History Series / MiamiVice

* DressHitsFloor: A comparatively rare genderflipped version in "French Kiss". In Crockett's case, it's "holster" and "jacket" hitting the floor, before anything of the woman's he's with.

** Tubbs was originally a New York City armed robbery detective. When his quest to avenge the death of his brother brought him into conflict and grudging partnership with Crockett (as well as essentially torpedo his career back in New York), he decided to relocate to Miami and work vice.

* DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch: Exploited in "Phil the Shill." In the '80s, before the Internet had opened up the world, most Americans had no idea what a wanker was. Music/PhilCollins, being English, most certainly did know, and knew the Americans didn't; thus, he was able to get away with turning to Crockett and Tubbs and saying "Do I look like some sort of wanker?" which would be a perfectly reasonable phrase for his (English) character to use.

** The [[CoolCar Ferraris]] driven by Crocket and Tubbs. The first one was a replica; when the Ferrari company found this out, they offered to lend a real one if the fake was disposed of. It was, in a spectacular case of ExternalCombustion.

* ProfessionalKiller: Ludovici Armstrong, the Argentinian assassin from "Calderone's Return", sent to clean out a list of targets for mob boss Calderone. He looks like a holdover from the 70's, has a small afro, and has one of the quickest draws humanly possible (he was played by a real-life trained marksman). In fact, he kills Sonny Crockett's boss and most of the targets before being taken down, and that's only because more than five police officers (including Tubbs, Valerie and vice officers) shoot at him at the same time.

* ShootTheHostageTaker: In "Glades", Crockett finds a girl being held at gunpoint by a villain, who threatens to kill her if he so much as twitches -- Crockett tells him he won't even twitch and shoots him down.
* ShootTheTelevision: Switek does this at the end of "Phil the Shill" when he sees the titular con man (played by Music/PhilCollins) posing as a faith healer on TV. He even shouts "This one's for you, Elvis!"
* ShootYourMate: Tubbs was deep undercover and ordered to kill Sonny to prove his loyalty, so he walks up to Sonny and, without a word or hesitation, shoots him point-blank. Awesome scene. (Naturally, Sonny was wearing a BulletproofVest.)

* ShootTheHostageTaker: In "Glades", TheDragon is holding a shotgun to a little girl's head as Crockett approaches with this pistol drawn and aimed. TheDragon begins threatening to shoot the girl if he's not let go, saying "If I so much as twitch, she's go--" '''''BLAM''''' Sonny shoots him right between the eyes, with the PostMortemOneLiner, "Maybe you won't twitch."
* ShootTheTelevision: Switek does this at the end of "Phil the Shill" when he sees the titular con man posing as a faith healer on TV. He even shouts "This one's for you, Elvis!"

** Many actors, actresses, musicians, comedians, athletes, celebrities, appeared throughout the show's five-season run. They played many different roles from drug dealers to undercover cops to madams.

** Tubbs was originally a New York detective. When his quest to avenge the death of his brother brough him into conflict, and grudging partnership, with Crockett, he was persuaded to stay permanently

** Crockett gets blood on his clothes and hands in "Milk Run".

** "Rites of Passage" ends with Valerie Gordon killing the pimp and dealer resposible for her sister's murder. Knowing full well she has broken the law, Valerie hands over head gun and asks Crockett to Mirandize her.

* BulletproofFashionPlate: No matter what happens to them, Crockett and Tubbs' clothes never get dirty or damaged and their hair never gets mussed. Averted in the pilot, where Crockett's famous white linen suit and pastel teal T-shirt get blackened by a car bomb; his appearance at Maria's diner and his son's birthday party both attract attention for his filthiness until he explains what happened.

* AbandonedWarehouse: The site of many meetings, murders, and shootouts. Of particular note is an abandoned hangar that appears as the site of a weapons demonstration in "Evan," a double execution in "Phil the Shill," a secret lab in "Missing Hours," and a drug deal in "To Have and to Hold" before finally getting blown up in ''Film/BadBoys'' in 1995.

''Miami Vice'' was one of the most influential (perhaps ''the'' most influential) TV series of all times when it comes to style and fashion. Crockett's white-suit-over-t-shirt style, PermaStubble, and Ray-Ban sunglasses all became fashion trends. His lack of socks did not (Come the 2020s however...). Even in the 2010's many people's ideas of the 80's come straight from the series (which explains why many people tend to have a rather exaggerated idea of the period — not everybody dressed like the pimps and drug dealers of the series).

* ChopperOnStandby: In "The Prodigal Son, Part 2", Crockett is pursuing a bad guy who manages to get into a waiting helicopter. Crockett manages to shoot the helicopter down, unexpectedly. This was facilitated by the fact that the pilot flew very slow and very low right over Crockett's head, allowing him to empty his gun into the helicopter at practically point-blank range.

* DeadStarWalking: Though he wasn't a big star at the time, it's amusing to see Creator/JimmySmits playing Crockett's partner only to get blown up within the first few minutes of the pilot episode.

** "Rites of Passage" ends with Diane Morgan killing the pimp and dealer resposible for her sister's murder. Knowing full well she has broken the law, Valerie hands over head gun and asks Crockett to Mirandize her.

* ChopperOnStandby: In "Prodiggal Son", Crockett is pursuing a bad guy who manages to get into a waiting helicopter. Crockett does manage to shoot the helicopter down. This was facilitated by the fact that the pilot flew very slow and very low right over Crockett's head, allowing him to empty his gun into the helicopter at practically point-blank range.

** There are many beach scenes with scantily dressed men and women.
** Miami's hot and humid climate means that the women will frequently be wearing rather skimpy clothing, usually without bras.
** Many episodes take part in night clubs and among prostitutes where the women's outfits are outright {{Stripperific}}.
** Crockett and Tubbs wear things skirting IntimateOpenShirt as their work wear, in nearly every episode. (As seen in the page image.)
** The opening credits for the first two sequences feature a clip where the [[MaleGaze camera focuses]] on the breasts of a woman walking in a parade while wearing a skimpy bikini top.

** Many of the women in the show are obviously braless and we see a lot of bouncy breasts (including prominently in the opening) and nipples showing through T-shirts.

* FashionDissonance: A textbook example. But many of the fashions in the show were over the top even then; normal people didn't dress like the pimps or gangsters of the show even in the 80's.

** Given that many episodes take part in night clubs and among prostitutes there are lots of women in {{Stripperific}} outfits.
** Miami's hot and humid climate also means that the women will frequently be wearing rather skimpy clothing, or swimsuits.

** And given the climate, the content of the show, and how it's a place women quite normally walk around skimpily dressed, the show made quite a few bras optional, so we see a lot of bouncy breasts (including prominently in the opening) and nipples showing through T-shirts.

** Trudy usually wears thin or tight tops without a bra.

** Miami's hot and humid climate also means that the women will frequently be wearing rather skimpy clothing, or swimsuits. Crockett and Tubbs wear things skirting IntimateOpenShirt as their work wear, in nearly every episode. (As seen in the page image.)

** Miami's hot and humid climate also means that the women will frequently be wearing rather skimpy clothing, or swimsuits.

* {{Fanservice}}: Quite a lot of it.

** Miami's hot and humid climate also means that the women will be wearing rather skimpy clothing, or swimsuits.

** Bras were optional in TheEighties, so we see a lot of bouncy breasts and nipples showing through T-shirts.

* CIAEvilFBIGood: Downplayed with the latter, but played straight with the former. Whenever the FBI got involved, they would usually be portrayed as fundamentally well-meaning and upstanding law officials, but they would also frequently engage the Vice squad in petty JurisdictionFriction, as well as often being paper-pushers who were hopelessly out of their element in Miami, and often messing up Crockett and Tubbs' investigations through bumbling or bullheaded insistence on upholding bureaucracy and proper procedure. CIA agents, however, where almost always varying degrees of psychotic, sinister, trigger-happy thugs in suits, and were usually tangled up in {{Government Conspirac|y}}ies which Crockett and Tubbs had a tendency to end up of the wrong side of.

** In the first two seasons, Tubbs sported a jehri curl. It was short for the remaining seasons. In the fourth season, he had a beard, which was shaved off in the fifth.

** In the first two seasons, Tubbs sported a jehri curl. It was short for the reamaining seasons. In the fourth season, he had a beard, which was shaved off in the fifth.