Wiseguy
Wiseguy
TV Flash files “Wiseguy” as a desk essential hour — Wiseguy (1987–1990) on CBS, season 4, episode 10, aired 1996-05-12, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E10: listed hour 76 of 76 in the Wiseguy guide, last listed hour of season 4. It aired 1996-05-12 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Changing Houses” (S04E09). No later hour is listed in this guide.
Essential hour: “Wiseguy”. The later Wiseguy television movie is a title-only encore: Wahl-era serialization already the text; this is the afterimage.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Wiseguy sit in the Wiseguy guide?
S04E10 is listed hour 76 of 76 — last listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 10.
When did Wiseguy S04E10 air?
Wiseguy aired 1996-05-12 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Case-of-the-week or serialized?
Serialized on purpose. Multi-episode arcs drop Vinnie into a criminal world and leave him there. Guest villains get novels. That is why it mattered before prestige was a brand.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Cannell's secret weapon: multi-episode arcs that drop Vinnie Terranova into a new criminal world and let him rot there. Ken Wahl's undercover ache, Jonathan Banks barking from the OCB, and guest villains who get actual novels. Serialization on network CBS before prestige was a brand — then Wahl left and the air went out.
So about the arcs: you do not sample Wiseguy like a case-of-the-week playlist and then act surprised the group chat went quiet. CBS, 1987–1990, Stephen J. Cannell and Frank Lupo dropping Ken Wahl's Vinnie Terranova into a criminal world and letting him rot there — that is the whole ship. (I said spoiler-free. I lied a little: the point is the long cycle, not a single Tuesday.) Jonathan Banks barking as Frank McPike from the OCB already sounds like a warning from the office. Jim Byrnes in the mix. Guest villains…
Filed against
- Ken Wahl as Vinnie Terranova
Ken Wahl's Vinnie Terranova made Wiseguy serialization before prestige was a brand — Cannell arcs that dropped an undercover man into a criminal world and let him rot there. OCB barking, guest villains with actual novels. The desk files…
- Jonathan Banks as Frank McPike
Jonathan Banks made Mike Ehrmantraut the deadpan professional of the Breaking Bad universe — parking-lot wisdom and quiet ruthlessness across Albuquerque. Better Call Saul deepened the backstory without soft-pedaling the gun. On TV Flash…
- Jim Byrnes as Daniel Burroughs
Jim Byrnes’s Daniel Burroughs handled Wiseguy from the OCB side of the glass — Cannell’s multi-episode arcs dropping Vinnie Terranova into a new criminal world to rot, Ken Wahl’s undercover ache, guest villains who get actual novels.…