Vinnie Terranova does time in a New Jersey penitentiary to set up his undercover role as an agent for the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau) of the United States. His roots in a traditional Italian city neighborhood form the underlying dramatic base throughout the series, bringing him into conflict with his conservative mother and other family members while acting undercover as syndicate enforcer.
Cast: Steven Bauer, Jonathan Banks, Jim Byrnes
TV-14HDCC
22 episodes
1. Wiseguy (1)Vinnie is released from prison where he has been for two years to establish his cover. He meets his boss, Frank McPike and gets to see his coach and mentor, Jerry Greco. Greco is killed and Vinnie demands to be put in to finish the investigation. He uses his ingenuity to get a foothold in the Steelgrave crime family, but it will take a while to finish this job.TV-14CC1 h 0 minSep 16, 1987
2. Wiseguy (2)Vinnie and Sonny's right hand man, Tony Grecco, has a run-in with the cops causing Vinnie to be arrested. The Steelgraves find that guns are being exported illegally using their pier and decide to take possession of the guns and sell them back to the owner.TV-14CC1 h 0 minSep 16, 1987
3. New BloodIn an attempt to take over Sonny Steelgrave’s business, mob head Paul Patrice frames Sonny for several murder attempts he makes on the life of the special prosecutor investigating Sonny.TV-14CC1 h 0 minSep 24, 1987
4. The Loose CannonA psychopathic murderer posing as Sonny's nephew double-crosses Sonny and holds Vinnie's girlfriend Gina hostage.TV-14CC1 h 0 minOct 1, 1987
5. The Birthday SurpriseVinnie nearly blows his cover when he becomes obsessed with finding out who killed his cousin, causing Frank to threaten him with dismissal. Frank desperately wants Vinnie to concentrate on nailing the Zaratzos, who are trying to arrange a drug smuggling deal with Sonny, because they killed one of Frank's agents.TV-14CC1 h 0 minOct 8, 1987
6. One on OneAfter several deals go sour, Sonny starts suspecting Vinnie may be a plant. Frank orders Vinnie to drop the case when he finds out the local police have an informer in Sonny's operations. Sid has Frank picked up and tortured, but Vinnie and undercover cop Karen Malloy rescue him. Karen's disappearance points the finger at Sid as the leak.TV-14CC1 h 0 minOct 15, 1987
7. Prodigal SonAfter his mother is mugged in Brooklyn, an enraged Vinnie sets out to find the punk who did it, but when he visits his mother in the hospital, it breaks his heart that she still won't forgive him for his life of “crime.”TV-14CC1 h 0 minOct 22, 1987
8. A Deal's a DealSonny’s cruel punishment of a lounge singer who wants out of his contract triggers a cascade of events that leads to Vinnie’s being photographed with McPike — a photo that is to be delivered to Sonny.TV-14CC1 h 0 minOct 29, 1987
9. The Marriage of Heaven and HellSonny’s impending marriage to a syndicate boss’ daughter begins a supposedly businesslike realignment of “families,” but Vinnie learns that the wedding is a pretext for a bloody gang war.TV-14CC1 h 0 minNov 5, 1987
10. No One Gets Out of Here AliveAn outraged Sonny Steelgrave accuses Vinnie of betraying him to his arch-rival, then realizes the devastating truth — that his paisan is an undercover Federal agent.TV-14CC1 h 0 minNov 12, 1987
11. Last Rites for LucciIn the aftermath of the Steelgrave case, Vinnie tries to vindicate himself of his lingering feelings of betrayal and disloyalty by risking his life to save an old friend from the Brooklyn neighborhood who has a contract out on him.TV-14CC1 h 0 minNov 19, 1987
12. Independent OperatorVinnie’s assignment to check out a contract killer leads him into a huge global contraband syndicate — an operation that far exceeds the scope of the Steelgrave family — overlorded by brother and sister Mel and Susan Profitt.TV-14CC1 h 0 minJan 4, 1988
13. Fascination for the FlameVinnie, now a bodyguard for the Profitts, gets his first trial by fire when Mel Profitt, the brilliant but paranoid overlord of an international crime empire, disrupts the wedding of an associate, who retaliates by kidnapping Susan.TV-14CC1 h 0 minJan 11, 1988
14. Smokey Mountain RequiemVinnie tells Mel Profitt he is leaving to go home to New Jersey, but Mel offers him the biggest cocaine distribution network in the country — a plum that Vinnie feels is too juicy for any undercover cop to turn down.TV-14CC1 h 0 minJan 18, 1988
15. Player to be Named NowMel’s desire to buy a baseball franchise is two-fold: he wants to play on it, and he wants to take it away from an old business associate who cheated him in a Mexican drug deal. When Mel’s former girlfriend shows up, begging for readmission to the Inner circle, he humiliates her, using her as a sexual pawn in a power game with a rival, but for Vinnie, forced to watch it happen, the worst is yet to come.TV-14CC1 h 0 minJan 25, 1988
16. The Merchant of DeathWhen some of his munitions contacts begin drying up, Mel decides to blackmail a French Deputy Minister of Defense into supplying him with the weapons he needs.TV-14CC1 h 0 minFeb 1, 1988
17. Not For NothingHiding out in Vancouver after the fall of the Steelgrave empire, Aldo Baglia sees a photo of Vinnie in the paper and decides to even the score, sending Vinnie into a coma from two serious gunshot wounds. Roger, using his CIA contact, tracks down Aldo.TV-14CC1 h 0 minFeb 8, 1988
18. SqueezeAfter his munitions operation starts falling apart, Mel orders Vinnie to set up a meet with the mob to use his immense cocaine trade to regain financial power.TV-14CC1 h 0 minFeb 15, 1988
19. Blood DriveAfter rejecting an offer to finance a coup d'etat in the Caribbean, Mel Profitt becomes obsessed with a supposed voodoo death curse, and Vinnie, horrified, can only watch as Mel’s personality begins to disintegrate.TV-14CC1 h 0 minFeb 22, 1988
20. Phantom PainAfter Susan is arrested for Mel’s murder, Vinnie refuses McPike’s order to pull out of the Profitt case, because Susan, who has seemingly lost her grip on reality, has told him she is pregnant with his child.TV-14CC1 h 0 minMar 14, 1988
21. Dirty Little WarsWith Mel and Susan Profitt undone, McPike begins dismantling their empire, but Vinnie demands to stay on the case to get to the bottom of Roger Lococco’s ties to a rogue CIA operation to stage a Caribbean coup d’etat.TV-14CC1 h 0 minMar 21, 1988
22. Date With an AngelRoger Lococco in effect signs his own death warrant by testifying to a Senate committee about a cabal within the U.S. intelligence community, but to back him up he needs Vinnie to testify as an O.C.B. operative — testimony that would end Vinnie’s career as an undercover agent.TV-14CC1 h 0 minMar 28, 1988
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★ 6.6/1019874 seasons75 episodesEnded
With friends like his who needs enemies
Vinnie Terranova does time in a New Jersey penitentiary to set up his undercover role as an agent for the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau) of the United States. His roots in a traditional Italian city neighborhood form the underlying dramatic base throughout the series, bringing him into conflict with his conservative mother and other family members while acting undercover as syndicate enforcer.
Creators and cast
- Created by
- Frank Lupo, Stephen J. Cannell
- Studio
- Stephen J. Cannell Productions
