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in: Season 1 episodes, Episodes with absent cast members

"The Home Invaders"

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The Home Invaders

Thehomeinvaderstitle

Season
Episode
19 (19th overall)
Airdate
March 15, 1985
Repeat Airdates
July 19, 1985
August 8, 1986
TV Rating
TV-14-D-V
Writer(s)
Director
Guest Stars
Previous Episode
Next Episode

"The Home Invaders" is the nineteenth episode of Miami Vice's first season. It premiered on March 15, 1985, and was rerun on July 19, 1985 and August 8, 1986.

Summary[]

Castillo takes on Crockett's former boss and mentor trying to end a home invasion spree.

Plot[]

A home invasion spree has the county in a panic and the Deputy Chief has reassigned all available personnel to put a stop to it before more citizens are attacked. The most recent invasion involved the Taylor family, putting a woman in the hospital with electrical burns. The M.O. varies, with the one connecting thread that the families are always home at the time of invasion and they are brutalized in various ways. The Vice squad is called in for a very early morning meeting (just hours after the Taylor invasion) with Robbery Division, which is headed by Lt. John Malone, Crockett's first boss and his mentor.

They arrive at Robbery and Crockett is reunited with Ebersole and Malone. The meeting gets underway: there have been six home invasions in eight weeks, totalling $2 million in stolen property and five injured civilians. Sgt. Hugh Heraty provides a pamphlet detailing all Robbery has on the invasions, which are similar to ones reported in Chicago and New York; the scores vary from jewelry to cash to coin collections. Descriptions include the use of hockey masks and stockings to cover faces, but nothing else. Commercial vehicles are being stolen and used on delivery routes as a cover, though none have been recovered or even spotted. Castillo picks apart the pamphlet, noting various holes, and it becomes obvious that Robbery is not handling the case as effectively as they could be. Crockett is somewhat upset by Castillo's blunt criticism.

The invaders stake-out their next hit, taking pictures of the house, phone box, electrical box, street signs, people coming and going, security system, etc., showing the invasions are very well planned. Their lair is loaded with disguises and weapons. After considering the risk involved they decide not to hit the home they've just scouted. Nicky says there are plenty of other "scores" that won't draw as much heat, and Jerry agrees, but Pete Romano is disappointed, thinking the team has gotten soft and is missing out on $200K in goods.

Crockett and Castillo (Tubbs took a leave of absence to spend time with Valerie Gordon in New York) visit the Taylor house and she haltingly describes what happened, including the injuries to her children. Castillo assures Mrs. Taylor they will do what they can to catch these men, and leaves a questionnaire detailing her daily activities, to fill out at the earliest opportunity. Crockett checks his contacts while Castillo pours through crime reports. They go to see Benny at his jewelry store, knowing some of the stolen merchandise may have been sold there, but he refuses to talk. Castillo asks Gina and Trudy to let him know if any prostitutes report any johns beating on them, as Chicago police reported the same during their own home invasion spree. That night the invaders strike again, hitting an elderly couple. During the hit, a policeman comes up on the getaway car, and is killed by Romano with a silenced handgun.

The elderly man was shot twice during the hit and is in the hospital. Castillo asks Malone why he didn't seal off the area after the hit, and Malone is incensed that Castillo is questioning his decisions. Crockett, surprised his former mentor has changed so, finds himself defending each lieutenant to the other. He shares Castillo's concerns that the investigation is threatened by Malone's shoddiness, but stands up for Malone out of loyalty. Crockett and Castillo go to see Gina and Trudy, who have found a prostitute beaten by someone recently, but she can't find him in the mugshot books. Castillo, Malone, Heraty and Crockett review crime reports and the questionnaires collected from the Miami hits. They confirm based on MO that the same Chicago invaders are now in Miami. After reviewing the questionnaires they determine a common thread - all the women had their hair done at Hair Emporium. Gina goes to have her hair done (under the guise of a rich woman) and has a "feeling" about the valet parking attendant - Romano. They take the prostitute to the parking lot and verify that he was the one that beat her up, so a surveillance detail is set up. Romano is observed making a copy of the keys to a blue Corvette and gathering information while the driver, Muriel Goldman is in the salon. When she leaves Crockett and Castillo pull her over to warn her of a possible home invasion.

That night, Crockett and Castillo lie in wait at Goldman's house. The invaders head out on their hit, but manage to shake their police tail after they change cars. Crockett becomes concerned that the invaders haven't come yet, so they call OCB and speak to Muriel, who tells them she was driving her daughter's car and the info the invaders got was for her address. Crockett and Castillo speed over to her daughter's house, and they arrive just as the invasion is in progress. Castillo incapacitates the outside driver; with no time to call backup, he throws a table through a glass door and the Vice cops storm in, shooting down all the invaders.

They take Mrs. Goldman to lunch the next day. Malone stops by to give Crockett a "graduation present", a fishing reel, and tells him he has retired from the force, deciding that one sloppy case was more than he wanted on his record. Castillo found out when the Deputy Chief called him, asking his opinion about a suitable candidate to replace Malone; Castillo said he couldn't think of anyone with a comparable track record. Crockett is still stunned by his former mentor's retirement as Castillo and Malone join Muriel for lunch.

Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Uncredited[]

  • Charles Castilla as Unnamed Detective
  • Richard Grund as Angel

Notes[]

  • The plot of the episode is loosely based on an actual string of home invasions perpetrated by a gang of burglars in the Miami area in the early 1980s.
  • Philip Michael Thomas (Tubbs) does not appear at all in this episode, his absence explained by his going to New York for a few days off with Valerie Gordon. Thomas was in fact injured doing a stunt in the previous episode "Made for Each Other". This would be the only episode he would miss during the entire series run.
  • Crockett's "primitive but effective" groin grab was edited so as to not show the actual action (the implication is that Crockett grabbed the bouncer, Angel, in a sensitive area and threw him in a closet).
  • The scene where Gina gets her hair done at Hair Emporium shows the hairstyles popular among women in the mid-1980s.
  • The diner where the Vice team and Mrs. Goldman celebrate the end of the home invader case in South Miami is still there, however it is now vacant.
  • The house where Crockett and Castillo shoot down the invaders was used again in the episode "Shadow in the Dark", as one of the houses the Shadow hits.
  • The interior shots of the Robbery Unit's office appears to be the same location used when Howie Wong is arrested in the episode "Golden Triangle (Part II)".
  • Nancy Valens' appearance here as Lana could be considered an example of continuity, albeit unintentional. In this episode she plays a prostitute that one of the home invaders beat up. She previously played a high-priced call girl at a party in the episode "Right of Passage" who asks Crockett for a light. However, Crockett doesn't appear to recognise her here. This could be because of the amount of time that has passed and the amount of people Crockett meets in his cases.
  • Olivia Brown and David Patrick Kelly were both in 48 Hrs.

Goofs[]

  • In a slow-motion shot of Crockett driving as he scopes out the city at night, it is clearly a stand-in, or in this case a sit-in, driving the car.
  • When Castillo tells Crockett, "Let's get going," while sitting in his Daytona, his voice has clearly been overdubbed as the movement of his lips doesn't match his words.

Production Notes[]

  • Filmed: February 14, 1985 - February 26, 1985
  • Production Number: 59525
  • Production Order: 19

Filming Locations[]

  • 8360 SW 114th Street, Kendall (teaser, Crockett & Castillo question victim)
  • Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 100 block NE 3rd Street, Downtown Miami (Robbery Division, exterior)
  • 1400 North View Drive, Miami Beach (casing houses)
  • 2000-2200 Collins Avenue (car scenes with Crockett, but the scenes clearly show DJ´s double Bobby Foxworth!)
  • Iberia Restaurant 763 Collins Ave, Miami Beach (Crockett grabs informant, location gone)
  • Casablanca South Hotel 650 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (Crockett questioning hotel employee)
  • 5818 Sunset Drive (SW 72nd Street), South Miami (jewelry store)
  • Fire and Ice Disco, 3841 NE 2nd Ave, Miami (bar scene)
  • 94 Palm Ave, Palm Island (crime scene - Crockett & Malone at pool, final home invasion)
  • 114 NE 40th Street, Miami (hair salon interior)
  • Bal Harbour Shops 9700 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour (hair salon exterior stakeout and valet)
  • Collins Ave southbound - N Bayshore Drive northbound - Broad Causeway towards Miami Beach (Crockett, Castillo chase & stop Mrs. Goldman)
  • Hotel New Yorker, 6500 Biscayne Blvd, Miami ("Sunny Day Motel" - tailing invaders around corner)
  • JJ's Diner 5850 Sunset Dr South Miami (end scene - retirement party for Malone)

Music[]

Jan Hammer Music[]

  • "Clues" (Crockett driving through night, cops review questionnaires)
  • "Night Talk" (Crockett, Castillo and Malone discussing Malone's retirement)

Quotes[]

  • "Detective, I've seen more information on a dog-bite report! -- Castillo to Crockett about the Robbery home invasion pamphlet
  • "Just find him. We'll talk about what you look like later!" --Crockett to a woman shop-assistant at Benny's unwilling to help and mokingly asking if she looks like a tour guide
  • "Primitive, but effective!" -- Crockett after using a groin grab to put down Angel at Benny's
  • "I gotta tell you, John, as a friend, he (Castillo)'s got a legitimate beef. Your crime reports are paper-thin, pal, Forensics' has got its' head where it won't see daylight...this isn't the John Malone I used to know!" -- Crockett to Malone
  • "One word out of you, and I'll get in and just drive away, sweetheart!" "Better yet, good night!"-- Crockett and Castillo to the outside driver at Goldman's daughter's house
  • "I haven't had this much fun since I watched my ex-husband file for Chapter 13!" -- Muriel Goldman
  • "I showed you when to take the gun out of your holster, now, let me show you when it's time to put it on the shelf!" -- Malone to Crockett after telling him he was retiring
Season 1 Episodes:

"Brother's Keeper" (Pilot) • "Heart of Darkness" • "Cool Runnin'" • "Calderone's Return (Part I)" • "Calderone's Return (Part II)" • "One Eyed Jack" • "No Exit" • "The Great McCarthy" • "Glades" • "Give a Little, Take a Little" • "Little Prince" • "Milk Run" • "Golden Triangle (Part I)" • "Golden Triangle (Part II)" • "Smuggler's Blues" • Rites of Passage • "The Maze" • "Made for Each Other" • "The Home Invaders" • "Nobody Lives Forever" • "Evan" • "Lombard"

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