Episode Review- Miami Vice Borrasca b/w Too Much, Too Late

Another year, more time watching TV. Just to prove how busy my social schedule is, I've got not one but two Miami Vice reviews from ep's from the 5th season.



Miami Vice- Borrasca /Episode Review


Who knows what Borrasca meant. Seems the unit was chasing after yet another undefined drug dealer. The opening sequence was quite eerie/unsettling. After that upset, we’re back in the business of a good 5th season episode. But wait, there’s something different here. Don Johnson was off doing another movie no one went to go see so Tubbs teamed with (gasp) Switek. Fans of the series know that during this time Ol’ Stan was slowly transforming from comic relief to a more essential member of the squad. On this episode we got to see Stan and Tubbs try out their chemistry--and it wasn’t too bad!


Oh Stan- On this episode we saw the seeds of Switek’s gambling addiction.
In fact his sickness was so pronounced that he called his bookie and placed a bet on whether Tubbs would be shot in his brainium before the night was over. Stan’s sick!


The Missing Beard- For some reason Tubbs/Philip Michael Thomas had a beard in his first scenes and in the next scene, lost it right quick. That national tragedy did bear a mention from Switek. From the looks of it, the other scene was from the previous season. Cheapskates!
Don’t know what happened to his beard. Maybe the powers that be told Philip he could grow his beard on his own time and poof, it was gone..


Get Jamie Sanchez (who?)- To further try to hide the fact that Crockett was no where to be found, Castillo’s flat feet hit the streets and he posed as a high level Cuban hi-roller. Tubbs first had the idea to recruit the previously unknown Jamie Sanchez for the role. Marty decided it was a gig he could handle. What a crock. As an "another person" Marty walked, talked and sounded like a whole lot like Castillo. Nice try...


Grade ***




Miami Vice-Too Little Too Late- This episode again explored the love affair between Valerie (the lovely Pam Grier) and Rico. We all know Rico wasn't during a whole heck of a lot during the years they last canoodled, as for Valerie, she remained a mystery. Matter of fact, Val hadn't even called Tubbs until she once again needed law enforcement help.


Valerie showed up at the police station in her father’s suit to meet Sonny and Rico. While the sparks were again flying, they both were distracted by Valerie's crack head friend, her whining daughter and the world's worst drug dealer named Swain. Not to be thwarted, Rico was still thinking with his weenis and tried and succeeded in getting Pam Grier naked, again. All wasn't great though. In the gripping drama portion of the episode Rico proposed to Valerie and didn’t get the response he desired. What does he do? Cry.


Lessons I Learned- In this episode I learned that Tubbs might not be the world’s BFF. When a justifiably world-weary Sonny failed to once again jump on the Valerie Train (yet again) Rico got a little smart in the mouth and stated that Crockett was bitter ever since his wife got murdered. Let’s recap: Sonny’s wife was murdered in cold blood and Tubbs his trying to sound off. Sonny later went into Rico's locker and stole his activator. Ha, now what! Go see Valerie with a dry head.


Geek Info: This episode never was broadcast on NBC, it did show up on USA in 1990. Giving the facts of the series finale, Tubbs did move back to the Bronx and who knows, maybe Rico and Valerie hooked up. God I'm so sad...

Grade ***1/2