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| Tim Curry as the diabolical Winston Newquay |
Because the cost of acquiring the music rights would have been too prohibitive, the "Dead Dog Records" arc from season two of Wiseguy was not included in the official DVD release, more's the pity. In this story undercover agent Vinnie Terranova (Ken Wahl) is assigned to investigate corruption in the recording industry by using federal money to buy the dying Dead Dog Records, which does not sit well with certain government officials who get no thrill out of being record moguls like Vinnie does. Deborah Harry plays a washed-up singer, Diana, who is working in a cocktail lounge when Vinnie decides to engineer her comeback, but he has to reckon with the schemes of near-psychotic music bigwig Winston Newquay (Tim Curry), the former Sam Fishbine, who is also Diana's former lover, a fact that does not sit well with his wife, Claudia (Deidre Hall). Vinnie gets assistance from the enthusiastic Bobby Travis (Glenn Frey), as well as from husband-and-wife record company owners Amber (Patti D'Arbanville) and Isaac Twine (Paul Winfield). Vinnie's producer is a coke-snorting "genius" named Johnny Medley (Paul McCrane), who is difficult to work with, to say the least, and has a sixteen-year-old wife (Pamela Segall Adlon) who is more mature than he is. [This last business is kind of creepy, frankly, but fits into the weird tone of the episodes.] With more humor and craziness than most episodes of this show, the Dead Dog arc was atypical Wiseguy -- for one thing, Vinnie seems more interested in having a hit record than in putting anyone in jail -- but it is marvelously entertaining, and the scripts by David J. Burke and Stephen Kronish, among others, probably influenced the more outrageous serial dramas of today. Highlights include a dress-tearing catfight at a fancy party, a couple making passionate love who wind up crashing through a skylight, and a certain someone who's pissed off Winston being thrown off a rooftop by thugs. The acting from the entire cast is excellent, with McCrane, Frey and Winfield taking top honors, but even they take a back seat to Tim Curry, who gives an absolutely mesmerizing and ferocious portrayal of the devilish, always sleek and sophisticated, Winston Newquay, a fascinating character -- but not one you'd want to know personally. Jonathan Banks and Jim Byrnes also appear and are as good as ever. The song Harry sings, "Brite Side" was recorded by her, but only in a version that has none of the impact of the original.
Verdict: Deliriously entertaining and sharply acted. ***1/2.
I enjoyed "Wiseguy" off and on during the early 90s when it was on repeat. I remember thinking Ken Wahl had a real presence in the role and the cinematography was well executed--lending a certain atmosphere to the show. I recently went back and got Season 1 from Amazon, and was really struck about good this series really was. Although Stephen Cannell was to earn a reputation for quality, so I suppose it shouldn't have been a surprise. There is something of a cult following out there for this series, and the reviews of critics and fans are definitely positive. The "Dead Dog Records" arc is often mentioned--primarily because it was simply removed from Season 2. I suspect time and distance have enhanced people's vague memories of these episodes, but I made an effort to track it down and--please believe me--it's worth it. This series seems a little different than the rest of Wiseguy in terms of tone. The quality of the writing is VERY good, and in many respects well ahead of its time. There is a lot of humor embedded in the traditional Cannell cop show format and Ken Wahl is often pushed aside as the excellent guest cast seems to be given free reign to go right over the top. I SUSPECT that "Wiseguy" must have had a growing rep in Hollywood, because they were able to drag some A list names in for this arc, and they all seem to be having fun. Tim Curry is over the top (as always). Paul Winfield is reliable. Seeing Debbie Harry just after her "Blondie" prime is a treat, although she seems a little drifty (her pipes are terrific though). Glenn Frey! Does a serviceable turn, but is pretty much overwhelmed by Ken Wahl as the alpha male in all the joint scenes. Still--you get these surprise nuggets like Frey laying back on a couch with an acoustic guitar plucking out an obscure blues riff--no overdubs necessary here! Patti D'Arbanville delivers. A young Billy Wirth gives a much too cartoonish 'rebel without a clue' turn as rock star "Eddie Tempest." There is a nice, very well done section where Ken Wahl and Paul Winfield "hit the streets" to check out a potential hip hop star--an interesting--and I think accurate--look at where hip hop was with conventional record companies in 1989.
ReplyDeleteThere is one scene that really seems to capture the fun everyone was having with this series of episodes. Tim Curry--as the evil record company mogul Ken Wahl is trying to bring down--is finally busted for trying to arrange a deal for counterfeit records and ends up in a local holding cell in NYC. Of course the scene with a rich "suit" getting tossed into a cell with a thug (or a bunch of thugs) is pretty well worn. But the cell looks initially vacant until Curry sits down on the cot. The "thug" turns out to be UNDER the cot and comes out to inform Curry it's "his" cot. Normally this is where the suit gets roughed up. But the writers instead have the thug recognize Tim Curry as the record company mogul and launches into an a cappella version of Sam Cooke's "Stand by Me." The director lets the camera roll as Tim Curry's face changes from fear to disbelief to a growing appreciation for the song, music in general, the realization he's going to live through this, and finally joins the thug in a duet and begins dancing around the cell. I could NOT stop laughing! And what does it say about a series in 1989 that would keep this scene? GET THIS SET OF DVDs! They are out there!
I'm glad there is somebody else who likes and appreciates this show and in particular the "Dead Dog" story arc as much as I do. I think your analysis is on-target. That was indeed a memorable scene after Curry is arrested and put in a cell. I think the show was making a decided effort to get noticed with this story line and its out-there characters and assorted plot twists.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that the show took a real dip in quality after the second season was over, although there were still a few good moments. In all, however, "Wiseguy" was a memorable program.
Thanks for your comments about this show!
Just finished rewatching the Dead-Dog Arc (the episodes are now on you-tube) and it was better than I remembered which is rare for TV.
ReplyDeleteSomeone said that the series took a dive after that. I agree and disagree.
The arc where Vince gets involved with the NY mob that kicks off season 3 (began at the end
of season 2 I think, and actually has its roots in the middle of season 2 when Vince's mom marries Don Auoppe (spelled wrong)) was very good.
After that: some of the non-arc ones were very good (especially Reunion) but the rest of the arcs were medicore to bad.
Glad to hear that these episodes are available on you tube; they are very entertaining and well-written. As for season three, it began well with Vinnie and his stepfather and his mob associates, than a storyline in Washington, but I think the show went completely awry with the story arc about the guy obsessed with the movie "Mr. Sardonicus" (although it was a good movie). It just did the show in, in my opinion. The fourth season, when Vinnie was replaced, wasn't that bad but just not that memorable, either, and it seemed pointless without Vinne/Ken Wahl.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments!
Is there a link? I am rewatching and looking all over for these episodes
ReplyDeleteHi, look for "Wiseguy -- Tim Curry" on youtube. Here is the link to one of the episodes:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HoSITvWlew
ReplyDeleteIf you look on the right, you will see more videos listed which includes some more of the Dead Dog episodes. Don't know if youtube has the whole arc.
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ReplyDeleteAm I imagining things or was there a segment when the stuff hit the fan near the end of the Dead Dog segment when they played part of Layla with the piano and guitar? Which episode was that?
ReplyDeleteIt's been so long since I watched these that I don't remember if this happened or in which episode -- sorry!
ReplyDelete