Miami Vice
Trivia Facts:
The "Miami Vice" soundtrack LP went to number one and stayed there for 11 weeks, making it the most successful TV soundtrack of all time. Jan Hammer received a congratulatory phone call from Henry Mancini, whose "Music from Peter Gunn" was the previous record holder (it was number one for 10 weeks in 1959).
Crockett's Ferrari Daytona was actually a modified Corvette. Ferrari executives were so upset that this ersatz Ferrari was gaining such popularity that they offered to provide the series with their new flagship car, the Testarossa
Miami Vice started in the fall of 1984 with a 2-hour movie. When the summer of 1985 hit it seemed as if everyone had just suddenly discovered Vice. Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas were seen everywhere. They received attention usually reserved for rock stars. The show was consecutively in the top ten that summer.
The show had a great premise. Two cops from different backgrounds and totally different attitudes were thrown together in a rock and roll fantasy on steroids! Tubbs was the street smart cop from New York, and Crockett was the tough guy from the South who had severe guilt about his ex-wife and son. Tubbs was rock and roll and Crockett was country even though he dressed like a drug dealer heavily into the Miami scene. The show weaved pop music into the story lines in a way that hasn't been seen before or since! It worked perfectly. You could almost feel what the characters felt including the intense heat of Miami. Several guest stars were seen in the first season including Bruce Willis before Moonlighting. The first season was given more emmy nominations than almost any other show that season.
And then the second season started with a huge amount of hype. The 2- hour season opener had Crockett and Tubbs going to New York. It included a guest appearance from Gene Simmons from Kiss and was jam packed with pop hits. The second season was more of a visual spectacle than a emotional roller coaster like the first season, but it was well worth watching. The best episodes from the second season included an episode with Ted Nugent as the bad guy of the week!
The rest of the show's history was a little hit and miss as far as quality goes with the fourth season being the worst. But no show is perfect and this show created a very high standard for itself in the very first season which I think caused it to have too high of expectations from its fans.