Miami Vice - The Complete Series
The
Miami Vice DVDs
Buy Now
Ever wondered what happened to Sonny's pet
alligator, Elvis? Individual SEASON BOX SETS are
contained in a large imitation white alligator skin
box with an imitation satin lining which looks hot
on the shelf.
Fans that bought the individual SEASON BOX SETS
complained about the double-sided DVDs being cheap,
defective, or not playing correctly. Universal has
always been a cheap bottom-line company. I feel your
pain. Maybe Universal heard these complaints.
Because THE COMPLETE SERIES episodes are on
ONE-SIDED DVDs in the individual SEASON BOX SETS,
and I haven't noticed any defects. I waited.
Sometimes it pays to be patient.
Fans also complained about the epsiodes not being
cleaned up. TRUE. They look as if they have been
transferred directly from the original broadcast
tapes complete with grain and scratches in some
cases. You won't notice a lot of scratches, but you
will notice some grain, especially in the night
sequences and in the earlier epsiodes. The later
espisodes are much better quality, probably because
they were spending more money on the show (it shows)
and taking better care of the tapes for syndication
purposes when they knew they had a Hit Show. Still,
the majority of the epsiodes look pretty good. Just
pretend you're watching this series like you were in
the 80s and it's almost unnoticeable. Younger
audiences should act accordingly. (Younger audiences
should also remember this series is not as realistic
as the Cop Shows of today. MIAMI VICE was more like
a cultural hyperrealism. Some of you will not buy
into it. Again, in the 80s it was SEMINAL TV.) FOUR
STARS for the Visuals.
The 80s TV sound has been remixed into Dolby 5.1.
The volume is far too low and you won't hear
anything coming out of your rear effects speakers. I
wish they would have done it in 2.1 stereo so I
could use my Prologic and get some sound out of my
rear speakers. If you view the episodes from your TV
speakers, you'll have to turn it up about 8 tenths
to get a good volume. THREE 1/2 STARS for Sound.
The are only a few EXTRAS on the FIRST DISC of THE
FIRST SEASON. A couple of documentaries on the
fashion, sound, visuals, and impact of VICE. That's
all. The show pretty much speaks for itself.
Individual DISCS from SEASONS ONE and TWO contain a
written synopsis of the individual episodes and a
list of cameos when you click on them in the EPISODE
MENU. They disappear after SEASON TWO and you must
look to the SEASON BOX covers for a synopsis of each
episode (sans a list of cameos.) ONE 1/2 STARS for
the Extras.
Overall this BOX SET gets FOUR 1/2 STARS because the
Series was the first of it's kind. And, the great
sentimental value this holds for me personally.
If you're thinking about buying at least the first
THREE SEASONS, stay away from the individual BOX
SETS and buy THE COMPLETE SERIES. SEASONS FOUR and
FIVE contain some great episodes and you'll get the
2 Hour Series Finale, FREEFALL. If you bought some
of the individual SEASON BOX SETS, and think this
SET is different, it's not. Aside from the
single-sided DVDs, which may or may not persuade you
to sell them off, you don't need to buy THE COMPLETE
SERIES. Patient or wary fans will definitely want to
purchase THE COMPLETE SERIES.
THIS WAS A MONUMENTAL TV SERIES. Warts and all!
ENJOY.
