Vegas: "Pilot" Review

Advance Review: Older dude solving crime? Check. A well-known, likeable veteran actor cast in the lead? Sure. A "case of a week" blueprint set up for viewers not looking for heavy serialization? Yup. But hold on there. CBS' new retro-series, Vegas, does have a bit more going for it than your average mega-popular crime-labbapalooza. Set in early '60s Las Vegas, this series not only boasts movie star Dennis Quaid as the lead justice dispenser, but a dusty, modern-era Western tone that's brought about by the clash of two worlds; that of cattle rancher Ralph Lamb (Quaid) and casino owner Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis).

Make no mistake though. Even though the title at the outset of this pilot reads "This is the true story of Sheriff Ralph Lamb and the rise of the Vegas Strip," Vegas is still going to be, underneath the historical histrionics, a procedural. Lamb will solve a crime each week; a murder that will most likely have to do with shady strip dealings causing him to passive-aggressively butt heads with transplanted Chicago mobster Savino. But while Vegas may not be totally off-brand for CBS, it gets some extra points for tweaking the formula.

As Savino's plane lands outside Vegas, pointedly throwing Lamb's herd of a cattle into a frenzy, it's clear that Lamb's peaceful post-war life, and the lives of those living in the Vegas vicinity, will never be the same. Savino's in town to help whip a casino called The Savoy into shape, but with Chiklis' Savino comes a sort of calm logic that you wouldn't expect. He's more Ace Rothstein than he is Nicky Santoro, if we're going by the yin and yang of Scorsese's Casino. He doesn't have it out for innocent citizens, but instead the inept and corrupt goons and thugs that have caused him to have to move to Las Vegas to fix a hotel that's bleeding money. Yes, it's interesting to pit Quaid's rootin' tootin' rustler against a "gentleman gangster," but the mostly-polite Savino also comes off a bit toothless.

So I would expect that, down the line, things will get much more vicious between the two. Because the conflict that we might be anticipating from these two actors is not really present in this series opener. Instead, we're given the tale of how a reluctant Lamb, who was a former crack MP investigator, becomes acting Vegas Sheriff. "Ask a few questions. Listen to what people say. What they don't say is just as important." That's Lamb's low-key take on solving murders that he shares with his brother Jack (a fresh off Terra Nova Jason O'Mara), who Lamb brings along for the ride when the Mayor asks Lamb to solve the murder of the Governor's niece, Samantha. Fortunately for Lamb, the real Sheriff is nowhere to be found (aka "hiding from the mob") and the Mayor knows Lamb from the war and can testify to his stubborn determination when it comes to tracking down perps.

Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix, Memento) is also on hand as an Assistant DA whose family ranch was next to the Lamb's ranch when she was growing up. So she represents both an "in" with the slick political crowd and a down home girl who will probably wind up being a love interest for a seemingly non-interested Lamb. I say non-interested because Lamb, a widower, for all his gruffness, really just wants to tend to his herd. He only agrees to find Samantha's killer so that he can get back to his ranch. And because he's not actually the Sheriff, he doesn't feel compelled to follow any of the pesky rules that come along with the title. By the end though, Lamb sees that he can actually step up and face the corruption that surrounds him when he's got a star pinned to his vest. And he likes feeling in control again.

Vegas isn't perfect, and it may very well fall too deeply into the less-interesting "case of the week" zone after a few episodes, but it does represent a couple of interesting left turns for CBS. And for those of you who might be a bit exhausted by the veneer of the '60s on TV, Quaid's side of the fence shows us that not everything was highballs and fedoras.

Vegas premieres on Tuesday, September 25th at 10/9c on CBS.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!

Source : ign[dot]com