The Other Press

THE MIAMI MICE INVESTIZATE THe SUICIDE OF YET ANOTHER Perst CHALLENGE FLUNKIE

for-TV imita- xecutive pro- will spend st to acquire al work. Ac- agazine, the ode of Miami entire annual ice squad in

Miami Vice,’’ roots in the of the later an director,

der.’’ In Fass- whole screen

Ink and cobalt

hant colours of Fassbinder’s

G eed bvan’s words, cooler colour

Style is inter- y it creates. very polished ights scenes, 5 are watered

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down to get a nice smooth reflection of moonlight off the pavement.) Yet

polished streets and winding pastel nightclubs are sleazy degenerate dope dealers and outlaws. The setting for the show has appropriately coined ‘glitter-sleaze’ .

There is one very strict rule on the Miami Vice set and that is ‘no earth tones’. Pastel shades are definitely the rule and anything red or brown is strictly taboo. ‘‘One of the reasons for this,’’ said Klovan, ‘‘is to reinforce the dream-like quality of the show.’’

Another appealing aspect to the programme is its quick, rock video- like editing.

“Miami Vice is the first show to use

rock video-like editing,’’ said-Klovan.’

‘In conventional-_tetevision every shot

ust either reveal character or ad- vance the plot. It is linear narrative. Every shot must be self-explanatory so that if you leave the room for a few minutes, you can still follow the few strands of plot when you return. It’s like Dallas. Every three months or so |

underneath this glittering world of ““*

watch 15 minutes of it. Don’t ask me why, but in those minutes I’m caught up in everything that’s going on. The techniques of TV restrict the range of choices. Since every shot must be self-explanatory, one show is pretty much like the other.’’

‘Miami Vice is quite different. It’s told in non-linear fashion. Like Flash- dance, gaps are left in the story. Each scene does not necessarily build on the preceding one. And after the firs ten minutes the story doesn’t-give you a lot of exposition-—tf you miss the first fewmoments of the show, you’re

‘‘The scenes themselves contradict the edicts of television. Usually the TV scene is a complete entity unto itself. There is a beginning and a middle and an end. Not so in Miami Vice. The viewer will enter a scene in the middle and leave before the end. Miami Vice likes to do this. It likes to challenge you. It throws you into the middle of something and lets you figure it out. Also the quick editing from one scene to another gives the impression of a dream.

January 31, page 11 |

The knock on Miami Vice has been style and sound at the expense of storyline, but Klovan does not see this as legitimate criticism.

“Miami Vice’s audience doesn’t read. It wants images and emotion and energy rather than plot or words.”’

Although he applauds Miami Vice for the innovative use of visual and oral techniques, he also sees the: show’s success in the context of tele- vision just keeping up with the times.

“Forty years ago,’’ he said, ‘‘the television screen was very small, as

was the speaker. Becaus is, the producers didn’t bother with composi=

tion or mise-en-scene and paid little attention to the music score. Today, though, the screens are much larger, the picture is better, and you can hook your set up to speakers the size of a refridgerator. But television has re- fused to adapt. Their visual style is forty years out-of-date. Miami Vice is alluring and powerful because it uses modern techniques to present an ancient theme. | can’t wait to see the number of imitations it will spawn.’