Definitely Miami

An excellent show like Miami Vice has plenty of ways for newcomers to discover its unique blend of entertainment, smart drama, high production values, and the best side of 80s style. So I'm surprised that this of all episodes currently holds such a top rating on IMDb. I'd advise newcomers to start with a different one, lest you get the wrong impression.

"Definitely Miami" jams two plots into the same hour. Either one had the potential to be excellent in its own episode, but since they're compressed into less time here, they both get short shrift.

The sluggish direction falls short of Vice's high standards, and features a rough opening scene for the heroes. While sitting poolside at some sort of country club, waiting for a contact from the underworld, an undercover Sonny ogles a stranger. Yeah, Sonny has an eye for the ladies, but his blatant lechery here is out of character, over-the-top; and the direction matches it, capped off by what may be the goofiest shot of Don Johnson in the entire series. The seconds drag on as the camera pans over the woman's body, and a grinning Sonny stares and stares.

The woman he's ogling, Callie Basset, is another weak link. The character is supposed to be Sonny's vulnerable, yet mysterious and perhaps untrustworthy object of affection. Vice is known for its star-studded guest casts and their strong acting, but the model playing Callie doesn't impress, and she fails to bring depth to the role.

The episode's 2nd main guest actor does better. Best known for playing Phillips, chief of the boat in Apocalypse Now, Albert Hall cuts a dash as a pushy federal agent trying to convince a mobster to testify. His final scene with Castillo is very well-directed, unlike most of the episode.

I would direct newcomers towards a different episode instead. There are so many to choose from, and I haven't even finished the series yet, but perhaps "Knock, Knock... Who's There?", "Fruit of the Poison Tree", or "Child's Play". I haven't seen "Brother's Keeper," the double-length pilot, for a while, but that one might be a good general introduction.

One of the top3 episodes of Miami Vice!it's a must watch!

Ted Nugent guest stars in here and shoots a guy right in the intro, then buries he and his car under a ton of sand as the music blasts 'Angry Young Man." Ah, some of the openings on these Miami Vice shows were great....real eye openers.

Speaking of eye-openers, French actress Arielle Dombasle makes one of the best entrances to any TV show I've ever seen. She's just lying there getting a sun tan and....well, you have to see this woman and this scene to believe it. I had to laugh when I read the other reviewers comments here. Easy, guys!! Hey, I don't blame you. That was an incredible minute as the camera - and Don Johnson with a stupid smile on his face - went up and down this woman's body, admiring it. This actress has done a lot of work but almost all of it in France, so she's a new face to us here in America.

Anyway (it's hard to concentrate on the story after those opening shots of her), Crockett and Tubbs are waiting for a guy named Clemente to turn state's evidence. He wants to see his sister first but she says that's only because he wants to kill her.

What happens when Clemente and his sister do meet is surprising. What happens with the hot French babe and her boyfriend is predictable.

Overall, the story wasn't all that great - a bit convoluted in the first half - but the bad and the beautiful and the wild colors in this episode, all made this "definitely Miami," as the title says.

"Miami Vice" was, and is, fantastic escapist entertainment. This stylish episode remains one of the series' finest tales and watching it again last night made me more than a little nostalgic for the '80s.

Beginning with the death of a drug dealer at the hands of mad, bad and dangerous-to-know Charlie Basset (Ted Nugent), "Definitely Miami" is gripping television from start to finish. Rob Cohen's direction is as excellent as always and the beginning sequence oozes style, with an accompanying soundtrack from Ted Nugent himself with "Angry Young Man".

Kamala Lopez-Dawson makes her acting debut as the frightened sister of a wanted drugs warlord and the delectable Arielle Dombasle plays the wife of Nugent's psychotic Basset character. Dombasle is probably the most memorable femme fatale to appear in the series. The scene at the pool with Crockett gazing upon her perfect figure is unforgettable.

This is one of the best episodes of "Vice" as it has it all - a gripping script, beautiful visuals and a big budget, fast cars, a great looking cast, a superb soundtrack, and so on. "Definitely Miami" gels perfectly.

10 out of 10. The ending, accompanied by Godley & Creme's "Cry", is glorious stuff. I simply love this episode.

The episode starts out with a drug deal in a gravel pit. One of the dealers is Ted Nugent & he was a very convincing baddie. Callie (Arielle Dombasle) plays his girlfriend/seductress/partner/prostitute & is a total hottie. Arielle Dombasle plays this Machevellian part perfectly. The scene at the pool with the bottles of water, bowl and her shirt was so ahead of its time & so unexpected that it still leaves an impression 20 years later. The cat & mouse game between the vice team & Nugent's character interwoven with Crocket's obligatory "falling in love" with the stunning Callie is masterfully done. The final gravel pit scene left me shocked, anxious & wanting more. The final scene also shows just how disturbed, clever & calculating the Callie character truly is. Great Episode.