Over the Line (28 Apr. 1989)

Director:

Russ Mayberry

Writers:

Anthony Yerkovich (creator), Terry McDonell (teleplay),

Stars:

Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Saundra Santiago

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Don Johnson	...	Detective James Crockett
Philip Michael Thomas	...	Detective Ricardo Tubbs
Saundra Santiago	...	Detective Gina Calabrese
Michael Talbott	...	Detective Stan Switek
Olivia Brown	...	Detective Trudy Joplin
Edward James Olmos	...	Lt. Martin Castillo
Tomas Arana	...	Walter Stevens
Robert Fields	...	Capt. Richard Highsmith
Anthony Barrile	...	Johnny
John Galateo	...	Reginald Hawkins
Martin Ferrero	...	Izzy Moreno
Ed Amatrudo	...	Tommy T.
Shawn Burke	...	Policeman #2
Carol Cadby	...	Housewife
Kevin Corrigan	...	Jamison

Storyline

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Release Date:

28 April 1989 (USA)

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Quotes

Lt. Martin Castillo: We have a problem.
Capt. Richard Highsmith: Well, that's for damn sure.

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Soundtracks

"I'm Life"
(uncredited)
Performed by The Fixx

User Reviews

Going after cops who break the rules to make a bust

As Crockett and Tubbs move in to bust a drugs deal they find their operation thwarted when somebody in an ice cream van calls out a warning! They have no idea who the man was but he turns up again causing another operation to fail; although strangely he doesn't blow their cover even though he must know they are cops. As Crockett and Tubbs leave the scene they are bundled into two cars and driven away. It turns out their kidnappers are fellow police officers who are running a force within a force; doing whatever it takes to make sure the bad guys end up in jail. They invite Crockett and Tubbs to join them and they accept… then inform Lt. Castillo about what is going on. He orders them to continue so they can take down the rogue cops.

This was a decent episode with some good action; although it wasn't of the level one would expect in earlier seasons; the reduced budget is clearly showing. When it emerged that the episode's main villains were cops going too far to get the bad guys I feared that it was going to turn into a 'Magnum Force' rip-off but thankfully it didn't go that far; they may have been breaking the law but they weren't committing extrajudicial executions… at least most of them weren't. We were also shown that not all of them were comfortable with what they were doing. The case took place against a background of police budget cuts which went someway to explain why some officers would break the rules to secure convictions without justifying their actions. Some humour was injected into the situation by the appearance of Izzy; this time he was literally a snake oil salesman… claiming it worked as a sunscreen! Overall this was a solid enough episode although not a classic.