LasVegasSeries

Las Vegas can rival Charlie's Angels or Loveboat as highly bankable guilty pleasures. The show this season has embarrassed itself more than last season and I don't seem to mind because of the general fun of the Las Vegas atmosphere, the zoom cams, the guest stars, and the sex appeal, I'm personally attracted to Vanessa Marcill, and between her and her three female costars, i'm sure every guy will find some piece of eye candy they like, so first off, the casting is so effecient at trimming down to the bare essentials, the casting call probably looked like this: New Sitcom casting call, we're looking for: 1. 4 Hot girls 2. 1 Hot guy 3. 1 Token black guy, with a lot of blackness 4. One notorious tough guy, who's recognizeable from the movies

I mean, seriously, is there any difference between the 4 girls, they're all hot and they all have some sort of sexual tension with Danny in one form or another. They all seem to have perfectly balanced boundaries of sexuality between guys they're attracted to and not attracted to. An episode I saw recently had them stranded in the desert and Clint Black, or some country star, i don't remember, found them in the middle of nowhere, rescued them, lent them all five-star hotel bathrobes, and played them all music. How the incident was completely devoid of sexuality struck me, the girls were rescued by him, but just wanted to hear his music, didn't repay him in any way, and the country music stars were happy to oblige. What's odd is that the country music stars weren't at all attracted to them at any way, only the people they want the attention from are attracted to them. I think it's the concept of fantasy role models, girls watching Las Vegas want to be those girls, looking good without getting the unwanted side effects of the unnecessary attention.

One other humongous guilty pleasure episode, where any semblance of consistency in character development went out the window, and we were probably OK with it, was when the Black Eyed Peas guest-starred. I mean, this guy was introduced to us last year as a CIA stiff, how embarrassing would it be for that guy they introduced last year for him to exchange "wazuup" greetings with hip-hop artists, and bounce up and down to their music. And of course, for Belinda, Ed's daughter, she was best friends with the members in the group? Yeah, where did that come from?

Network: NBC; Genre: Guilty Pleasure/Drama; Content Rating: TV-14 (for violence and some sexual content); Classification: Contemporary (Star range: 1 - 4);

Season Reviewed: Seasons 3+

When dividing genres into sub-genres you come up with all sorts of interesting combinations of show gimmicks. We have shows differentiated by a movie star actor in the lead role, the time period they are set in and now, with "Las Vegas", the city in which it is set. You could call it a locational show. It later continues with the short-lived "Hawaii" and the misbegotten "LAX". Created by Gary Scott Thompson, "Las Vegas" takes us on a cathartic trip to that exotic city in the sand.

Despite the promos touting the star of the show is being the city itself, "Vegas" is set almost entirely in the walls and grounds of the Montecito casino centering around the head of security (James Caan), security agents (Josh Duhamel and James Lesher) and the event coordinators dealing with wacky guests and packed conventions. The team is often found using some microscopic gadgets and wild "CSI" techniques to spot cheaters, chasing down and/or beating up thugs, stripping off their clothes at the drop of a hat or lounging by the pool.

If you want to think while watching TV you will probably be repelled by the tedium before the halfway mark. "Las Vegas" isn't particularly dramatic, or exciting or humorous. It just is. It runs on the "Baywatch" engine, actually. It is a light and sound show. Anyone could do it. It's fluid digital effects are a notch cheaper than the state-of-the-art "CSI". They recall Thompson's equally vacuous film "The Fast and the Furious".

Yet, the show presents itself without a sense of self-importance. It has the giddy shamelessness of a pubescent teenager that hasn't yet discovered premium cable. Ironically, that is what sets it apart. Unlike the dull-as-dirt lifeguard exploits of that former series, "Vegas" is a lot less conversation and a lot more action. So to speak. The stories are absurd, self-contained and gimmicky. "Boston Public" absurd. While it doesn't evoke an emotion it is light-weight enough, goofy enough and (as cliché as it may sound) sexy enough to work as a solid guilty pleasure. It is the perfect show for those that want something to sit and let their eyes glaze over at after a long day at work. The Monday night time-slot suits it to a T.

The show still has those network mandated restraints that pull us in but quickly leave us unsatisfied. Watching it you'll just have to get used to the fact that this is another one of those shows where two people in the throws of passion are always going to be interrupted by someone walking in on them or one of them having a substantive revelation about the plot. If the stories where more compelling I wouldn't mind, but as it is that pesky plot is always getting in the way. To often, the show lazily brings in an obvious musical guest star to take over the closing duties with a concert (such as Mark McGrath) and do lots of self-referential mugging for the camera. While sometimes an episode jump-start, this autopilot scriptwriting dangerously recalls the high camp way the "Full House" gang always used to wander into a Beach Boys concert.

I'd be lying if I said that the sight of Nikki Cox in this show doesn't make my heart skip a beat. For the first time she is not bending over backwards paining to be funny and the buxom young actress (able to make even the worst shows sustainable) actually looks comfortable in the role. I also like Vanessa Marcil's cold Sam. Babe-magnet Josh Duhamel fills the leading man role well; as does likable Lesher. Their buddy chemistry is the most fluid and authentic thing in the show. The fun thing about the "Las Vegas" world is that they transcend the show and can easily be plugged in anywhere. It seems appropriate to do some cross promotion and stick the characters in a football promo. They've even done the now rare network (syndication unfriendly) cross-over episode (with NBC's inexplicable hit "Crossing Jordan").

Beautiful people in scantly clad outfits, silly plots and a decent amount more character development than you'd expect. You may feel dirty the next morning, but "Las Vegas" is an appropriately shameless guilty pleasure without any false conceptions about itself. Fast-paced and well pitched for the slack-jawed Monday night masses. I wish it was more extreme - more absurd, more risqué and much more fun - but as it stands it's not a bad thing.

I love this show! It is easily the most enjoyable hour of my week. I love it for the high-paced, fast-moving action in which it contains. I love the way it gives a large overview of the state of Las Vegas and how casino floors really operate. The cast is exquisite and full of talent. How can a show not be great with James Caan leading the cast each week? Yet, the best thing about the cast is he doesn't have to carry the show either. While his acting is supreme, he is aided by the talents of his co-stars. Las Vegas has a different storyline each week and keeps the viewer guessing as to what will be the ending in each episode. The camera use is magnificent with the use of fast-motion that really draws the viewer into what is actually happening. A great TV show to watch either by yourself or with friends and family. 10/10