Ricardo Tubbs(..the ever smooth and cool Philip Michael Thomas), a cop in New York, traces a Colombian crimelord to Miami(..his brother was murdered by this man's gun-toting henchmen after a transfer of dope money, interfering with their drug sting)where the city's undercover detective Crockett(Don Johnson) has been attempting to catch him as well. Neither know the other is after the same man, both seeking revenge for the murder of a partner(..Crocket's partner was collateral damage when a drug dealer they were playing, having decided to go out on his own, was blown up with a bomb strapped under his truck). Well, Crocket doesn't necessarily carry the same kind of vendetta as Tubbs, he has been working incredibly hard to take this drug-lord down. Tubbs has information for Crockett and his Miami Vice squad, the crimelord's name is Calderone(Miguel Pinero) and his lieutenant, who sets up the drug deals, is named Trini DeSoto(Martin Ferrero). Every time it seems that Crockett gets close to Calderone, somehow he remains one step ahead. Tubbs thinks there's a cop on Calderone's payroll giving him inside information.<br /><br />No doubt this show not influenced television but movies after it's debut on network television. Normally the show featured Tubbs and Crockett going undercover to take down giant drug cartels, traffickers, and dealers corrupting the Miami streets. This pilot establishes that Crockett is divorced from a woman he still loves, and how life as an undercover cop isn't exactly life-fulfilling. We also see how Crockett and Tubbs' relationship got off to a rocky start, but the groundwork is laid where it's easy to realize how good they work together. Crockett has a pet alligator, was a star football star, and takes his job as a cop very seriously. It's always neat seeing actors we know in early work on Miami Vice such as Jimmy Smits as the partner(..with a pregnant wife)who is killed by the car bomb, and especially Mykelti Williamson, with a Jeri-curl, as a small time drug dealing partner with Calderone. Ferrero is a hoot as a flamboyant, unflappable Cuban "arranger"(..the one who negotiates deals between a new party and Calderone), in well tailored suits(..very Scarface in how he talks)who very much enjoys the life of a criminal living large thanks to his career. Plenty of style, Miami atmosphere, cop melodramatics, rockin' Jan Hammer musical arrangements, 80's pop, and attitude to spare. <br /><br />Crockett has a potential love interest in detective Gina Calabrese(Saundra Santiago), but it's a bit dodgy due to his broken marriage. Bill Smitrovich is Crockett's former partner, Scott Wheeler, now with the DEA, and there's an important development/revelation that will forever fracture their long-time camaraderie. Very much, Miami Vice is a product of it's time, with plenty of sweet cars and hot women, lots of beach and sand, streets and crime..my kind of show. Thomas' Jamaican accent(..his undercover role is a Jamaican with ties to a criminal organization in New York)is rather amusing, as is his work opposite Crockett's alligator. I don't know what it is, but I have always admired the Crockett style, the white coat and pants, colorful T-shirt, and designer shoes, he's no ordinary undercover detective, that's for sure.