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With the release of Wiseguy on DVD, one of the best TV
series of the 1980s gets a new lease on life. Long before Donnie Brasco
brought similar drama to the big screen, Ken Wahl brought charisma, credibility
and chutzpah to his small-screen role as Vincent Terranova, a handsome
30-year-old agent with the FBI's Organized Crime Bureau. As conceived by
co-creators Stephen Cannell (of The Rockford Files and The A-Team
fame) and Ken Lupo, Wiseguy followed an innovative "story-arc" structure,
allowing Vinnie's deep-cover missions to last only as long as necessary to bring
each case to a sensible conclusion. Since copied by countless TV shows, this
unique approach to storytelling attracted a devoted following of viewers
addicted to the self-contained plots that forced Vinnie, his sourpuss OCB
handler Frank McPike (Jonathan Banks) and disabled covert liaison Dan
"Lifeguard" Burroughs (played by double-amputee Jim Byrnes) to achieve their
objectives within 6 to 10 hourlong episodes. |
