Episode: Season
Three, Episode Sixteen: “Theresa”
Original airdate:
February 13, 1987
Directed by:
Virgil W. Vogel
Written by: Pamela
Norris, a former SNL scribe.
Summary:
Crockett’s steady girlfriend Theresa (Helena Bonham Carter,
baby-faced and adorable even while injecting street-grade Dilaudid between her
toes), a surgeon with a nasty addiction to illicit painkillers, is blackmailed
by her dealer into snooping through Crockett’s files and stealing the address
of the police property warehouse. The warehouse is subsequently blown to
smithereens, killing several police officers and obliterating all the evidence
in Crockett’s ongoing investigation into a dangerous drug lord named Joey Wyatt
(Brad Dourif, Hollywood ’s
favorite go-to actor for crazy-eyed slimeballs).
With a smarmy
Internal Affairs agent (Zach Grenier, who is also on Hollywood ’s
shortlist for crazy-eyed slimeballs) out for his blood, a suspended Crockett
scrambles to salvage Theresa’s medical license and his own reputation.
Crockett successfully tricks Wyatt into confessing to the
attack on the evidence warehouse, but Theresa sneaks out of rehab and
overdoses. Realizing that his line of work could only get in the way of her
recovery (after all, he spends most of his time hobnobbing with drug dealers),
a heartbroken Crockett packs her off to a rehab clinic in Connecticut .
Iconic Moments:
This episode is famous for introducing American audiences to
Helena Bonham Carter, who manages to seem very brainy and likeable even while inadvertently causing the deaths of police officers and destroying Crockett’s career.
It also features a classic opening sequence, in which a
helicopter dumps a monstrous amount of cocaine into the ocean during Vice’s
raid on Joey Wyatt’s mansion.
Themes:
Crockett’s line of work has a nasty tendency to annihilate
everything it touches, particularly when it comes to his love interests. The
series is more or less bookended by his two marriages: At the start of the
series, his marriage to Caroline (Belinda Montgomery) ends in divorce and
estrangement, while by the close of the fourth season, his marriage to Caitlin
(Sheena Easton) ends with her violent death. The space in between is filled
with a series of unhappy or downright tragic relationships, most of which get
scuttled to pieces by the nature of Crockett’s job.
It’s All in the
Details:
Even by Miami
Sign of the Times:
Joey Wyatt’s henchman’s entire image—his low-cut snakeskin-patterned workout tank, his slicked-back mullet, his thick gold chain, his shiny belt and wristband—is wholly, unapologetically 1987. Sir, whoever you are, I salute you.
Joey Wyatt’s henchman’s entire image—his low-cut snakeskin-patterned workout tank, his slicked-back mullet, his thick gold chain, his shiny belt and wristband—is wholly, unapologetically 1987. Sir, whoever you are, I salute you.
Music Notes:
Jan Hammer’s eponymous instrumental track “Theresa” plays
several times throughout the episode. “Jewel” by the German New Wave band
Propaganda is also used, though the standout track is “Wasteland” by gothic rock
band The Mission. IMDB lists Ultravox’s “Lament” on this episode’s soundtrack,
but I don't know how it was used; either I missed it or the song was pulled from the DVD release.
Rating:
Three and a half flamingos.
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