Miami Vice

Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The show became noted for its heavy integration of music and visual effects to tell a story. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989. The USA Network later began airing reruns the next year, in 1990, and actually broadcast an originally unaired episode during its syndication run of the series on January 25, 1990.

Unlike standard police procedurals, the show drew heavily upon 1980s New Wave culture and music. It is recognized as one of the most influential television series of all time.[1] People magazine stated that Miami Vice “was the first show to look really new and different since color TV was invented.”[1] Reruns of the series later aired on the FX from 1996-1999. Then in 2006 the cable network TV Land aired episodes for about a year. The same year the series began airing on the Sleuth network in United States until 2008, and now episodes air on the Centric network, MBC Action in the Arab World, Iris in Italy, NRK3 in Norway, Viasat TV6 in Sweden, Viasat 3+ in Denmark, TV7 in Bulgaria, TV3 in Estonia, ZDF in Germany, and 111 Hits in Australia.

Michael Mann directed a film adaptation of the television series, which was released on July 28, 2006.

It is rumored that head of NBC’s Entertainment Division, Brandon Tartikoff, wrote a brainstorming memo that simply read “MTV cops”,[1][2][3][4] and later presented the memo to series creator Anthony Yerkovich, formerly a writer and producer for Hill Street Blues.[3] Yerkovich, however, indicates that he devised the concept after learning about asset forfeiture statutes that allow law enforcement agencies to confiscate the property of drug dealers for official use.[5] The initial idea was for a movie about a pair of vice cops in Miami.[3] Yerkovich then turned out a script for a two-hour pilot, titled “Gold Coast”, but later renamed, Miami Vice.[1][3] Yerkovich was immediately drawn to South Florida as a setting for his new-style police show.[3] Miami Vice was one of the first American network television programs to be broadcast in stereophonic sound.

Miami Vice is noted for its innovative use of music, particularly countless pop and rock hits of the 1980s and the distinctive, synthesized instrumental music of Jan Hammer. While other television shows used made-for-TV music, Miami Vice would spend $10,000 or more per episode to buy the rights to original recordings.[3] Getting a song played on Miami Vice was a boost to record labels and artists.[12] In fact, some newspapers, such as USA Today, would let readers know the songs that would be featured that week.[13] Among the many well-known bands and artists who contributed their music to the show were Roger Daltrey, El Debarge, Duran Duran, Devo, Jackson Browne, Kate Bush, Meat Loaf, Phil Collins,[14] Bryan Adams, Tina Turner, Peter Gabriel, ZZ Top, The Tubes, Dire Straits, Depeche Mode, The Hooters, Iron Maiden, The Alan Parsons Project, Godley & Creme, Corey Hart, Glenn Frey, U2, Frankie Goes to Hollywood,[3] Foreigner, The Police, Red 7, Laura Branigan, Ted Nugent, Suicidal Tendencies, The Damned, and Billy Idol. Several artists even guest-starred in episodes, including Phil Collins,[14] Miles Davis,[15] The Power Station,[16] Glenn Frey,[17] Suicidal Tendencies, Willie Nelson,[18] Ted Nugent,[19] Frank Zappa,[20] The Fat Boys,[21] and Sheena Easton. An iconic scene from the Miami Vice pilot involves Crockett and Tubbs driving through Miami at night to Phil Collins’ hit song “In the Air Tonight”.[12][22]

Jan Hammer credits executive producer Michael Mann for allowing him great creative freedom in scoring Miami Vice.[3] The collaboration resulted in memorable instrumental pieces, including the show’s title theme, which climbed to the top of the U.S. Billboard charts in November 1985.[23] The Miami Vice original soundtrack, featuring Jan Hammer’s #1 hit theme song and Glenn Frey’s “You Belong to the City” (a #2 hit), stayed on the top of the U. S. album chart for 11 weeks in 1985, making it the most successful TV soundtrack at the time. The Miami Vice Theme was so popular that it also garnered two Grammy Awards in 1986.[23][24] “Crockett’s Theme”, another recurring tune from the show, became a #1 hit in several European countries in 1987.[25]

During the show’s run, three official soundtrack albums with original music from the episodes were released. Hammer has released several albums with music from the series; among them are Escape from Television (1987), Snapshots (1989) and, after countless requests from fans, Miami Vice: The Complete Collection (2002).

Seasons:

Season 1: 1984-1985

Season 2: 1985-1986

Season 3: 1986-1987

Season 4: 1987-1988

Season 5: 1988-1989

The show’s popularity started to decline at the beginning of third season (1986–1987).[citation needed] The show was placed on the same time slot as CBS’ Dallas, hurting both shows.[53]

The original writers for the series left by the fourth season. Stories included a love affair between Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Caitlin Davies (Sheena Easton), and a plot in which Crockett developed amnesia (during which he mistakes himself for his drug dealer alter ego, and becomes a hitman). Jan Hammer departed from the series at the end of the fourth season and was replaced by Tim Truman.

Before leaving the series to work on his new television series, Crime Story,[54] Michael Mann handed the role of executive producer to Dick Wolf[55] prior to the third season (1986–1987).[54] Wolf had the show focus on contemporary issues[54] like the problems in Northern Ireland, and capital punishment.[54] The fifth season (1988–1989) took the show on a more serious tone,[56] with storylines becoming dark and gritty — enough so that even some of the most loyal fans were left scratching their heads.[56] As the fifth season began, Olivia Brown recalled, “The show was trying to reinvent itself.”[57] Dick Wolf said in an interview for E! True Hollywood Story, after the fifth season, it was all just “…kind of over”,[58] and that the show had “run its course”.[58]

In May 1989, NBC attempted to exploit what little they could from the fading series with its two-hour finale, “Freefall.” Despite the status of “Freefall” as the series finale, however, there were actually three other episodes that had been filmed but not yet aired – “World of Trouble,” “Miracle Man,” and “Leap of Faith”, which appeared during re-runs. A fourth, previously unbroadcast episode, “Too Much Too Late”, was aired for the first time the next year, 1990, on the USA Network.

>h2>References

All information from www.wikipedia.org

  1. ^ a b c d e f g “About the Show”. NBC Universal, Inc.. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  2. ^ Janeshutz, Trish (1986). The Making of Miami Vice. New York: Ballatine Books. p. 12.ISBN 0-345-33669-0.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Zoglin, Richard (1985-09-16).“Cool Cops, Hot Show”. Time Magazine (Time Inc.). Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  4. ^ Boyer, Peter J. (1988-04-19). “Guiding No. 1: The Man Who Programs NBC”. New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  5. ^ Miami Vice: Season One, Featurette: Making the Perfect Vice.
  6. ^ a b c d e f “Advanced Primetime Awards Search”. Academy of Television Arts and Science. www.emmys.tv. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  7. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000313/bio
  8. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086759/trivia
  9. ^ “E! True Hollywood Story: Miami Vice”. E! True Hollywood Story. E! Entertainment. 2001-06-03. No. 24, season 5. 8:11 minutes in.
  10. ^ “E! True Hollywood Story: Miami Vice”. E! True Hollywood Story. E! Entertainment. 2001-06-03. No. 24, season 5. 10:27 minutes in.
  11. ^ a b c Schmalz, Jeffrey (1989-05-18). “Miami Journal; Sun Sets on Show That Redefined a City”. New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  12. ^ a b Millman, Joyce (1998-11-09). “Dancing with the television”. Salon Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  13. ^ Breznican, Anthony (2006-07-26). “‘Miami Vice’ makes series of changes”. USA Today. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  14. ^ a b c d “Phil the Shill”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1985-12-13. No. 11, season 2.
  15. ^ a b “Junk Love”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1985-11-08. No. 6, season 2.
  16. ^ a b c “Whatever Works”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1985-10-04. No. 2, season 2.
  17. ^ a b “Smuggler’s Blues”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1985-02-01. No. 15, season 1.
  18. ^ a b “El Viejo”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1986-11-07. No. 7, season 3.
  19. ^ a b “Definitely Miami”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1986-01-10. No. 12, season 2.
  20. ^ a b c “Payback”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1986-03-14. No. 19, season 2.
  21. ^ a b “Florence Italy”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1986-02-14. No. 16, season 2.
  22. ^ Bowles, Scott (2006-07-27). “Too much ‘Vice,’ not enough ‘Miami’”. USA Today. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  23. ^ a b Friedman, Roger (2006-07-25). “‘Miami Vice’ Theme: Axed, but Alive”. Fox News. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  24. ^ a b “Grammy Award Winners”. The Recording Academy. www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  25. ^ “DE NEDERLANDSE TOP 40″ (in Dutch). Radio 538. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  26. ^ a b c d e f Trebay, Guy (2006-07-20). “Roll Up Your Sleeves and Indulge in a Miami Vice”. New York Times (www.nytimes.com). Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  27. ^ a b c Hunter, Stephen (2006-07-28). “‘Miami Vice’: Way Cool Then, Now Not So Hot”.Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  28. ^ “South Beach and ‘Miami Vice,’ past and present”. USA Today (www.usatoday.com). 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  29. ^ a b c Leinster, Colin (1987-09-28). “A Tale of Mice and Lens”. Fortune Magazine(money.cnn.com). Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  30. ^ Augustin Hedberg, David Lanchner, Tyler Mathisen, Michele Willens (1986-09-01).“Hair’s the Look That’s in These Days”. Money Magazine (CNN). Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  31. ^ Janeshutz, Trish (1986). The Making of Miami Vice. New York: Ballatine Books. p. 65.ISBN 0-345-33669-0.
  32. ^ a b c d “Hollywood Heat in Miami: New Hardware Muscles in on the Action”. Soldier of Fortune: s. 40–43. October 1986.
  33. ^ a b “The History of the Galco Miami Classic Holster Rig used in the TV series Miami Vice”. Galco International. www.usgalco.com. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  34. ^ a b c Cole, Tim (May 1986). “The Machines of Miami Vice: The car, the boats, the guns that make it TV’s hottest show”. Popular Mechanics (Hearst Corp.) 152 (5): 89–91.
  35. ^ Janeshutz, Trish (1986). The Making of Miami Vice. New York: Ballatine Books. p. 72.ISBN 0-345-33669-0.
  36. ^ a b Spaise, Kevin (September 1987). “Twice as Vice”. Kit Car: 13.
  37. ^ a b c d Spaise, Kevin (September 1987). “Twice as Vice”. Kit Car: 14.
  38. ^ a b c d e f g Gromer, Cliff (July 1987). “The Cars of Miami Vice”. Popular Mechanics(Hearst Corp.) 164 (7): 85.
  39. ^ a b c d e Spaise, Kevin (September 1987). “Twice as Vice”. Kit Car: 15.
  40. ^ Klieger, Jeff (November 1987). “Caddy’s a ’64″. Popular Mechanics (Heartst Corp.) 164(11): 6. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  41. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19860904&id=bugLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nVkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6694,968350
  42. ^ a b “The Maze”. Miami Vice. NBC. 1985-02-22. No. 17, season 1.
  43. ^ a b c d “Miami Vice, TV Series, 1984–1989″. Internet Movie Car Database. www.imcdb.org. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h Davis, Chris (June 1986). “The Boats of Miami Vice”. Motor Boating and Sailing 157 (6): 36–40.
  45. ^ PR Web/emediawire.com (2006-11-15). “Miami Vice Original Race Boat up for Auction”. Press release. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  46. ^ a b “Wellcraft Scarab 38″. Auto-Salon-Singen. www.autosalon-singen.de. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
  47. ^ Benoit, Ellen (1986-04-07). “Just Like On TV”. Forbes (Forbes): 106.
  48. ^ a b c Schryver, Doug (February 1988). “Don Johnson’s new Scarab gets all the bells and whistles Wellcraft can muster, plus a few new tricks. You can own one, too – for a price.”.Starship: 116–119, 202–203.
  49. ^ a b Friedman, Jack; Cindy Dampier (1990-05-28). “With Kurt Russell and Chuck Norris in Tow, Don Johnson Risks His Neck on a New Miami Vice—superboat Racing”. People Magazine 33 (21): 101, 102.
  50. ^ a b “When Irish Eyes Are Crying”, aired September 26, 1986.
  51. ^ “Golden Triangle Pt. 1″, aired January 22, 1985.
  52. ^ “Miami’s brightest star fades”. Sunday Mail. July 16 1989.
  53. ^ Hiltbrand, David (2006-07-29). “22 years after ‘Miami Vice,’ its cultural influence still reverberates”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  54. ^ a b c d “E! True Hollywood Story: Miami Vice”. E! True Hollywood Story. E! Entertainment. 2001-06-03. No. 24, season 5. 32:37 minutes in.
  55. ^ Strachan, Alex (2008-04-30). “Longevity the order of the day”. Canwest News Service(Calgary Herald). Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  56. ^ a b “E! True Hollywood Story: Miami Vice”. E! True Hollywood Story. E! Entertainment. 2001-06-03. No. 24, season 5. 36:28 minutes in.
  57. ^ “E! True Hollywood Story: Miami Vice”. E! True Hollywood Story. E! Entertainment. 2001-06-03. No. 24, season 5. 36:44 minutes in.
  58. ^ a b “E! True Hollywood Story: Miami Vice”. E! True Hollywood Story. E! Entertainment. 2001-06-03. No. 24, season 5. 36:46 minutes in.

 

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