After five trendsetting seasons of defining
the cultural 80's vibe, Vice was beginning to lose its glamour and
had overstayed its welcome by becoming as trendy and outmoded as
yesterday's pastel-colored fashions. The mood and feel of the show
had shifted away from the pop-electric neon atmosphere of earlier
seasons to a darker and edgier tone beginning with the two-part
conclusion to the season four cliffhanger "Mirror Image" that ended
with Sonny, believing that he is his undercover persona Burnett
after suffering total amnesia in a boat explosion, races off in a
speedboat after killing an undercover detective. Tubbs has tracked
him down somewhere near Tampa where he has been living for months as
a hit-man for a powerful crime cartel. The premiere episode "Hostile
Takeover" begins with Sonny rising through the ranks of the
Carrera's by doing the dirty deeds for the feuding family in an
effort to take out the rival El Gato organization. Posing as a
Jamaican buyer, Tubbs rendezvous with Sonny in an effort to jar his
memory but instead Sonny tries to kill Tubbs when it triggers a
memory flashback and he remembers that he is a cop. After the
initial Burnett story-arc is concluded in "Redemption in Blood," the
remaining episodes seemed to turn somewhat anti-climactic. What
could have been an interesting season-long theme that that could
have potentially played up Sonny-turned-bad masquerading as his
undercover alter-ego Burnett is cut short prematurely and it's hard
to believe that Sonny isn't indicted for all of his heinous crimes
or at the very least is forced to turn in his badge. There's a few
moments with Crockett trying to reconcile his relationship with his
son Billy in "To Have and To Hold" and coming to terms with his ex,
Caroline, and an amusing light-hearted episode with his con-artist
cousin Jack played by David Andrews in "Jack of All Trades" and also
Tubbs reuniting with Valerie reprised by Pam Grier in the originally
unaired "Too Much, Too Late" that help to wrap up loose ends but
overall you can sense that the end of the line was coming and the
cast and crew were just riding things out. Don Johnson's wardrobe
had gone from stylish slacks and casual loafers to denim bluejeans
and cowboy boots and his long shaggy blonde locks made him look like
he'd just walked off the set of Harley Davidson and the Marlboro
Man. The absence of composer Jan Hammer is painfully felt and Tim
Truman's commendable scoring gives it a very different overall feel
compared to previous seasons and redundant plotlines involving South
American drug smugglers had finally exhausted themselves but the
payoff at the end of the final episode "Freefall" is emotional as
the ensemble cast members say their goodbyes and go their seperate
ways and almost as suddenly as Miami Vice had come to an end, so too
had the fashionable decade of the 1980's.
Ep #
Prod. Code
Title
Director(s)
Writer(s)
Airdate
1
501
"Hostile Takeover: Part 3"
Don Johnson
Ken Solarz
November 4, 1988
2
502
"Redemption in Blood: Part 4"
Paul Karsny
Story:
Robert Ward Teleplay: Scott Shepherd and Ken Solarz
November 11, 1988
3
503
"Heart of Night"
Paul Karsny
James Becket
November 18, 1988
4
504
"Bad Timing"
Virgil W. Vogel
Scott Shepherd
December 2, 1988
5
505
"Borrasca"
Vern Gillum
Vladislavo Stepankutza and Elvis Cole
December 9, 1988
6
506
"Line of Fire"
Richard Compton
Raymond Hartung
December 16, 1988
7
507
"Asian Cut"
James Contner
Story:
Robert Ward Teleplay: Peter McCabe
January 13, 1989
8
508
"Hard Knocks"
Vern Gillum
Story:
Robert Ward, Scott Shepherd, and Ken Solarz Teleplay: Ken Solarz
January 20, 1989
9
509
"Fruit of the Poison Tree"
Michelle Manning
Rob Bragin
February 3, 1989
10
510
"To Have and to Hold (a.k.a. Second
Chance)"
Eugene Curr
William Conway
February 10, 1989
11
511
"Miami Squeeze"
Michelle Manning
Story:
Robert Ward, Peter McCabe, and Ted Mann Teleplay: Peter McCabe and Ted Mann
February 17, 1989
12
512
"Jack of All Trades"
Vern Gillum
Story:
Robert Ward Teleplay: Ken Solarz
March 3, 1989
13
513
"The Cell Within"
Michael B. Hoggan
Jack Richardson
March 10, 1989
14
514
"The Lost Madonna"
Chip Chalmers
Robert Goethals
March 17, 1989
15
515
"Over the Line"
Russ Mayberry
Story:
Robert Ward and Scott Shepherd Teleplay: Terry McDonell
April 28, 1989
16
516
"Victim of Circumstance"
Colin Bucksey
Richard Lourie
May 5, 1989
17
517
"Freefall - Series Finale"
Russ Mayberry
Story: Frank
Holman, Scott Shepherd, and Ken Solarz Teleplay: Ken Solarz and William Conway
