TV Reviews : ‘The Take’: Another Miami Drug-Tale Thriller

Another cocaine-laced cop thriller set in Miami, “The Take” (tonight at 9 on the USA cable network) is a hyperactive “Miami Vice.” The star is Ray Sharkey, a detective gone wrong who can’t stay out of trouble even when he tries to go straight.

The drug tale is derivative of Colombian/Cuban carnage exploding along sumptuous waterfront mansions and in dingy topless bars. But the deja vu in “The Take” is qualified by the show’s unusual level of violence (exploitative, to be sure) and the flavorful look at ethnic Miami neighborhoods.

From Jai Alai to dominoes, from a smattering of sexual bondage to silky (always silky) Hispanic drug lords and their grinning henchmen, the production is visually seductive. It’s tempting to say “The Take” is all style in search of a story. Actually, as a variation on a dreary and overwrought subject, the script by Edward Anhalt and Nevin Schreiner is a well-structured piece of furniture that’s been buffed so hard it gleams.

Filmed in Miami, the show features some tasty heavies and textured performances by a pair of Sharkey cop buddies (Joe Lala and R. Lee Ermey). As Sharkey’s loyal wife, Lisa Hartman is largely wasted.

The point-blank killings and indiscriminate Uzi spraying in dance halls and food stands is gross.