The MIAMI VICE Experience - Page 4

And I thought Christmas was still 4 days away. How wrong I was.

 

With you on this episode. I appreciate them wanting to give Zito and Switek a chance to shine but their brand of humor works way better in small does. In fact the only time I enjoyed having Zito and Switek be the main focus of an episode was in the third season when... well I digress.

How serendipitous! I gave up waiting and just started season 2 yesterday with the feature length "Prodigal Son". Hopefully you'll be there yourself in not too long. Great to see you back by the way. 

 

As for this episode, I don't know, I have a bit of a soft spot for it. I usually like it when serious shows have an episode or two focusing on wacky side characters. How I longed for an episode of the Shield featuring Billings helping out one of his friends get back together with his estranged wife. It was not to be. 

One of the cuts they could have made to lower the time would have been that shot of Noogie's disgusting fingers. He had an Edward Penishands thing going on there.

No screenshot of the babe in the two-piece and roller skates who conveniently bends over to tie her laces?

 

Buy yes, this is a standout episode. I don't hate on Tubbs or anything but giving us a chance to see Crockett buddy-up with Castillo is a definite treat. The scene where Castillo pieces together that the robberies all trace back to the Hair Emporium is Olmos at his finest.

 

"Beauty shops, that's where it all starts."

 

Could do without the gum-snapping obnoxious hookers and Sylvia Miles but they're not enough to derail this one. Top flight all the way.

Oh and so true about the "Some asshole" member of the home invaders. What a schlemiel.

Thanks for enlightening me on Frank Pesce. I've seen him in a tone of movies, mostly by William Lustig, and heard on a commentary of one of those movies about him having a movie done on his life, but had no idea why his life warranted a movie.

 

It wasn't until recently that I even discovered that Anthony LaPaglia was friggin' Australian. I fall into that category of "Always thought he was from New York."

 

Big LOL to a lot of the stills, great job, Erix! This one was probably my favorite episode of the season, although Evan does have one hell of a great opening sequence.

I loved Glades. Yeah I'm getting to this discussion late.

Excellent entry and overall analysis of the zenith of Castillo's stares.

 

I wonder if Bad to the Bone was a cliche when the episode originally aired. The song had only been around a couple of years at that time.

Sorry you guys lost the momentum on this thread. After watching about 1 minute of "The State Within" (someone has watched Se7en too many fucking times) on Netflix streaming, I randomly choose the Season 2 episode (9 if you're counting) "Bushido". Directed and Staring EDWARD JAMES OLMOS! Co-Starring DEAN STOCKWELL! Special appearance by JERRY HARDIN ("Deep Throat from The X-Files) as a character named "Hardin".

 

The episode begins with the Vice team incognito at the Beach! Crockett and Tubbs are at the Night Scope in a building across from a public bathroom where a Deal is Going To Go Down! The Miami Vice chicks are in disguise as a roller derby Hooker girl and a homeless woman; another Vice Team member is completely buried in the sand, using a snorkel and (I assume) a periscope to remain concealed. The Vice squad are working with a loser DEA guy who has lots of medals but no class. Once "Ferera" arrives (via boat with 4 thugs) the Vice Team moves into action! The guy buried in the sand pops up right behind his guy, roller derby girl offers herself as another thugs date, and uses a gun to seal the deal! Crockett and Tubbs move in, but alas! Their target is dead, hung upside down in a urinal with his filthy cocaine all over his head (and in the toilet). The money of course is missing, and the DEA Doofus is tied up in another Urinal. Looks like a MYSTERY!

 

I won't reveal the rest of the story: I leave that to you the Miami Vice Fans. But I WILL leave you with two choice quotes from the episode to whet your appetites.

 

"At this man's level, Death is a Profession! He sees everything. Everything"

 

"Castillo doesn't give an inch"

"He CAN'T!"

"Bushido" is top shelf Vice. The Castillo-centric entries tend to be grand and this is the best of the bunch. David Rasche is terrific.

 

Hopefully Erix will return from sabbatical soon. The next ep that's due is "Evan." "Evan" man! Plus we're only like 2 away from "Prodigal Son."

Bushido is definitely in the top 5 best episodes of Miami Vice for me. It was excellent.

 

 

I'll spoiler text this next bit, as it is about the last few episodes of season 5

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

Just started watching Season 2 Episode 11 "Back in the World", the prequel to my favorite Vice episode, "Stone's War". Bob Balaban is the Special Guest Star, along with G Gorden Liddy (real-life Watergate Burglar turned actor) and Iman!

 

Ira Stone is a Vietnam Era War correspondent and adrenaline junkie who's still on the trail (10 years after the war) of some shitty Heroin that an unnamed US Sergent transported to the US via the corpses of US soldiers. As Stone and Crockett reminisce on Crockett's speed boat about how great Vietnam was, they are attacked by Mortar fire! Balaban as Stone screams "INCOMING" then as Crockett frantically starts the boat to get away, Stone apparently has an adrenaline orgasm. And the episode is just getting better with one of the Vice Team dressed for a Leather Bar, apparently ready to "take one for the team"!

EDITED TO ADD: The Mortar attack was Aces; too bad the guy using it couldn't aim for shit.

 

I estimate that the word "Man!" was used approximately, 9,432 times in this episode.

Edited by Cylon Baby - 4/3/12 at 8:40pm

Wow! Another 5 star episode! I love how Ira Stone is such a lying weaselly prick. So much so that none of the people he tries to use as "sources" want anything to do with him.

Other notes: Crockett and Stone cruise a Vietnam Veteran's, uh, club, and try to learn the source of some shitty Vietnam era Heroin that's killing junkies. The Vets don't like being used and one of them kicks a wheelchair at Stone and shouts " I lost HALF A LEG IN VIETNAM! AND THE VA PUT IN A BOLT IN MY HIP THAT WAS 2 INCHES TOO SHORT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY MONEY! WHY DON'T YOU WRITE ABOUT THAT HUH?!". Crockett, wearing pink slacks, assures the Vets that he's "just doing my job, same as you".

 

G Gorden Liddy really should have had an acting career in the 80's: he's authentically psychotic. Oh and he wears a pair of Pantaloons at the end when he shoots Stone, so you have to give him cred for that.

Johnson and Balaban were great together in those episodes. Too bad Ira Stone wasn't able to show up more often on Vice, but at least we got to see those two show off their chemistry again in DEAD BANG.

Edited by Moltisanti - 4/3/12 at 9:32pm

Looking forward to them, Erix. I'm not as big a fan as some on "Evan", but it does have one of my favorite pre-credits sequences of the series.

"Lombard" is one of my favorite episodes and actually had me liking the old sleazebag. A complete 360 from his previous appearance.

If anything, your blog got me to see the entire series over the past few months, and that wasn't something I'd even been thinking about before you started up your blog about a year ago. I liked the series, but I wasn't in any hurry to see all of it. This blog had me change my mind.

You take all the time you need. The attention to detail you contribute with these pieces is well worth the wait. Whenever you're ready to write 'em I'll be ready to read 'em.