Wiseguy

1987

Seasons & Episodes

  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
7.8| 0h30m| TV-14| en| More Info
Released: 16 September 1987 Ended
Producted By: Stephen J. Cannell Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Vinnie Terranova does time in a New Jersey penitentiary to set up his undercover role as an agent for the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau) of the United States. His roots in a traditional Italian city neighborhood form the underlying dramatic base throughout the series, bringing him into conflict with his conservative mother and other family members while acting undercover as syndicate enforcer.

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Stephen J. Cannell Productions

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Reviews

Karry Best movie of this year hands down!
Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece
Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
bluesteele I remembered this late 80's/early 90's show for its look, high production values, and Ken Wahl's wholly believable turn as Vinne Terranova. After it was recently released (again) on DVD, I picked up Season One from Amazon. It's been very hard to hit 'pause' and come back later! And certainly worth every penny. Wahl is even better than I remembered (I don't think he ever ended up doing anything again after leaving Wiseguy), and the rest of the cast--especially those who were brought on as Wahl's antagonists for the multi-episode story 'arcs' like Ray Starkey and Kevin Spacey--bring their 'A' game (which seems unusual for that era of television.) What struck me in scene after scene is that Wahl not only seems perfectly cast in this role, he has SERIOUS presence and acting chops. His acting, which never seems forced or 'over the top,' seemingly pushes first rate actors like Starkey and Spacey to give it THEIR best . . . there's almost a competitive edge to the extended scenes where Wahl and these guys are truly going for it in an acting sense.Some of the scriptwriting is a little corny by today's standards, and the plots . . . peculiar (I'm thinking of the Mel Profit arc where Terranova and Profit's right hand man are sent to Tennessee to "straighten out the business"). Jonathan Banks, who plays Terranova's FBI handler, seems overly heated and one dimensional for the most part (a criticism that may have been contemporary as he occasionally breaks character to show some kind of human side). Not a particularly memorable turn.The other reviews here suggest that things dropped off after Season One, so I probably will skip those . . . but Season One is a serious work of early episodic television.
policy134 The show was a highly entertaining but something that was even more rare at that time was that it had a continuing story arc. It was seldomly seen in prime time and especially not in shows that weren't soap operas.The first story arc was and still is the best in my opinion. The character Sonny Steelgrave was a more sanitized version of the Scorsese gangsters of the 90's and that's what made him more believable than most characters on TV. Ken Wahl was not my first reason for watching the show although he never had a better role than this one. His exaggerated Italian-American accent made it hard for me to take him seriously. As the series progressed his character became more complicated and therefore he was more worth seeing than in the first story arc. The interval show between the first and second story arcs was one of the best episodes on TV ever.The second story with Kevin Spacey was equally fascinating and you could see why he later became a major star. Joan Severance was good eye candy but nothing more.Like so many series it slowly deteriorated into corn, especially the story arc with Deborah Harry. But all through the series there were ace performers like Jerry Lewis, mimicking his performance in King of Comedy and Tim Curry, a long way away from his Frank 'n' Furter role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. So even though Ken Wahl was fired the show didn't suffer that greatly and Steven Bauer was a good replacement but the stories got more weak and that was what ultimately killed the show.Side note: It is also funny to see a movie like Donnie Brasco several years later which was a true story and know that Wiseguy was basically the same concept even though it was pure entertainment.
mppeck85260 The first season of Wiseguy was by far the best, mostly due to Spacey. For all you Kevin Spacey fans, if you have never seen his performance in this show, it is a MUST. I had not been exposed to him until then, and his performance had me mesmerized, hooked, wanting more. Because of his performance in this particular show, I made it a point to see many of his other works over the years. If you are a Spacey fan, make it a point to watch the reruns of the first season of Wiseguy. (It's probably on DVD...somewhere). This show in general, especially the first season had some additional memorable performances also by Ray Sharkey and Joan Severance. I so looked forward on Wednesday nights to the show and only wished it had survived at least a few more years.
blkeagle I enjoyed watching Wiseguy. It was the first crime drama which took criminals and made them PEOPLE. Never mind you didn't like most of them...they were people. Also, Jim's role as Vinnie's "bodyguard" and protector when things got 'too hot' was great....in my case, it placed a different perspective on those getting around in a wheelchair. Also, Vinnie's boss was tough and gentle at the same time....Cannell REALLY did a good job with this show, from preproduction promotion to the execution of each episode. I even stayed up late at night to watch the reruns on the CBS Late Movie!Settummmanque!

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