Man I love that show!... Don't forget Lion Forge's Miami Vice comic from 2016, it rocked!

So who was training whom here?

It was mutual.  He naturally wanted to chase things and have them tossed.  We adopted him, as a kitten, from the local Humane Society and he discovered the older cat's toys and zeroed in on these little plush balls (about the size of a shooting marble) and would bat them around and chase after them.  He would leap in the air to intercept them.  He used to bring it up on my bed, when I would get home from work and would lounge there, with Barb, watching tv.  I'd lob it in the air and he would leap up to get it, then bring it back.  That ended when he misjudged a leap and crashed into the side of the bed frame and let out a yowl and hiss.  I was afraid he'd broken something, as he limped off to hide, but seemed better by the next day, though he still limped a bit.  He was fine by the next day, no limp, but stopped trying to leap up and catch the ball.

He was a big one for ambushing you, leaping out from under the overhang of the bedspread, crashing out of this little play set up we had (we called it his condo), like it was a duck blind or something.  Very much like Hobbes pouncing on Calvin, in the comic strip.

Edward James Olmos was mesmerizing.  He got so much out of very few words and just a look.  Definitely a man who commands respect.

Speaking of Cop Shows driver1980, how do you feel about Space Precinct 2040?

Not really; prior to Miami Vice, he had been primarily a theater actor.  He had done some small film roles, in the early to mid-70s , including the Japanese film Virus.  He had done bit parts on Cannon, Kojak and Hawaii 5-0, but didn't have a named role until an episode of Starsky & Hutch, in 1977 and another in CHiPs, in 1978.

His breakout role was as El Pachuco, in the play Zoot Suit, about the Zoot Suit Riots, in 1943, in Los Angeles, where primarily Latinos were attacked by servicemembers and others, in racially motivated assaults.  The claim was that Zoot Suits, which required more fabric to make, were unpatriotic to the war effort, as there was a shortage of fabric, due to the demand for material to produce military uniforms.  Things like pleated skirts and baggier pants, double-breasted coats, etc required more material to make and became scarce, as a result.  Wearing such things was seen as unpatriotic, but, the events in 1942 and 1943 were specifically targeted at Latinos and others of color and not whites in such outfits.

El Pachuco is a narrator in the play and it was the first professional Chicano production, in the LA theater world and it transferred to Broadway, in 1979, after sold out performances in LA.  Olmos was nominated for a Tony Award for his role.  He then starred in the film version, in 1981.




That factored greatly in getting him cast in Blade Runner and three episodes of Hill Street Blues, before he was cast as Lt Castillo, in Miami Vice.

In the 60s, he played in a band and pursued music.  He had also played catcher on an LA Dodgers minor league baseball farm team.

Edward James Olmos was excellent as Gaff in Blade Runner.