Who’s your favourite baddie?


chum981

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i've been watching until middle of season 5 so far but Joe Dallesandro in both Vincent Demarco (Lombard twisted right arm) and Alfredo Giulini (Las vegas psycopath godfather) . these episodes are among the ones i could watch again , again and again . Loved Arielle Dombasle too because a good looking girl on Miami beaches you canno't not like ...http://www.joedallesandro.com/miami.htm

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I would have to go with Ernesto Gurrero from "Baseballs of Death". He was a totally arrogant and murderous slimeball with a serious libido problem and used his diplomatic immunity and hostage-taking to cover his dealings and make his escape. Another would have to be Howard Famiglia from "Baby Blues". What kind of guy profits from stealing babies from South America where some of them die in transit? And oh, by the way, he was responsible for several murders to try to cover his tracks. All through the episode, he had those crazy eyes that kind of make your skin crawl. Both of these guys were begging to get whacked by the Vice squad.

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... Another would have to be Howard Famiglia from "Baby Blues". What kind of guy profits from stealing babies from South America where some of them die in transit? And oh' date=' by the way, he was responsible for several murders to try to cover his tracks. All through the episode, he had those crazy eyes that kind of make your skin crawl...[/quote']have to agree that if you're talking of purely bad , it's difficult to do worst
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My favorite Miami Vice baddie is ... El Gato!Between his questionable fashion sense and over-the-top dialogue he's perhaps the most entertaining of all Vice villians. He's like a great Bond villian except he gets mauled by a cat instead of having one in his lap all the time.This post is for you, El Gato!:cheers:

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...

Great question.  There are so many great villains in Miami Vice I'm going to have to break this down by the season.

 

Season 1: Calderone-  a textbook drug kingpin, ruthless, industrious, uneducated yet intelligent  

                 Lombard- great sense of humor and personal honor, his "conspiracy to commit lunch" comment still makes me laugh 

                 Lao Li- I loved his explanation to Castillo about the reality of commodities and I also admired his pragmatism.  He is a CEO's CEO.

 

Season 2: Mr. Johnston- Did any single-episode character in the show deliver a more powerful monologue than him?

                 Legba- He is so different than any other villain I don't see how you can't be entertained by him.

                 The Sargent, Maynard, Captain Real Estate- one of several great examples of government corruption in the series

                 Phil Mayhew-  Good, old-fashioned greed with a cockney accent.  His interactions with Izzy and his scam about Shergar were my favorites.

                 Charlie/Callie- You don't often see a team of co-equal, husband and wife sociopaths.

                 Charlie Glide- His attempts to game the system after he was busted were astounding.

                 Jackie- The question (in my own mind, anyway) rages on about whether or not she was criminally insane or simply evil.

                 Mario Fuente- This guy was really intelligent and eloquent and, based on his diving abilities, i would also add graceful.

 

Season 3: The Shadow- The way he progressively gets closer to his victims each break-in is the stuff of horror legend.  This episode gave me nightmares in the 80s.

                 Hackman- A skillful puppetmaster who delivers arguably the best surprise ending of the series.

                 The Savage- While certainly responsible for his own behavior, the question the episode raises of governments enabling and fostering such beasts is great food for thought.

                 

Season 4: Milton Glantz- Slimy and selfish.  As the stereotype goes for college professors and politicians, he too was divorced from reality but rather than a tower made of ivory his was made of smut.  It's a small detail, but when he stabbed the cake in front of Crockett to taunt him, I always notice the jagged path his knife took.  Something weird about it.

                 Lois/Danny- I admit the first time I watched this it had me guessing.  She was really s(l)ick. 

                 Guerrero (Baseballs of Death)- not a whit of compassion or humanity in him.  As far as character development goes his is quite superficial.  If it weren't for his malevolence there would be nothing left, which is what makes him so interesting I guess.

                 Crockett/Burnett- The protagonist is now the antagonist in what is the most appropriately-named episode of the series.  One hour of perfectly executed television, this episode should have won an Emmy.  I still shake my head at how the show's greatest episode appears during its weakest overall season. (All just my opinion, of course.)

 

Season 5: Ma Sek & Malcolm Grey- At the end, Ma Sek's impassioned argument to his wife about "trying to live where he does" is quite compelling.  There's something about Malcolm Grey that makes him a bad guy perfectly in the mold of Miami Vice.  Maybe it's his profession, his dress and his past.  Or maybe it's the pistol in his top desk drawer.   :)

                Joey Scianti & Detective Whitehead- Scianti was wildly entertaining and Whitehead surprised me at the end.  I've always loved Scianti's "Ben Franklin on a C-note" comment.  

                 Helen Jackson- It's hard to sympathize with anyone who would defend an individual involved in the Holocaust but her love for her father and the lengths she would go to to defend him were quite memorable.        

Edited by mirrorimageegamirorrim
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Some fans are calling Burnett their favorite baddie, but I still see Burnett as Crockett with amnesia.

My favorite as far as who I like is Lombard, maybe because of the vermicelli as Brenda said in an earlier post.

My favorite who I hate would be Hackman with El Gato a close second.

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Another good post mirror . . .   Jackie in LMD a villain or simply evil?  Not in MHO.  Remember she killed herself, at least partly, to keep from hurting Rico. How many evil villains shot themselves to save another?  Criminally insane yes.  I think there is truth is what Sonny said about obsession/ compulsion in a sick mind in Honor Among Thieves.  What Sonny said about Delgado when defending him also applies to Jackie's character. "He is different. You have no choice so you walk towards something horrible and you can't stop. You see the horror and you don't want to go, but you must, but you must.  Can you imagine having to live in that hell?"  In that way she is a sympathetic character.  

 

My favorite villain is Papa Legba, who walks with the living or the dead as he chooses.  How can you beat that?

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Good points, Jim.  Her suicide certainly could be seen as a manifestation of her desire not to hurt Tubbs.  The reason I go back and forth on this is because she is very calculating in her actions.  Her mind is not deficient as far as her ability to reason.  To put it another way, she understands reality.  Does she kill even though she doesn't want to kill?  I really don't think there's enough evidence to say for sure.  Tubbs managed to connect with her in a way that most people couldn't.  Even Cat, who truly loved her, wasn't able to connect with her on that level.  She came to the realization that Tubbs was her friend without any ulterior or selfish motives and, to her credit, when the pivotal moment arrived she decided not to kill him.  She killed herself, but why?  As you suggest, it could have been her only way of pulling the plug on an unstoppable killing machine or it could have been because, in view of Tubbs's charity and concern, she examined her own values which brought about a moment of excruciating self-realization and she killed herself out of deep despair.  All we can say for sure is that Jackie had a moment of clarity at the end.  Whether it was a respite from uncontrollable insanity or from yielding to evil inclinations is impossible to say.  However, I see this uncertainty as nothing but a positive since this is what makes this episode fodder for discussion decades after its airing.  You made another fine point too: her choosing not to hurt Tubbs does indeed make her a sympathetic character.  This was never in doubt since, at the end, she is clearly feeling guilty over something.        

Edited by mirrorimageegamirorrim
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Jim & MIIM....you guys must be psychiatrists in your non- vice lives!Very deep analysis.

What non-Vice life?   :)

Psychiatrist I am not.  But world's biggest fan of Miami Vice...maybe.  Let's just say you wouldn't want to challenge my fanhood!   :D

Seriously though, this episode runs deep.  Our grandchildren, should they choose to be Vice fans, will be debating this episode.  

 

-MIIM

Edited by mirrorimageegamirorrim
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My favorite villain is Papa Legba, who walks with the living or the dead as he chooses.  How can you beat that?

 

I forgot to address this.  Legba rocks.  One of the most unique villains of the show.  I wish they would have done more Haitian-themed episodes.  Heck, just keep Legba around for a few more episodes before he's killed.  He had so many great quotes but my favorite was the one about writing his signature on Romulus and then threatening to write it on Bobby P.  That's pretty menacing, brother.  Some great fashion in this episode, too.  (On Crockett and Tubbs, not Legba.   :) )  

 

-MIIM  

Edited by mirrorimageegamirorrim
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  • 1 month later...

I like the the bad guys who were relatively believable and not over the top.

 

Lombard, The asian guy in Golden Triangle, The cane guy in Evan, Phil Collins, Mr burns in Prodigal son, Ted nugent.

 

I Never really liked caldrone, Pinero was a better writer than actor imo.

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I suppose for me, it's who I ended up wanting dead the most, to identify the best bad guy.  For me that had to be Calderone.  Close behind is Tony Amato who was such a nasty person, I loved it when Rita shot that loser!   :)  I also detested Hackman.  Talk about a person with no conscience!  Yes...that was a great moment when Sonny blasted him right in the chest.  I think I was clapping when that took place.   :thumbsup:   

 

Great topic!   :fireworks:

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  • 11 months later...

My favourite is Lombard. He wasn't one of the typical baddies as he did have a good side to him, like the relationship with his son.   

I found him very sympathetic, funny and charming. I would say he was kind of a good guy struggling with the bad side of his personality.

My least favourite was a recurring character Charlie Fusco. Sonny Crockett was a baddie for a while, as Burnett though it wasn't his fault.

Sonny Burnett was also the hottest baddie. :)  :thumbsup:

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I have to say that Hackman was my badguy and ElGato is the worst. He is almost laughable.

Hackman was pure evil and played it straight faced without remorse. I was glad when Sonny shot him

Edited by Stinger390X
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The one I liked the most:  Lombard

 

The one I hated the most:  Hackman

 

Those are my answers today... might be different another day.

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