siddd5

I read Paul Mavis's DVD review of Wiseguy: The Complete First Season at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=38475 and...

No mention of William Russ as Roger Lococco? His performance was on par with Sharkey and Spacey's.

I do disagree with the reviewers take on Sharkey and Spacey's performances. They were both terrific.

Paul Mavis

I'm not a fan of William Russ in the role -- if anyone seems less like a vicious assassin/undercover agent, it's Russ.

As for Sharkey and Spacey, I wasn't entirely negative towards them (particularly Sharkey, whom I really liked). I just don't think their performances were the "be all, end all" in TV criminality that everyone suggested they were back in '87. Wahl was the big surprise for me this time with the series -- I don't remember him registering with me all that strongly back during the original run, but I thought he more than held his own with those two hams (and I don't consider "ham" a pejorative).

Chas Speed

Neither Sharkey or Spacey were even nominated for an Emmy that year, so I'm not sure where you're getting the "be all, end all" stuff. I think it's Kevin Spacey at his best. I loved William Russ in the early episodes when he was a total psycho, but found the character less interesting when he became a government agent, but I blame that on the writing and not his performance. I'm hoping Mavis doesn't review him in "Death Bed:The Bed that Eats". My only problem with season one was the way it ended. They killed off Spacey way too early and to end it as a rip off of the Iran/Conra scandal (the most boring scandal in U.S. history!) was a disaster. I have always thought "The Sopranoes" was an extremely poor man's "Crime Story" and "Wiseguy" and can't imagine what all the hype was about it, talk about "be all end all". I think the one thing "Wiseguy" and "The Sopranoes" have in common is they both went down hill after the first season. I agree with James Walcott who said that after the first season "The Sopranoes" was simply a "celebration of itself". Something for hip people to talk about outside the water cooler everyday. I hope people will track down a used copy of the original first season "Wiseguy" DVD set by Studio Works. Except for the song replacement I would rate it as the best TV to DVD transfer I have ever seen. The transfer was flawless and the stereo was perfect (even though the first season was only broadcast in mono). I understand this new set is not as good. I still think Paul Mavis is right 99% time, even though I don't agree with this review.

Paul Mavis

At the time, a lot of the trades and print critics wrote about their performances -- just because they weren't nominated for Emmys doesn't mean that their performances weren't touted. The two don't always correlate. Emmy nominations are notoriously suspect, anyway -- how often are they totally off the mark?


Agreed.

Chas Speed

How can you question the Emmys?! They gave a combined total of 11 Emmys to John Larroquette, Don Knotts and Michael Richards and combined total of zero Emmys to Jackie Gleason and Monty Python. How dare you call them suspect!

Paul Mavis

...

Straker

Did I just hear somebody say Mad Men?

Chas Speed

Yes, but he won it four times!