Miami Vice Debuts With "In The Air Tonight"

1984

The TV series Miami Vice makes its debut with a two-hour episode that includes a scene featuring the Phil Collins hit "In The Air Tonight."

Embracing the MTV era, the show incorporates lots of contemporary music and features appearances by many popular musicians, including Glenn Frey, Sheena Easton, Frankie Valli and Miles Davis (Collins appears in a Season 2 episode). It's clear from the intro that the show is about pretty pictures put to music: there is no voiceover in the opening theme and no shots of the actors, just glamorous Miami iconography. This style is repeated in the episode itself, as "In The Air Tonight" is used in a long, emotional scene with little dialogue in what amounts to a music video. The series pervades popular culture, influencing fashion (lots of white, no socks) and music; the theme song, written and performed by Czech keyboard wizard Jan Hammer, rises to #1 in America in November 1985. The star of the show, Don Johnson, even has a hit song (that has nothing to do with Miami Vice) called "Heartbeat," which reaches #5 in 1986. The show lasts for five seasons, leaving an indelible imprint. In 2006, it is revived as a movie starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell.