Monday, March 27, 2006

Miami Vice

In 1984 a TV series started that changed my life. Looking back I find it odd that at 8 years old I was so captivated by Miami Vice. Most of the 8 year olds I know now days don't watch too many Cop dramas. But, that was back in the 80's and things were very different then, and I wasn't the only 8 year old that watched the show. Most of my friends also found Miami Vice to be a very compelling, hip, and sexy television series. After watching Miami Vice, I wanted to become a narcotics cop, I wanted to live in Miami, and I wanted to drive a testarosa. But the greatest influence the show had for me was the fashion design. This represents the first memorable moment in my life where I was mentally trying to accomplish a certain style. So when my parents took me to Payless to get some shoes, I picked out "Sonny Crocket" shoes. Since then my fashion ideals have changed but I attribute Miami Vice with the beginning of my interest in style. All these years later I still look back at Miami Vice with a certain amount of fondness but I have been afraid to re-watch the show and ruin that memory. Many things from the 80's have not withstood the sands of time (like Vacation, and Weird Science) and I was afraid Miami Vice might be one of these. Well, last week I got Season 1 on DVD. And after watching the pilot I can say that Miami Vice is still good. Certainly some things are very dated and the direction seems a little primitive but I still found the show compelling, hip and sexy. One difference I noticed was that I now found Tubbs to be the cooler character whereas in the old days Sonny was about the coolest thing I had ever seen. (I find this happens to a lot of my 80's hero's, like Tom Cruise in Top Gun is kind of a jerk whereas Val Kilmer is actually kind of cool.) Another interesting thing is to see the styles of Miami Vice coming back into fashion. Also, for fans of Michael Mann, there are a number of actors showing up throughout the show that tend to be in many of his more recent pictures. All in all, I am happy and excited to report that Miami Vice is still cool and I am quivering with anticipation for this summers release of Miami Vice the movie.

2 Comments:

Blogger earlcapps said...

i am DEFINITELY eager for the movie to come on. i think it's gonna be a great continuation of fast times, high living, and easy dying that Michael Mann introduced you and I to two decades ago.

Got some thoughts about it on my blog. Feel free to hop over and share your thoughts.

7:51 PM  
Blogger Jordan said...

Miami Vice was definitely a trend setter. I remember watching it at my friends house because my parents said I was too young to watch.

Oh and last time I watched Top Gun I noticed the same thing as you. Iceman was cooler than Maverick.

12:36 AM  

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