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.

I remember watching Wiseguy in it's original run ... the first season was fantastic, the shows were well written, the actors were well chosen for their parts ... the chemistry between Vinnie and McPike, Vinnie and Sonny, Vinnie, McPike and Lifeguard, the emotional ending of the Steelgrave arc ...then the chemistry between Vinnie and Lacoco in the next arc ... I haven't been as devoted to a season of TV since until the first season of '24'.I have the first 2 DVD sets. The show is holds up great, and what's even better, I've introduced a number of friends and family to the series, and they have all enjoyed them. The series did start to slide downhill after the first season, though I enjoyed the 'KKK' arc, and though not great ...I really did enjoy the "Dead Dog Records" arc. I still say the few minutes of Vinnie and Pattie doin' the nasty towards the end of the arc was some of the hottest scenes I had ever seen on network TV, I'm looking forward to seeing if My memory of it was accurate when the DVD comes out.One thing I am VERY upset about though, on the DVD, last Steelgrave episode, where Sonny is leaning against the jukebox, beaten and bloodied, and Vinnie is across the room, in the same condition, there is NO "Knights in White Satin" !!!!????? That song was so important to that scene, it just doesn't feel right if you have seen the original televised version and then see the DVD version ..it looses A LOT in the translation ... I understand that they couldn't get the rights or it would have cost too much to get the rights .. but I have to admit, I was very, very disappointed when that came around :(Other than that lil(?) gripe, it was awesome to see Vinnie and McPike back in action again ... and yes ..I will probably by the complete series as it is released.

Wiseguy was a risky series that starred Ken Wahl as Vinnie Terranova as an undercover operative for the OCB(Organized crime bureau), In its initial season you could not beat it you had Ray Sharkey as Sonny Steelgrave, William Russ as Roger Loccoco, and Kevin Spacey as Mel Profitt, each story line would stretch into story lines that would last as many as eleven episodes, with few stand alone episodes in season oneIn the end of season one, Vinnie Terranova said to Frank McPike Played by Character actor Jonathan Banks(I won't be coming back Frank), meaning he was quitting, we'll he should have; because in the next three seasons(Season 4 Ken Wahl was replaced by Steven Bauer(Mistake!!)we had to go through a heaping pile of crap to ever get a decent episode out of Wiseguy after the first season, I think Women viewers stayed tuned to See Ken's sexy face, Oh Pinch Me!!, the only Arc that came close was the Washington D.C Arc which was tied into the Profitt/Loccoco Arc from season 1Ratings (*****)= Excellent (****) = Good (***) = Average (**) = Poor (*) = Pathetic1) Steelegrave Arc= (*****)Excellent!! 2) Profitt/Loccoco Arc (*****)Excellent!! 3) Pilgrims of Promise (*) Why Bother!! 4) Garment Industry Arc (*) Boring 5) Dead Dog/Music Arc (*) Waste of Our Time on Has been artists 6) Mob War Arc/ (**) Good Start to Season 3 7) Washington D.C Arc (***) Better Than the rest 8) Lynchboro Arc (**) Picked up by Roger Loccoco's appearance Most stand alone episodes **Sucked to the Extreme**, and were boring, they should have ended this series after the 1st season or made the good arcs and there were few, into a second seasonI will buy the 1st two DVD box sets, but I doubt I would buy any othersI understand Ken Wahl is currently disabled due to large bouts with Alcoholism and accidents he had due to his condition, that is truly a shame, anytime you base your life on past glories, you are in trouble!!I have gone to Ken Wahl's website and I could care less about what he has to say, he is what happens when depression and no work causes an actor to go off the deep end, lets remember he is now 49, not the 33 he was when the series began, why do you think he won't do interviews on the DVD box sets, because he no longer looks 33

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!