Cool As 'Vice'

The style!
Even in Miami, the campiest of detectives wouldn't show up decked out in a pastel tee, white jacket, mandals and five o'clock shadow today…that would be so 1985. But no one was more stylin' than Crockett and Tubbs in the mid-'80s, and everyone, from trend-sucking teens and clubbin' Yuppies to businessmen and maybe even your girl-chasing uncle pushed up the sleeves of their Armani knock-offs and copied that look—or made a brave attempt to—back then. Not that that should spark pastel-colored dreams of a Vice fashion revival. In this case, what happened in Miami Vice should stay in Miami Vice.

The toys!
TV legend has it that the idea for Miami Vice came from a memo sent by a former NBC exec who wrote two words to describe his idea for a new series: "MTV cops." The real inspiration, according to the series creator, came from a story about a law revision that allowed cops to use property seized in drug busts to aid them in their undercover work. Hence Crockett, on a cop's salary, driving that cool Ferrari to gain street cred as Sonny Burnett, the alias he used when trying to infiltrate the bad guys. There were also speed boats, yacht parties, tricked-out pastel mansions, guns, more cars (including Crockett's Spyder and Tubbs' 1962 Cadillac Coupe DeVille convertible) and even an over-the-top pet: Crockett shared his fancy houseboat (called St. Vitus' Dance) with Elvis, a crabby alligator who had been the mascot of his alma mater, the University of Florida.

The energy!
"MTV cops" was actually an accurate description of the show, which was synonymous with the kind of flashy cinematography, blaring rock soundtrack and editing effects that were the style of the flashy, expensive music videos that populated MTV. The raw, gritty storylines on Vice, which, especially in later seasons, often ended with violence, unfolded via quirky camera angles like the one of Crockett's front tire streaking down a dark Miami street while Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" blared over the TV in stereo, in the show's pilot. The look and feel of the show not only became a trademark for director Michael Mann, who also directed the big-screen Vice, but also a trademark of the '80s in general and an influence on big-screen and small-screen cop dramas that followed.

The music!
Collins' "In the Air Tonight" is probably as closely associated with the show as Jan Hammer's instrumental Miami Vice theme. The effective use of the song in the pilot led record companies to lobby producers to get their stars' tunes into episodes, and the series became such a constant source of hit music that three Miami Vice soundtrack albums were released during the show's five-season run. Among Vice's other musical contributions were songs from Foreigner, Jackson Browne, Tina Turner, Peter Gabriel, and Depeche Mode, plus "You Belong to the City" and "Smuggler's Blues" by Glenn Frey, who also guest-starred as a smuggler during the show's first season.

The guest stars!
Collins also popped up, as a game show host named Phil, in season two's "Phil the Shill" installment. And the Miami Vice DVDs are particularly fun viewing for celeb spotting, including guest appearances by musicians like Miles Davis (as a pimp!), Willie Nelson, Gene Simmons, Ted Nugent, Frank Zappa and Frankie Valli, plus a roster of not-yet-famous future superstars that included Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Annette Bening, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Wesley Snipes, Liam Neeson, Michael Richards, Benicio Del Toro, Viggo Mortensen, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian McShane and Nathan Lane.

Related topic galleries: Ian McShane, Music Industry, Benicio Del Toro, Annette Bening, Gene Simmons, Frank Zappa, Bruce Willis

• CLINICAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

• INSURANCE AGENTS

• DRIVER

• DENTAL ASSISTANT

• IT SYSTEMS SPECIALIST

• View all Top Jobs