Episode
Wiseguy: The Birthday Surprise
Overview
Vinnie 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.
Details
- Series
- Wiseguy
- Season
- Season 1
- Episode
- Episode 5
- Air date
- 1987-10-08
- Runtime
- 60 min
Episode context
The Birthday Surprise is Episode 5 in Season 1 of Wiseguy. It aired on 1987-10-08. The runtime is 60 min.
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Episode 4: The Loose Cannon
A psychopathic murderer posing as Sonny's nephew double-crosses Sonny and holds Vinnie's girlfriend Gina hostage.
Episode 6: One on One
After 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.
More episodes from this season
Episode 3: New Blood
In 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.
Episode 7: Prodigal Son
After 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.”
Episode 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.
Episode 8: A Deal's a Deal
Sonny’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.
Episode 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.
Episode 9: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Sonny’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.
Episode 10: No One Gets Out of Here Alive
An 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.
Episode 11: Last Rites for Lucci
In 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.
Episode 12: Independent Operator
Vinnie’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.
Episode 13: Fascination for the Flame
Vinnie, 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.