Wiseguy - Sonny Steelgrave and the Mob Arc (Season 1 Part 1)

Season 1, Part 1--the first of six Wiseguy DVD sets--includes the entire nine-episode arc (plus pilot) in which Vinnie infiltrates the New Jersey mob family of Sonny Steelgrave, a silk-suited kingpin played by Ray Sharkey in his finest TV role. Their brotherly relationship poses a moral dilemma for Vinnie (giving the arc its dramatic core and primary source of suspense), and Wiseguy earned its reputation as a well-written series that favored character-driven tension while providing the requisite pulp fiction (i.e. occasional murder and mayhem) that kept viewers and advertisers happy. While the DVD packaging gives bogus equal billing to Annette Bening (who appears here in one pivotal episode), her pre-stardom appearance is indicative of the show's consistently high standards in writing, casting, and stylish direction. The styles may be dated (including poodle-puff hairdos for women, including Bening), but there's not a weak episode in the bunch, including the stand-alone shows (involving domestic crises for McPike and Burroughs) that allowed character growth beyond the story-arc structure. It's all good, apart from a dispensable gag reel and commentaries by Wahl (on his two favorite episodes), who says little of interest between long gaps of silence. (He promises more on later DVDs, so Wiseguy devotees are advised to keep listening. Next up: the "Mel Profitt" arc, with guest star Kevin Spacey.) --Jeff Shannon

Description
Vinnie Terranova (Ken Wahl), a tough, street-wise undercover agent, infiltrates the organized-crime syndicate in Atlantic City where, with one slip of his cover, he could end up a dead man. Partly because of his smarts and "wiseguy" attitude, special Agent Terranova has been trained by the Organized Crime Bureau (OCB). In his precarious position, only a select few know his true identity including Frank Mc Pike, his supervisor in the OCB and "lifeguard" his only communications link to the Bureau while undercover. In Sonny Steelgrave & the Mob, Federal Agent Vinnie Terranova establishes an ex-con rap to infiltrate the organized crime of Atlantic City.