Nobody Lives Forever

Lots of action from three young bad guys with a death wish. "Nobody Lives Forever" is almost too heavy on the romance, but those love scenes are a necessary ingredient for the plot. Crockett is so head over heels for "Brenda" (actress Kim Greist) that he is approaching dereliction of duty. When he misses an opportunity to bust the bad guys, we see one of the greatest "Castillo Staredowns" in the entire 5-year run of Miami Vice. The writers should have spent more time developing Morgan's bookmaking setup, and the food trucks he uses as a front. That illegal gambling operation explains why Vice, and not just the Homicide Division, is brought in to take down the crooks. But you can almost miss that point, if you aren't paying close attention. One interesting scene is where Morgan (actor Peter Friedman) and his enforcer Ricky (actor Giancarlo Esposito) mention "Lombard" as possibly the guy who is robbing their bookies. Lombard (actor Dennis Farina) is a well-known crime figure/character who appears on other episodes of Miami Vice. Another good scene is where Gina (actress Saundra Santiago) reproaches Crockett for only using her as "an occasional pit-stop". But the icing on the cake for this episode are the great scenes involving Izzy Moreno (actor Martin Ferrero). He is at his absolute best in "Nobody Lives Forever".

The core of 'Nobody Lives Forever' is an spotlight on how a Vice detective can't afford to get distracted by a romantic relationship. And that makes for good drama, but the Brenda character doesn't sit well with me. She's been on the St. Vitus, and heard gunfire during a love struck phone call - she knows how chained to the job Crockett is. Yet she still demands a cozy spot of importance in his life. The job's already cost him a marriage. Does she really think he'll drop it for a fling? I dunno, there's just not much to her beyond just a problem for the guy. It'd be worse if she wasn't good-looking.

Having said that, it's got talent in the guest star department (Martin Ferrero and the always-fascinating Giancarlo Esposito), good action and a resonant closing shot of two partners mending differences.

Bonus: Red 7's 'Heartbeat'. Incredible song. It worked great in "Manhunter" and it's put to fantastic use here, too.

7/10

Under-rated. The romance is kind of distracting, since we know nothing will come of it. Bad To The Bone is a great song, but maybe too cliche for its usage by the over-the-top punks. The best parts of this one is dialogue between Sonny & Tubbs, and I think it has some of the best set design and night cinematography of the entire 1st season.

This one shows Miami off well.

Story is simple, based on some punks going wild and hitting random people or places without any beforehand action plan.

This makes hard to learn their pattern and to catch them for vice cops. What happens in a meantime is devoted to Crockett's romance story.

Well directed, pastels colors are what they should be and Jan Hammer music score haunts ears easily. These are key elements of MV episode that went missing in seasons 4 & 5.

Original Airdate: March 29, 1985

Written by: Edward DiLorenzo

Directed by: Jim Johnston

Notable Guest Stars: Martin Ferrero, Peter Friedman, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Carmine and Kim Griest.

There was something in the hook in the music that reminded me of an undertone that was playing before he figured out the tapes were connected in Manhunter. So I looked up. Haven't never watched this. No it can't be. Never know maybe this is the prequel to Manhunter in theory. :P very loosely. So to strike off any doubt he played Heartbeat. go figure.. okay well fine. made it obvious which came first the chicken or the egg. apparently neither the pebble did it. I'll have to file away this one under Manhunter lore. No spoilers on this just well except for that shot of the bosses eyes. Dang good work director/ camera operator !!!!