, then to Eartha Kitt, when Turner declined.
• The Power Station performed live on this episode, one of five such live musical performances, (along with Cleavant Derricks, El DeBarge, David Johansen, and Suicidal Tendencies) during Miami Vice's second season.
• Michael Des Barres joined The Power Station as lead vocalist in 1985 after Robert Palmer left to resume his solo career, performing at Live Aid in July 1985. John Taylor, the bassist for Duran Duran and the Power Station, also appears in this episode as himself, talking to Crockett in the nightclub.
• "Dirty" South Beach cops were the subject of the fourth season episode "Badge Of Dishonor."

"Stone's War", the 2^nd episode of the 3^rd season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 3^rd, 1986 at 9PM EDT. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

• The final shot of the opening, where the woman is carrying her dead or wounded child, is reminiscent of similar photographs from the Vietnam War, where children were being carried from napalm strikes.
• Maynard never appears again, making him the only recurring villain in the series to not only survive but escape prosecution altogether.
• Crockett gets his new cover car, a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, in this episode. It would remain his car for the rest of the series, though his Daytona reappears in "El Viejo" as the result of a continuity goof.
• Although never stated in the show, it is possible that the Testarossa is, in fact, Bunny Berrigan's from "When Irish Eyes Are Crying", confiscated (posthumously) and re-sprayed white, as Crockett comments that it has "new paint" when he takes possession.
• Some of the footage of the firefights at the beginning of the episode would be reused in the series finale "Freefall", which features a similar plot, dealing with Central America.
• The "ear necklace" Maynard presented to Salvador was frequently used during the Vietnam War by soldiers on both sides.
• When Stone asks to hook up his camera to Crockett's TV, Crockett tells him he doesn't have a TV. Sometime between this episode and "Forgive Us Our Debts" he buys one, as in that episode he hears about Frank Hackman on a small TV in his bedroom.
• Raymond Forchion (O'Hara) also appeared in three episodes of Season 1 as Don, one of the many officers at OCB.
• This is one of several episodes that does not end on a freeze frame.

Amen...Send Money", the 2^nd episode of the 4^th season, premiered on NBC on Friday, October 2^nd, 1987 at 9PM EDT. Some notes on this episode (from Miami Vice Wiki):

• When Miami Vice was first syndicated, the toll-free number (1-800-555-LOVE) for IGG Ministries, was blocked out. Recent airings and the DVD releases display the number in full.
• IGG (the abbreviation for Proverb's "In God's Glory" ministry) is also an abbreviation used for "Ill-Gotten Gains", the term used for monetary or other personal gains obtained through illicit means.
• This episode was the first filmed for Season 4 (some TV listings at the time actually had it listed for airing on 9/25/1987), but NBC wanted to start the season with Crockett in jail in "Contempt of Court", so it aired the following week.

**There was no season 5 premiere episode this week due to the writer's strike of 1988.**

[miamijimf]

Thanks for posting mvnyc.

[mvnyc]

Thanks for posting mvnyc.

Sure thing! I had to re-post this as my original from last year got deleted with the forum transition.

[Lar]

I have mixed feelings on Noogie (for me, a little goes a long way with the character), but nevertheless "Cool Runnin'" is an episode I like a lot. However, Tubbs tripping and dropping the lobster into the water seems a bit out-of-character for the ultra-smooth, stylish guy we've come to know. I guess they were still refining Tubbs a bit earlier in the series, but IMO it's hard to imagine the Tubbs of season 2 or even later season 1 being so clumsy."Whatever Works" is an episode I like a bit more each time I see it, but it's still a good-not-great entry for me personally. The Power Station performance is interesting, but Robert Palmer really made that band for me. Without him, it just seems....strange. To me, at least."Stone's War" - Like we were talking about last week (though the thread's gone now), Dick Wolf's taking the series into more "world issues" directions hasn't worn well for me at all, but I actually don't mind this one. I think that has more to do with the return of Ira Stone and Maynard than anything, though. And Jackson Brown's "Lives In The Balance" is always welcome. Given the subject matter, it fits perfectly. As for the Testarossa, I always assumed it was Bunny Berrigan's confiscated car."Amen...Send Money" - I hate this one. What a waste of Brian Dennehy, who under normal circumstaces is good in anything. "The Big Thaw", "The Cows Of October" and of course "Missing Hours" are always the main targets of S4-bashing, but man, this one ain't winning no prizes, either. I do dig Sonny's paint-splatter shirt, though.

[mvnyc]

I have mixed feelings on Noogie (for me' date=' a little goes a long way with the character), but nevertheless "Cool Runnin'" is an episode I like a lot. However, Tubbs tripping and dropping the lobster into the water seems a bit out-of-character for the ultra-smooth, stylish guy we've come to know. I guess they were still refining Tubbs a bit earlier in the series, but IMO it's hard to imagine the Tubbs of season 2 or even later season 1 being so clumsy."Whatever Works" is an episode I like a bit more each time I see it, but it's still a good-not-great entry for me personally. The Power Station performance is interesting, but Robert Palmer really made that band for me. Without him, it just seems....strange. To me, at least."Stone's War" - Like we were talking about last week (though the thread's gone now), Dick Wolf's taking the series into more "world issues" directions hasn't worn well for me at all, but I actually don't mind this one. I think that has more to do with the return of Ira Stone and Maynard than anything, though. And Jackson Brown's "Lives In The Balance" is always welcome. Given the subject matter, it fits perfectly. As for the Testarossa, I always assumed it was Bunny Berrigan's confiscated car."Amen...Send Money" - I hate this one. What a waste of Brian Dennehy, who under normal circumstaces is good in anything. "The BigThaw", "The Cows Of October" and of course "Missing Hours" are always the main targets of S4-bashing, but man, this one ain't winning no prizes, either. I do dig Sonny's paint-splatter shirt, though.[/quote']I totally agree with your review, in Season 1, the characters were still getting refined. And again,the NBC "ensemble" idea is definitely present in this Season. The Power Station were all the rage back in 1985 and with Don being friends with Michael Desbarre, it's no surprise they were on "Whatever Works." "Stone's War" was tolerable, more so than "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" (IMO), and yes, Brian Dennehy definitely was not given the right situation for his acting talents...