O Homem da Máfia

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.

Wiseguy was one of the best shows of the '80s and probably one of the best dramas ever produced for television, ending only, I believe, because of the many infirmities/injuries suffered by Ken Wahl. The gorgeous Wahl was surrounded by an excellent cast that included Jonathan Banks, Jim Burns, and, over the years, George Petrie, Patti D'Arbanville, Gerald Anthony, etc. - anyone brought on the show was a winner. Wiseguy proved a breakthrough for Kevin Spacey and Joan Severance, whose story arc was probably the most powerful the series offered - right up there with the Sonny Steelgrave (Ray Sharkey) story arc. I'm glad to see it's being re-run now - it's a pity there aren't more episodes.

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!

After Wiseguy vanished from Sky One I believe the UK rights were acquired by the Family Channel which then closed down or changed hands.

Presumably the broadcast rights are now in limbo.

I agree that the one-off TV movie was pretty dire but Steven Bauer's version was rather good and should have been allowed to develop.

Wiseguy, in either version, is one of the best crime shows ever and it's tragic that only a tiny number of people in the UK got to see it on satellite TV. This means that there may never be a region 2 DVD release

Thank God for those reruns, allowing those of us who weren't smart enough to tape it at the time to do so now! There isn't anything I don't like about this series, other than the fact that it ended. Great acting, great scripts, great production values - this is a production everyone involved with can be proud of. It was unique and ahead of its time in that watching it now I don't think it looks or feels dated at all. There are some great contemporary crime dramas on TV now, but none with the arc structure that made Wiseguy so compelling. Even though the story lines ran in arcs, each episode is eminently watchable in and of itself. Gosh, I miss it, and I sure miss Ken Wahl.