Audiences of today who go back and watch Miami Vice might have a hard time figuring out what the fuss was about. They might laugh a bit at the fashions and wonder why the show didn’t have a continuing storyline like most “Peak TV” dramas do today. As for the use of pop and rock music throughout the episodes, well, they’ve heard that all before.
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But that’s the thing. Until Miami Vice came along, that just wasn’t really done. The music used for cop shows and other dramas up to that point tended to be somewhat generic. Michael Mann and the rest of the masterminds behind the show realized that the words and music of then-current tracks could serve as emotional exposition on a show where there wasn’t a ton of dialogue. Or it could just set an evocative mood.
Thus, the birth of the “needle drop”—the act of music supervisors using the perfect pre-existing song at the perfect moment in a film or TV scene. The term might not exist were it not for Miami Vice paving the way, so here are five occasions where the music on the show told the story in perfect harmony with the action on the screen.
1. ”In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins (from Season 1, Episode 1)
This was the first major needle drop in Miami Vice, and demonstrated the reciprocal benefits that could be had by both show and musician. “In the Air Tonight,” Phil Collins’ moody masterpiece, was already more than three years old when the show debuted in September 1984. Collins and the song received a huge boost from the episode, though. (Collins would later be one of many musician guest stars on Miami Vice.) The song is played while Detectives Crockett and Tubbs (played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas) are speeding to a confrontation with a drug lord. Collins’ ominous proclamations and that unforgettable drum break say everything about the looming danger—the characters don’t have to utter a word.
2. “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits (from Season 2, Episode 4)
You’ll not find a better episode in the history of Miami Vice than the stunning “Out Where the Buses Don’t Run.” It features an ex-vice cop played by Bruce McGill (of Animal House fame) who seems to be a little off his rocker (hence the episode title). In addition, it has an unbearably tense final scene that leads to a devastating twist ending. The final scene wouldn’t be what it is without “Brothers in Arms,” as the guitar of Mark Knopfler snakes its way through while he moans about wars and the damage left behind them. Show this episode and this scene to anybody who scoffs at Miami Vice as Exhibit A to why it’s a genius show.
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3. “Cry” by Godley & Creme (from Season 2, Episode 13)
Season 2 of Miami Vice is when the show was at its creative peak, with a fantastic run of striking episodes marked by unforgettable visuals and perfect music cues. Case in point: an episode where Crockett gets involved with a girl complaining about her abusive husband, only to realize that the pair are running a murderous scam. “Cry,” the slow-building mood piece from former 10cc members Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, rumbles over the episode’s final moments, which feature the husband (played by Ted Nugent, no less) getting shot down on the beach and the reveal of dozens of cars of the scammers’ former victims buried under sand. It’s haunting stuff.
4. “We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37),” by Peter Gabriel (from Season 3, Episode 11)
Here’s another thing that was somewhat revolutionary about Miami Vice for a network cop show: it rarely ended happily. At best, the ending would be somewhat ambivalent, where the bad guys might get caught, but the heroes walk away either physically or emotionally worse for the wear. And in some cases, episodes would end in massive downers. When you heard those weird chants of “We do what we’re told” from Gabriel’s song (which was based on an infamous sociological experiment) emanating from your TV during this episode, you’re prepared for the other shoe to drop, which happens when Crockett realizes he’s just worked overtime to release a man from death row who, the detective finds out to his horror, was actually guilty all along.
5. “There’s a River” by Steve Winwood (from Season 3, Episode 12)
While Crockett and Tubbs got to be the heroes, their partners Detectives Switek and Zito (played by Michael Talbott and John Diehl) tended to be the screwups who came around for comic relief. But in typical Miami Vice fashion, even these lighter characters weren’t immune to the darkness enveloping this show, as Zito gets killed in this episode while working undercover as a boxing trainer. Switek finds his buddy’s body at the end of the episode, and it’s a touching moment made even more heart-rending by Winwood’s elegiac, synth-drenched ballad playing over the scene to really drive home the pathos.
Photo: YouTube screenshot from official ‘Miami Vice’ account
