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Miami Vice

This series is largely remembered for the stylish clothes Detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs wore, the soundtrack, and its distinct visuals. But beneath the veneer is a surprisingly dark cop show. The cocaine boom of the 1980s framed many stories about drugs and murder, with Crockett and Tubbs often resorting to violence in the course of their work.

Miami Vice made stars out of Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, and Edward James Olmos, who won an Emmy as the intense, taciturn Lt. Castillo (watching him bust some martial arts moves in "Golden Triangle" is like Yoda cutting lose in Attack of the Clones), but the first season also offers time-capsule glimpses of actors on the cusp of stardom, including a pre-L.A. Law Jimmy Smits in the pilot, a pre-Crime Story Dennis Farina in "One-Eyed Jack," and a pre-Moonlighting Bruce Willis in "No Exit." Miami Vice put a neon sheen on cop-show convention. Its fashion sense (pastel suits, no belt, no socks), and the brilliantly employed freeze frames are still arresting.

To hear the opening beats of Jan Hammer's percussive, propulsive Miami Vice theme is to be instantly transported back to 1984. But this groundbreaking series, with its cinematic sensibility, cool clothes, and killer soundtrack is no mere blast from the past. It still rocks.

Cast and Characters

Don Johnson as Detective James "Sonny" Crockett
Phillip Michael Thomas as Detective Ricardo Tubbs
Edward James Olmos as Lt. Martin Castillo
Saundra Santiago as Detective Gina Navarro Calabrese
Olivia Brown as Detective Trudy Joplin
Michael Talbott as Detective Stan Switek
John Diehl as Detective Larry Zito (1984-1987)

Broadcast History
First Telecast: September 16, 1984
Last Telecast: July 26, 1989
Number of Episodes: 111
Number of Seasons: 5
Original Network: NBC