"Miami Vice Season One"
by: Paolo Sardinas

The 80’s were undeniably a time of greatness. Especially in Miami. Whether It was the Mariel Boat Lifts or the rise of South Beach, Miami definitely had its fair share of change. Of course along with great change comes great tentertainment. One of the pivotal changes in the face television was a show which introduced something new, fresh, and exciting to the world of television. “Miami Vice” came to scene in the year of 1984, every Friday at 10:00 people would submerge themselves in the world of undercover cops James “Sonny” Crocket and Ricardo Tubbs(played by Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas. What started out as a cop show with Phil Collins In the Air Tonight became a cult sensation which undeniably changed television.

The first pilot episode of the series, we’re introduced to the characters. First we have Ricardo Tubbs who goes from a detective in the Big Apple to later being transferred down to sunny Miami. Then we have Crockett who just lost his partner during an undercover assignment and gets partnered up with Tubbs. The show Is filled with plenty of cheesy moments. Throughout its entire five season, 111 episodes, run the show always had this in explainable attraction. This sort of addiction where you just couldn’t take your eyes off of the main characters. Everything they did,even something as mundane as sitting on the crapper was entertaining to watch. Maybe it was how believable the characters were. Who knows? But soon after that pilot episode not only was television changed but virtually society went along with it as well.

The whole scene of the 80’s, besides the things mentioned previously, was filled with change, not to mention crime went up. Drugs were all the rage now, not like they never were but they were just more popular now, and Miami was definitely the place to be. Between their pastel colors and sockless loafers they were great Crockett and Tubs. The first season was undeniably one of their best. It introduced us to plenty of new characters and set the tone for plenty of season to follow. Each episode had an interesting plotline, for the most part, and even had feature guest stars. Throughout their entire five season run more celebrities guess starred on Miami Vice then on any other scripted show. That’s pretty damn impressive.

The show was produced by Michael Mann, who would later direct the 2006 big screen adaptation. Its gritty topics and lucrative subject matter were not for everyone. Drugs, sex, violence, beautiful women and pastel tones…a perfect kids show. But these MTV cops definitely knew what made audiences happy. These cops did more than just arrest crooks. They did it with such style, attitude, and, well, coolness they were undeniably the coolest cops on TV. The cream of the crop and the biggest new attraction in Miami. And even 25 years later they still look good in white blazers.

The Picture
In this newly released, not really that new, box set you can enjoy all of your favorite episodes form the first season of “Miami Vice”. Every episode is presented in its original full frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. If I must be honest the overall picture quality is a bit dated. While I was hoping for a more crisp and shaper image what I got instead was pretty much an old fashioned episode looking exactly the way it did 25 years ago. Which is fine, I just figured that they would use some more recent technology to reimage everything.

The Sound
The audio is actually fairly brand new and sounds sharp. The audio and sound quality is surprisingly better than the picture quality. Which is really a surprise. Its delivered in a Dolby Digital 5.1 and while the overall sound isn’t 100% perfect it still manages to be better than the picture.

The Extras
The extras, most of which are located on the first disc, are actually very limited. Very dry. We get five features which are dedicated which are mostly about the entire series and how it impacted things. Most of which are below a thirty minute time frame. While the special features aren’t exactly exciting they do make for a reasonably entertaining time.

Overall
No one can deny that Miami Vice changed television. Whether it was for better or worst is entirely up to. But the show still remains undeniably entertaining even after all these years. While the DVD release isn’t quite as exciting as the show its still nice just to able to see all of these episodes again and again.

The Feature: Grade: A-
The Picture: Grade: B-
The Sound: B
The Extras: B
Overall: B