Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2.fluke 9/24/84; site vax4.fluke.UUCP Path: utzoo!decvax!bellcore!petrus!sabre!zeta!epsilon!gamma!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!fluke!moriarty From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) Newsgroups: net.tv Subject: Review, summary, hints, questions on MIAMI VICE Message-ID: <2729@vax4.fluke.UUCP> Date: Mon, 30-Sep-85 01:45:44 EDT Article-I.D.: vax4.2729 Posted: Mon Sep 30 01:45:44 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 30-Sep-85 23:49:14 EDT Distribution: na Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA Lines: 69 Well, hype city or no (and nobody but NOBODY in the entertainment industry gets to the cover of Time without hype coming out the old Wazoo), that was a pretty good Miami Vice premiere last week. For those of you who are novices to Miami Vice, let me add a quick summary of what you can expect every week. Excellent cinematography, combined with good music and the most incredible sound/image editing a TV series has ever seen. Incredible background music from Jan Hammer (I *must* get the MV album, if only for Hammer's music -- has he released any music albums independently?). Some decent acting (I must say) from Don Johnson as Sonny, Edward James Olmos as Castillo, and various people as the petty crooks of Miami; other acting can be pretty weak, especially Phillip Michael Thomas as Tubbs, who is best when he's not saying anything. Some incredibly stilted dialogue from Sonny and Tubbs, and plots which are usually pretty fantastical. Violence shot in such a way that it seems almost artistic (fine with me, as long as you realize just how ugly a shotgun hole through the eyeball really looks, i.e. can you differentiate reality from fiction?). All in all, entertaining (if uneven), especially if you're a movie/film-making nut like me, who enjoys going "Whoa! Great fade-out!" to friends. Back to the premiere: especially excellent, as the dialogue was much better than usual --some great lines by Johnson, who, with his raspy voice and tired, bloodshot eyes and consistent smoking, is just right to spout bitter, cynical film noir statements about things in general. New York seen as a city of character actors (which it well may be -- I haven't been there); particular kudos to Penn Jillette as a local NY coke dealer, and to whatever actor they got to play the Death's-head stock broker with the William F. Buckley accent. Plot even more convoluted than ever, and often trite (need motivation for going to NY -- shoot Trudy!). Music was edited SO well with Jan Hammer's music, I was often agog -- this is Television (the dreaded TV), after all -- why does it look better, run smoother and look slicker than most action movies? Good people back there, mon... A few questions: I assume that MV is picking up the theme circulated by several new books on organized crime in Miami, that most of the biggest runners of coke are these Columbian Indian families, who are almost legendary in the violent nature (they'd have to be, to contest control of drug traffic from the Mafia). Seems whenever the Dade County Vice dept. runs into anyone really nasty, they're part of a Columbian family. First Calderone, then this group... Speaking of Calderone, I think I see two actors from *last* year's premiere of Miami Vice being resurrected; isn't the actor who played Calderone the same actor who played the head of the Columbian family in this episode (the fellow who goes down with the helicopter in the end)? And isn't the federal agent who is seen with the Vice regulars in the hospital room (waiting for Trudy's prognosis) the same fellow who played Crockett's ex-partner in the self-same premiere episode -- the one who is arrested for stooling for Calderone? Could use a little info to make sure my brain isn't wandering. I think there were probably a ton of cameos in this one -- I distinctly thought I saw a couple of fairly famous musicians walk through (no, not Gene Simmons -- he's listed in the credits, and he has a speaking part (at least he didn't stick his tongue out...)). Let's see, one hour Wed. night; two hours Thursday; two hours Friday; and a half hour Sunday. It would appear that I'll be watching a little more TV than I did last year... "Never send a MAN to do a WOMAN'S work! Why do you think I CAME here?" "Not for the good of my ego, that was for damn sure." Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty <*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*> Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com