User Reviews

After the all the comedy in the previous episode things get serious again when the vice team are called in to help the robbery squad after a series of particularly nasty home invasions. The robbery team is lead by Lt. John Malone; the man who oversaw Crockett's early years in the police force; unfortunately he is letting things slip and Castillo isn't impressed with the way the investigation has been run so far. With virtually no leads up until this point they look into similar crimes around the country and look for anything connecting the families that have been attacked; eventually they find a lead; all of the women get their hair done at the same beauty salon.

I really enjoyed this episode; it was nice to see James Edward Olmos take a larger role as he fills in as Crockett's partner while Tubbs is out of town. The villains were all suitably unpleasant leaving the viewer in no doubt that they were capable of doing the sort of things that couldn't be shown on TV. Guest star Jack Kehoe put in a fine performance as the once good police officer who has stayed in the job a little too long. While the episode had a serious tone it wasn't without its lighter moments such as when Crockett and Castillo pull over a potential victim to warn her and are mistaken for criminals themselves! Over all this was a quality episode which saw the team investigating a different sort of crime; great stuff!

In the top 5 of Miami Vice episodes! What works. A great script about home invaders. The invaders have calculated plans and our brutal criminals. The character development and sub stories are great. Casting for the bad guys is excellent. There is conflicts between Sonny's old mentor and Vice's boss. The character driven sub story has Sony's wondering if the old mentor is needing to retire? Sonny is dealing with police inter conflict. The crack invaders fight and plan but regrettably are getting more violent which pressures the police into action. Good police investigations and procedures push the story forward. There is comic relief and levity with a few characters and plot devices, which gives the viewers relief from a tense story! Well directed, acted and perfect execution of Home Invaders make a memorable episode. The ending is touching and pushes The Home Invaders into the top 5 of my favorite episodes. 9 out of 10 stars.

This episode starts so strong with a invasion that is gruesome. The break ins are so frequent and violent, vice is called to help robbery. As much as this story centers around the action, I enjoy the underlying tale better: Crockett's old mentor being replaced by his new. The ending in which Jan's best, melancholy tune playing decides to retire when he realizes that the game has passed him by and retires hits home.

Again, there are far better in season one, but this one is a winner (especially after following Made For Each Other). There are some really good Crockett episodes coming, so this was probably a test for later ones without Tubbs. One cool thing that Castillo did that Tubbs never has is when he choked that dude unconscious.

A vicious, gratuitously violent, very well-armed group of home invaders targets wealthy homes in Miami which meet their criteria. They have already successfully carried out five break-ins in eight weeks. Once inside, the first thing they ask is "Who else is in the house?" and no one is spared, from the youngest to the oldest. Two such scenes pull few punches. One of the trio, doing outdoor watch duty, merrily kills an approaching suspicious policeman by shooting him three times with a silencer-fitted gun.

But Castillo works his magic and manages to tie the five cases to a hair salon patronized by all five female victims. Sylvia Miles appears as an affluent matron who assists Crockett and Castillo who contact her because she is believed to be the next target, but there is a last minute unforeseen hitch.

Miles' presence is so amusing that one cannot but realize how almost no older women appear in MV episodes and relatively few older men. (The only exceptions, aside from Miles and in other episodes, were the exotic and youthful Eartha Kitt, who may as well have been from a different generation, and Judith Malina, who appeared in a pivotal but uncredited role, and was killed off by a psychotic perp.)

Series should have been named "No Series for Old(er) Women". I guess everyone on the team were orphans and, of course, there is that notable dearth of older ladies in Miami.