Trendsetting 80's show, fashion, music, style and designer stubble

In the early 1980s, legendary NBC Entertainment Chief Brandon Tartikoff brainstormed a series with two words - MTV cops , that show became Miami Vice. Tartikoff had a pretty impressive track record at the time, he had been responsible for rebuilding NBC's primetime reputation with shows like The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Hill Street Blues, Knightrider, Xena, The A-Team and many more.
He gave the writer/producer of "Hill Street Blues", Anthony Yerkovich, with creating the show which was written under the working title of "Gold Coast,". They brought on boars Michael Mann Executive Producer. Mann had worked in London making commercials with contemporaries Alan parker and Ridley Scott. His TV CV included Starsky and Hutch, Police Story and Hawaii Five-O.
The show premiered in 1984 and ran for five series and ended in 1990. The show was not only a ratings hit but also earned Emmy's, Golden Globes and even a Grammy for the soundtrack.
One of the major reasons for the success were the two lead characters, Detective Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs played by Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas.
Detective James "Sonny" Crockett is a Sergeant of the Metro-Dade Police Department and works as an undercover detective. He was a football star as the University of Florida but injury put an end to his career and left him vulnerable to the draft. He was As with so many men of his generation he ended up in the US Army and served two tours of duty in Vietnam or, as he like to call it ,"Southeast Asia Conference". At the star of the series he is a 10 year police veteran working undercover in the Vice Unit. He drives super cars confiscated from drug dealers which include a Ferrari Daytona Spyder, a Ferrari Testarossa), and a "Scarab" offshore power-boat,. He lives on a sailboat with his pet alligator Elvis.
On the other hand Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs is a detective with the NYPD. In the pilot episode he travels to Miami on a journey of vengeance against a man who murdered his brother. He successfully teams up with Sonny Crockett and following advice from friends in New York, he has made too many enemies, he transfers to Miami, whee being a new face allows him to work very successfully undercover.
Of course the third successful character in the show was Miami. The city was and is very glamorous and of course photogenic, and the shows opening sequence takes full advantage of these factors. Also the show was one of the first to take full advantage of the very particular Latino flavour of the city.
The show used both music and fashion in a unique way. European designers like Hugo Boss and Versace made their mark in the show, and Ray-Bans, pastel suits over T-shirts swept the nation, also along with George Michael Crockett led the way in designer stubble.
The show took full advantage of being one of the first to broadcast in stereo, by using music and the musicians heavily as guest stars and on the soundtrack. Amongst others the following 80's superstar musicians appeared in Miami Vice, Phil Collins, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Ted Nugent and Sheena Easton.

Check out our free Miami Vice wallpaper click here

* Don Johnson - Detective James "Sonny" Crockett/ AKA: "Sonny Burnett"
* Philip Michael Thomas - Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs/ AKA "Rico Cooper", "Richard Taylor", "Topo Manyeri".
* Edward James Olmos - Lieutenant Martin Castillo
* Gregory Sierra - Lieutenant Lou Rodriguez (killed off in fourth episode)
* Saundra Santiago - Detective Gina Navarro Calabrese
* Olivia Brown - Detective Trudy "Big Booty" Joplin
* Michael Talbott - Detective Stanley "Stan" Switek
* John Diehl - Detective Laurence "Larry" Zito