Anyone watching television in 1984 must’ve caught some Miami Vice. Now you can catch 4 seasons of it at hulu.com. That’s where I’ve been, virtually speaking, for the last 2 weeks. I was 9 in ‘84 and much of the humor was lost on me, like Tubbs’s having a laugh at everything, Castillo, saying little, head down and looking up with all eyes that could stare a hole through his detectives. Who knew that was funny? Olmos has been quoted as saying, “I was the highest paid actor - per word - in the history of television!” The detectives couldn’t cuss much on tv, so the bad guys were “Pal” and “Chump”. I may start using “pal.” I can’t say “chump” with a straight face.
Some of the first writing I ever did was in 1984. I wrote scripts for the television show “V”, and my friends and I acted them out at recess but only when the principal flew the yellow flag. That meant play on the blacktop because the grass was too wet. (Green flag meant dry grass. Red flag meant rain so we had to play inside the classroom, which was always surreal.) I was obsessed with “V”, alien visitors presumably reaching out a helping hand to Earth with every intention of attacking and dining on the humans. I was also hitting puberty and thought I was losing my mind. I used to cry because I couldn’t be a part of that world. I wanted to become an actress so I could be on the show. Now I realize the transition it was. I was young enough in my imagination to completely get lost in this other universe, but old enough to know that it couldn’t happen. I’ve only seen two episodes of the remake, and no surprise, it’s just not the same. I can’t rewatch the old version. I tried once but had moved on to Seinfeld and The X-Files, and all the directing and acting had changed dramatically.
As for Vice, the music memory is incredibly strong, particularly Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. Then some of the draw is seeing performers who’ve gone on to more work or other fields. I last watched “El Viejo” with Willie Nelson and Steve Buscemi in one episode! I just wish I could watch the old stuff through the eyes of someone who hadn’t already seen BSG, Mad Men, or Breaking Bad.
