Credit: Amazon.com
Creator:
Gary Scott Thompson
Cast:
James Caan ………. Ed Deline
Josh Duhamel ………. Danny McCoy
Nikki Cox ………. Mary Connell
Vanessa Marcil ………. Sam Marquez
Molly Sims ………. Delinda Deline
James Lesure ………. Mike Cannon
Cheryl Ladd ………. Jillian Deline
Mitch Longley ………. Mitch
Lara Flynn Boyle ………. Monica Mancuso
Dean Cain ………. Casey Manning
The Show
The popular saying is “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Actually, it’s more like “what happens in [insert popular tourist destination here], stays in [insert popular tourist destination]”, but for this we will go with Vegas. Las Vegas is known as “Sin City”. It’s full of sex, money, action, excitement, more sex, and more gambling. Throw in some celebrities as well and you have the ingredients for making a extremely popular tourist destination in the United States.
Las Vegas, as you might have guessed, is about a fictional casino called the Montecito Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The show has everything that Las Vegas, the city, has and no much more. The show focuses mainly on the surveillance team for the casino, led by Ed Deline (James Caan) and his crew which includes Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel) and Mike Cannon (James Lesure). Each episode of this show is about them using cameras and other tactics to catch cheaters and/or any other work-related problems they might encounter during a normal day of casino operation. These storylines are rarely serious, and usually all get wrapped in a single episode.
The strong points for this show are the characters and acting. I should say James Caan as he is great in the lead role. He is the only “strong” actor on the show, and he is the only one that needs to be great. Everyone else on the show assumes their roles perfectly, but they don’t need “strong” acting skills to play these characters. Josh Duhamel and James Lesure do provide “eye-candy” for the women viewers, and Nikki Cox, Molly Sims, and Vanessa Marcil are definitely great to look at for the men watching the show. They bring the sex appeal and Caan holds it all together. I’m not saying that the others can’t act because they can, but the show is not serious or dramatic at all, so they don’t have to be anything other than what they are. In addition, the great visuals of Las Vegas on the show are another plus. The people and places on the show look fantastic.
The biggest negative for this show is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s under the “drama” category, but it’s not that dramatic at all. The only thing that carries over from episode to episode are the relationships between the characters. The usual “who’s sleeping with who” thing. That’s fine, considering this is Las Vegas and all, but it’s not that dramatic. Is it supposed to be a comedy then? It’s funny sometimes, but it’s not funny enough to be considered a comedy in my book. It tries to be both at the same time, but doesn’t succeed in either way. Las Vegas is just there. Most of the time it’s just silly.
I haven’t seen the other two seasons, so I can’t compare season three to them. From what I can tell, though, the other seasons seem to be just about the same as this season. So if you are looking to start watching this show, it really wouldn’t matter a whole lot where you started, besides knowing who everyone is and who they have been with, of course. Danny seems to have slept with every girl on the show, but I don’t fault him there. Besides the “strong” acting of James Caan, I enjoyed the chemistry between Mike and Danny on the show. They are supposed to be best friends and it’s totally believable.
If you love Las Vegas or gambling, you’ll probably enjoy this show. That is, if you can overlook the silliness of it. Basically, the show is mindless fun with beautiful people and beautiful locations. If you don’t expect anything more from the show, then you’ll be okay. There are definitely better shows on TV than this, but it should keep you entertained for a hour. Plus, if you can look at Nikki Cox for a hour, this show can’t be all that bad, can it? Just remember, “what happens on Las Vegas, stays on Las Vegas.” That simply means Las Vegas is fun while you’re watching it, but it’s forgettable once an episode ends.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – Viva Las Vegas
The chips are on the table when Ed scrambles to lure his staff back and get the Montecito ready before new boss, Monica, discovers that they’re unprepared for a potential “smash-and-grab” heist.
Episode 2 – Fake the Money and Run
Ed has his hands full trying to discover who’s making counterfeit chips while Danny finds himself sold on a hot new real estate agent.
Episode 3 – Double Down, Triple Threat
In this high-stakes cross-over episode, the kidnapping of a card counter’s daughter has the team partnering with Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh (TV’s Crossing Jordan) while Sam retraces her steps to the bed of a good-looking detective.
Episode 4 – Whatever Happened to Seymour Magoon?
Things are heating up when Danny and Penny take their relationship to the next level, Ed is forced to walk his dog in the local dog show, and new casino boss Monica is forced to call Mike when she gets stuck in the shower.
Disc Two:
Episode 5 – Big Ed De-Cline
Life in the fast lane catches up with Ed when he discovers his identity has been stolen shortly after his doctor warns him he needs to de-stress or else.
Episode 6 – The Real McCoy
Relationships are put to the test when Danny becomes suspicious of his new girlfriend’s motives and Sam attempts to break up the romance between her brother and her new boss, Monica.
Episode 7 – Everything Old is You Again
Danny visits an unusual antique fair where he becomes the mysterious flashback to the Jubilee Hotel and Casino, circa 1962, where everything is different and no one is who they seem.
Episode 8 – Bold, Beautiful, and Blue
Everything’s shiny and bright at the Montecito when Danny and Monica work with an FBI agent to protect the priceless Kashmir sapphire and Monica tries to lure Ed back to work with a pretty new Porsche.
Episode 9 – Mothwoman
A comic book convention at the Montecito has Monica scurrying for cover when she’s mistakenly mobbed by fans who think she’s the real “Mothwoman”.
Disc Three:
Episode 10 – For Sail by Owner
A hostile takeover bid has the Montecito crew scrambling to save their casino. Meanwhile, Mike finds his pockets empty when he’s mugged by a thug, and Delinda is love struck by a blind man with a secret past.
Episode 11 – Down and Dirty
There’s more than bluffing going on when Danny and Mike seize the security footage of a national poker tour at the Montecito, despite the show producers’ adamant problems.
Episode 12 – Bait and Switch
It’s never been steamier in Sin City than when Danny and Ed check out some amateur sex videos in order to catch a crook, and Sam and Mary search for clues to Mike’s secret life as a male stripper named “Hot Chocolate.”
Episode 13 – The Bitch is Back
World-famous chef, Wolfgang Puck, is about to open his newest restaurant at the Montecito, but guests are quickly losing their appetites when they claim to see ghostly apparitions in the hotel.
Episode 14 – And Here’s Mike with the Weather
There are cloudy skies ahead for the Montecito when an audit by the Gaming Commission reveals $2.9 million in irregularities. Although all signs point to Monica’s involvement in an infamous blackjack tournament, Ed and Danny are convinced the funds are hiding elsewhere.
Disc Four:
Episode 15 – Urban Legends
Everyone’s looking for a free ride when racecar driver, Jimmie Johnson, cruises into Vegas. But one guest’s stay comes to screeching halt when Danny and Mike discover him lying in a bathtub of ice, without his kidney.
Episode 16 – Coyote Ugly
Things are getting a little too close for comfort when a sexy young woman comes to the Montecito to thank Ed for saving her father’s life and one of Monica’s friends finds an employee’s finger in the buffet.
Episode 17 – Lyle & Substance
The stakes are through the roof when Danny apprehends a thief who claims to know of a bomb plot against the Montecito. Meanwhile, Sam hears some steamy rumors about the new masseuse and decides to do a little undercover work.
Episode 18 – Like a Virgin
Appearances can be very deceiving as Mary sets up a wedding for a high roller, Ed and Danny comes across some very unusual card counters, and Mike follows a woman attending a Born Again Virgins conference.
Episode 19 – Cash Springs Eternal
It’s a rough life being both sexy and smart as Danny and Mike discover when they try to investigate a string of robberies happening in the residential suites and still make their appointments to pose for a charity beefcake calendar.
Disc Five:
Episode 20 – All Quiet on the Montecito Front
Not everything’s fair in love and war as Danny and Delinda’s budding romance is threatened by the arrival of her college boyfriend, Dr. Derek, and the Montecito department heads are forced to go on a team-building retreat.
Episode 21 – Chaos Theory
There is such a thing as too much of a good thing when Danny and Mike contend with a big spender who wats to play with a million dollars a hand, and Ed and Jillian can’t wait to leave their “peaceful” retreat.
Episode 22 – Fidelity, Security, Delivery
Romance is in the air when Delinda answers Dr. Derek’s proposal, and Danny and Mike are coerced by two big gamblers to investigate the liaisons of their flirtatious wives.
Episode 23 – Father of the Bride (Season Finale)
On the eve of her wedding, Delinda can’t fight her old feelings for Danny. But her mixed emotions are quickly overshadowed when her father’s CIA past resurfaces with a vengeance.
Score: 6/10
The Video:
The video is given in anamorphic widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1:78.1. Transfer is good with minimal distortion. The scenery in Las Vegas is presented in near-perfect condition. A big plus for this set.
The Audio:
The audio included is available in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo sound. There are English and Spanish subtitles as well. No problems here either. The sound is what it is. You hear all of the “bells and whistles” inside the casino among other things.
The Extras:
Gag Reel –
This is everyone messing up certain scenes from this season. And mostly, it’s all funny as it’s supposed to be. However, sometimes they tried to hard to make it funny. They put a lot of work into this gag reel and sometimes less is more. Still mostly funny stuff, though.
“In With the New” Featurette –
This shows time-lapse photography of the building of the new hotel. We see how they built the sets for this hotel in fast-forward. I’m sure that was done since it probably took months and months to build something like this. So it’s interesting to see how it all came together. Nothing special, though.
Score: 4/10
The Inside Pulse
The show is not serious, so don’t expect anything more than a hour of TV featuring beautiful people and casino life. Season three is probably as good of a place to start watching Las Vegas as any. Some of the celebrity appearances can be a little much, though. The show is just average, but it’s not the worst thing you can watch on TV.
