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List Price: $59.98 | | Label: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Salesrank: 13638
Released: December 13, 2005 |
| Our Price: $14.92 |
| Used Price: $11.18 |
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MPAA Rating:
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The adventures of two vice squad detectives of the Miami police department.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 13-DEC-2005
Media Type: DVD
Description of Miami Vice - Season Two:
In its second season, Miami Vice walks that fine line between hip and cool. Hip fades, but cool is timeless. Then, as now, it doesn't get much cooler than this groundbreaking and trendsetting series' promise of a "life of adventure, exciting folks, and exotic locales," to quote one sardonic character. But the compelling stories, cinematic trappings, and lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry between costars Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas elevate Miami Vice from time capsule status. Likewise, the eclectic soundtrack, that would be painfully dated had it been stuck in the '80s, is a mind-blowing shuffle of genres and mainstream, alternative and world artists. "Prodigal Son," the double-length episode that opens the season, features Glenn Frey, U2, the Neville Brothers, Debbie Harry, Brian Ferry, Lou Reed, Traffic, and Phil Collins. Collins himself portrays a con man in one of the season's most entertaining episodes, "Phil the Shill." Not content to just be heard, other musicians who generally eschewed television, appeared on Miami Vice this season, adding to the series' considerable cachet. Among them: Kiss frontman Gene Simmons ("Prodigal Son"); Miles Davis ("Junk Love"); Leonard Cohen ("French Twist"); Ted Nugent ("Definitely Miami"); and Frank Zappa ("Payback"). Miami Vice instantly established itself as an oasis for character actors, many at the beginning of their careers. The second season offers early glimpses of Nathan Lane ("Buddies"), Harvey Fierstein and a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards as a menacing heavy ("The Fix"), David Strathairn ("Out Where the Buses Don't Run"), Bob Balaban ("Back in the World"), and John Leguizamo ("Sons and Lovers," which also features the unfortunate stunt-casting of Lee Iacocca as a gun-toting parks commissioner).
Most of Miami Vice's buzz-generating episodes were in season 1, but season 2 offers several series benchmarks. Two of Johnson's finest hours are "Back in the World" (which he directed) and "Buddies," two episodes that explore Crockett's Vietnam War experience. Thomas got his chance to shine in "Prodigal Son" and "Sons and Lovers," in which Tubbs becomes a target of the vengeful Ivan Calderon. "Bushido" is an always-welcome showcase for Emmy-winner Edward James Olmos as Castillo, who helps shield an associate's Soviet wife and son from the CIA and KGB. "Out Where the Buses Don't Run" boasts an Emmy-worthy performance by guest star Bruce McGill (D-Day in Animal House) as an unhinged former vice cop. Miami Vice stylishly subverted TV cop drama convention, but despite one too many downbeat endings that freeze on a devastated Crockett, it remains exhilarating to re-visit. There are no extras on this three disc-set, but the episodes are enough to make you want to party like it's 1985. --Donald Liebenson
Miami Vice - Season Two Reviews:
A show which has yet to be surpassed 
2009-10-07 - Season 2 largely improved on the merits of the second season. The style often associated with Miami Vice was upped a notch, as was the action. The surprise is that the level of drama and darkness associated with being a police officer was moved up a few levels as well. Prostitutes, drug addiction, murder, and of course drugs, were prevalent themes throughout the season, marked by some very sad and some very excellent episodes. Its interesting that tv history often labels Miami Vice as a campy show, with cheesy 80s style. While I was not a part of that time (well that I remember anyway), I will say I'm surprised how well the themes of the show has held up to the modern time.
Watching season 2 kind of reminds me of Peter Gabriel discussing Jimi Hendrix: when he listened to it, he hasn't seen any real innovation of Jimi's guitar work. Sure there were modern versions, and more technically advanced guitarists, but overall, no one's done anything that great or special since then. That's how I feel about Miami Vice. Sure cop shows have come since, and maybe been more "modern" and realistic, but nothing since has been as great or as special as Miami Vice. Give it a change and you may be surprised.
Miami Vice Season Two
2009-04-16 - I am a true blue devoted Don Johnson and Miami Vice fan. This is an excellent TV crime drama. I wish it were still playing regularly.
Miami Vice Rocks! 
2008-08-13 - This 1985-86 Season takes me all the way back to memory lane when Don Johnson was a sex symbol and when MIAMI VICE was on NBC every Friday night at 10PM right after KNIGHT RIDER at 9PM, especially since MIAMI VICE was in its 2nd Season while KNIGHT RIDER was in its 4th Season and when Don Johnson was a sex symbol along with the fact that Don Johnson(Sonny Crockett) and David Hasselhoff(Michael Knight) were the best looking men on Friday nights back then along with the fact that MIAMI VICE is the show that made Don Johnson a star, especially before his days on NASH BRIDGES along with the fact that MIAMI VICE was still in its honeymoon phase in this season to top that off.
As a matter of fact Don Johnson even auditioned for the part of Michael Knight on KNIGHT RIDER back in the Spring of 1982 along with the list of candidates being interviewed by creator(Glen Larson), but didn't get the part since Larson decided to give it to David Hasselhoff, which made Hasselhoff a star and a sex symbol before Johnson was.
Therefore Don Johnson didn't get to become a famous superstar until he auditioned for the role of Crockett on MIAMI VICE and got the part, but the more I think about it the more I cant help thinking that Don Johnson probably would have made an awesome Michael Knight, but probably not as great as David Hasselhoff did which is probably due to the fact that David Hasselhoff is better looking than Don Johnson is.
However Don Johnson, Tom Selleck, and Pierce Brosnan were the best looking actors of 1986, but I noticed that back then Don Johnson started stealing some of Tom Selleck's thunder since Johnson seemed to be outclassing Selleck as a sex symbol especially since MAGNUM seemed to start losing some viewers through MIAMI VICE, which was perhaps due to the fact that Don Johnson is a few years younger than Tom Selleck is along with the fact that MAGNUM, PI was already in its 5th Season on CBS when MIAMI VICE was in its 1st Season on NBC when it made its debut in September of 1984.
Therefore MAGNUM was in its 6th Season on CBS when MIAMI VICE was in its 2nd Season on NBC which still made this show relatively new while MAGNUM, P.I. was already getting kind of old, but Tom Selleck still became a star before Don Johnson did.
This is also the season of MIAMI VICE when Crockett(Don Johnson) gets his white Ferrari Testarosa after his black Daytona Ferrari gets blown up, which was certainly a major upgrade for Crockett along with the fact that Crockett's Ferrari was even more upgraded than Robin Master's Ferrari GT on MAGNUM, P.I.
This is also the season when Don Johnson made his hit song "Heartbeat" on the radio in the Summer of 1986, just before MIAMI VICE hit it's 3rd Season on NBC.
Additionally, Miami Vice was also kind of like a night time soap opera in a way, just like ER, CHICAGO HOPE, NYPD BLUE, HILLS STREET BLUES, MELROSE PLACE, BEVERLY HILLS 90210, DAWSON'S CREEK, etc. all were, since they'd sometimes show signs, details, and hints of concluding the previous episodes, even though they wouldn't provide scenes from the previous episodes, unless of course the episode was a 2-part episode.
This season also takes me all the way back to memory lane when NBC's motto was "NBC: Let's All Be There".
It was also interesting being able to see these episodes of MIAMI VICE complete & uncut and commercial free without deleted scenes like they were originally shown on NBC as opposed to how they were shown in reruns on USA, FX, TNN, and TV Land.
The only problem I have with this 1985-86 Season DVD box set of MIAMI VICE is every disc seems to have a problem with freezing and skipping just like the problem I had with the KNIGHT RIDER-SEASON 2 DVD box set and THE A-TEAM-SEASON 2 DVD box set, which is probably due to all the episodes on this DVD being put on 2-sided discs which is perhaps what inclined Universal to make a complete series DVD box set of MIAMI VICE and KNIGHT RIDER by redoing each episode by putting them on single sided discs instead of double sided discs in order to make up for all the flaws and descrepancies that caused the disc freeze up and skip a lot on both the MIAMI VICE-SEASON 1 DVD box set, the MIAMI VICE-SEASON 2 DVD box set, and the KNIGHT RIDER-SEASON 2 DVD box set aside from the fact that it will be harder for Universal to get more sales on the MIAMI VICE-The Complete Series DVD box set and the KNIGHT RIDER-The Complete Series DVD box set with times being so tight right now in todays rough economy at least until this recession is over.
Miami Vice Season 2
2008-04-28 - If you are a Miami Vice Fan you will love it. the thing I don't like is the Two(2) sided disc. The discs seem thiner then usual but the movie quality is good. Compared to other sets that I have purchased in the past which contained heavier one sided picture discs, the Miami Vice box sets (1 & 2 anyway) seem of cheaper quality. Because of this I question the price on these items. As I said before in other box sets I have purchased of better quality materials, The price is in the same ball park. Alas I shall buy them because I do like the series.
Friday night without the commercials
2008-03-20 - Complete collection of the second season of Miami Vice (1985-1986), indexed on three DVDs. Apparently, the musical rights to the many songs held up release of MV DVDs for a while, but they've all been cleared and the shows are fully intact.
The tone is similar to the first season, with its balance of light, sometimes humorous interaction among the cops and low-rent criminals, to dark and gritty, with the focus on corruption, greed, hypocrisy and general cynicism. Indeed, many enduring clichés of these cynical times got their start on Vice. We have Colombian drug dealers obsessed with revenge, we have evil yuppie pirates who rob and kill for the thrill ("trust fund babies want to have fun"), there's the ex-cop who went insane trying to capture a gangster, there's the father-son sports duo struggling with their relationship and a murder, we have Castillo's mysterious past as a 'company' (CIA) man, etc. While MV's reputation is largely grounded in its style and flare, the overall tone of the show and the subject matter was an important factor and consistent with Mann's work involving cops and robbers. After the first, this is definitely the next best season in terms of being fresh.
While Crockett and Tubbs are involved in more shootouts per season than probably the entire vice squad handled over a few years, and while it's hard to explain how there aren't 1,000 people who now know our heroes' undercover identities, and while Miami's crime rate is genuinely disturbing, the show is still eminently enjoyable as an 80s noir series with many of Michael Mann's signature touches. Sinister occurrences are punctuated with a deep Jan Hammer synch cue, Crockett has a straight face wearing turquoise, pink, and white ensembles, and the criminals have perms. You can buy this set or splurge on the entire five-season DVD box, which only appeared after the seasons were trickled out over two years.
