Someone in law enforcement is murdering drug dealers and their families in cold blood. To find the culprit, Crockett and Tubbs go undercover and travel to Colombia with a laid-back pilot to ... Read allSomeone in law enforcement is murdering drug dealers and their families in cold blood. To find the culprit, Crockett and Tubbs go undercover and travel to Colombia with a laid-back pilot to pose as dealers.Someone in law enforcement is murdering drug dealers and their families in cold blood. To find the culprit, Crockett and Tubbs go undercover and travel to Colombia with a laid-back pilot to pose as dealers.
- Grocero
- (as Jaime L. Sanchez)
- Roberto Morales
- (as Raul Martinez)
- Police Detective
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode was inspired by Glenn Frey's hit song "Smuggler's Blues", the lyrics of which discuss the issue of drug smuggling through Florida. Michael Mann heard the song on the radio and, noting its obvious connections with the primary focus of the show, asked Miguel Pinero (who played Esteban Calderone in two previous episodes) to write an episode based around it. In fact, several of the song's lyrics are repeated or paraphrased in the episode's dialogue.
- GoofsBefore they board the plane it has three-rotor props, the next scene where the engine starts it shows a two-rotor prop.
- Quotes
Jimmy Cole: I don't come cheap ya know... I take you where you wanna go, wait so long, then I'm a memory... Oh, and I don't have an "S" on my chest. I'm down with you cats if the play calls for it, but otherwise... I ain't into violence.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1985)
A fair amount of humor found its way into the first couple of seasons of Miami Vice-for instance, the scene in "Brother's Keeper" in which the lights go out in the courtroom, or many of the scenes involving Elvis-but there's none to be found in this iconic first-season episode. It's as cool as a polar bear on ice skates and gritty without being nihilistic, as many of the later episodes are. The tropical vibe is in full force, thanks in part to the trip to Cartagena (shooting location stand-in was actually San Juan).
Some of the typical Vice ingredients are downplayed or entirely absent here. There's very little glitz and glitter and conspicuous consumption, aside from Crockett's and Tubbs's wardrobe and a gorgeous '60s vintage Mustang convertible seen briefly in their getaway from Cartagena. There's no sex (aside from a shot or two of Trudy's thigh), and in fact practically no women. Trudy's role is brief and essentially passive, and Gina has only a few seconds of screen time and one or two very short lines of dialogue. Despite this, the episode is pure Vice, focusing entirely on the "shady characters" and "dirty deals" that underlie all the usual glitz. Crockett and Tubbs, not distracted this go-round by the party-and-sex scene, are all business here, edgy and dangerous, a fact underscored by the great blocking, camera work, and scoring.
Speaking of scoring: Glenn Frey's iconic song was written before Miami Vice and in fact inspired the episode. Michael Mann heard the song on the radio and had Miguel Piñero (aka notorious first season drug dealer Esteban Calderone) write the episode around it. (Piñero wrote very little else for Vice, and one can only wish that he'd done a lot more.) Nevertheless, the song worked so well as an inspiration that it could have been made with the series in mind, and the producers wrung every advantage out of it in this episode. Frey, in his debut acting appearance, fits the Vice vibe perfectly and would have been a great regular addition to the series.
In short, the episode is pure dynamite. As Miami Vice goes, it doesn't get any better than this.
- bfmelton
- Jul 5, 2021
Details
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime49 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1