Wiseguy

1987 - 1990

Wiseguy (1)

16th September 1987

Episode 1

Vinnie is released from prison where he has been for two years to establish his cover. He meets his boss, Frank McPike and gets to see his coach and mentor, Jerry Greco. Greco is killed and Vinnie demands to be put in to finish the investigation. He uses his ingenuity to get a foothold in the Steelgrave crime family, but it will take a while to finish this job.

Wiseguy (2)

16th September 1987

Episode 2

Vinnie and Sonny's right hand man, Tony Grecco, has a run-in with the cops causing Vinnie to be arrested. The Steelgraves find that guns are being exported illegally using their pier and decide to take possession of the guns and sell them back to the owner.

New Blood

24th September 1987

Episode 3

In an attempt to take over Sonny Steelgrave’s business, mob head Paul Patrice frames Sonny for several murder attempts he makes on the life of the special prosecutor investigating Sonny.

The Loose Cannon

1st October 1987

Episode 4

A psychopathic murderer posing as Sonny's nephew double-crosses Sonny and holds Vinnie's girlfriend Gina hostage.

The Birthday Surprise

8th October 1987

Episode 5

Vinnie nearly blows his cover when he becomes obsessed with finding out who killed his cousin, causing Frank to threaten him with dismissal. Frank desperately wants Vinnie to concentrate on nailing the Zaratzos, who are trying to arrange a drug smuggling deal with Sonny, because they killed one of Frank's agents.

One on One

15th October 1987

Episode 6

After several deals go sour, Sonny starts suspecting Vinnie may be a plant. Frank orders Vinnie to drop the case when he finds out the local police have an informer in Sonny's operations. Sid has Frank picked up and tortured, but Vinnie and undercover cop Karen Malloy rescue him. Karen's disappearance points the finger at Sid as the leak.

Prodigal Son

22nd October 1987

Episode 7

After his mother is mugged in Brooklyn, an enraged Vinnie sets out to find the punk who did it, but when he visits his mother in the hospital, it breaks his heart that she still won't forgive him for his life of “crime.”

A Deal's a Deal

29th October 1987

Episode 8

Sonny’s cruel punishment of a lounge singer who wants out of his contract triggers a cascade of events that leads to Vinnie’s being photographed with McPike — a photo that is to be delivered to Sonny.

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

5th November 1987

Episode 9

Sonny’s impending marriage to a syndicate boss’ daughter begins a supposedly businesslike realignment of “families,” but Vinnie learns that the wedding is a pretext for a bloody gang war.

No One Gets Out of Here Alive

12th November 1987

Episode 10

An outraged Sonny Steelgrave accuses Vinnie of betraying him to his arch-rival, then realizes the devastating truth — that his paisan is an undercover Federal agent.

Last Rites for Lucci

19th November 1987

Episode 11

In the aftermath of the Steelgrave case, Vinnie tries to vindicate himself of his lingering feelings of betrayal and disloyalty by risking his life to save an old friend from the Brooklyn neighborhood who has a contract out on him.

Independent Operator

4th January 1988

Episode 12

Vinnie’s assignment to check out a contract killer leads him into a huge global contraband syndicate — an operation that far exceeds the scope of the Steelgrave family — overlorded by brother and sister Mel and Susan Profitt.

Fascination for the Flame

11th January 1988

Episode 13

Vinnie, now a bodyguard for the Profitts, gets his first trial by fire when Mel Profitt, the brilliant but paranoid overlord of an international crime empire, disrupts the wedding of an associate, who retaliates by kidnapping Susan.

Smokey Mountain Requiem

18th January 1988

Episode 14

Vinnie tells Mel Profitt he is leaving to go home to New Jersey, but Mel offers him the biggest cocaine distribution network in the country — a plum that Vinnie feels is too juicy for any undercover cop to turn down.

Player to be Named Now

25th January 1988

Episode 15

Mel’s desire to buy a baseball franchise is two-fold: he wants to play on it, and he wants to take it away from an old business associate who cheated him in a Mexican drug deal. When Mel’s former girlfriend shows up, begging for readmission to the Inner circle, he humiliates her, using her as a sexual pawn in a power game with a rival, but for Vinnie, forced to watch it happen, the worst is yet to come.

The Merchant of Death

1st February 1988

Episode 16

When some of his munitions contacts begin drying up, Mel decides to blackmail a French Deputy Minister of Defense into supplying him with the weapons he needs.

Not For Nothing

8th February 1988

Episode 17

Hiding out in Vancouver after the fall of the Steelgrave empire, Aldo Baglia sees a photo of Vinnie in the paper and decides to even the score, sending Vinnie into a coma from two serious gunshot wounds. Roger, using his CIA contact, tracks down Aldo.

Squeeze

15th February 1988

Episode 18

After his munitions operation starts falling apart, Mel orders Vinnie to set up a meet with the mob to use his immense cocaine trade to regain financial power.

Blood Drive

22nd February 1988

Episode 19

After rejecting an offer to finance a coup d'etat in the Caribbean, Mel Profitt becomes obsessed with a supposed voodoo death curse, and Vinnie, horrified, can only watch as Mel’s personality begins to disintegrate.

Phantom Pain

14th March 1988

Episode 20

After Susan is arrested for Mel’s murder, Vinnie refuses McPike’s order to pull out of the Profitt case, because Susan, who has seemingly lost her grip on reality, has told him she is pregnant with his child.

Dirty Little Wars

21st March 1988

Episode 21

With Mel and Susan Profitt undone, McPike begins dismantling their empire, but Vinnie demands to stay on the case to get to the bottom of Roger Lococco’s ties to a rogue CIA operation to stage a Caribbean coup d’etat.

Date With an Angel

28th March 1988

Episode 22

Roger Lococco in effect signs his own death warrant by testifying to a Senate committee about a cabal within the U.S. intelligence community, but to back him up he needs Vinnie to testify as an O.C.B. operative — testimony that would end Vinnie’s career as an undercover agent.

Top Cast

Steven Bauer•Jonathan Banks•Jim Byrnes

Crime Drama Action & Adventure

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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Full Cast

Steven Bauer Image

Steven Bauer

Michael Santana

Jonathan Banks Image

Jonathan Banks

Frank McPike

Jim Byrnes Image

Jim Byrnes

Daniel Benjamin 'Lifeguard' Burroughs

Cecil Hoffman Image

Cecil Hoffman

Hillary Stein

Maximilian Schell Image

Maximilian Schell

Amado Guzman

Full Crew

Jo Swerling Jr.

Producer

Stephen Kronish

Producer

Alfonse Ruggiero

Producer

Les Sheldon

Producer

Alex Beaton

Producer

David J. Burke

Producer

Rod Holcomb Image

Rod Holcomb

Producer

Stephen J. Cannell Image

Stephen J. Cannell

Executive Producer

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