Wiseguy TV Movie
In 1996, a reunion Wiseguy movie starring Ken Wahl aired on ABC. In the movie, Vinnie (who was still alive; as far as this movie was concerned, the fourth season had never happened) had spent several years on wiretapping duty, as punishment for being Aiuppo's dupe during Season 3's Mafia angle, and (presumably) abandoning his duty during the Volchek investigation. Vinnie is ordered to infiltrate the organization of criminal boss Paul Callendar (Ted Levine). The movie had many of the same themes as the TV show, including Vinnie's constant conflict in betraying the people he had grown to care about. While the movie was a critical success, its mediocre ratings (it aired against NBC megahits Friends and Seinfeld) and Ken Wahl's recurrent back and neck problems seem to preclude another Wiseguy revival. The movie was rerun on Sleuth in 2008.

Guzman/New York DA

When the fourth season started, McPike had (apparently) fully recovered from his gunshot wound -- so much so that while sitting shirtless in one scene, we noted the absence of scar tissue on his chest. Vinnie had been investigating the Miami mafia, and suddenly went missing. His apartment was empty, but showed signs of a struggle. McPike went down to Miami, hooked up with disbarred U.S. Attorney Michael Santana (Steven Bauer, the new series lead replacing Wahl), and soon discovered that Vinnie had been murdered by a death squad. (In reality, there had been a major dispute between star Ken Wahl and the producers, and he was no longer with the show.) Soon, McPike and Santana were infiltrating the organization of Cuban-American crime lord Armando Guzman (Maximilian Schell), and with the help of U.S. Attorney Hillary Stein (Cecil Hoffman), destroyed his organization as well. Many fans call this arc "Dumbguy" or "Deadguy". It is not well loved.

Mafia Wars
At the beginning of the third season, Vinnie had not been assigned any recent cases, but, in usual Wiseguy fashion, a case found him. Vinnie's stepfather, Don Rudy Aiuppo (George O. Petrie) was shot and wounded, leaving Vinnie the temporary head of the local Mafia commission. Vinnie investigated the other members, including Albert Cericco (Robert Davi). Eventually, Vinnie brought down most of the commission, only to find Aiuppo had been manipulating him to exact revenge on some rivals. An enraged Vinnie angrily told Aiuppo that, stepfather or not, he wanted nothing more to do with him.

David Sternberg (Ron Silver) and his father Eli (Jerry Lewis) ran a clothing business, and were being squeezed by the fearsome gangster Rick Pinzolo (Stanley Tucci). David goes to the OCB for help, thus Vinnie is recruited to act as security for the Sternbergs. After a small-time loanshark attacked and injured Vinnie, he was temporarily replaced by retired agent John Henry Raglin (Anthony Denison). (Note: in reality, star Ken Wahl had broken his ankle in an on-set accident, and was written out while he recovered.) Raglin brought down (and killed) Pinzolo, but not in time to save Eli's business or David's life. Joan Chen appeared in one episode of this arc, as a rebellious Chinese sweatshop worker with whom the married Raglin briefly has an affair.

Wiseguy (1987-1990) was a U.S. television program about Vincent "Vinnie" Terranova, an undercover agent of the OCB (Organized Crime Bureau), a fictional division of the FBI. Produced by Stephen J. Cannell, the show differed from previous crime dramas in its use of "story arcs", and in its focusing as much on the sometimes unpleasant consequences of the protagonist's actions, as on the mechanics of the detective work. It was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia to avoid the higher studio costs associated with filming in Los Angeles.