"Miami Vice" Brother's Keeper (1984)

Director:

Thomas Carter

Writers:

Anthony Yerkovich (creator)
Anthony Yerkovich (written by)

TV Series:

"Miami Vice" (1984)

Original Air Date:

16 September 1984 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Miami detective Sonny Crockett reluctantly teams with New York cop Rico Tubbs when both of them end up pursuing a drug dealer who killed their partners.

Plot Keywords:

TV Series Pilot | Police | Detective | Undercover | Drugs

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Don Johnson	...	Detective James Crockett
Philip Michael Thomas	...	Detective Ricardo Tubbs
Saundra Santiago	...	Detective Gina Calabrese
Michael Talbott	...	Detective Stan Switek
John Diehl	...	Detective Larry Zito
Gregory Sierra	...	Lt. Lou Rodriguez
Bill Smitrovich	...	Lt. Scott Wheeler
Belinda Montgomery	...	Caroline Crockett
Martin Ferrero	...	Trini DeSoto
Mykelti Williamson	...	Leon Jefferson (as Mykel T. Williamson)
Olivia Brown	...	Detective Trudy Joplin
Miguel Pinero	...	Esteban Calderone
Jimmy Smits	...	Eddie Rivera
Michael Santoro	...	Corky Fowler
Jossie DeGuzman	...	Maria Rivera

Runtime:

Finland:92 min | USA:97 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (video rating) | Norway:16 | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Greenwich Studios - 12100 Ivan Tors Boulevard, Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Michael Mann Productions

Trivia:

When this pilot script was being considered at NBC, an executive wrote the note "MTV Cops" to summarize the show. That nickname stuck.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Crockett and Tubbs commandeer the speedboat at the marina, as the boat is leaving, you can see the silhouettes of the film crew on the side of the boat.

Quotes:

Sonny Crockett: [after discussing Sonny's college football successes, Tubbs asked why wasn't he in the pros] Some Southeast Asian conference.
Ricardo Tubbs: Vietnam?
Sonny Crockett: [sarcasm] No, Coney Island...!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Miami Vice: Undercover (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Hubba, Hubba.

This is the made-for-tv pilot for Miami Vice, a cop show which made popular chain smoking and wearing shiny suits without socks.

The pilot begins with a flashback, explaining that New York cop Ricardo Tubbs (Phillip Michael Thomas) comes to Miami seeking revenge of the "Columbian," a drug czar which becomes the man behind many of the Miami DEA's investigations and the guy responsible for killing Tubb's brother. Soon to becomes his partner is Maimi Vice undercover cop, Sonny Crockett (the gorgeous Don Johnson), an honest cop with a collection of badass sports cars and an alligator named Elvis. In the pilot, Tubb's and Crockett's on-going investigation into tracking down the Columbian exposes inter-agency corruption. Even if you have not seen the series, this is a good movie in itself as a just a cop/crime/mystery movie. It's harmless 80s fun.

This marked the beginning of a popular television show that lasted five years (1984 to 1989). Unfortunately, the second Miami Vice movie, Miami Vice II: The Prodigal Son (actually it was just a collection of the shows) which takes place in New York (and this second movie model the scenes for Glenn Frey's "You Belong to the City," which appears on the Miami Vice soundtrack and Frey made a few appearances as well).