WISEGUY (1988)

Wiseguy

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For other uses, see Wise guy (disambiguation).

Wiseguy
Wiseguy title, season one
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Stephen J. Cannell Frank Lupo
Starring	Ken Wahl Steven Bauer Jonathan Banks Jim Byrnes
Composer(s)	Mike Post
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	75
Production
Executiveproducer(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. 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. Ken Wahl played the title role, but left following the third season. Steven Bauer replaced him for the abbreviated fourth season. The series also starred Jonathan Banks and Jim Byrnes, who were the only two regular cast members to appear in all four seasons.

The show placed #74 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.^[1]

Contents   [hide]  1 Synopsis 2 Characters 2.1 Vincent Terranova 2.2 Frank McPike 2.3 Daniel Benjamin "Lifeguard" Burroughs 2.4 Recurring characters 3 Storylines 3.1 Sonny Steelgrave storyline 3.2 Mel Profitt storyline 3.3 White Supremacy storyline 3.4 Garment Trade storyline 3.5 Dead Dog Records storyline 3.6 Mafia Wars storyline 3.7 Washington, D.C. storyline 3.8 Lynchboro/Seattle storyline 3.9 Guzman/New York DA storyline 3.10 Non-arc episodes 4 TV movie 5 Awards 6 DVD releases 7 Trivia 8 References 9 External links

[edit]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 focus on both the mechanics of being undercover and the consequences of the protagonist's actions.^[2]

[edit]Characters

[edit]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 as his brother Pete is a Fordham graduate

[edit]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 after diverting some money recovered from a gangster to pay for a liver transplant for her. 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.

[edit]Daniel Benjamin "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.

[edit]Recurring 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
• Mel Profitt played by Kevin Spacey

[edit]Storylines

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. After Raglin breaks Pinzolo's jaw, the character has his jaw wired shut, requiring Tucci to talk through clenched teeth afterward.

#	Episode	Season
28	7th Avenue Freeze Out	2
29	Next of Kin	2
30	All or Nothing	2
31	Where's the Money	2
32	Postcard From Morocco	2

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

Jerry Lewis, as Eli Sternberg, won raves from critics for his dramatic performance in a five part episode of this series, from December 1988-January 1989.