Las Vegas

Las Vegas is definitely watchable; the pace is so fast that it's as if the filmmakers are fast- forwarding so you don't have to. But the plot is so tangled it's almost incomprehensible, the grace notes are laminated beneath visual slickness - and throughout, it's hard to shake the feeling that you've seen it before and don't need to see it again. [22 Sept 2003, p.35]

Las Vegas needs all the gimmickry it can get because the basic premise of the show is shaky; we are expected to sympathize with the management of a big Vegas casino instead of rooting for the poor schmoes who are trying desperately to make some wild dream come true at the blackjack tables.

I lost interest in tonight's pilot when attention turned to a card-counter with an outside confederate. OK, they're cheating. [22 Sept 2003, p.D-5]

Something part good and part incredibly, unforgivably smarmy.

If only the series works its way toward more effective show than tell, Las Vegas might find itself with a winning hand.

Like casino chips sprinkled over a roulette table, the assets of this NBC show aren't being used very wisely, and are no guarantee of success. [22 Sept 2003, p.77]

If Caan grabs more screen time and the writers build on the hints of sexual chemistry between Danny and Nessa, I might place a small bet on this superslick series-provided Danny learns the virtue of occasional silence.

More problematic than the dramatic license taken by creator Gary Scott Thompson (The Fast and the Furious) is the lack of a compelling story. [22 Sept 2003, p.12E]

All style, no substance.

The production values are extremely high. This may be trash, but it comes in an attractive can.