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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a weird, but sometimes very good season of vice, January 25, 2007
Ok, this was a very strange, and often goofy, season of vice with some pretty good episodes and some very bad episodes. sonny gets married and loses his mind (no, not at the same time). the marriage to caitlin davies (sheena easton) is kinda hokey, and some think crockett's brain damage and subsequent reversion to burnett is hokey, but i really liked that story arch. here's a summary of the eps:
contempt of court: geez, this is the season premiere?? a lackluster episode about a mob guy (stanley tucci) attempts to get to the witness that will testify against him at trial. pretty dull...
amen send money: pretty funny episode with dueling television evangelists. one of them accuses tubbs of rape. i like the soundtrack of this one and it had some really funny moments...
Death & the Lady: pretty good episode about a strange porno director that crockett and tubbs suspect has made a genuine snuff film. crockett teaches him a lesson about the fact that violence isn't glamorous...
The Big Thaw: another goofy episode about a dead and frozen reggie star. everyone is fighting over his body and izzie is involved in the scam. pretty funny stuff...
child's play: a strange episode in which crockett shoots a child. the children's parents speak directly to the camera about the shooting and crocket agonizes about it. the kid isn't necessarily the innocent victim he was first thought to be however...
god's work: esai morales returns as a potential heir to takeover a family drug operation but may be there for other reasons entirely. pretty good episode in the scheme of things
missing hours: many fans HATED this episode but i liked the dream-like quality of it as trudy investigates a missing body from the morgue and has strange dreams (and encounters) with james brown, who is the head of a ufo investigation. nuggie, izzie and peanut butter are featured...
like a hurricane: ok, this is where sonny falls in love with sheena easton after agreeing to protect her in a payola scam. sheena is actually pretty good in this and makes it more believable. some funny dialogue and she demands to drive his "testosteroni" and calls him the fashion police. they fall in love and get married
the rising sun of death: castillo investigates the yakuza in miami. didn't really like this ep.
love at first sight: caitlin worries about sonny's assignment in a dating service. iman comes back in this. this is not a good episode...
rock and a hard place: two music guys try to expose sonny as a drug dealer to ruin caitlin's music career. funny scene when they try to block sonny in as he leaves a parking lot
The cows of october: geez, what is up with this season? this episode is also really goofy as a conman tries to sell supposedly mini-cow bull sperm to the u.s. and communists and izzy trys to broker the deal. still, pretty funny stuff..
vote of confidence: the gang raids a rolling whorehouse (a train) and discover that one of the johns is a senatorial candidate <<yawn>>
baseballs of death: ok, now we return to the good, non-goofy, vice format as chase a chilean police chief that kills a hooker and is trying to buy small land-mines (the baseballs of death). a funny scene when the chilean demands that "this peasant (crockett) pick up my gun" crockett: it will be a cold day in july pal!"
indian wars: wow! a great start as american indians drop in on a drug deal with hawaiian chance, by yello, playing in the background. tubbs goes undercover to learn more about the tribe. he looks a little like ed bradley as he sports his glasses. a good episode
honor among thieves: ok a really weird episode in which crockett and tubbs track down a serial killer that pumps little kids full of high-quality blow. he is a high level drug dealer and crocket has to act as his lawyer in a trial set up by the other drug dealers. hummm, not to sure about any of this...
hell hath no fury: a lame episode about a rapist who is released and goes on the talk show circuit. is he really rehabilitated or does he have something else in mind? does anyone care?
badge of dishonor: didn't like this ep. about a gang of bad cops who are hitting drug dealers. crockett suspects a woman that is part of south beach special ops as being in on the hits. i only watched this episode about 2 times...
blood and roses: another lame ep. in which gina gets way too close to a drug dealer. crockett gets over-protective of her, but he's proven right in the end...
a bullet for crocket: ok, this ep. is called, "we need to save money and/or we don't have any ideas..." crockett is shot and the gang sits around the hospital room reminiscing about him, which means they get to fill this ep. with clips from all the previous episodes. basically, a free episode for them to do
deliver us from evil: ok, now we get back to the good vice as crockett tracks down the guy he got out of death row. great soundtrack (finally!) and great plot. also, no more sheena easton! very contraversial ending among the fans as they try to determine whether sonny's shooting of the suspect is justified. could the shooting have been where sonny became burnett for good (before the explosion in the next ep)
mirror image: really good episode in which sonny barely excapes an explosion from a boat, which triggers amnesia and crockett to believe that he is really burnett. he goes to work for a drug lord and is very effective. my theory is that he couldn't take the pain of being crockett anymore after the death of his wife, and the explosion on the boat was nothing more than an excuse to lapse into his burnett persona. he's really good as burnett and ruthless. its the few gems in this season such as this one that make this set worth buying.
overall, a somewhat poor season of vice. even at its worst, vice is better than other tv shows though.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not exactly Crockett and Tubbs at their finest but it all pays off in the end, pal., April 29, 2007
It's interesting to note that Season 4 suffers from the misfortune of having occurred after most of the original writers and producers for the show, including creators Anthony Yerkovich and Michael Mann, had long-since bailed and freelance writers were brought in to write for the show, most of whom had probably not even seen an episode of Miami Vice and had no clue how to write for the series cast. The result is an unforgiveably mixed bag of erratic episodes that are all over the map. The season opener "Contempt of Court" features great performances by Stanley Tucci and Meg Foster but it feels more like a mid-season filler episode than an explosive opener compared to Season 3's "When Irish Eyes Are Crying" but nonetheless gets the season off to an awkward start. By the fourth episode in, however, the season gets pretty much derailed beginning with "The Big Thaw" about a Rastafarian Michael Jackson reggae singer preserved in a cryogenic sleep chamber and then there's the infamous "Missing Hours" featuring James Brown and a whacked-out plot revolving around Trudy's alien abduction and it's time to call in Mulder and Scully instead of Crockett and Tubbs. If Vice hadn't already "Jumped the Shark" at that point, the introduction of Sheena Easton in the following episode "Like A Hurricane" as Sonny's recurring love-interest Caitlin Davies is enough to make you shriek like nails screeching on chalkboard when Sonny's lovey-dovey side reduces the season into a series of mushy soap-opera escapades and inevitable wedding bells ring while poor Rico is left on the sidelines. Then there's the throwaway "flashback" episode aptly titled "A Bullet For Crockett" which is nothing more than a series of clips from previous episodes including "Evan" from which the episode derives its name from as Sonny fights for his life after being shot in action, an oft-imitated television cheat which would be recycled again in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Shades of Gray" with Riker fighting for his life intercut with a series of episode flashbacks. On the plus side there's some good cinematography and lighting this season and DJ looks good with his longer hairstyle and PMT looks pretty suave with his GQ beard and there's a pretty decent selection of alternative music featuring tracks by artists like Yello, Love and Rockets, Gene Loves Jezebel, Billy Idol, Iggy Pop, U2 and Peter Gabriel peppered throughout but any misgivings you may have about season 4 eventually payoff with patience building to the last two dramatically stunning episodes of the season, "Deliver Us From Evil" when Crockett's nemesis Frank Hackman returns to settle the score and "Mirror Image" with Crockett suffering from amnesia and believing he is his undercover persona Burnett ("That's B-U-R-N-E-double T") that set the stage for the jaw-dropping season-ender and the three-part Burnett story-arc that continues into Vice's fifth and final season.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Two and a half really, May 20, 2007
Just finished watching Season 4, I hadn't watched it since, well, the 80's early 90's...[...] And yes, "Mirror Image" is a great ep too, but a bit over the top and silly. I am glad I have it in my collection, but I don't know if I would ever let anyone watch most of it.
Contempt Of Court **1/2
By scaring the jury into mistrial, a mobster hopes to buy the time he needs to find the witness Crockett is protecting
Amen...Send Money *
The full fury of feuding TV evangelists hits Tubbs during his investigation of them when he is accused of raping a parishoner. Features Ben STiller in an early role.
Death & The Lady ***1/2
An actress' on-screen murder propels Crockett & Tubbs to investigate the film's flaky director -Perhaps my fave ep of the season
The Big Thaw *
Two factions fight for possession of dead reggae superstar's body -Pitiful...
Child's Play ***
Crockett agonizes over his shooting of a child during weapons investigation
God's Work **1/2
The return home of a kingpin's financial wizard son sets off speculation as to why in the Miami underworld - Not a bad ep, has a preachy "I'm gay" afterschool special scene thay feels VERY much out of place.
Missing Hours 1/2 star
A man's body disappeas from the morgue; Trudy has an encounter with UFOs
Like A Hurricane **
Crockett reluctantly agrees to guard a recording star who is a key witness in a payola scandal, and they end up falling in love.-Humorous...not so sure that's a good thing
The Rising Sun of Death **
The murder of an executive alerts Castillo to Yakuza presence in Miami, and the arrival of a Japanese investigator is no help
Love at First Sight ***
Newlywed Caitlin fears Sonny's new undercover assignment at a dating service will make her a widow -Interesting change of pace for the show, not a classic, but definitely one of the better eps of this season.
Rock And A Hard Place **1/2
Two music executives try to ruin Caitlin's comeback by exposing Sonny as a drug kingpin - ANother interesting attempt at change. Takes a good look at the problems of undercover life. But man, Sheena can't act!!!
The Cows of October *
A cowboy's larcenous attempt to improve his cattle attracts attention from the US government, Cuban Communists, and Izzy - Dreadful!!!
Vote of Confidence **1/2
A prominent senatorial candidate is arrested during a raid of a mobile whorehouse. _Not bad....not great...but watchable.
Baseballs of Death ***
Crockett & Tubbs suspect a Chilean police chief in a double murder. Decent ep....
Indian Wars **
Tubbs empathizes with American Indian zealots trying save their homeland. -SNORE
Honor Among Thieves? ***
Crockett & Tubbs discover the identity of a serial killer, but fear that trying to bring him in will blow their covers in a separate operation. I liked this episode, quite cheesy at times, but again, better than most of the season.
Hell Hath No Fury **
The highly publicized release of a convicted rapist causes Trudy to fear that the man's victim may have revenge on her mind. -Snore...whats with the bad 80's horror movie synth strings?
Badge of Dishonor **
When a string of murders is linked to a rival unit, Crockett & Tubbs believe an undercover officer may be the killer- Another bore, but does feature one of my favorite 80's songs, Payolas "Eyes of a Stranger"
Blood & Roses ***
The mobster who killed Sonny's friend is freed from prison. Yeah, boring...but at least it is not ridiculous like most of the season
A Bullet for Crockett 1/2 star
Members of the vice squad reminisce and hope for the best as Sonny lies near death from a gunshot wound
Deliver Us From Evil ***1/2
A murder that hits close to home reunites Sonny with the man who used him to trick his way off Death Row. Part 2 of one of my favorite MV eps from season 3, glad to see Crockett get his revenge.
Mirror Image ***1/2
A concussion from an accident while undercover during leaves Crockett believing he is drug-dealer Sonny Burnett, and he goes to work for a Colombian crime boss
[...]
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