By Bob Berry

Miami Vice changed a lot of things.

Changed the perception of Miami and South Beach, which truth be told was a dump when the show went on the air.

Changed the perception of how detectives dress, and the cars they drive. Made Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas the hottest stars on TV. And it made their characters, Crockett and Tubbs, the coolest TV detectives ever, and a convenient costume idea for men of all ages

Changed the lives and gave a number of actors their big break, including Chris Rock, Liam Neeson andJulia Roberts. Plus Royal Oak’s Glenn Frey whose role in Season One’s “Smuggler’s Blues” (and the episode title song he wrote) was one of the shows that sealed the deal for the series.

Miami Vice married the idea music videos as integral to TV story-telling, most notably on Phil Collin’s “In The Air Tonight“, and made Jan Hammer a household, well, if not word, a known reference. The Czechoslovakian composer was the genius behind “Crockett’s Theme“, and the two-time Grammy Award winning “Theme From Miami Vice“.

It was Number One, 30 years ago today, November 9th, 1985.