History Trivia / MiamiVice

* ActorSharedBackground: Sort of. According to Sonny Crockett's character history, he volunteered for military service in Vietnam in the early seventies. This is based on the real actions of Creator/DonJohnson, who attempted to join the United States Marine Corps around that time. However, unlike Crockett who served a combat tour in Vietnam, Johnson was rejected by the Marines due to a criminal conviction for drug possession.

* TheDanza: Music/PhilCollins as Phil Mayhew. This could be a nod to John Mayhew, Collins' predecessor as drummer for Music/{{Genesis}}.

** Creator/RichardDeanAnderson, Creator/TomBerenger, Creator/JeffBridges, Creator/NickNolte and Creator/MickeyRourke were considered for Sonny Crockett. Don Johnson was nearly turned down for the part due to being involved in four failed pilots in a row prior to this show. Also, he almost quit the show after the second season, with Creator/MarkHarmon lined up to replace him.

* OldShame: Creator/EdwardJamesOlmos all but pretends his time on the show didn't happen, despite winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance as Lieutenant Castillo.

* YouSoundFamliar: In the Latin American Spanish dub, Martín Castillo is voiced by Paco Mauri, who previously dubbed James "Sonny" Crockett in the TV series.

** Ultimately, the film was not the success it was hoped to be. While it more or less broke even at the box office (making $164 million), critics were largely lukewarm on the film, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 46%. While the film would later become a CultClassic and make a tidy sum on home video, it also marked a downturn for Mann's career, and his output slowed considerably in the years following the film.

* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/EdwardJamesOlmos made a few changes to his character when he was hired for the show. He said that his character's desk should always be free of paper work, and that the cops knock on the door before entering the office. It was also his idea that he would wear a black suit in contrast to the colorful wardrobe all around him. In later episodes, Castillo would be shown sleeping at his desk whenever the Vice team was engaged in a major/multi-day case.

* CreatorCouple: Creator/DonJohnson's then-wife Creator/MelanieGriffith appeared in season four's "By Hooker By Crook", which he directed. Creator/BarbraStreisand, whom Johnson was dating for a while, makes an uncredited walk-on appearane in season four's "Badge of Dishonor".

* ExecutiveMeddling: The final scene of season four's "Deliver Us from Evil" originally had Crockett shooting and killing an unarmed Hackman -- essentially cold-blooded murder -- to show how his dedication to duty had finally been broken. However, Creator/{{NBC}} censors at the time refused to allow the episode to air unless both men had "equal arms", as Crockett -- the show's protagonist -- was not allowed to commit such an act. Consequently, the shot of the gun in Hackman's hand was added to appease them, somewhat diminishing a pivotal moment in the show.

* DirectedByCastmember: Creator/DonJohnson directed four episodes, while Creator/EdwardJamesOlmos directed one.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The series exemplified some of the most prevalent trends of the era (and created several of them), including a heavy focus on synth-rock and popular songs of the time, the usage of pastel colors in their clothing and many instances of TechnologyMarchesOn. One could likely fill an entire page detailing all the dated examples found throughout the series.
** The second season opener, "The Prodigal Son", is of particular note. Among other things, it has music from Music/BillyOcean and Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews, a woman wearing a dress with massive shoulder pads and a climax that takes place at the World Trade Center.
** However the tone of the show averts the trope. Most cop shows of the era had a light tone, villain of the week, flat characters, always get their guy, etc. ''Miami Vice'' had some very slow pacing for the time, story arcs which could last all or part of a season, lots of CharacterDevelopment, and often [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] or {{downer ending}}s. Its grim tone was much more in line with current shows like ''Series/BreakingBad'', ''Series/TheCloser'', etc.

** However the tone of the show averts the trope. Most cop shows of the era had a light tone, villain of the week, flat characters, always get their guy, etc. ''Miami Vice'' had some very slow pacing for the time, story arcs which could last all or part of a season, lots of character development, and often bittersweet or downer endings. Its grim tone was much more in line with current shows like ''Series/BreakingBad'', ''Series/TheCloser'', etc.

** The initial conception of the show started as a feature film titled "Gold Coast". When it was decided to make it a television series instead, the name still stuck for a bit before being titled "Miami Vice".

** The third-season opener ("When Irish Eyes Are Crying") was intended to be a two-hour special, similar to the second-season premiere "The Prodigal Son," and would have had Crockett and Tubbs travel to Ireland to deal with a religious terrorist.

** Season two's "Florence Italy" was originally planned for the first season; it was to be called "The Prize" and was written with Music/MickJagger or another BritishRockstar in mind to play the lead role. The script was scrapped (along with some racing footage that had already been filmed), but the concept was revived with Danny Sullivan playing the main character. While the official writer of this episode is Paul Diamond, the name listed in the credits is Wilton Crawley, which is a psudeonym for an unhappy writer.

** All these things came to a head late in filming when, while filming in the Dominican Republic, ''actual'' gunfire was exchanged on set, leading to a local man being shot and wounded by a set guard loaned from the Dominican military. Foxx ''immediately'' went to his plane and flew back to the U.S. He told the studio he was not going to any more overseas locations for the production, forcing Mann to rewrite the ending and set it in Miami. While one crew member commented that the new ending was less dramatic, Mann believed the new ending was an improvement as "It brought all the conflicting characters together in one arena.". All of the troubles experienced in production led to the film's budget balooning to $135 million.

* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/EdwardJamesOlmos made a few changes to his character when he was hired for the show. He said that his character's desk should always be free of paper work, and that the cops knock on the door before entering the office. In later episodes, Castillo would be shown sleeping at his desk whenever the Vice team was engaged in a major/multi-day case.

* CreatorCouple: Creator/DonJohnson's then-wife Creator/MelanieGriffith appeared in season four's "By Hooker By Crook", which he directed.

* ActingForTwo: Saundra Santiago (Gina) plays both herself ''and'' her own mother (wearing a blonde/brown wig) in the third-season finale "Heroes of the Revolution".

* ActingForTwo: Saundra Santiago (Gina) plays both herself ''and'' her own mother (wearing a blonde/brown wig) in the third-season episode "Heroes of the Revolution".

* ThrowItIn: Creator/EdwardJamesOlmos has said in interviews that, in a deliberate effort to subvert the usual DaChief cliches, his very first line as Castillo was an ad-lib.

* RecycledScript: Season five's "Heart of Night" is similar to season two's "Golden Triangle", in which he protected an old CIA friend's wife and child from the KGB. Here, he is protecting his ex-wife from drug dealers.

** Creator/MichaelMann had planned to have episodes of the fourth season set in Paris and Tokyo, but those plans ultimately fell through as ratings continued to deteriorate and brought with them reduced production budgets.

** Creator/DenzelWashington was considered for Ricardo Tubbs.

* ThrowItIn: Olmos has said in interviews that, in a deliberate effort to subvert the usual DaChief cliches, his very first line as Castillo was an ad-lib.