Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Wiseguy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 3, 2023

Wiseguy was a TV show ahead of its time. In a world that was then populated by rote Cop Dramas, Wiseguy broke free of the standard structures and safety nets of establishing routines and following good guys who weekly thwarted the plans of the (usually) one-and-done bad guy(s) of the week. In Wiseguy, the cop is a criminal (working undercover), and the show's structure permits in-depth exploration of narrative arcs that see the gray area in which the title character finds himself: torn between the mundane yet dangerous structure of his real life and the unmistakable allure of the criminal empire which he has infiltrated and is charged with crumbling. It's a satisfying spin on formula that turns away from routine and carefully builds world and characters from within rather the from without, offering audiences not just something different but also a compelling look on the other side of the badge.

Official synopsis: Long before 'Donnie Brasco' brought similar drama to the big screen, Golden Globe winner Ken Wahl brought charisma, credibility, and chutzpah to his small-screen role as Vincent Terranova, a handsome 30-year-old agent with the FBI’s Organized Crime Bureau. How does a deep-cover operative keep his sanity and morality intact when the criminal lifestyle he’s sworn to bring down from within is more compelling than his own? Federal Agent Vincent Terranova (Wahl) is plagued by this question in this innovative take on 80s cop dramas. Created by veteran hit producer Stephen J. Cannell, 'Wiseguy' veers from traditional ‘bad guy of the week’ police procedural by breaking the drama into multi-episode story arcs that followed an Organized Crimes Bureau case—and its charismatic criminal suspects—to its logical conclusion. No matter the cost to criminal, victim, or cop.

Wiseguy's grittiness wasn't necessarily a new thing on the scene, but its willingness to turn the show over to complex, interconnected, and long running story arcs rather than simply move from one familiar plot to the next on a weekly basis certainly was something that was not commonplace in the TV arena at the time. The TV landscape's then more episodic nature left the narratives always far more one-sided than might have been ideal. Sure, the "villain of the week" structure did spend time focusing on the villain to some degree, but only as a staging arena to build another rote and routinely structured narrative and payoff. In Wiseguy, that structure is turned around; the main character straddles both sides of the law and his long-running interaction in between both worlds, and over a period of time, gives critical narrative and character development time to places and people and themes that in the episodic shows are little at best and nonexistent at worst. To be sure, many shows thrived on the episodic nature, and they are to be rightly applauded for working those elements to perfection. But Wiseguy's approach sets it apart and involves the audience at a deeper level than shows that simply repeat the same structure every week, with only new window dressing, can achieve.

All of that said, Wiseguy does break its structural elements up into smaller experience rather than run with the same story for a full season, or two, or three, or for the full four-season run. Maybe it's better to compare the show to a collection of themed miniseries with a focal main character and a focal world but with shifting internal dynamics and faces in each of the arcs. Wiseguy does not hold the line the whole way through but evolves the narratives along the way, giving the audience essentially a very broad episodic structure while more intimately building a more concentrated narrative over the course of many episodes. The main thing is that it works very well, and with Ken Wahl's Vinnie Terranova at the center, that protagonist growth remains center as the world around him impacts that growth, but the show takes its time to tell the story of that impact and growth rather than cycle through it in more or less disconnected episodes on a weekly basis.

Wiseguy flourishes not simply because of its structure but also because of its stars. Ken Wahl delivers a complex and layered performance as the main character Vinnie, guided by a gray-area script and wonderful character development on the page, but breathing life into the character through not just mannerisms and movements but by discovering a significantly realized soul for the character, a soul born of, and gradual reshaped, by his collected life experiences on both sides of the law, which the show studies in deep detail. Wahl's work on the show is a home run blend of overt drama and internal experience that together shape the character in very identifiable, tangible, and necessary ways. While his arc can be at times predictable, the performance nails a true to life cadence through the journey's highs and lows which do not merely impact him externally, but much more interestingly and importantly, internally. It's really good stuff.

Wiseguy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Upon disc insertion, viewers are greeted to this message: "due to the age of these original programs and the high quality resolution that Blu-ray provides, you may or may not notice technical anomalies on this Blu-ray presentation that we are unable to correct." That's a bit of a misdirect/excuse for the quality of the presentation, which is not at all great but not at all poor, because age has nothing to do with it. The show was shot on film and would look fine with some TLC, so VEI is really just trying to imply that they tried, but the results of absolute low effort mediocrity (at its best) pretty much speak for themselves.

Wiseguy is presented on Blu-ray at the 1080i resolution and framed at the 4x3 aspect ratio which preserves the original broadcast parameters and places vertical "black bars" on either side of the 1.78:1 HD display.

The picture begins very inauspiciously. It looks very video-y in the opening moments, with grossly substandard definition and stability, portending a sloppy, throwaway picture not even acceptable at DVD standards, never mind Blu-ray. However, after a few minutes the image improves a good deal, finding a flawed but ultimately satisfying presentation which holds to the natural film look with decent grain management at work (though sometimes it looks more frozen than it does naturally occurring), solid clarity (allowing viewers to see Ken Wahl's pores and facial scruff, for example), and ultimately delivering a very stable and very agreeable image. No, it's not amongst the finest of film-shot TV on Blu-ray, but it's actually not at all bad, especially for reproducing the core film elements with agreeable clarity and overall sharpness and definition. This is easily, and vastly, superior to any broadcast SD image from back in the day. Additionally, print wear is surprisingly minimal and macroblocking is not a major issue, but do expect to come across interlacing issues and at times excess jagged edges.

Colors are suitably stable. The palette is never robust, and tonal nuance and vitality are not at the top of the format, but the image captures the gritty overtones quite nicely, offering good balance to clothing hues, city street colors, and the like. What the palette lacks in sheer tonal vividness it more than makes up for with quality balance and stability to what is here. Flesh tones look fair enough, never appearing pasty, or on the other end of the spectrum, overly warm. Black levels are a bit iffier, ranging from flat and pale to somewhat crushed, but the darker end of the spectrum is favored more often than not. Even in those shots that are prone to crush, the depth usually helps any dark scene's tone, and the crush is never so aggressive as to lose every last bit of shadow detail information. White balance lacks polish but is serviceable enough. That defines the whole image: surprisingly and sometimes even satisfyingly serviceable. The 2.5/5.0 score seems very reasonable, even if it usually plays a shade better than the score suggests.

Wiseguy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Right off the bat at the beginning of episode one, the audio inspires no confidence. It's scratchy, uneven, and hollow. But like the video, it evens out with a little time and evolves into a decent audio experience that, also like the video, will not wow its listening audience but will, at least, get its audience through the series with minimal distortion. Overall clarity is acceptable whether talking music, ambience, action gunfire, or dialogue. The track spreads nicely along the front channels, presenting with agreeable, and necessary, width while dialogue remains impressively center imaged for the duration. While the two channel track does have its limitations for spacing and immersion, what is presented here seems faithful to the original source. This one is not complex or extravagant, but it satisfies the show's basic audio needs. Note that I have seen reports of a few original songs being replaced. I do not know the show well enough to comment on this, but please be aware of this issue.

Wiseguy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, no supplemental material is included. Wiseguy ships in a pretty standard VEI case: a big clamshell (with a non-embossed slipcover) that houses the discs in thin plastic sleeves. Seasons 1, 2, and 3 are bundled in the same sleeve (each disc is in its own holder) but the two season four discs are included in a detached double-sided sleeve.

Wiseguy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Few films, never mind TV shows, have so successfully engaged within the criminal world as Wiseguy. Certainly, The Sopranos stands supreme as the clear-cut model for excellence in drawing audiences into the gritty world of criminality, but Wiseguy stands tall as one of the greats in the all-too-small genre. VEI's complete series Blu-ray release is unfortunately featureless, but the presentation does offer satisfactory video and audio. Recommended.