Miami Vice (TV Series) The Afternoon Plane (1987) User Reviews

High Noon for Tubbs

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 13 May 2012]

When Tubbs buys a raffle tickets and wins a holiday for two on a remote Caribbean island he thinks he and his girlfriend Alicia will have a great time. Things start to go wrong as soon as he lands; he sees Leon Wolf, a man he thought was in jail for murder at the airport. He goes to tell the local police chief that he has a killer on his island but he doesn't seem too concerned. Things get much worse very quickly when he spots the boy he bought the raffle ticket from... the whole thing was a trick to get him away from Miami without his gun so his Nemesis Calderone can kill him. Calderone is due on the afternoon flight leaving Tubbs little time to find an ally or at least a way of fighting back. Few of the islanders are sympathetic to his plight as they blame Tubbs for the downturn in the islands economy after he killed Calderone Snr; the man whose drugs operation helped keep the island in employment, one or two want to do the right thing but that could be too dangerous.

This episode felt like a return to the style of the first two seasons; Tubbs may have been in danger but it didn't have the gritty feel of most of the season three episodes to date. The way he is lured to the island did seem rather far fetched; surely it would have been much easier to have had him gunned down in Miami... however if you can suspend your disbelief it is entertaining enough. Once Tubbs has arrived on the island the plot is reminiscent of 'High Noon'; he is a man alone with no obvious friends desperately trying to find away to defeat an enemy who will be heavily armed. It isn't a total rip off of course... for a start he doesn't even have a gun! There was plenty of tension as we waited for the plane to arrive and when it did arrive there is an exciting shootout.

One of the best Ricardo episodes

[amesmonde · 26 May 2016]

Tubbs has won a week's all expense paid vacation to an island retreat, St. Gerard. But when he and his girlfriend Alicia Austin arrive its a ruse that has been set up by an old adversary.

The Afternoon Plane is the seventeenth episode of Miami Vice's third season, its one of the strongest semi-self contained episodes, also it resolves the Tubbs Orlando Calderone story-line. Crockett unusually appears briefly at a wedding but this gives support to the story as it plays out similar to the 1952 classic High Noon, with the impending arrival of a killer and the local towns people won't help. With the phone service down Tubbs is on his own just like Garry Cooper. Written and directed by David Jackson in this episode you get the sense of urgency, there's desperation and frustration from Tubbs.

Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs really gets a chance to shine. The supporting cast are on form and include Vincent Philip D'Onofrio and John Leguizamo, also notable is Maria McDonald as Alicia Austin, Tubbs love interest. There's a jarring steamy love making scene after Tubbs and Alicia do some horseback riding. As it unfolds refreshingly McDonald gets to up the ante rather than be just Tubbs' 'woman'. As it comes to head Tubbs and Orlando face each other in a fitting showdown.

With gun hails of gun fire, plenty of simmering tension, complemented by Jan Hammer's music (and featuring We Touch by Loz Netto) The Afternoon Plane is one of the stand out episodes that doesn't involve the usual main cast.

Another one of the best episodes of Miami Vice

[ivo-cobra8 · 10/10 · 1 September 2007]

The Afternoon Plane is the best revenge episode of Miami Vice.Rico wins a rise prize were he goes with his new girlfriend doctor in Caribbean week on vacation.One of the best episodes of Miami Vice,here in this episodes not one of the Miami Vice Team shows up only Crockett for 4 min.that's it.But the best of the episodes is that Tubbs is trough this episode alone,one of the best and different episodes of Miami Vice.Great music and great action.The story begins after Rico and his girlfriend Alicia land on Caribbean Island and Rico finds out that a ex convict Leon Wolf is there a murder who Rico arrested him last year for a murder,after that he goes to the police but nobody of the officers hears him so his girlfriend tels him that his out of restriction and that is not lead in his hand's,here he's not a cop,he is Rico Tubbs so they are going into hotel and the get fun,but later on the next day he seas a young kid who looks exactly a kid like he was in Miami,but after that he finds out what's really going on,that today Orlando Calderone is coming for last revenge on him.He was set up and lead in to a trap.Now he finds out he must fled,but there so no other plane or ship,he can not get off this island,nobody wont to helped him,he got no gun and nobody wont's to helped him.Only deputy Reuben Oliva he wont's to proof to him self that he's a real cop,but Wolf and Calderone's cousin shoot's him dead,so now Rico is alone anybody will helped him,Rico kill Orlando's father,Orlando kills his girlfriend and his son and now he comes to get him,Rico try everything to get a gun and good men's to fight against't Calderone,but nobody on this island wont's to helped him,but later somebody give's him a gun a fisherman,but only four bullets for this gun so Rico prepare for ultimately showdown between Calderone and his mercenaries in meantime,his girlfriend Alicia,with his friend Saly,Rico's old flame from New York wait on the airport,but she changes her mind after she hear's a shoot's,so she run back to hotel and helped Rico.The best showdown with Rico and three mercenaries,great episodes one of the best episodes of Miami Vice.To bad is only that the Calderone dies in this episode,and never returns,in last episode in season 2 he survive but not in hear,great performance by John Leguizamo too bad that he never returns with his character in the last season's of Miami Vice.One of the best episodes of Miami Vice.

What a wasted opportuniy!

[ChrisCarrV · 3/10 · 29 November 2013]

What a wasted opportunity! Miami Vice had a great, tragic story regarding Tubbs and the Colderone family. The season two finale was tragic with Tubbs losing Angela and his son, in the brilliant episode 'Sons and lovers'. The end of that episode set up a really interesting sub story for Tubbs as Orlando Colderone said he would 'be back'.

The problem with this episode is its a gimmick, a pastiche of 'High Noon', which on the surface is mildly entertaining and with a relatively exciting ending. However in terms of the greater story a foot, Tubbs's pain at the loss of Angela and his son, and Tubbs having an opportunity to confront their killer, this episode sadly trivialises that story. This episode really shouldn't have been allowed as the resolution for the Tubbs Vs Calderone story, they should have gone for something more powerful and grounded in reality, which the early episodes of this storyline did so well.

Shame :(

Below Average episode

[bryan-930-337366 · 4/10 · 9 November 2019]

A Tubbs only episode. The best of Miami Vice was always Crockett and Tubbs. This one is a revenge episode, one of many, and in the end, the bad guys are dismissed fairly easily and so the payoff isn't much. Not all that much to the plot either.

One of the worse episodes.

[mm-39 · 5/10 · 13 February 2017]

The Afternoon Plane is one of the worse episodes of the Miami Vice series. I agree with people who say season 3 is one of the weaker in the series. The Afternoon Plane is a small cast series of a mix of Outland and High Noon movie plot. Tubbs' is lured to a warm island which has a plane come in with men to kill Tubbs. Little help from the town folks. Tubbs has to pull a Gary Cooper to save the day. Low budget, with lots of personal story dead time. More of a drama then a action episode. Some tension, but thin on originality for a story. The Afternoon Plane is a 5 out of 10! If you want to miss an episode? The Afternoon Plane should be the one.

The two faces of Miami Vice. This one, once again, was a waste of 48 minutes of my life.

[frankenbenz · 3/10 · 6 August 2007]

You'd think an episode with Leguizamo and D'Onofrio -both talented actors- would be a great place to start. Think again.

D'Onofrio plays a clichéd hood written as a dull, lifeless archetype who you know from the second you see him, is bound for the gallows. Leguizamo plays the same hood who -in a previous episode- had killed his sister/Tubb's lover and his baby. We're supposed to believe Calderon is powerful enough to virtually own a Caribbean island, but too stupid (or cheap) to do anything more than send 2 dime store heavies to help him get his own hands dirty in the killing of Tubbs. If this guy was a) smart and b) powerful, would he not send an army of well trained thugs or at least one professional assassin to wack Tubbs? Completely implausible plot.

Beyond the implausibility, the writing is thin, clichéd and insulting. Considering Crockett spends a microscopic amount of time in the opening sequence, one can only assume Don Johnson was on holiday. Then again, the entire staff of MV was probably on holiday for this one since it feels as if they sent in the B-unit to put something together at the last minute.

I want to know how yarborough can keep a straight face as he continues to spout off about how he feels there weren't any bad episodes in season 3. Are you kidding me, pal?