Miami Vice (TV Series) Tale of the Goat (1985) User Reviews

Voodoo causes headaches for Crockett and Tubbs

[DVD_Connoisseur · 8/10 · 30 June 2007]

"Tale of the Goat" is an average episode of "Miami Vice" - while it is a relatively fast moving and good looking episode, it fails to fully engage the viewer. The premise, however, is an interesting one - the boss of a crime organisation who is apparently deceased is seen alive and kicking.

Tubbs has a larger part to play in this tale unlike some of the previous episodes where he has been overshadowed by his partner.

The music from Jan Hammer is excellent as always and there are accompanying tracks from Todd Rundgren, The Fixx, Nona Hendryx and Red Rider.

8 out of 10. Good but could have been so much better.

Miami Vice--Tale of the Goat

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 26 April 2013]

Clarence Williams III (just as bug-eyed and crazy as ever, if more so) guest-stars as a drug-dealing Haitian Voodoo Priest (yes, what casting!) who returns to Miami (after Crockett and the Vice sent him packing back to Haiti) to get money owed to him by a back-stabbing former protégé named Sylvio Rumulus (Mykelti Williamson; I was sorely disappointed his casting didn't warrant more entertaining results as he doesn't have much dialogue and never shares a conversation scene with Williams III). Sylvio believes Legba (this is what everyone refers Williams III to) could be staging a stunt with a faked death…Legba returned in a coffin, showing all signs of death, but it was actually blowfish poison that temporarily paralyzed him for 48 hours (doing some damage upon his awakening, both to his brain and causing serious mobility issues). So Crockett and Tubbs see an opportunity to take down Legba (once he disposes of Sylvio, excess baggage he no longer wants in the way) by utilizing his major weakness in the lovely Marie (Denise Thompson). Once he secures his money from Sylvio's oddball car salesman associate, Bobby Profile (a lively and cartoonish Ray Sharkey, with a wardrobe lacking in color coordination) by blowing up the guy's office (!), Legba's antics further implement his notoriety as a dangerous fiend Miami needs removed like the cancer he is. With 80s rock and Haitian Voodoo dances around a campfire, Williams III equipping his entourage with a dwarf wielding a pickax and another footsoldier swinging a saber (!), and poor Tubbs besieged by a poison (injected into his bloodstream by Legba when they figure out he's a cop undercover, attending their final Voodoo ceremony before returning to Haiti) and reacting as if he were having a slow stroke, there's so much to enjoy here. Tubbs laughs about Voodoo and considers it all a bunch of mumbo jumbo/hocus pocus. Because Tubbs doesn't take it at all seriously, he goes into the ceremony not quite heeding to Crockett's concerns regarding Legba and the dangers of his practice in the religion. Legba's violent streak is legend in Miami; he leaves his mark before the show ends, too. Seeing Tubbs under the throes of the poison, imagining Legba while under the effects of the drug, it proves just how dangerous Vice can be when having to go undercover without backup. Williams III is a colorful, memorable heavy for the show and adversary for our Vice Squad. This is a bit more surreal and wacky than other episodes prior to it, which has brought Tale of the Goat a lot of derision and discord from fans of the show. I had fun with it, myself.

Lightweight but kind of fun

[xbatgirl-30029 · 6/10 · 2 June 2021]

Things are back on track after the previous dog of an episode. The plot here is just an excuse for a Vodou exploitation episode. I wonder if this was planned to be aired just before Halloween instead of a couple weeks later? This trope was pretty common in the Seventies, complete with little person henchman, but seems a little stale here, around the time of Angel Heart and The Serpent and The Rainbow.

Clarence Williams III is a personal favorite and he steals the show, completely hamming it up as Papa Legba. His character's actions unfortunately make no sense. He elaborately stages his death and has his body shipped to Florida apparently just to pick up a large cash payment then plans to go back to Haiti to bribe his way back to being a policeman? It seems his large crew could have just gotten the money for him and sent it to him in Haiti. But again, it's all an excuse to have a bad guy for our gang to chase. Sonny's actions also make no sense - first he's joking with Tubbs about Vodou being nonsense. Then he has a very brief conversation with a janitor and becomes a true believer. It's very goofy.

But, unlike the last episode, we're back to lots of great buildings and outfits to look at. PMT also does a great job playing drugged at the end. I don't know why so many episodes end so anticlimactically though. Like the title says: lightweight but kind of fun.

So far I'm wondering if the show is using bright green to designate bad guys? It doesn't show up much (not counting vegetation) but so far it seems to be either worn by bad guys or have very green offices. Have to keep watching for it. Probably giving the show too much credit to do this.

Great Episode with lots going on.....

[echap99 · 9/10 · 23 January 2009]

This is a very engaging episode, with interesting characters.

The storyline is creepy as well as the location shots (the fog adds a nice touch).

In the teaser/opening sequence "Phantom Living" by The Fixx plays. This sets the tone right away.

There is even a bit of humor thrown in with one of the minor characters "Bobby Profile".

One of my favorite episodes of the series, and one of the few reasons I would actually stay home on Friday nights during the 80's.

Miami Vice was at its best when it got its moodiest. Michael Mann is a genius.

Voodoo & Miami Vice....what?

[cory5521 · 5/10 · 25 July 2012]

This episode could have been much better. Great music and good guest appearance acting, but the story was just too bizarre to be anything other than average. Trying to write voodoo into a Miami Vice episode was a challenge the writers should not have tried, especially when they were doing well with their current style of writing. I understand that they were trying to take risks with the show, but one look at the script should have let Mann know to scrap it. The episode might even have been a 7 or better if they had pulled the end together instead of letting it end so confusing, corny and just plain strange. Having said all that, it did have its highlights and it wasn't completely terrible, but a disappointment all the same.

More Voodoo Vice

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 14 November 2009]

For the second time this series Miami Vice features voodoo, this time it is much more sinister than before though and nearly costs the life of one of the squad.

The episode opens with Crockett and Tubbs opening a casket to see that the person meant to be inside really is. That person, Legba, is indeed inside and they go to the funeral to see who turns up, when the funeral is interrupted they are shocked to find that the body is no longer in the casket but their is equipment that might allow a person to breathe. An expert speculates that Legba may have taken a neurotoxin found in a fish to simulate death before being resuscitated. Once back in the land of the living he sets about eliminating the person who has stolen his money and those who helped him.

The only clue they have leads to Tubbs going undercover to a voodoo ceremony where his cover is blown and Legba injects him with the toxin. While this is going on Crockett is struggling to find him after the tracker falls off the lorry Tubbs was travelling in.

It was nice to see Tubbs take centre stage in an episode where it feels like he is in real danger. The serious tone is lightened slightly by an amusing used car salesman who is using his dealership to launder money.

I'm not a betting man, but....

[vdoman · 4 December 2019]

I'd bet money that just like in the 80's with bands releasing a hit album, the second release are all the 2nd rate songs that didn't make it on the first album. In more direct language, this feels like a script/screenplay that was left over from Season 1. Crockett and Tubbs laughing off VooDoo is contrived and obvious about the direction of this episode. Seems way too toung-in-cheek and juxtaposed to trying to play tough cops, this weak storyline falls flat.

A Tale of Crap

[errol1909 · 1/10 · 28 January 2012]

A very bizarre, twisted, and goofy episode of Miami Vice. This episode continues the trend of very weak stories throughout Season 2. The whole story of this episode is very silly and unrealistic. Since when did vice cops deal with voodoo. This is one of the worst episodes of Vice ever and for those who like it there probably on what Tubbs was drugged with by the voodoo master Legba. Don Johnson plays this episode for laughs. So would I. Most of the episode Johnson sits in a car, constantly laughing and making faces at something so RIDICULOUSLY STUPID. This episode has really no idea where to go, EXCEPT DOWNHILL. If you want to See a thrilling, fun episode about voodoo watch THE WILD, WILD WEST from episode SEASON 3 OF THE NIGHT OF THE UNDEAD. No show can make bizarre, twisted episodes better than THE WILD, WILD WEST. VICE needs to stick with realism,not this bizarre CRAP.

Vice's Halloween episode.

[mm-39 · 5/10 · 28 October 2023]

I remember watching Tale of the Goat at my friend's house, and Tony described Tale of the Goat perfectly! Miami Vice's Halloween episode. A bit late after Halloween, but advertised for scares like one. What worked: Well I guess the script writers got tired of drug deals, and cars chases so fresh material was added. There was some tongue and cheek humor. Cheesy with the midget with the machete and mysterious girl cliches. This episode keeps the viewer watching and interesting, but on second viewing not so great! What did not work: The style of Tale of the Goat was done in a cheesy 70's style movie of the week production. Sayings about Voodoo fever, kaleidoscope camera work, bongo drums, getting lost and trying to find the zombie was just too much. Has a fast and cheep feel which was entertaining but does not age well. Tale of the Goat was a memorable episode, but in a bad way. 5 stars.

The Voodoo Episode

[soapytiger · 3/10 · 3 August 2023]

How was this episode cleared for production? Lacking any substance or grit from the beginning, the storyline would be better served up by Scooby-Doo than Miami Vice. Canned jokes and action pulled directly from a tropes catalogue, with none of the pathos that made the show, as a whole, unique. The acting by the guests fell flatter than day old Pepsi. But then, perhaps the entirety of the episode was meta, a zombie itself. It certainly felt that way. It was a real stinker, limping along, beady eyed, mumbling, "This is Miami Vice," while in all ways except the pastiche, unrecognizable. How this got cleared and produced, I do not know. My guess would be that at this point in the show's success, Michael Mann could write his own ticket. This episode was pure zombie. 3/10 for the pastiche.