Season 4 went ahead without Ken Wahl who for reasons hard to discover was at odds with Stephen Cannell regarding the direction of the show. I think these must have already been affecting it in Season 3 as Ken Wahl, though supposedly the star, seemed to fade into the background as the episodes went on, to its detriment. A new leading man was found who was sadly lacking in Vinnie's appeal, he had none of that personality/element which reached out to the viewer, none of that capacity for deeper feelings which endeared Vinnie to his fans. A superficial, not (in my opinion) even physically attractive character who it was hard to care about. I found myself caring far more about the absent Vinnie (though I knew he wouldn't return). Though Frank played a major role in supporting the plot (albeit with a rather unattractive beard) this wasn't enough and I wasn't surprised it came to a premature end. Completely unengaging and (of necessity) totally different to the original. Boring villains, boring females and boring good guys....sigh....
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