THE REWATCHABLES · September 7, 2021
A 1984 buddy cop / action / crime / drama directed by N/A, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The Phil Collins-backed phone-booth call becomes an iconic blend of emotional vulnerability and style.
About 8 minThe Argentinian assassin attacks a limo convoy with precise, stylish violence.
About 24 minThe officers flip Linus, recover the suitcase, and trade punchy one-liners.
About 24 minWhen Tubbs realizes the wrong man has been arrested, he explodes into frantic overdrive and races through Miami.
About 32 minThe hitman attacks Crockett’s family at the safe house, leading to a tense fight and a dramatic rescue.
About 32 minTubbs forces the confession tying Calderon to the brother’s murder and drives the emotional core of the episode.
About 32 minThe episode ends with a long, music-driven flashback montage over the speedboat ride and then the credits.
About 40 minCalderon delivers a final monologue about money, power, and impunity before the climax resolves.
About 40 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsYes; it feels like the first truly cinematic, 80s TV drama.
Chris RyanMostly agrees, but notes some earlier shows had prestige ambitions.
Bill SimmonsClaims it invented or popularized montage, slow motion, and music-video scene construction.
Chris RyanAgrees generally but frames it as pushing the medium rather than literally inventing everything.
Bill SimmonsYes; it could have become a Netflix-style serialized franchise or recurring movie series.
Chris RyanInterested but less emphatic, treating it as a hypothetical rather than a must-do.
Argues that Miami Vice is a revolutionary, movie-like TV series that still looks modern and may have been the first true prestige drama.
Opening minutesSays the music, editing, and emotional beat of Crockett calling his ex make it an all-time TV moment.
About 8 minTreats Johnson as one of the greatest TV leads ever and a major style icon.
About 16 minLoves the chemistry and believes Tubbs is one of the greatest second bananas in TV history.
About 24 minChooses the limo ambush as a peak rewatchable action scene, especially the driver and shooting technique.
About 24 minCalls the interrogation with the glass one of the best scenes and a perfect demonstration of the show’s style.
About 32 minFrames Mann as a favorite director whose influence on the episode and the series is decisive.
About 48 minSays Miami Vice helped create the popular image of Miami as glamorous, dangerous, and endlessly stylish.
About 40 minCredits the show with inventing or perfecting TV slow motion, montage, and music-driven sequences.
About 8 minThinks the property could have been rebooted as a modern serialized show or franchise and still worked well.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceThe episode frames Miami Vice as the turning point where TV began using film-like techniques, music video editing, and location shooting.
Opening minutesSongs are treated as part of the storytelling rather than background decoration, with scene edits matched to the beat.
About 8 minCrockett’s fake identity, clothing, boat, car, and attitude are all presented as part of the show’s mythology.
About 8 minThe show’s emotional engine is the contrast and bond between the two leads, especially in revenge and loyalty plots.
About 24 minThe city is portrayed as a glamorous, violent, location-driven world that the show helped define.
About 40 minThe hosts say the pilot plus these two episodes function like three hours of serialized TV and were launched on NBC Friday nights.
Opening minutesMiami Vice reportedly spent about $10,000 or more per episode on song rights.
About 1:12The show used stereo broadcast music before that was common for TV series.
About 1:12Crockett’s Ferrari was actually a replica built on a Corvette chassis.
About 1:12Crockett’s boat is identified as a Chris-Craft Stinger 390X.
About 1:12Don Johnson’s stubble look was created with a sideburn trimmer before stubble razors existed.
About 1:12The two-part story was originally titled The Hit List and Calderon’s Demise.
About 1:12The episode’s soundtrack includes heavy use of Jan Hammer and multiple licensed pop songs.
About 40 minThe Argentinian assassin’s shooting technique is described as the Mozambique drill.
About 1:04A squib effect malfunction is mentioned in one shooting scene, and the take was kept.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceUsed in the famous phone-booth scene and praised for syncing with Crockett’s call to his ex.
About 8 minThe episode’s music montage and end-of-part transitions rely on Ballard songs.
About 40 minUsed over the closing speedboat montage to cap the two-parter.
About 40 minPlays in a club scene during the part-one sequence.
About 24 minOpens part one and is discussed as one of the most overused but iconic pop-culture songs.
About 24 minMentioned as another artist Miami Vice could license for major impact.
About 40 min · medium confidenceUsed to describe the synth score and villain framing.
About 40 min · medium confidenceCited as a later homage to Miami Vice’s aesthetic and Miami setting.
About 40 minUsed in a listener question about Don Johnson, Ferrari color, and pop-culture memory of Miami Vice.
About 1:20 · medium confidenceReferenced as the later Mann film version and a more digitally experimental take on the material.
About 1:12Used as an example of older TV that feels dated and stagey compared with Miami Vice.
Opening minutesAnother pre-Miami Vice drama used as a comparison for older television style.
Opening minutesUsed as another example of older, less cinematic drama TV.
Opening minutesNamed as the next time the hosts remember feeling TV had pushed the envelope similarly.
About 16 minReferenced for its habit of adding new core characters, unlike Miami Vice.
About 16 minThe hosts repeatedly insist this episode is a special, personal favorite and a near-perfect use of the Rewatchables format.
Opening minutesThey run a long joking bit about who or what reaches the peak of influence here, from Russ Ballard to Don Johnson to the show itself.
About 1:04Bill keeps joking that any story with a hit list is automatically compelling and asks why more shows don’t use it.
About 48 minThe hosts obsess over socksless loafers, linen suits, pastel colors, and stubble as if they were inventions of the show.
About 16 minChris and Bill repeatedly laugh at Tubbs’ intense line readings and physical reactions, especially in Part 1.
About 32 minThe St. Andrews bartender becomes a running joke as an all-purpose helper, writer, and candidate for spinoff energy.
About 56 min“our divorce was a bigger failure”About 24 min
“You're going after number eight!”About 32 min
“You heard right.”About 32 min
“It's a hit list, sonny.”About 56 min
“I'm always ready.”About 40 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before The ‘Miami Vice’ Two-Part Episode “Calderone’s Return”, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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