Today’s topic is about “Miami Vice.” Figured a classic 80’s drama like that will find a welcomed home at Just My Show. I have been meaning to write about the genius of this program for some time now, mainly because I have been busy watching both Season 1 and Season 2 on DVD, and given the upcoming film release of Michael Mann’s film adaptation, I suppose it all comes together now.

I was telling someone the other day that I bought Season 2 of “Miami Vice” and to that the person joked that not only was it bad enough that I was watching that show on DVD, it’s worse that I was actually watching the second season, meaning that I had already stooped to a low level when I first bought Season 1. Quite frankly, I don’t understand why this program gets such a bum rep. I realize the fashions at the time are out of place in 2006, and that nobody really wears white suits with pastel t-shirts. I’ll give you that. But that aside, I challenge people to argue why that show may be a bad joke. Was it Crockett and Tubbs, our two cop protagonists? Watching the show now, some 20 years later, I realize how strong Don Johnson actually was in this program.

For me, Fridays at 10PM found me sitting on the couch with my top-loading VCR ready to record. Maybe it’s an age thing. I am 35. When “Vice” debuted in 1984, it was kind of a big deal. We need to keep in mind that this was in an age of no cable television. This was before FOX. All we had were the big (3) networks, and a few local independent stations, such as WPIX, where I caught most Yankees games.

My family had rabbit ears back in 1984. On a good day the television signal was clear enough that we could enjoy a mostly static free television image. Other days we had to finagle the ears just right so we can pick up free TV. This was the dawn of the MTV age (hardly anyone I knew had cable except my friend Ben Kirwan) and we have to keep in mind that music and television were distinct disciplines and nobody really had the gravitas to blend them together.

Michael Mann picked up on that and decided to produce a cop show that thrived on a few key elements: quality storytelling and keen visuals. He set out to make a series that would bridge the gap between sight and sound, and use music as a way to drive a story ahead. Not a big thing today, but rather impressive in 1984. And this was way before Mann became one of the industry’s truly maverick directors. Films like “Manhunter,” “Heat,” “The Insider” and “Collateral” would come years later.

For those who still shrug at my defense of this show’s virtues, I do suggest you check out a few episodes from the series’ first two seasons. Dig down deep and you’ll find a few little gems, including a powerful hour called “No Exit,” where Bruce Willis starred as a brutal arms dealer who sells missiles by day and beats his wife at night. Crockett and Tubbs get caught in the middle as they are using the wife to help set Willis up, and can only sit and watch her get pushed around in a disaster of a marriage. The climax is set against the classic Phil Collins tune, “I Don’t Care Anymore,” and it is here where you can see how “Miami Vice” was pretty groundbreaking. Watching this sequence and you realize there really wasn’t anything else on TV quite like it.

Or Season 2’s “Out Where The Buses Don’t Run,” another solid hour where Crockett and Tubbs deal with a mentally challenged ex-cop (superbly played by Bruce McGill, a veteran in countless Mann films). Chasing down a lead on a missing drug dealer, the three cops end up at a deserted warehouse while we listen to Dire Straits’ “Brothers In Arms,” a creepy, meandering song that fits perfectly with this episode’s sad and desolate ending. Fantastic imagery.

Shows like “Vice” really make me embrace the DVD era of entertainment. The DVDs feature all the original songs from the episodes, all in Dolby 5.1 sound. While the video quality could have been better, the sound makes up for it, especially when you watch the two part episode of “Calderone’s Return,” an excellent story arc where Crockett was featured on a sharpshooter’s hit list, and he needed to stay in hiding until the killer was found.

I could go on. But you get it. It was hard-hitting drama, and each week the producers managed to feature popular songs of the day; it was probably a big deal to a band back then to be included on the “Vice” soundtrack. Jan Hammer even became a household name for his creative score.

And now we’ve got Mann’s upcoming film release starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Fox. Naturally I will go see this, as Mann is clearly my favorite director. The guy doesn’t make bad films, even if “Ali” was slightly misguided. And I am grateful the film is not set in the 1980’s, nor is it a spoof of the 1980s – it’s a present day story of these two cops, and given Mann’s masterful plotting and amazing sense of visual style, you have to assume this film will deliver the goods. However given the show’s association with 80’s cheese, it will be interesting to see if moviegoers will line up to watch.

Always a pleasure...