A fantastic episode is hindered by the presence of Ted Nugent (ugh), as I head back to Miami for more Vice. Definitely Miami aired 10 January, 1986 and was written by Micheal Ahnemann and Daniel Pyne is a Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) story that plays out brilliantly.

Callie Bassett (Arielle Dombasle) and her husband Charlie (Nugent) are drug runners, they also have a fun little gig on the side. She seduces men, and he kills them. And now, in the middle of a heat wave, Sonny can’t get her out of his head.

It also serves to distract him from a case that he and his partner Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Micheal Thomas) are working on, and when things start to escalate, things become dire when Sonny ends up in Charlie’s sights.

Despite the pastel colors and daytime settings this episode plays a lot like a film noir, and it works. Works brilliantly. Just… ugh, Nugent. The production value, the look, the story, that ending all of it just works fantastically, and watching it play out shows how brilliant this show can be.

Two seasons in and this show is going strong, the stories are tight, the characters well-crafted, and the look, the look for this show is everything, and, of course the music it’s set to, from Jan Hammer’s score to the recognizable tunes that make it into the weekly soundtrack.

Music includes Nugent’s Angry Young Man, Europa by Gato Barbieri, and Cry by Godfrey and Creme.

Yankee Dollar was written by Daniel Pyne and John Mankiewicz. It first aired on 17 January, 1986.

When a flight attendant, Sara (Audrey Matson) and friend of Sonny’s ends up dead – she was smuggling cocaine internally contained within balloons – the two vice cops go under cover to expose the trafficking ring that is rung by a man who won’t let himself touch the product or be sullied by any of the connections.

Charlie Glide (Ned Eisemberg) is running the show and the more Crockett and Tubbs learn, the more they are determined to take him down. Not the least of which is because it’s now a personal issue for Sonny.

But Glide may be on to their play, and may be coming up with a play of his own. But what if Crockett and Tubbs know what to expect?

The guest cast includes Austin Pendleton as Glide’s assistant, and Clayton Rohner as Sara’s brother Tim.

Music includes Par Avion by Mike + The Mechanics (man, I loved their first album, and played it over and over when I first discovered it), La Hamaquita by Papo Cadena, The Harder They Come by Jimmy Cliff, and Russ Ballard’s Your Time is Gonna Come.

The cases, the glitz, the glamour, the grit, and the tunes continue next week with more Miami Vice.