The Most Iconic Police Partners In TV History

The mid-1980s were marked by glitz and glamor. Flashy, ultra-cool stars paraded across the screen, and even cop shows got in on the trend. In "Miami Vice," big city police partners were re-envisioned as slick, stylish crime fighters in the form of Florida detectives James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. The pairing brought elegance and chic to the genre, as the well-dressed duo chased down criminals in between taking in the sun and the surf.

A pair of heroes for the MTV generation, Crockett and Tubbs always looked good, sported the hottest outfits, and drove the nicest cars — and they did so with an unrivaled panache. What could have easily devolved into a cheesy affair became effervescent and modern, and it was punctuated by a dutiful fight against Miami's criminal underworld. A perfect mix of style, humor, and suspenseful crime stories, "Miami Vice" put the heroes through their paces, turning both actors into bonafide sex symbols and unforgettable legends of the 1980s.

Revered in the annals of TV history, a film adaptation eventually made its way to the big screen in 2006, with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx starring as Crockett and Tubbs. The two A-listers gave it their all, but, no matter how charming and slick they were, Farrell and Foxx were always going to struggle to match the iconic performances of Johnson and Thomas. The big screen reboot failed to live up to expectations, with critics advising viewers to go back and check out the series instead.