Entertainment
How A Blockbuster 80s Thriller Changed TV Forever With Phil Collins' Drums
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The Golden Age of prestige television started when Tony Soprano first walked into Dr. Melfi’s office, but the groundwork for The Sopranos was laid a decade earlier. On September 16, 1984, Michael Mann introduced the world to Miami Vice.
So much of the 80s style and culture can be traced back to the series’ impact, from the cars to the men’s wear, but its lasting legacy has been to show that, at its best, television can be better than the movies. And it’s thanks to Phil Collins.
The Greatest Drums In Music History
Before Miami Vice debuted, television was considered secondary to movies. On the big screen, fans could see larger-than-life stories and characters, such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jaws, which were reserved for cinema. Television was where stars who couldn’t make it in the movies went. You could tell by the vast difference between their budgets. Even the best-looking television series looked inferior to the movies, until that is, Michael Mann turned a TV pilot into a music video.
“My Brother’s Keeper,” the pilot episode for Miami Vice, set the stakes for the rest of the series to follow. Crockett (Don Johnson) is coping with the loss of his partner when he’s paired up with Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) in an undercover sting to take down the ruthless drug lord, Calderone (Miguel Pinero). It’s standard police procedural stuff today, but in 1984, it was a new level of grit and darkness under the flashy exterior of cool cars, bright lights, and designer shades.
No sequence summed it up better than the ending, when Corckett and Tubs get in their car to confront Calderone while “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins starts up. Shots of the car going down the road, the two detectives are silent as each is lost in their own thoughts, and then Crockett gets out of the car to place a phone call. All episode, he’s been bothered by his relationship with his estranged wife, but she picks up, and he asks a simple question: “It was real?”
As he hangs up, the drums kick in. You know exactly what drums. And right there, Miami Vice arrived, and television has never been the same. Over 40 years later, and guys still blast “In the Air Tonight” while driving around at night.
A Movie On A TV Budget
The Miami Vice pilot was a two-hour television event, which is why the production team pulled out all the stops to make it a hit. Licensing music wasn’t common back then, and not only did “My Brother’s Keeper” use “In the Air Tonight,” but it also included “Miss You” by The Rolling Stones, and “Somebody Watching Me” by Rockwell. Recognizable music was the key ingredient to turn stretches of the episode into music videos.
Beyond the soundtrack and award-winning cinematography, Miami Vice was a breath of fresh air for its dark, cynical tone. Sonny Crockett was a cop on the edge, watching his life slowly fall apart around him, while Ricardo Tubbs didn’t only want to avenge his brother’s death at the hands of Calderon, he was consumed by it. This was a far cry from the sunny shores of Hawaii 5-0, or the cheese of Cagney & Lacey, Hart to Hart, and The A-Team.
Miami Vice didn’t look, sound, or play out (the villain wins) like any of its contemporaries. By the time “My Brother’s Keeper” came to an end, the bar for success in television was raised to a nearly unattainable standard. Dark heroes were in, licensed music was expected, and grittier storylines replaced the fairytale endings.
Entertainment
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
Table of Contents
Nearly three years ago, I asked if the (then) $429 Dyson Supersonic was still worth the price of entry.
These days, with the Supersonic line having expanded, the standard model having increased in price to $449.99, and the most expensive version of the hair dryer topping out at $549.99, it’s a question that feels even more apt.
The good news? If you’re not super into the idea of spending about $500 for a hair dryer, Dyson just announced the Dyson Supersonic Travel, a $299.99 model of its famous hair tool. In addition to its lower price point, it comes with more travel-friendly proportions and features.
As someone who’s personally tested Supersonics (and their many dupes), I took a closer look at the latest Dyson beauty launch to gather everything you need to know.
The design differences of the Dyson Supersonic Travel
In short, the Supersonic Travel is the standard Supersonic but smaller. According to Dyson, that comes out to exactly 32 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the OG Supersonic. In other words, it’s 0.7 pounds to the standard Supersonic’s 1.8 pounds, and 8.7 inches tall to the larger model’s 10 inches.
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This model also comes with one attachment, the styling concentrator, a la the now-discontinued Dyson Supersonic Origin (which ran for $399.99). For comparison, the $449.99 Supersonic comes with three attachments: a styling concentrator, diffuser, and wide-tooth comb. For all five attachments, you’ll have to shell out $549.99.
The Supersonic Travel is compatible with all original and Supersonic Nural attachments.
Credit: Dyson
The same attachments can be used between the Travel, original, and Supersonic Nural dryers. This means opting for the Travel could technically save you some money — individual attachments range from $19.99 to $44.99. If you only use a styling concentrator and diffuser, for instance, the total cost of a Travel dryer with the extra attachment purchase would come out to $344.98, making it still over $100 cheaper than the three-attachment original Supersonic.
The Supersonic Travel is more versatile in some ways, and less so in others
Functionality-wise, the Supersonic Travel is a slightly different product from the other Supersonics in the line. It has anywhere from 1,000 to 1,220 watts of power and an airflow speed of 11.6 liters per second, compared to the 1,600 watts and 13.3 liters per second of the standard Supersonic. In other words, the bigger dryer is slightly more powerful, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect longer dry times.
The standard Supersonic and Supersonic Nural also feature four heats and three air speeds, where the Supersonic Travel features three heats and two air speeds.
The best noise-cancelling headphones for flying: 8 picks to improve your travel experience
That said, the Supersonic Travel has universal voltage compatibility, so it can be used from 100 to 240 volts, whereas the other Supersonics are locked into 120 volt compatibility.
In terms of its portability, it’s also worth noting the Supersonic Travel weighs the same as the Supersonic r, a professional grade hair dryer (priced as such at $549.99) that’s become more popular due in part to being lightweight and easy to maneuver.
Where to buy the Dyson Supersonic Travel
The Dyson Supersonic Travel is available for $299.99 at Dyson’s website, Amazon, and Best Buy. If you buy at the former, you will receive a complimentary $59.99 travel bag along with the hair dryer.
Entertainment
The gorgeous yet budget-friendly Samsung QN70F Neo QLED TV is the cheapest its ever been
SAVE $300: As of April 21, you can get the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV for only $597.99 instead of $897.99 at Amazon. That’s 33% in savings and the lowest price on record.
$597.99
at Amazon
$897.99
Save $300
We’re in peak sports season, y’all. Besides the action of the Stanley Cup playoffs and NBA playoffs, there’s a fresh MLB season taking shape. If your TV is looking dull or lagging, it’s a prime time to upgrade — especially since you can find some epic deals on 2025 models.
As of April 21, the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is on sale at Amazon for only $597.99. That’s 33% or $300 off its current list price, as well as its lowest price to date.
As Mashable’s TV expert Leah Stodart explains, “Neo QLED is really just Samsung’s proprietary term for QLED paired with Mini LED.” So, the QN70F features a panel of quantum dots over a bunch of tiny LED bulbs instead of a basic LED panel. The result? A stunning display with impressive color accuracy, deep blacks, and spectacular contrast. All the little details will look good no matter the lighting conditions in your room.
This TV uses an NQ4 AI Gen2 processor to upscale content and enhance the quality of anything you’re watching. So even those old episodes of Friends will look more impressive on the QN70F. And thanks to a 144Hz variable refresh rate, gaming and sports will look noticeably smoother and less laggy than your old set.
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If an upgrade is in order, but you don’t want to spend a ton of money, the Samsung QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is an excellent value at full price. At $300 off, it’s a steal.
Entertainment
The secret to faster AI output is better prompts
TL;DR: If writing prompts slows you down, VibeFarm helps you build, save, and reuse them for a one-time $39.99 for lifetime access.
Anyone using AI regularly already knows the real bottleneck isn’t the tools — it’s the prompts. Getting them just right can take longer than the actual work, and once you do land on a great one, it’s usually buried in chat history or lost in a notes app somewhere.
This is the issue VibeFarm aims to eliminate. It’s not another AI generator — it’s a prompt composition workspace designed to help you stay in the flow.
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Instead of starting from scratch every time, you can build structured prompts using layered fields, refine them with built-in tools, and save them as reusable “VibeCards” for future use.
With access to 10,000+ premium prompts and a system built for remixing and iteration, you can turn one successful prompt into a repeatable asset. Whether you’re working on visuals, writing, video, or something in between, everything stays organized and easy to reuse.
It also plays nicely with the tools you already use. You can export clean prompts directly into platforms like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or other AI tools — no formatting headaches. And with version control and rollback options, you can experiment without losing what worked.
This platform helps you cut wasted time from your AI workflow while keeping your best ideas working for you long after you’ve created them.
Mashable Deals
Get lifetime VibeFarm Lite access on sale for just $39.99 (reg. $179) for a limited time.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
The gorgeous yet budget-friendly Samsung QN70F Neo QLED TV is the cheapest its ever been
