TV Night features an imagined three-hour evening of television during various time periods, focusing on different genres, featuring the best of each.
In the 1980s, cop shows took a left turn that was unprecedented: they made the bad guys look cool. Previously, network standards insisted that crime could not pay, so for the most part, bad guys were stereo-typically villainous and they met their inevitable end at the hands of the good guys.
The show that began the trend was Miami Vice, the show that either created or merely epitomized 80s style. Personally, I vividly remember the moment in the series pilot when Crockett and Tubbs were speeding through the night in their sports car, heading for the final showdown with the murderous drug dealer. Meanwhile, Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” is percolating in the background. Just as Crockett and Tubbs are about to reach the showdown, the song thunders into one of the greatest drum breaks in rock history. Right there, and I wasn’t alone, I became a fan of the show and what it was ushering in. MTV merged with network drama and television drama made a great leap forward.
Superficially, Miami Vice was a typical network cop show. The detectives shoved suspects around, delivered punchlines, talked back to their bosses, and yelled things like: “Freeze sucker!”
And holy cow, did Miami Vice push T & A. I mean a lot. You’d think every woman in Miami between the ages of 18 and 29 walked around in string bikinis all the time.
But under the surface, Miami Vice featured deep dives into it’s characters’ past and psyches. It wasn’t afraid to kill off regular players. It went into dark territory from time to time. And it featured an amazing lineup of up and coming actors, such as Bruce Willis, Michael Madsen, Julia Roberts, John Leguizamo, Liam Neeson, and Bill Paxton. And each episode featured a great soundtrack, including Dire Straits, The Smiths, The Damned,
Season 2: Episode 3, “Out Where the Buses Don’t Run” A former vice cop, forced out due to a nervous breakdown, tries to convince Crockett and Tubbs that a long dead drug kingpin is actually still alive. Bruce McGill chews the scenery like an alligator on coke as the supposedly crazy ex-cop, which gets very annoying quickly. But the episode builds skillfully to a shock ending which rewards the viewer’s patience.
Miami Vice holds up well today, depending on your tolerance for pastels. It’s action-packed, looks great due to its high production values, and features lots of beautiful women, cool guns, and cool cars.
After leaving Miami Vice as an executive producer, Michael Mann developed the even more stylish Crime Story. Set in 1963, Crime Story features the exploits of the Chicago PD’s Major Crimes Unit, led by Dennis Farina as Lt. Mike Torello. The MCU spends most of its time chasing gangster Ray Luca.
Like Miami Vice, Crime Story is drenched in period glamour, in this case early 60s gritty urban and glitzy Vegas. It’s an update of The Untouchables TV show, with more sex and about the same amount of violence.
Also, like Miami Vice, it features compelling bad guys, played by Michael Madsen, Ted Levine, Jon Polito, Joseph Wiseman, and Andrew Dice Clay (who is quite good in the show).
It’s not hard to watch Crime Story and see the seeds of Goodfellas and Casino and most definitely The Sopranos. Crime Story was one of the first serialized TV shows, with story lines that carried over from episode to episode and throughout the season. I remember watching it when it first aired and getting deeply hooked by the characters and the ongoing story line. Not to mention the cool suits.
Top of the World, Season 1 Episode 21. Directed by producer Michael Mann. Luca starts the episode by celebrating his recent court success and casino acquisition. In short order, high on amphetamines and liquor, he spirals out of control: sleeping with one henchman’s wife, raping another, beating customers, and attempting to kill the mob’s top man in Vegas. Torello turns up the heat, and the response from Luca upends his operation.
Crime Story is available on Freevee for free.
The closer for tonight's viewing, Wiseguy, took the elements of the previous two shows and wove them together into a groundbreaking model of television storytelling.
Wiseguy ran four seasons, from 1987 to 1990. Ken Wahl starred as Vinnie Terranova, an undercover agent for the FBI who infiltrates a variety of criminal organizations. Jonathan Banks (later to go on to fame as Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) played Terranova's handler Frank McPike. Stephen J. Cannell, producer and writer, created Wiseguy, along with half the successful crime shows of the late 70s and 80s: The Rockford Files, The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, Baretta, and Hardcastle and McCormick.
Wiseguy was one of the first television programs to focus on serialized storytelling: storylines and characters that rose and fell over the course of a portion of a season, with distinct endings. Typically, Terranova would infiltrate a criminal organization, feed intelligence back to the FBI and CIA, then inevitably bring the organization down.
There were standalone episodes, but the majority of the show was taken up by story cycles that would play out over a number of shows. For tonight's selection I would recommend starting one of the best story lines.
Profitt Story line. Season One, episodes 11 – 21. Kevin Spacey plays the unbalanced psychopath Mel Profitt, who runs an international criminal empire along with his sister, played by Joan Severance. Profitt is a Malthusian Bond villain, dealing arms and drugs worldwide to reduce excess population. He even has a shrine on his super villain yacht featuring a bust of Malthus. He also has an obsession with toes.
The Profitt saga features weekly twists and turns, with a variety of players involved, including several government agencies. Terranova winds up involved with Profitt's sister, which inflames Mel, who is much more than a brother to her. That is only one of the factors that eventually unravels him; the rest include an obsession with buying a baseball team and voodoo. It's tremendous fun watching Spacey play out his disintegration.
I feel that Wiseguy is one of the best dramas of its time. The show is grounded, free of a lot of the cliches and tired tropes of a lot of other cop shows of the era. The writing is sharp, with great dialog and three-dimensional characters that have arcs.
Wiseguy is available to stream free on Tubi/Freevee/Roku.
Great breakdown. Beyond the surface cool, these shows featured a muscular form of storytelling that is rare
There's a confidence to all aspects of production that complimented the self assured storytelling of all shows.