Wiseguy

Wiseguy
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Stephen J. Cannell Frank Lupo
Starring	Ken Wahl Jonathan Banks with Jim Byrnes as 'Lifeguard'
Composer(s)	Mike Post
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	75
Production
Executive producer(s)	David J. Burke
Producer(s)	Stephen J. Cannell Brent-Karl Clackson Rod Holcomb Alfonse Ruggiero
Running time	60 mins. (approx)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 16, 1987 – December 8, 1990

Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J. Cannell and was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia to avoid the higher studio costs associated with filming in Los Angeles.

Synopsis

The series followed Vincent "Vinnie" Terranova, an undercover agent of the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau), a fictional division of the FBI. The show differed from previous crime dramas in its use of "story arcs" and in its focusing as much on the sometimes unpleasant consequences of the protagonist's actions as on the mechanics of the detective work.

Characters

Vinnie Terranova in the Sonny Steelgrave Arc

Vincent Terranova

Vincent Michael "Vinnie" Terranova (Ken Wahl) is an undercover agent who is 30 years old when the series begins. His job is to infiltrate criminal organizations, gather evidence, and then destroy the organization and bring the guilty parties to justice. At the beginning of the show, he is estranged from his family because of an eighteen-month prison sentence (meant to establish his "wiseguy" credentials with the criminal underworld) and continued ties to criminals. His Italian-born mother, Carlotta (Elsa Raven) calls him "Vincenzo" but his legal name is Vincent. Vinnie was often seen wearing Fordham University sweatshirts and hats so by inference he is a Fordham graduate.
Note: there was a real-life wise guy named Vincenzo Terranova, often anglicized as "Vincent", brother of Ciro Terranova and fellow leader of the Morello crime family; he was killed in 1922.

Jonathan Banks as Frank McPike

Frank McPike

Frank McPike (Jonathan Banks) is Vinnie's superior officer, who assigns Vinnie to cases, supplies him with important information and coordinates back-up support. Since McPike is a known law enforcement official and Vinnie is deep undercover, McPike will often have Vinnie arrested on a trumped-up charge so that he can talk to Vinnie without revealing his identity. Like many characters in law-enforcement dramas, Frank has a troubled marriage. He separates from his wife and, in one episode, diverts some money recovered from a gangster to pay for a liver transplant for her, thinking wrongly that this will cause her to take him back. Later, she is taken hostage in their home, and Frank personally shoots the criminal to free her. At the end, they are still not reconciled.

Jim Byrnes as Daniel "Lifeguard" Burroughs

Daniel "Lifeguard" Burroughs

Lifeguard (Jim Byrnes), whom Vinnie communicates with almost exclusively by telephone, is Vinnie's other contact person. Vinnie (ideally) calls him every morning with the latest updates on the case, and Lifeguard provides him with quick updates. He also, under the name of Mike Terranova, provides Vinnie with an emergency contact number (555-4958, a play on Vince's agent number), without revealing Vinnie's true identity. (The cover location is "Sailor Hardware"; the codephrase "Uncle Mike" indicates an emergency request for assistance). Like McPike, Daniel is divorced as a result of his work. His ex-wife stays in close contact, apparently because Daniel has resources she wants. Daniel endures this with resentment. Eventually he forms a relationship with OCB's west coast Lifeguard operator when Vinnie's investigations take him to Washington State.

Reccurring characters

• Father Pete Terranova played by Gerald Anthony
• Carlotta Terranova (Aiuppo) played by Elsa Raven
• Paul Beckstead played by Ken Jenkins
• Mark Cermak played by Dwight Koss

Sonny Steelgrave storyline

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 after Dave Steelgrave's death and the apparent defection of one of Steelgrave's captains. When Vinnie finally tried to bring him to justice, Steelgrave committed suicide rather than face prison. Vinnie was ultimately able to exorcize the guilt he felt over his betrayal of Sonny during a brief stay at a sanitarium.

Arc Cast

• Ray Sharkey as Sonny Steelgrave
• Dennis Lipscomb as Sid Royce/Elvis Prim
• Eric Christmas as Harry "The Hunch" Shanstra
• Joe Dallesandro as Pat "The Cat" Patrice
• Joe Shea as Mack "No Money" Mahoney
• Nathan Davis as Don "Joey Bags" Baglia
• Robert Mangiardi as Aldo Baglia

Mel Profitt storyline

Vinnie, using his reputation developed as a result of infiltrating the Steelgrave crime family, made contact with a hitman/assassin named Roger Loccoco (William Russ). However, Vinnie soon discovered a much bigger target: Roger's boss, the (mentally unstable) multi-billionaire international criminal mastermind and arms dealer Mel Profitt (Kevin Spacey), and his sister Susan (Joan Severance). Mel had a heroin addiction which further contributed to his unstable emotional state. 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. It is worth mentioning that the arc alluded to an incestuous relationship between Mel and Susan. 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 into taking a six-month sabbatical instead.

Stephen J. Cannell, producer of Wiseguy, stated that the character Jim Profit from the short-lived Fox series Profit (which Cannell also produced) was named after and partially based on the Mel Profitt character.

Arc Cast

• Joan Severance as Susan Profitt
• Kevin Spacey as Mel Profitt
• William Russ as Roger Lococco
• David Spielberg as Herb Ketcher
• Melanie Chartoff as Lillah Warfield
• Ben Halley, Jr. as Henri LaLonde
• Clyde Kusatsu as Kenny Sasusha
• Will Zahrn as Charles Shagrass

White Supremacy storyline

At the beginning of 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 (Gerald Anthony) is 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 used car salesman and con man "Dr." Knox Pooley (Fred Thompson), and his "true believer" follower Calvin Hollis (Paul Guilfoyle). While Pooley's organization, the "Pilgrims of Promise," is both racist and anti-Semitic, the character himself is portrayed as hypocritical and amoral. Vinnie quickly brought down the organization, but the slippery Pooley escaped prosecution and was last seen in Florida, selling condominium timeshares to Jewish retirees. The story suggested Pooley was nothing but a swindler and Hollis the dangerous one.

Arc Cast

• Tim Guinee as Richard T. (Ritchie) Stramm
• John M. Jackson as Daryl Elias
• Fred Dalton Thompson as Knox Pooley
• Paul Guilfoyle as Calvin Hollis
• Jack Orend as Stan Corker
• Kerry Sandomirsky as Angela Terranova

Garment Trade storyline

David Sternberg (Ron Silver) and his father Eli (Jerry Lewis) ran a clothing business, and were being squeezed by the fearsome gangster Rick Pinzolo (Stanley Tucci). David goes to the OCB for help, thus Vinnie is recruited to act as security for the Sternbergs. 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 an on-set 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. Joan Chen appeared in one episode of this arc, as a rebellious Chinese sweatshop worker with whom the married Raglin briefly has an affair.

Arc Cast

• Jerry Lewis as Eli Sternberg
• Ron Silver as David Sternberg
• Stanley Tucci as Enrico "Ricky" Pinzolo
• Anthony Denison as John Henry Raglin
• Harry Goz as Phil
• Patricia Charbonneau as Carole Goldman

Dead Dog Records storyline

Upon his recovery, Vinnie's next assignment took him into the music business, where he dealt with music impresario Isaac Twine (Paul Winfield) and his wife Amber (Patti D'Arbanville). He was set up as a new executive in a front company, "Dead Dog Records", which was originally created by the Drug Enforcement Agency, who offered it to the OCB when their investigation ended. Vinnie then attempted to infiltrate the music industry in search of corruption. The principal villain of this arc is English record mogul Winston Newquay (pronounced Noo-kway in the show, rather than Nyoo-key in the English fashion). Newquay, played by Tim Curry, ruthlessly cheats the artists under his control, funneling their money into his own companies while hiding his activities with accounting tricks.

Debbie Harry, Deidre Hall and Glenn Frey also appear during this story arc. In 1993, Chicago rock band The Lilacs put out a record called Penelope on a label called Dead Dog Records in homage to the show.

Arc Cast

• Tim Curry as Winston Newquay
• Patti D'Arbanville as Theresa "Amber" Twine
• Glenn Frey as Robert "Bobby" Travis
• Deidre Hall as Claudia Newquay
• Deborah Harry as Diana Price
• Paul McCrane as Johnny Medley
• Pamela Seagall as Tanya Medley
• Paul Winfield as Isaac Twine
• Billy Wirth as Eddie Tempest
• Ron Taylor as Monroe Blue

Mafia Wars storyline

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 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 Aiuppo had been manipulating him to exact revenge on some rivals. An enraged Vinnie angrily told Aiuppo that, stepfather or not, he wanted nothing more to do with him. Aiuppo in turn tried to drive a wedge between Vinnie and his mother by implying that he had learned of Vinnie's undercover role from her. In reality, he had bugged a payphone outside his hospital room, thinking that the various Mafiosi visiting him would be using it just after taking their leave. Vinnie had used it to contact Uncle Mike.

Arc Cast

• Robert Davi as Albert Cerrico
• George O. Petrie as Raphael Gaitanio Aiuppo, Rudy Flowers, aka Don Aiuppo
• Tony Mike Romano as Poochy
• John Snyder as Joey Grosset
• Michael Chiklis as Carlo Spoletta
• Anne De Salvo as Gina Grosset
• Chazz Palminteri as Peter Allatore

Washington, D.C. storyline

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 sought payback for damaging fallout from the Mel Profitt case. Based on the real-life Operation Bernhard, the conspirators aim to undermine the Japanese economy by printing large amounts of counterfeit Yen, smuggling them into Japan on cargo aircraft, and then announcing it all in order to devalue the currency. After the revelation, a convenient scapegoat is supposed to take the blame, in this case, Vinnie. When the plan is foiled en route, Vinnie nevertheless becomes the focus of an investigation, and is only saved when a third party "connects the dots" for the investigating committee.

Arc Cast

• Norman Lloyd as General Leland Masters
• Stephen Joyce as Admiral Walter Strichen
• Kim Greist as Katherine (Kay) Gallagher
• Robert Harper as Dewitt Clipton
• Ray Stricklyn as Senator Pickering
• Stan Shaw as Major Vernon Biggs
• Georgann Johnson as Senator Janet Getzloff

Lynchboro/Seattle storyline

Vinnie was made a deputy of a small town in Washington State, 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 the electrocution suicide of the town Sheriff (David Strathairn), which brought back flashbacks of Sonny Steelgrave. Unable to cope with the memories, Vinnie fled, but not before contacting Roger Lococco, who took his place, and working with McPike, brought Volchek to his senses and freed the town. (This story-arc was, in mood and setting, eerily prescient of the early episodes of the show "Twin Peaks," which debuted a few weeks after the sequence was aired.)

After the Volchek investigation had ended McPike went looking for Vinnie, who had taken a job with a Seattle company that was illegally dumping medical waste. Embroiled in the company manager's desperate attempts at covering up, Vinnie fled in repulsion from hired assassins as well as from his own burgeoning violent impulse, to find respite in a city church. Just as McPike found him in hiding there, a would-be assassin's bullet missed Vinnie and critically wounded McPike, propelling Vinnie on a final pursuit of justice.

Arc Cast

• Steve Ryan as Steven Volchek
• David Strathairn as Sheriff Matthew Stemkowsky
• James Stacy as Edward Rogosheske
• Darlanne Fluegel as Lacey Marseille
• Neil Gray Giuntoli as Donny

Guzman/New York DA storyline

When the fourth season started, McPike had (apparently) fully recovered from his gunshot wound -- so much so that while he sat shirtless in one scene, the absence of scar tissue on his chest was evident. 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, the new series lead replacing Wahl), and soon discovered that Vinnie had been murdered by a death squad. (In real life, 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.

With the Guzman investigation closed, McPike convinced Santana to become an official OCB agent, but just as he was entering the job, the entire OCB organization was eliminated due to federal budget cuts. McPike, Santana and Lifeguard were immediately hired by the New York District Attorney's office, and began to investigate the New York drug underworld, as well as its death grip on a particular inner city high school run by the hardline and humanitarian educator Jesse Hains (Billy Dee Williams). However, their investigation was cut short by Wiseguy's declining ratings and cancellation by CBS.

Arc Cast

• Maximillian Schell as Amado Guzman
• Steven Bauer as U.S. Attorney Michael Santana
• Cecil Hoffman as U.S. Attorney Hillary Stein
• Billy Dee Williams as Jesse Hains

Non-arc episodes

There were also several stand-alone episodes between the arcs, most of which dealt with the personal lives of the main characters. For instance, after the "Dead Dog Records" arc, Vinnie has a liaison with Amber Twine, who was widowed when her husband suffered a heart attack during the main story. He attempts to live in her world of late nights with musicians but finds he has no interest in it, and she has no interest in his world. This sequence featured a cameo by blues harp player Kim Wilson and his band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

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 (it aired against NBC megahits Friends and Seinfeld) and Ken Wahl's recurrent back and neck problems seem to preclude another Wiseguy revival. The movie was rerun on Sleuth in 2008.

Awards

DVD releases

Venture Distribution released the entire first season of Wiseguy on DVD in Region 1 in two 11-episode volumes. StudioWorks Entertainment released two volume sets, one featuring episodes from Season 2, the other containing episodes from Season 3. The above releases are now out of print.

The first season became available on iTunes on April 28, 2008.

In May 2009, Mill Creek Entertainment announced that they had acquired the rights to Wiseguy; they subsequently released the complete first season on August 25, 2009. [1]

Trivia

• The first airing of the season one finale "No One Gets out of Here Alive" features The Rascals' "Good Lovin'" and The Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin," but the latter song was subsequently replaced by various songs or an overdub of score music in later re-airings.

External links

• Wiseguy at the Internet Movie Database
• Wiseguy (1996 TV movie) at the Internet Movie Database
• Wiseguy at TV.com
• Wiseguy at epguides.com
• Presidential candidate Fred Thompson on Wiseguy
• Stephen J. Cannell's Archive of American Television Interview