Unresolved plotlines and stories

[Lifeguard]

In the five year history of the series, there were several episodes that set up villains or issues that were then never resolved in future episodes. Going back and shooting movies or episodes to resolve these hanging plot lines is impossible at this point. But they certainly would make for a good Miami Vice novel series taking place during the '80s, or even CG animated episodes using the original actors for voices and original music. I was thinking about some of the unresolved story lines and remembered quite a few. There was The Sergeant/Captain Real Estate who fled the country by plane in "Stone's War" and not seen since. It would be interesting to see how Sonny and Rico gave him his just desserts. A friend of mine college came up with the idea for an episode where Captain Real Estate returned to Miami with another nefarious scheme and ended up searching the St Vitas Dance for something and in the process shot and killed Elvis, giving Sonny one more reason to take out Cpt Real Estate. My friend had actually thought he saw this episode, and described Sonny burying Elvis in a solemn scene. I assured him there was no such episode, but it sounded like a good way to wrap up those two hanging story lines.There was also the banker JJ Johnston from "Prodigal Son" who Crockett promised to make pay, but was never seen again. Of course the actor died, making it impossible to follow up which is why we never heard from again. Gene Simmons character was also being investigated without any resolution too. Mario Fuente in "Payback" and Carlos Cantera in "Line of Fire" disappeared without getting the promised retribution. Does anyone else remember some dangling plot lines could use some resolution?

[Matt5]

In the five year history of the series' date=' there were several episodes that set up villains or issues that were then never resolved in future episodes. Going back and shooting movies or episodes to resolve these hanging plot lines is impossible at this point. But they certainly would make for a good Miami Vice novel series taking place during the '80s, or even CG animated episodes using the original actors for voices and original music.I was thinking about some of the unresolved story lines and remembered quite a few. There was The Sergeant/Captain Real Estate who fled the country by plane in "Stone's War" and not seen since. It would be interesting to see how Sonny and Rico gave him his just desserts. A friend of mine college came up with the idea for an episode where Captain Real Estate returned to Miami with another nefarious scheme and ended up searching the St Vitas Dance for something and in the process shot and killed Elvis, giving Sonny one more reason to take out Cpt Real Estate. My friend had actually thought he saw this episode, and described Sonny burying Elvis in a solemn scene. I assured him there was no such episode, but it sounded like a good way to wrap up those two hanging story lines.There was also the banker JJ Johnston from "Prodigal Son" who Crockett promised to make pay, but was never seen again. Of course the actor died, making it impossible to follow up which is why we never heard from again. Gene Simmons character was also being investigated without any resolution too. Mario Fuente in "Payback" and Carlos Cantera in "Line of Fire" disappeared without getting the promised retribution.Does anyone else remember some dangling plot lines could use some resolution?[/quote']Some really good points here - the main issue with this , as with many tv shows, producers and writers change over the seasons I believe

[Pink Flaming0]

As we talked about in another thread, a season 6 could have been used to tie-up some loose ends to some episodes of the past seasons, as well as bring some old characters. I always wonder what happened to Mark Jorgenson from Little Prince or Celeste from the Hostile Takeover and Redemption in Blood. Or Clarence Batisse, from Better Living through Chemistry. Some of these characters could have been woven in some scripts and made for some interesting episodes. IMO

[Matt5]

As we talked about in another thread' date=' a season 6 could have been used to tie-up some loose ends to some episodes of the past seasons, as well as bring some old characters. I always wonder what happened to Mark Jorgenson from Little Prince or Celeste from the Hostile Takeover and Redemption in Blood. Or Clarence Batisse, from Better Living through Chemistry. Some of these characters could have been woven in some scripts and made for some interesting episodes. IMO[/quote']Agree about Celeste certainly - after Burnett became Crockett again - he looked out for her :dance2:She was really attractive too

[Lar]

Some kind of resolution regarding Tubbs' son would have definitely been nice.It's kind of left hanging at the end of "Son And Lovers" and just never touched again.

[Matt5]

Some kind of resolution regarding Tubbs' son would have definitely been nice.It's kind of left hanging at the end of "Son And Lovers" and just never touched again.

Definately about that - was it touched on at all in the late Season 3s "The Afternoon Plane" cant remember

[Lar]

Definately about that - was it touched on at all in the late Season 3s "The Afternoon Plane" cant remember

Not that I can recall. I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I understand why they did that at the end of "Sons And Lovers" - to provide for a future plot or plots' date=' obviously. But, it's odd that they just never did anything else with it beyond that. What's even more strange is how lacking some later episodes are, particularly in season four; if they were having trouble coming up with decent storylines, why not resolve the Tubbs' son thing [i']then? Seems like a no-brainer to me, but oh well.

[TylerDurden389]

My main problem with "Afternoon Plane" is that by showing that Calderone jr. survived the explosion at the end of "Sons and Lovers", it only leaves us wondering even more about the fate of Tubb's son. The fact that the writers put thought into bringing Calderone back again but NOT addressing the baby is a slap in the face to the fans. The other problem I have is that the whole episode is built up around his return.....and then he's shot like 5 minutes later. No big confrontation between him and Tubbs. Nothing. I would've preferred for him to be around for most of the episode and having a more active part in the storyline. Seriously, WTH was John Leguizamo busy doing in 1986 that they couldn't give him more screentime?Season 2 may be the best portion of the entire series, but they REALLY dug themselves into a hole with that last episode.

[Lifeguard]

My main problem with "Afternoon Plane" is that by showing that Calderone jr. survived the explosion at the end of "Sons and Lovers", it only leaves us wondering even more about the fate of Tubb's son. The fact that the writers put thought into bringing Calderone back again but NOT addressing the baby is a slap in the face to the fans. The other problem I have is that the whole episode is built up around his return.....and then he's shot like 5 minutes later. No big confrontation between him and Tubbs. Nothing. I would've preferred for him to be around for most of the episode and having a more active part in the storyline. Seriously, WTH was John Leguizamo busy doing in 1986 that they couldn't give him more screentime? Season 2 may be the best portion of the entire series, but they REALLY dug themselves into a hole with that last episode.

 

Sorry I created this thread then failed to check on it again for awhile.  

 

Yeah, I think they wrote themselves into a corner with the son thing and realized that having Tubbs as a single father and still stay in a dangerous profession would really be child neglect or borderline abuse.  Look at what a shitty parent Crockett was.  So they conveniently forgot about it.  But yeah, when they were struggling to redefine the show they could have brought his son back to explore that, and it likely have served to lead to Tubbs ultimately quitting.

[Christine]

There had been times where the makers thought that Miami Vice could run for many many years. I remember that Philipp Michael Thomas had said he could imagine to play Rico Tubbs for 20 years or so. If the show had run for such a long time they would have had enough time to finish the stories with the lose ends.

 

As for Tubbs' son, so I think that it would have been material for another exciting episode even if it had ended up fatally for Tubbs' son.

 

 

Sorry I created this thread then failed to check on it again for awhile.  

 

Yeah, I think they wrote themselves into a corner with the son thing and realized that having Tubbs as a single father and still stay in a dangerous profession would really be child neglect or borderline abuse.

I agree. Tubbs would never have been a good father, but his son were always a great target for every gangster. The child would have made him vulnerable to blackmail.

[BlueAir]

I would love to see a reunion episode where Tubbs' son came out as a major drug king pin and Crockett and Tubbs and the Vice crew join in to stop him.It would make for an emotional episode because his son would have no idea who he is so it would make for an intense "I'm your father" moment.There still time to have that idea on the plate!

[Matt5]

I would love to see a reunion episode where Tubbs' son came out as a major drug king pin and Crockett and Tubbs and the Vice crew join in to stop him.It would make for an emotional episode because his son would have no idea who he is so it would make for an intense "I'm your father" moment.There still time to have that idea on the plate!

 

Great idea or a resolution to see his son from "Sons and Lovers"    

[Spyder]

The time would be now to do such episodes following the lives of Tubbs' son, and of Billy, Crockett's son. Billy would have a half-brother now, also an adult, and it would be interesting to see how Sonny and Billy's father-son relationship has been doing in the last 25 years, since the last time we saw them, they were bonding very closely.

 

So many characters we should be following up on. Where did Sonny go south of the border? What's Tubbs doing in New York now? Did Castillo stay with the vice squad? Did he ever see May Ying again? Trudy? Gina? How about Switek? We never, ever heard if his name was cleared. Vice was a great show, but they sure as hell rushed the ending without resolution. Maybe they should have just done like a lot of other shows and just ended it with no finale -- just on a regular episode.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Spyder

[coolrunninman]

Here's the thing, it's somewhat nice to see guest characters come and go. Remember the only constants needed were really the core cast, the music and the city of Miami itself. There were some people that routinely returned - Izzy for comic relief and Caroline for the heartstrings. And the writers DID manage to tie up some loose ends during season five with Valerie and Lombard, both of whom are great actors, great characters and each provided material that made some good later episodes (which of course were sadly not originally broadcast - now that was a foolish mistake). Tubb's son is really the only glaring oddity I agree, but the cold detached way the writers discarded it almost fit the moody tone of the show, like Castillo, all business, no time for play. I'm just grateful the series got a proper two-hour sendoff. I read it was still unusual for the time and I think it was a really nice thing the cast, crew producers and network were able to come together and make happen.

 

Although I could see the show going a little bit further - maybe until 1992 or 93, it is really an 80s show and was meant to end with the era. Frankly, I don't know if I want to know what Crockett and Tubbs would be up to after. I imagine it might not be good, they quit their jobs after all, forfeiting their pensions as the 90s gulf war recession was coming up. But I hope they found peace.

[Susanna Girl]

I always wondered how Crockett got off scott free after he shot Frank Hackman basking in his chair in the sun, then just walked away.  Perplexing!  

[Sonny-Burnett]

I always wondered how Crockett got off scott free after he shot Frank Hackman basking in his chair in the sun, then just walked away.  Perplexing!  

 

Especially since the original plot called for a cold blooded killing, though NBC censors later insisted a gun be placed in Hackman's hand, presumably because it was too intense for tv, ...so an argument for self defense might have been made.

 

And then later after going on his killing spree as Burnett I doubt any police force would have let him return, and probably he would have been prosecuted.

[Viceman Cometh]

I've almost had to treat the "Burnett Arc" as its own standalone miniseries, set in an alternate universe, to keep my head from exploding over all the stuff we were expected to just accept after it was over.

[Kavinsky]

lol yeah, unless he had dirt on everyone who could have persecuted him about it, or castilo pulled some strings for him.

 

or maybe he had Perry Mason on Speed dial, I dont know lol

 

but yeah considering I remember Don On Leno I think saying that the longest anyone had amnesia for was 7 minutes, I'd say treating it like a separate but awesome enitity is a good idea, a parrell universe star trek style kinda deal. 

[Susanna Girl]

^

I liked the shows when Sonny had amnesia, as crazy as it seemed.  I really dug how the story line went so dark.  It gave him the freedom to show just how bad Burnett could be.

[Matt5]

^

I liked the shows when Sonny had amnesia, as crazy as it seemed.  I really dug how the story line went so dark.  It gave him the freedom to show just how bad Burnett could be.

 

 

Those were great episodes especially the two at the start of Season 5. Don Johnson directed "Hostile Takeover "  

[CarolineUK]

The time would be now to do such episodes following the lives of Tubbs' son, and of Billy, Crockett's son. Billy would have a half-brother now, also an adult, and it would be interesting to see how Sonny and Billy's father-son relationship has been doing in the last 25 years, since the last time we saw them, they were bonding very closely.

.

 

And if you ever wanted another character (which could be male or female), don't forget that Eddie's wife was pregnant in the pilot episode when he was blown up - who knows, he/she might blame Sonny for their father being killed?

[Matt5]

Tubbs's son was the biggest gap for me - never resolved

[Sonny-Burnett]

Never understood (in Payback) how the relentless pursuit of Crockett over $3 Million was NEVER pursued in subsequent episodes.

Seems too much money to just drop, and after all the calls and pursuits to claim his money we never hear from Fuente again.

[Matt5]

They didnt follow a lot of potential stories through 

[Lifeguard]

Never understood (in Payback) how the relentless pursuit of Crockett over $3 Million was NEVER pursued in subsequent episodes.

Seems too much money to just drop, and after all the calls and pursuits to claim his money we never hear from Fuente again.

 

I thought it was dropped because Frank Zappa died, which made it impossible to bring Fuente back.  But he wasn't diagnosed with prostate cancer until after the series ended.  So I'm not sure why they didn't bring him back to tie up the story.  Perhaps Zappa was just too busy and wasn't available to shoot it?