Movies - Wiseguy

	Movies - 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.

Characters

Vincent Terranova (Ken Wahl)

Vincent Michael "Vinnie" Terranova is an undercover agent in his late 20's to mid-30's. 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 several prison sentences (meant to establish his "wiseguy" credentials with the criminal underworld).

===Frank McPike (Jonathan Banks
)=== Frank McPike 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 he talk to Vinnie without revealing his identity.

===Daniel "Lifeguard" Burroughs (Jim Byrnes
)=== Lifeguard (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 nom de plume 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.)

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. Vinnie was never able to exorcize the guilt he felt over his betrayal of Sonny.

Mel Proffitt

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 Proffitt (Kevin Spacey
), and his sister Susan (Joan Severance
). Mel had a little heroin problem which added to his emotional hiccups. 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 episode alluded to an insestuous 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 to taking a six-month sabbatical instead.

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. The story suggested Pooley was nothing but a chisler, Hollis the dangerous one.

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