Documentary Review: 15 Days: The Real Story of America’s Pandemic School Closures (dir by Natalya Murakhver)


In December of 2021, I was nearly attacked in a Target.

This was nearly two years into the COVID pandemic and the world was slowly reopening.  (Since I live in Texas, my world reopened earlier than everyone else’s.  Despite the predictions of folks up north, who were almost gleeful in their predictions that Texas would be wiped out by people coughing on each other at football games, we survived.)  In 2020, my sisters and I couldn’t really celebrate Christmas the way we usually did because everything was closed.  In 2021, we were l0oking forward to making up for lost time.

What I was not looking forward to was wearing a mask.  Due to an ambitious politician named Clay Jenkins who was hoping to ride the COVID pandemic into the governor’s mansion, Dallas County still had a mask mandate.  The mandate was unenforceable due to Governor Abbott’s executive order but still, a lot of people in Dallas were masking up.  Sitting in the parking lot of Target, I told my three older sisters that I was not going to wear a mask inside the store.  I have asthma.  Having to wear a mask was more than just an inconvenience for me.  Wearing a mask made it difficult for me to breathe and, given that more and more health authorities were starting to admit that masks didn’t make any difference as far as the spread of the disease was concerned, I didn’t see why I should have to unnecessarily suffer.  My sisters said that they understood and that they would have my back if anyone said anything to me about my maskless state.  “But no one will,” my sister Megan assured me.

As soon as I stepped into the store, I heard it.

“GET A MASK ON HER!”

It wasn’t a store manager or a cop or any other sort of authority figure yelling.  It was an overweight, middle-aged woman riding around the store on her little scooter.  Apparently, she spotted me as soon as I entered the store and immediately started driving herself in my direction, yelling the entire time.  I couldn’t really understand the majority of what she yelled but I did manage to make out words like “Mask,” “kill all of us,” “selfish,” and a few others that I can’t repeat during Lent.

Again, because of Lent, I can’t tell you what my older sister Melissa said in response to her.  My sisters, all three of whom had been masked up, removed their masks in solidarity.  I wish I could say that the entire store applauded but most people were just trying to avoid looking at the fat banshee on her scooter.

Even after my sisters removed their masks, the woman continued to focus her anger on me, still yelling as I walked past her.  (I attempted to smile politely at her, which did not help the situation.)  Eventually, her voice faded away.  She either left the store or found someone else to yell at.

I tell this story to illustrate one point.  The COVID pandemic was a very strange time.  One can both acknowledge the very real tragedy of COVID while also acknowledging that quite a few people fell down the doom rabbit hole and allowed themselves to be driven mad by the constant drumbeat of government officials, members of the media, and other commentators telling us that everyone was going to die unless we wore masks and maintained a distance of 6 feet from each other.  Due to the COVID pandemic, businesses were forced to shut down.  People lost their jobs.  Families were not allowed to comfort each other.  In many states, students were not allowed to go to school.  To doubt any element of the government’s response to COVID meant running the risk of being listed as a “conspiracy theorist.”  Blue states started to gleefully keep track of how many died in red states.  Red states started to keep track of how many civil liberties were suspended by the blue states.  (We all should have been keeping track of their number of politicians who violated their own mandates and simply shrugged off the outrage.)  We were constantly told that we were in a war against the virus but if felt more as if the country was actually at war with itself and a lot of people seemed to be happy with that.

The documentary 15 Days opens with clips from a zoom meeting, in which Jane Fonda, Randi Weingarten, and a host of others discuss the pandemic as an opportunity to bring about social change.  The documentary goes on to document how the school shutdowns went from being “15 days to slow the spread,” to nearly two years of remote learning.  Parents discuss going from trusting the government and wanting to do the right thing to the growing disillusionment of realizing that “15 Days to Slow The Spread” was, from the start, an empty slogan.  Epidemiologists who opposed the school closings discuss being censored and dismissed as “fringe extremists.”  Student athletes talk about losing out on college scholarships.  We learn about the struggles of doing remote learning.  We learn how some students merely disappeared from the system.

As you probably already guessed, 15 Days has a political agenda and, as such, it won’t be for everyone.  Certain parts of it were certainly not for me.  (Personally, I think the film lets the Trump administration off too easily when it comes to the federal government’s COVID response.)  But that doesn’t change the fact that 15 Days shows just how much damage was done to an entire generation by the senseless and largely partisan-driven decision to shut down the schools in so many states.  In between clips of people claiming that “kids are resilient,” we get interviews with actual kids who lost two years of not just education but also social development to the shutdowns.  The contrast between what we were told was happening with remote learning and what actually happened is stark.  The director, a disillusioned and self-described “progressive Democrat” named Natalya Murakhver compares America during the pandemic to the totalitarian government that her family fled when she was a child and it’s hard not to feel that she has a point.

You may or may not agree with the film’s politics but, with each passing day, it becomes more and more obvious how screwed up the federal government’s response to the COVID pandemic truly was. Documentaries like this are important because right now, the gaslighting we’re seeing about what really happened in 2020 and 2021 is incredible.  Neighbors turned against neighbor (or shopper, as they case may be).  And an entire generation lost two of the most important developmental years of their lives.

 

The Eric Roberts Collection: The Wrong Teacher (dir by David DeCoteau)


When Charlotte (Jessica Morris) meets a younger man named Chris (Philip McElroy), she is both flattered and amused when he asks her out.  “You’re a little young for me,” Charlotte says.  However, Charlotte’s friend, Maddie (Akari Endo), insists that Charlotte really does need to get out more so Charlotte meets up with Chris for drinks.  One things leads to another and soon, Charlotte is having sex with Chris in her classroom!

(Charlotte is an English teacher, along with being a struggling romance novelist.)

The next day, as Charlotte teachers her class, she is shocked when Chris shows up.  “What are you doing here?” Charlotte asks.  Chris reveals that he’s a new student and Charlotte is now his English teacher!

2018’s The Wrong Teacher is one of the many “Wrong” films that David DeCoteau directed for Lifetime.  This one follows the usual pattern.  Chris isn’t ready to let go of his one night of passion with the teacher.  When he discovers that Charlotte is getting back together with her ex-boyfriend (Jason-Shane Scott), he snaps.  Soon, people are getting shot and hit with baseball bats and videos of Chris and Charlotte going at it in the classroom are showing up on the school’s twitter page.  Vivica A. Fox is alarmed that Charlotte could be so foolish.  Charlotte declares, “You messed with the wrong teacher!”  Thanks to some last minute strangeness that sees Charlotte adopting a Southern accent, The Wrong Teacher is enjoyably over the top.

As for Eric Roberts, he plays the assistant principal.  He’s a bit burned-out.  He’s easily annoyed.  He doesn’t want any scandalous behavior in his school.  He’s Eric Roberts and he makes the most of his three scenes.  Eric even stands up and walks in this movie.  He only does that when he’s particularly invested in a role.  The Wrong Teacher?  More like The Right Vice Principal.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

  1. Paul’s Case (1980)
  2. Star 80 (1983)
  3. Runaway Train (1985)
  4. To Heal A Nation (1988)
  5. Best of the Best (1989)
  6. Blood Red (1989)
  7. The Ambulance (1990)
  8. The Lost Capone (1990)
  9. Best of the Best II (1993)
  10. Love, Cheat, & Steal (1993)
  11. Voyage (1993)
  12. Love Is A Gun (1994)
  13. Sensation (1994)
  14. Dark Angel (1996)
  15. Doctor Who (1996)
  16. Most Wanted (1997)
  17. Mercy Streets (2000)
  18. Tripfall (2000)
  19. Raptor (2001)
  20. Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534 (2001)
  21. Strange Frequency (2001)
  22. Wolves of Wall Street (2002)
  23. Border Blues (2004)
  24. Mr. Brightside (2004)
  25. Six: The Mark Unleased (2004)
  26. We Belong Together (2005)
  27. Hey You (2006)
  28. Depth Charge (2008)
  29. Amazing Racer (2009)
  30. The Chaos Experiment (2009)
  31. In The Blink of an Eye (2009)
  32. Bed & Breakfast (2010)
  33. Enemies Among Us (2010)
  34. The Expendables (2010) 
  35. Sharktopus (2010)
  36. Beyond The Trophy (2012)
  37. The Dead Want Women (2012)
  38. Deadline (2012)
  39. The Mark (2012)
  40. Miss Atomic Bomb (2012)
  41. Assault on Wall Street (2013)
  42. Bonnie And Clyde: Justified (2013)
  43. Lovelace (2013)
  44. The Mark: Redemption (2013)
  45. The Perfect Summer (2013)
  46. Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End (2013)
  47. Revelation Road 2: The Sea of Glass and Fire (2013)
  48. Self-Storage (2013)
  49. Sink Hole (2013)
  50. A Talking Cat!?! (2013)
  51. This Is Our Time (2013)
  52. Bigfoot vs DB Cooper (2014)
  53. Doc Holliday’s Revenge (2014)
  54. Eternity: The Movie (2014)
  55. Inherent Vice (2014)
  56. Road to the Open (2014)
  57. Rumors of War (2014)
  58. So This Is Christmas (2014)
  59. Amityville Death House (2015)
  60. Deadly Sanctuary (2015)
  61. A Fatal Obsession (2015)
  62. Las Vegas Story (2015)
  63. Sorority Slaughterhouse (2015)
  64. Stalked By My Doctor (2015)
  65. Enemy Within (2016)
  66. Hunting Season (2016)
  67. Joker’s Poltergeist (2016)
  68. Prayer Never Fails (2016)
  69. Stalked By My Doctor: The Return (2016)
  70. The Wrong Roommate (2016)
  71. Dark Image (2017)
  72. The Demonic Dead (2017)
  73. Black Wake (2018)
  74. Frank and Ava (2018)
  75. Stalked By My Doctor: Patient’s Revenge (2018)
  76. Clinton Island (2019)
  77. Monster Island (2019)
  78. The Reliant (2019)
  79. The Savant (2019)
  80. Seven Deadly Sins (2019)
  81. Stalked By My Doctor: A Sleepwalker’s Nightmare (2019)
  82. The Wrong Mommy (2019)
  83. Exodus of a Prodigal Son (2020)
  84. Free Lunch Express (2020)
  85. Her Deadly Groom (2020)
  86. Top Gunner (2020)
  87. Deadly Nightshade (2021)
  88. The Elevator (2021)
  89. Just What The Doctor Ordered (2021)
  90. Killer Advice (2021)
  91. Megaboa (2021)
  92. Night Night (2021)
  93. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
  94. The Rebels of PT-218 (2021)
  95. Red Prophecies (2021)
  96. A Town Called Parable (2021)
  97. Bleach (2022)
  98. Dawn (2022)
  99. My Dinner With Eric (2022)
  100. 69 Parts (2022)
  101. The Rideshare Killer (2022)
  102. The Company We Keep (2023)
  103. D.C. Down (2023)
  104. Aftermath (2024)
  105. Bad Substitute (2024)
  106. Devil’s Knight (2024)
  107. Insane Like Me? (2024)
  108. Space Sharks (2024)
  109. The Wrong Life Coach (2024)
  110. Broken Church (2025)
  111. When It Rains In L.A. (2025)

Anime You Should Be Watching: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind


“Every one of us relies on water from the wells, because mankind has polluted all the lakes and rivers. But do you know why the well water is pure? It’s because the trees of the wastelands purify it! And you plan to burn the trees down? You must not burn down the toxic jungle!” — Nausicaä

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind stands out as Hayao Miyazaki’s groundbreaking 1984 anime film that blends epic adventure with profound environmental and anti-war messages. This post-apocalyptic tale, adapted from his own manga, follows a young princess fighting to bridge humanity and nature in a toxic world overrun by giant insects.

Imagine an Earth a thousand years after humanity’s self-inflicted apocalypse called the Seven Days of Fire, where massive God Warriors wiped out civilization and left behind the Sea of Corruption—a sprawling, poisonous jungle teeming with mutated bugs like the massive, trilobite Ohmu. In this harsh landscape, pockets of survivors cling to life, and the idyllic Valley of the Wind thrives thanks to constant sea breezes that keep the toxic spores at bay, powering windmills for their farms. Enter Nausicaä, the 16-year-old princess and ace glider pilot, who’s not your typical royal—she dives into the jungle without fear, collects spores, and chats with insects like they’re old pals. Right from the opening, when she calms a raging Ohmu with flash bombs after it chases her mentor Lord Yupa, you know she’s special: brave, empathetic, and way ahead of her people in understanding that the Fukai (the jungle’s name) isn’t just a killer but maybe Earth’s way of healing itself.

The plot kicks into high gear when a hulking Tolmekian airship crashes in the Valley, swarmed by insects and spilling fungi that threaten the crops. Nausicaä rushes in, saving a dying Pejite princess named Lastelle, who begs her to destroy the cargo—a calcified embryo of one of those ancient God Warriors. Too late; Tolmekian forces invade under the steely Princess Kushana, who assassinates Nausicaä’s dad, King Jhil, and claims the embryo to hatch it as a weapon against the Fukai. Kushana’s plan? Revive the beast, burn the jungle, and reclaim the planet for humans, no matter the cost. Nausicaä gets dragged along as a hostage, but chaos ensues: Pejite Prince Asbel (Lastelle’s brother) attacks the convoy in revenge, leading to crashes and a wild glider chase where Nausicaä saves him, only for them to plunge through the jungle floor into a hidden miracle—an underground world of pure water and soil where the Fukai’s roots are actually detoxifying the planet.

Back in the Valley, villagers revolt against the Tolmekians guarding the hatching Warrior, but things spiral when Pejite survivors reveal they lured the Ohmu stampede to the Valley using a tortured baby Ohmu as bait—payback for Tolmekia destroying their city. Nausicaä escapes Pejite captivity (with help from Asbel’s mom and sympathizers), hijacks the baby Ohmu carriers, and races to stop the horde. In one of the film’s most gut-wrenching scenes, she confronts the enraged Ohmu sea, gets trampled to death (or so it seems), her blue-stained dress making her look like a martyr. But the insects heal her with their golden tentacles, lifting her like a messiah in a field of gold, fulfilling a prophecy and halting the rampage just as the premature God Warrior melts down after a couple of blasts. Tolmekians bail, Pejites join the Valley rebuild, and a clean shoot sprouts under the Fukai—hope amid ruin.

What makes Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind pop off visually is Miyazaki’s hand-drawn mastery, even on Topcraft’s tight nine-month schedule with a million-dollar budget. The gliders (especially her sleek Möwe) slice through skies with fluid grace, Ohmu herds churn like living tsunamis, and the Fukai’s spores shimmer in surreal blues and golds—equal parts beautiful and deadly. Action pops without feeling gratuitous: dogfights buzz with tension, sword clashes ring true (Nausicaä’s gladiator-style fights against armored goons are badass), and that underground reveal flips the script with bioluminescent wonder. Joe Hisaishi’s debut score nails it—haunting flutes for Nausicaä’s flights, pounding percussion for stampedes, and that ethereal title theme sung by Narumi Yasuda that sticks in your head. It’s proto-Ghibli polish before Ghibli existed, proving Miyazaki’s detail obsession (he redrew frames himself).

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind isn’t just pretty; it’s a thematic powerhouse that demands attention in our climate-anxious era. At its core, it’s an eco-fable flipping the “man vs. nature” trope: the Fukai isn’t evil—it’s purifying humanity’s mess from industrial hubris, echoing real-world pollution like Minamata Bay that inspired Miyazaki. Nausicaä embodies harmony, tending a secret clean garden proving spores thrive without toxins, and her big revelation underground shows patience over destruction wins. It shares striking parallels with Frank Herbert’s Dune, where both stories unfold in post-apocalyptic or barren landscapes where survival hinges on mastering harsh environments—the Sea of Corruption’s toxic sprawl mirrors Arrakis’s endless dunes, both teeming with misunderstood “monsters” central to their ecosystems. Nausicaä glides over spore-filled jungles much like Paul Atreides rides sandworms, learning to respect rather than conquer these forces; her calming of the Ohmu herd parallels the Fremen’s symbiotic bond with Shai-Hulud, where outsiders must earn nature’s trust through ritual and empathy. The Fukai purifies Earth’s poisoned soil over generations, just as the spice melange ties Arrakis’s fate to galactic power, forcing characters to confront interdependence over exploitation.

Leadership and prophecy drive the parallels deeper: Nausicaä, the blue-clad princess fulfilling a cryptic prophecy through self-sacrifice, embodies the Kwisatz Haderach archetype in Paul, both reluctant saviors burdened by destiny amid warring factions. Tolmekian invaders seeking God Warriors evoke Harkonnen aggressors hungry for spice dominance, while Pejite’s desperate tactics reflect Fremen guerrilla warfare—cycles of revenge where ecology becomes a weapon. Miyazaki drew direct inspiration from Dune, infusing anti-colonial vibes: Nausicaä’s diplomacy rejects imperial conquest, urging coexistence, akin to Herbert’s critique of messiahs sparking holy wars.

Anti-war vibes hit hard too—no pure villains, just cycles of fear and revenge: Tolmekia’s aggression mirrors Pejite’s desperation, both blind to coexistence. Kushana’s not a cartoon baddie; she’s pragmatic, scarred by loss, and her arc hints at redemption. Buddhism creeps in via greed, delusion, and ill will fueling conflict, with Nausicaä’s self-sacrifice as enlightened compassion. Influences like Tolkien and Le Guin shine through, but Miyazaki makes it uniquely hopeful: life’s interconnected, redemption’s possible if we listen.

Nausicaä herself is the heart, a rare female lead who’s warrior, scientist, diplomat—feminine empathy meets masculine grit without preachiness. She leads by diving into danger (ripping off her mask to prove clean air, tackling Pejite goons), inspiring loyalty because she’d never ask what she won’t do. Sidekicks shine: fox-squirrel Teto’s adorable comic relief, Yupa’s wise wanderer vibe, Mito’s gruff loyalty, Obaba’s prophecy-dropping mysticism. Asbel adds rival-turned-ally spark, Kushana steel-spined foil. Voices (Sumi Shimamoto’s Nausicaä especially) convey emotion perfectly; Disney’s 2005 dub (Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman) holds up too, sans the botched 80s Warriors of the Wind edit Miyazaki hated.

Legacy-wise, this flick birthed Studio Ghibli—Miyazaki and Takahata founded it post-success, grossing ¥1.48 billion in Japan alone. Critically adored (91% Rotten Tomatoes, top animated film polls), it influenced games (Panzer Dragoon), Star Wars nods, and eco-anime forever. The manga dives deeper (darker, more conflicted Nausicaä over 12 years), but the film stands alone as pure, idealistic storytelling.

So why is Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind a must-watch? In a world choking on plastic oceans and endless wars, it slaps you with urgency: destroy nature, destroy ourselves; choose empathy, find salvation. These Dune echoes make it a killer companion for sci-fi fans, blending Miyazaki’s hopeful twist on Herbert’s tragedy to prove timeless ideas thrive across media. It’s thrilling adventure—no slow bits, every frame earns its runtime—with heart that lingers, urging coexistence over conquest. Miyazaki’s optimism shines: even post-apocalypse, one person’s vision sparks change. Skip it, miss anime’s soul laid bare; watch it, level up your worldview. Perfect for sci-fi fans, eco-warriors, or anyone craving stories that stick. Dive in—you’ll emerge healed, like Nausicaä from the Ohmu sea.

Song of the Day: Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei


Today’s song of the day was not specifically written for the Kill Bill soundtrack but that’s still the film that I’ll always associate it with.  Here is Tomoyasu Hotei and Battle Without Honor or Humanity.

Scenes That I Love: Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction


Today is Christopher Walken’s 83rd birthday so it seems appropriate to share a Walken scene that I love.  Without further ado, here is the classic gold watch speech from the 1994 film, Pulp Fiction:

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1975 Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we pay tribute to the year 1975.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 1975 Films

Barry Lyndon (1975, dir by Stanley Kubrick, DP: John Alcott)

Deep Red (1975, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Luigi Kuveiller)

Mirror (1975, dir by Andrei Tarkovsky, DP: Georgy Rerberg)

Three Days Of The Condor (1975, dir by Sydney Pollack, DP: Owen Roizman)

Music Video of the Day: Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim (2001, dir by Spike Jonze)


Val wrote about this music video way back in 2016.  I’m sharing it again because today is Christopher Walken’s 83rd birthday!  Walken trained as a dancer before going into acting and he gets to show off more than a few moves in this video.

Walken also trained as a lion tamer before he went into acting.  I guess he’s a little bit old to play a lion tamer now but still, that’s something I would have liked to have seen.

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.13 “Breaking Point”


Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983.  The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, Ponch worries that he’s lost his touch.

Episode 5.13 “Breaking Point”

(Dir by Leslie H. Martinson, originally aired on January 3rd, 1982)

While pursuing a car thief, Ponch loses control of his motorcycle and crashes through the glass door of a jewelry store.  He smashes into a display case and finds himself trapped underneath a shelf of jagged glass.  One wrong move and he could lose his head!

Now, Baker and the other cops are able to rescue Ponch and move the display case.  Still, the experience leaves Ponch so shaken that he starts to doubt himself.  He starts to find excuses to not go out on his bike.  He does paperwork back at headquarters.  He claims that his bike has a vibration.  The other members of the Highway Patrol start to whisper that Ponch is not pulling his weight.  Getraer tells Ponch to take some vacation time and to get his head together.

Ponch’s sister, Patti (Maria O’Brien), is visiting.  She’s a nurse but, like Ponch, she’s having doubts about her job.  She would rather be a model, despite not being particularly attractive.  Ponch isn’t happy about Patti giving up her career but he does arrange for Patti to spend some time with Jon’s model girlfriend, Christy (Mary Angela Young).  While Patti and Christy are chatting, a man has a heart stroke and Patti saves his life.  Patti realizes that her job is important and this leads to Ponch deciding that his job is important too.

I’m going to guess that this was designed to be Erik Estrada’s Emmy episode.  Estrada does his best to capture Ponch’s uncertainty and his conflicted emotions but the thing with Erik Estrada is that you look at him and you just can’t believe he’s ever had a moment of self-doubt in his entire life.  By the end of the episode, Ponch is back on his bike and flashing his big smile and there was never any doubt that he would be.

Even with Estrada hamming it up for the Emmy judges, this episode found room for two slo mo of doom accidents.  How anyone could have survived the second accident, I have no idea.  And yet, it appears that there weren’t any serious injuries.  I guess we should be thankful for that!

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 5.19 “Miracle Man”


Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime!

This week, the Miracle Man arrives in Miami!

Episode 5.19 “Miracle Man”

(Dir by Alan Myerson, originally aired on June 21st, 1989)

Who is the Miracle Man?

The Miracle Man (played by Jose Perez) is an overweight, middle-aged man who sometimes wears an eye mask and a t-shirt with a big M on it.  He rallies the good people of Miami to take back their neighborhoods from the drug dealers.  He thwarts drug deals, even the ones that are actually a part of an undercover operation.  He’s something of a pest.  The cops wants to stop him.  The criminals want to kill him.  A news reporter (Zach Grenier) wants to make him a star.

In real life, he’s actually Gregory Esteban and he is Izzy’s cousin.  A former junkie, he blames himself for the overdose death of his daughter and he’s now determined to launch a one-man war against crime.  He’s also bipolar and running low on his meds, which makes him unpredictable.  Switek and Tubbs eventually catch the Miracle Man but he still manages to escape from the safehouse.  His actions lead to the death of this week’s drug dealers but they also lead to him getting killed as well.  That’s not really a surprise.  Guest stars almost always died on Miami Vice.

This episode didn’t work for me.  The Miracle Man character was too over-the-top to be taken seriously and, as a result, his story and his death didn’t have the emotional impact that it should have.  As well, the villains were forgettable and generic.  Considering how surreal Miami Vice could be, one would be justified in expecting this episode to be much more stylized than it was.  Unfortunately, it was just dull.  The Miracle Man could not save it.

Don Johnson is only in this episode for the first two minutes.  Edward James Olmos isn’t in it at all.  (Crockett and Castillo are described as being absent to prepare for a trial.)  The whole episode feels like filler.  I can kind of understand why it wasn’t aired during season 5’s original run.

Sorry, Miracle Man.