Customer Reviews

Miami Vice - Season Three

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ok, they are taking forever with these sets. anyway, its finally here. i think season two was the best season overall, but season three had some of the best episodes; unfortunately, it had some pretty bad ones as well. here's the quick and dirty on each episode:

When irish eyes are crying: the season premier episode. i was a little let down after the spectacular season premier of season 2 (the prodigal son). this is a very good episode though with liam neeson as the IRA terrorist. also, an important episode because crockett gets his ferrari blown up (its a classic mv moment; the expression on crocket's face lol)

stone's war: the stone eps are always good. crocket's reporter friend from viet nam returns to try and take down g. gordon liddy (yea, good luck with that pal!)

kill shot: a ho-hum episode about an impotent jai alai player who gets black mailed by drug dealers. nothing to write home about...

walk alone: ok, one of the best episodes of mv, imho. tubbs has to go undercover in a prison to get the guys that killed his girlfriend in a club. larry fishburne plays a guard. great music in this one and one of the more brutal eps of mv...

the good collar: a ho hum episode again. crockett identifies with a star football player that gets caught up in the drug world. nuthin' special...

shadow in the dark: ok, again one of my fav. eps. dark, moody, dreamlike and strange. a cat burgler goes after people's pants and ear-rings and freaks crockett and a detective out as they both try to develop the mindset of the cat burgler to catch him. GREAT scene with castillo and crockett sitting in a coffee shop together :)

el viejo: i really like this episode featuring willie nielson. has bon jovi song, wanted, dead or alive and flies on the windscreen by depache mode. also features the little reservior dogs geek, steve buscimi. great music, action and plot...

better living through chemistry: i really like this ep too in which tubbs' old partner comes back from NY for a little revenge on tubbs. a genius chemist figures out how to synthesize cocaine. hummm, all they need is a guina pig now. hey, is that izzie??

baby blues: ok, this ep [...]. something about a black market for babies and a dirty lawyer. i only watched it maybe twice, when i've watched the other eps many, many times...

streetwise: another [...] ep featuring the clown that can't act from tombstone (bill paxton). about an undercover cop who is in love with a hooker. this can't end well...

down for the count: sad, dreery 2 part ep. in which zito is killed. didn't really care for these eps and didn't like to see zito go :(

the savage: i like this episode about an assassin and his handler that have been brought in to take out a communist sympathizer. crockett and castillo find some help from an old viet nam friend who was trying to track down the assassin in nam. Michael wright is great as the assassin who has a nasty habit of killing hookers along with his "legit" i.e., "sanctioned" targets. good music and ending...

theresa: crockett's dr. girlfriend (helena bonham carter) is also a junkie. too bad for you crockett! she compromises his case and i.a. goes after crockett, thinking he's dirty. he has to prove himself by taking down brad dourif! a good ep

an afternoon plane: ok, really good ep. in which calderon's son, john leguizmo, comes back to get a little revenge by tricking tubbs and his new lady (also a dr.) to stay on an island that has no guns on it. good music and good acting in an ep in which tubbs takes on 3 stone killers. but why did tubbs' girl think she could help with that??

lend me an ear: great ep. has the song, lend me an ear by the waterboys. crockett and tubbs try to put surveillance on a money launderer and enlist the help of a free-lance bug-guy, who, unfortunately, plays both sides of the fence...

by hooker or by crook: interesting ep. featuring melanie griffith and george takie. melanie is a heidi fliess type madame and crockett uses her to go after sulu. she comes to his boat to tell him what a [...] he is. a decent ep...

viking bikers from hell: ahh, one of my all time fav eps featuring a lot of great new mv music. crockett and tubbs track down, with the help of izzie, the leader of a motorcycle gang who is seeking revenge against the person who took out his friend. he uses the, um, process of elimination to make sure he gets his man. tubbs gets shot in this ep...

everybody's in showbiz: i kinda liked this ep. about a guy sonny put in the clink but who happens to be an artist (writes plays and acts in them). the guy steals a briefcase from a crack dealer and apparently, the crack dealer's entire business is in the briefcase. needless to say, he's not amused. kind of a funny ending as crockett and tubbs get duped...

heroes in the revolution: WTF?!?! where did this s#$) come from? something about gina's mom and a revolution. one of the worst mvs in my opinion...

ok, i left out a couple eps, so sue me. maybe someone could fill in the gaps. anyway, now that i look back on that season, i realize it had a few of my favorite all time eps. the bad episodes bring the season down a little though. hope this guide was helpful to you pal!

A darker, grittier Vice. The Daytona is history, replaced by a Testarossa. The clothes and the attitude are darker, and the music takes on a harder edge. its a good season. The list of episodes in this season are:-

When Irish Eyes Are Crying
Gina is skeptical after a zealous Scotland Yard inspector informs her that her new love is a soldier for the IRA

Stone's War
A journalist returns to Miami seeking Sonny's protection because of his videotapes of Colonel Maynard's paramilitary unit in action in Nicaragua

Kill Shot
Drug dealers try to blackmail a US agent using a tape of his jai-alai star brother commiting a murder

Walk-Alone
Tubbs goes undercover inside a prison to break a ring of guards who use their dealer inmates to bring in cocaine

The Good Collar
A star high school athlete arrested for delivering heroin agrees to help Crockett trap a 15-yr-old druglord

Shadow In The Dark
Castillo & Tubbs worry about Crockett's growing obsession with a cat burglar who leaves bizarre clues in his victims homes

El Viejo
Crockett & Tubbs keep tabs on a crusty stranger who plans to cut a deal with a murderous Bolivian dealer

Better Living Through Chemistry
Tubbs' former partner abducts a chemist for drug dealers, framing Rico for the crime

Baby Blues
A young Colombian mother helps Crockett and Tubbs trap a black-marketeer selling kidnapped Colombian infants in the US

Streetwise
An undercover cop and his hooker lover help the detectives find the source of some pharmaceutical cocaine

Forgive Us Our Debts
Crockett races to save a death-row inmate he helped incarcerate when new evidence in the 8-yr-old murder case is uncovered

Down For The Count (part 1)
Zito angers a mobster when he takes over as the trainer for a promising young boxer after his manager is killed

Down For The Count (part 2)
Zito's death sends a stricken Switek and an outraged Crockett and Tubbs after the drug kingpin responsible

Cuba Libre
Crockett & Tubbs stumble onto a plot by fanatical Cuban commandos to assassinate an important Cuban diplomat

The Savage
Castillo helps a former detective friend from Vietnam track down a vicious hitman before a Latin American leader's crucial speech

Theresa
Authorities investigate Crockett after they link his physician girlfriend to a drug kingpin

The Afternoon Plane
While vacationing on a remote Caribbean island, an unarmed Tubbs becomes the target of vengeful drug king Orlando Calderon

Lend Me An Ear
The electronics whiz supplying Crockett & Tubbs with surveillance devices also outfits their drug-dealing quarry

Red Tape
Tubbs searches desperately for the source of information leaks about future drug busts

By Hooker By Crook
Crockett & Tubbs search for a murder witness, unaware that she works for Sonny's lover, a madame

Knock Knock...Who's There?
Crockett & Tubbs probe drug busts ruined by phony federal agents who disappear with the drugs and cash

Viking Bikers From Hell
A motorcycle gang seeks to avenge a drug-dealing comrade's death by killing his former customers

Everybody's In Showbiz
An actor/writer life is in danger after he steals a drug dealer's briefcase because of the vital information it contains

Heroes of the Revolution
An East German spy needs Gina's help to exact revenge for the murder of Gina's mother in Cuba 26 years earlier

I am new with this show since I never watched it in the 80's since I was pretty young. I bought the first 2 seasons and I thought they were cool and sexy but didn't make me say "that was awesome". They were sometimes cool yet cheesey. This season however is 100% cool with great stories, great drama and top notch car chases and shoot-outs. There's even so many appearances by well known actors that it's hard to list them all.

You have Wesley Snipes as a pimp, Bill Paxton as an undercover cop, Helen Bohen Carter as a doctor Crockett is dating who just happens to do drugs behind his back, Steve Buscemi, Charles S. Dutton, Willy Nelson, Liam Neeson, Viggo Mortensen, Benicio Del Toro and Brad Dourif. There's also drama when a member of their team dies. Larry is killed by boxing promoters while undercover as a boxer/trainer and it's made to look like a drug overdose. Crockett and Tubbs have to clear his name so he's not remembered as a junky. Forget the new movie, it's lame and dead in the water next to how entertaining and well done the show is.

Someone else left a review of most of the other episodes, but there was one I liked. Red Tape. In order not to be next on the casuality list, Tubbs leaves Vice (sort of) and discovers who is leaking information to various crime bosses protecting their assests from nosy law enforcement investigators. I loved the music in this Episode. It had alot of star power in it too. Lou Diamond Phillips, Annette Benning, Viggo Mortensen. Wow!

Overall I like Season 3. There were some improvements and some disappointments. The positives are that they got rid of the stupid Universal logo at the beginning of every episode on the previous boxsets. The music in 5.1 Surround is excellent. I have a home theatre system that I play it in, and it's great!. Universal finally wised up and got rid of the double-sided easily scratchable discs. The only downside is that they got rid of the episode summaries after you select the episodes. This season was darker than seasons 1&2, though it still had some good episodes. If you're a fan, buy it.

This was the season I was waiting for it has the best episode of the series. Down for the Count Part 1 is my favorite episode. It has some of the best music and fine acting by John Diehl. He's the heart and soul of the episode. I highly recommend getting this season.

This was the season I was waiting for it has the best episode of the series. Down for the Count Part 1 is my favorite episode. It has some of the best music and fine acting by John Diehl. He's the heart and soul of the episode. I highly recommend getting this season.

I think I like this season much more than than season 2. The only thing at the time I can truly find out of sort is the fact they didn't format the episodes in chronilogical order. The episode El Viejo is placed on the second disc (i believe is the second disc) of which comes after the episode showing how Crockett lost his black car (before he gets the Testerosa). In all honest I believe that episode was accidently left out of season 2. But in spite of that little minor detail I believe that anyone who buys Seasons 3 and 4 won't be sorry.

I've only watched three episodes so far, but all I have to say is WOW!! The dvd picture and sound is perfect and millions of times better than the previous mediocre seasons. 3 is the greatest of Vice no question. It's perfect and great. There's not a single bad episode on it. Every episode is great. I loved 3 on video, and now it's incredibly greater on dvd. The one and only time Vice was perfect was 3! Forget, the other seasons. The picture is fantastic and the sound isn't muffled and there are no defects. It's like the saying goes. The third time is the charm! That can't be more true for 3! Completely great all around.

The third season of Miami Vice appeared during the fall of 1986 in a new time slot, which apparently caused a dip in the ratings due to direct competition with Dallas. However, the show had gained a head of steam by that point.

The show seems to take a darker turn in this season, in the style and subject matter departments. Many endings add a cynical twist as the duo deal with contemporary events like US activity in Nicaragua, the burgeoning fascination with criminal psychology, the rise of synthetic street drugs, and even terrorism. Corruption abounds as they enter a prison to expose and shut down a criminal operation run by the warden himself, or watch one of their own break down from blackmail. The vice squad even loses a member in a memorable two-parter. There are a lot of gun battles, too, with Crockett blowing away a slew of bad guys with his trusty pistol, which always sounded like the Dirty Harry gun. How many times did he have to go in front of the 'shooting board'? It should be every single episode---these guys are involved in more shootings than entire metro departments.

As others have noted, the look of the show changed, too, from the pastels of 1984 to darker hues to match the subject matter. And the haircuts have changed with Crockett sporting a very '86 spiky 'do. And yes, the 'fake' Ferrari Daytona Spyder is blown to smithereens in the great season opener (by an ultra-sleazy gun dealer played by Jeff Fahey) and replaced by the white Testarossa.

And the guest appearances...has any other show had so many then-famous and soon-to-be-famous people appear? Doubtful. Among the familiar faces this time around are Liam Neeson, Lou Diamond Philips, Viggo Mortensen, Benecio Del Toro, John Glover, Sonny Landham (round about the time he appeared as Billy in Predator ), Lawrence Fishburne, the late John Matuszak of Raiders fame, Annette Benning, Vincent D'Onofrio, Wesley Snipes, Bill Paxton, G. Gordon Liddy (again), Bob Balaban (also again), Ron Perlman, Charles S. Dutton, Willie Nelson, and the guy who played the principal in the Breakfast Club. And...in one single episode you have Melanie Griffith, Vanity, Captain Lou Albano, and George Takei(!)

Highly recommended. This was a very good show that hit perhaps its best stride during the third season. There are very few weak episodes, and some very classic ones. Shadow In The Dark is like Manhunter-lite and appeared that same year by Michael Mann. Stone's War dealt with current events of the day in Nicaragua. Walk Alone featured Tubbs going overcover in prison, and getting bailed out by rear-whooping Castillo. This really was 'TV Noir', with Hollywood-level production values on a TV show. Though often remembered only for the style (white jackets, rolled up sleeves, Ray Bans), Miami Vice also gave us a lot of cop-show clichés that writers still can't escape from. As always, Jan Hammer's music is a perfect supplement, particularly when he does that ominous chord when something bad happens (Baaaaaaaarrrr---rrrourrrr...you get the point). One of the reasons the show took so long to appear on DVD is because all of the rights clearing for the (many, many) songs used...they're all here and intact.