Wiseguy

Wiseguy (1987-1990) was a U.S. television program about Vincent "Vinnie" Terranova, an undercover agent of the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau), a fictional division of the FBI. Produced by Stephen J. Cannell, the show differed from previous crime dramas in its use of "Arcs" (the telling of a single story over a series of episodes), and in its focusing as much on the sometimes unpleasant consequences of the protagonist's actions, as on the mechanics of the detective work.

Arcs (Warning: Spoilers)

Sonny Steelgrave

Vinnie was launched into the first arc upon his release from prison. Sonny Steelgrave (Ray Sharkey) was the leader of Atlantic City mafia; his brother Dave assassinated Vinnie's training agent, who had been investigating the Steelgrave organization. Vinnie infiltrated Steelgrave's "family," and worked his way up to be Sonny Steelgrave's right-hand man. When Vinnie finally tried to bring him to justice, Steelgrave committed suicide rather than face prison. Steelgrave's last words to Vinnie (an angry "I loved you, man") wracked Vinnie with guilt for months.

Related Topics:
Ray Sharkey - Mafia

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Mel Proffitt

Vinnie's next case was an international arms dealer named Roger Loccoco (William Russ). However, Vinnie soon discovered a much bigger target: Roger's boss, the (mentally unstable) multi-billionaire international criminal mastermind Mel Proffitt (Kevin Spacey), and his sister Susan (Joan Severance). After much international intrigue involving Mel, Susan and Loccoco (who turned out to be a CIA agent, under even deeper cover than Vinnie), the entire organization was destroyed. Susan killed Mel (after he begged her to), and had a torrid affair with Vinnie, but subsequently went insane and was committed. Roger was seemingly killed in an explosion, but he briefly appeared to Vinnie afterwards. Disgusted with his own lies and deceptions ("I've turned friendship and loyalty into a sick joke"), Vinnie attempted to quit the OCB, but McPike talked him to taking a six-month sabbatical instead.

Related Topics:
William Russ - Kevin Spacey - Joan Severance - CIA - Sabbatical

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White Supremacy

At the beginning the second season, Vinnie had no intention of rejoining the OCB, and was trying figure out what to do with his life. When his brother Pete was killed by a white supremacist, however, Vinnie returned to the OCB, on the condition that he could go after his brother's killer. He quickly fell in with a supremacist group, headed by the opportunistic con man Knox Pooley (Fred Dalton Thompson), and his "true believer" goon Calvin Hollis (Paul Guilfoyle). Vinnie quickly brought down the organization, but the slippery Pooley escaped prosecution and was last seen in Florida, selling condominium timeshares to Jewish retirees!

Related Topics:
Fred Dalton Thompson - Paul Guilfoyle

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Garment District

A talk with childhood friend David Sternberg (Ron Silver) led Vinnie to his next assignment, the garment trade. David and his father Eli (Jerry Lewis) ran a clothing business, and were being squeezed by the fearsome gangster Rick Pinzolo (Stanley Tucci). After a small-time loanshark attacked and injured Vinnie, he was temporarily replaced by retired agent John Henry Raglin (Anthony Denison). (Note: in reality, star Ken Wahl had broken his ankle in a motorcycle accident, and was written out while he recovered.) Raglin brought down (and killed) Pinzolo, but not in time to save Eli's business or David's life.

Related Topics:
Ron Silver - Jerry Lewis - Stanley Tucci - Anthony Denison

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Dead Dog Records

Upon his recovery, Vinnie's next assignment took him into the music business, where he dealt with music impressario Isaac Twine (Paul Winfield) and his wife Amber (Patti D'Arbanville). Debbie Harry and Tim Curry also appeared during this story arc.

Related Topics:
Paul Winfield - Patti D'Arbanville - Debbie Harry - Tim Curry

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Mafia Turf Wars

At the beginning of the third season, Vinnie had not been assigned any recent cases, but, in usual Wiseguy fashion, a case found him. Vinnie's stepfather, Don Rudy Aiuppo (George O. Petrie) was shot and wounded, leaving Vinnie as the temporary head of the local mafia commission! Vinnie investigated the other members, including Albert Cericco (Robert Davi). Eventually, Vinnie brought down most of the commission, only to find that Aiuppo had been manipulating him as a way to exact revenge on some rivals. An enraged Vinnie angrily told Aiuppo that, stepfather or not, he wanted nothing more to do with him.

Related Topics:
George O. Petrie - Robert Davi

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Japanese Yen

Vinnie was summoned to the Justice Department and put in charge of an investigation of Japanese Yen counterfeiting, unaware that the whole thing was a setup by certain unscrupulous government figures who seeked payback for damaging fallout from the Mel Proffitt case.

Related Topics:
Yen - Counterfeiting

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Small Town Sheriff

Vinnie was made a deputy of a small midwestern town, where local strongman Mark Volchek (Steve Ryan) was, essentially, treating the town like his own personal dictatorship. Vinnie was on his way to adding Volchek to his list of victories when he witnessed an electrocution suicide, which brought back flashbacks of Sonny Steelgrave. Unable to cope with the memories, Vinnie fled the town, but not before contacting Roger Loccoco, who took his place, and working with McPike, brought down Volchek. After the Volchek investigation had ended McPike went looking for Vinnie; just as he found him, a would-be assassin's bullet missed Vinnie and gravely wounded McPike.

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The Fourth Season

When the fourth season started, McPike had (apparently) fully recovered. Vinnie had been investigating the Miami mafia, and suddenly went missing. His apartment was empty, but showed signs of a struggle. McPike went down to Miami, hooked up with disbarred U.S. Attorney Michael Santana (Steven Bauer), and soon discovered that Vinnie had been murdered by a death squad. (In reality, there had been a major dispute between star Ken Wahl and the producers, and he was no longer with the show.) Soon, McPike and Santana were infiltrating the organization of Cuban-American crime lord Armando Guzman (Maximilian Schell), and with the help of U.S. Attorney Hillary Stein (Cecil Hoffman), destroyed his organization as well. Afterwards, McPike made Santana an official OCB agent, but the entire OCB organization was soon eliminated due to federal budget cuts. McPike, Santana, and Lifeguard were immediately hired by the New York District Attorney's office, and began to infiltrate the New York drug underworld, led by kingpin Jesse Hains (Billy Dee Williams). However, their investigation was cut short by Wiseguy's declining ratings and cancellation by CBS.

Related Topics:
Steven Bauer - Maximilian Schell - Cecil Hoffman - Billy Dee Williams

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The TV Movie

In 1996, a reunion Wiseguy movie starring Ken Wahl aired on ABC. In the movie, Vinnie (who was still alive; as far as this movie was concerned, the fourth season had never happened) had spent several years on wiretapping duty, as punishment for being Aiuppo's dupe during Season 3's mafia angle, and (presumably) abandoning his duty during the Volchek investigation. Vinnie is ordered to infiltrate the organization of criminal boss Paul Callendar (Ted Levine). The movie had many of the same themes as the TV show, including Vinnie's constant conflict in betraying the people he had grown to care about. While the movie was a critical success, its mediocre ratings and Ken Wahl's recurrent back and neck problems seem to preclude another Wiseguy revival.

Related Topics:
Reunion - Wiretapping - Ted Levine

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