Bad Karma For "Miami Vice"

The reviews of the new movie are mixed (though some have been very enthusiastic and director Michael Mann rarely makes a boring film). But Roger Friedman of Fox News argues the movie will also suffer bad mojo for willfully running away from its TV past. They ignored the classic theme music by Jan Hammer and even when the movie included Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight," it's via an anonymous cover version. Hammer thought at the very least Mann would have someone do an updated remake of his iconic tune, a la "Mission: Impossible." "I was completely surprised they didn’t have a remake of it. I think it’s a matter of being too cool for school," he said. Friedman mentions it was the first and only TV instrumental theme song to hit #1. True that, but I can't help mentioning a fact that immediately springs to mind: Henry Mancini hit #1 with the album "Music From Peter Gunn," the wildly influential finger-snapping noir jazz he composed for the "Miami Vice" of its day. The album stayed at #1 for ten weeks, rode the charts for more than two years, spawned a sequel and even won the Grammy for Album of the Year. To me, that's a bigger accomplishment all around. It's also stood the test of time very well indeed. Pick it up.