Vegas is based on the true story of fourth-generation rancher Ralph Lamb. The series is set in the 1960s Las Vegas, when Las Vegas began to transform from tumbleweeds into the strip. Lamb's agrees to work for the Mayor under one condition: that the planes don't fly over his farm. Lamb's brother wonders why Lamb agreed on that. Lamb wants to keep what he has; he fears the day the farm will be bought and turned into a highway. The exchange is essentially a microcosm of the series. Lamb struggles to retain the tumbleweeds and dirt and farms of Las Vegas, while literally everyone else in the series pushes for casinos, money and power.
Michael Chiklis portrays Vince Savino, the kingpin of the new mafia in the City of Sin Las Vegas, a name that probably originated with Vince. Chiklis made a horrible decision two years ago to work on a series titled No Ordinary Family, which I thought would forever mar my opinion of him. Chiklis looks like a goofball whenever he's not wearing a hat; however, the menace he displays in several scenes showed The Shield side of Chiklis. Vince's introduction is slightly ruined by the promos for Vegas. Vince is basically an owner of a casino for a bit, with albeit shady designs on running Las Vegas. The "Pilot" has a scene where the District Attorney, a character who dramatically opposes Lamb's work with the mayor is revealed to be working with Savino. Vince and his cronies kill a police officer who threatens to expose the DA's corruption. The scene is designed to surprise the audience. In the first act Savino aids a casino worker being beaten, and it appears as if Savino is a righteous man. Savino's 'turn' or what-have-you is a nice piece of writing by Pelligini and Walker.
I'll admit to being drawn in as the pilot episode progressed. Dennis Hopper's great as Ralph Lamb. The procedural mystery wasn't interesting, but originality or unoriginality didn't really matter. Of course I'd like to see a procedural tell a story I've never seen before, but one would be a fool to expect originality from CBS. The resolution to the mystery didn't matter. What was revealed about the city's government, the mafia, and Ralph Lamb was important. The resolution of case revealed a mob connection. Clues that Lamb found led to a confrontation between he and Savino. The men are cordial and respectful in their initial meetings. Savino shows his true self when Ralph "I am the Law and I will decide the Law" searches his casino without a warrant.
Ralph Lamb is a throwback hero, a cowboy who only exists in stories now. Lamb lives by a code (the 'I am the Law' statement is Lamb's code). Motorcycle gangs are a red herring for a period of time. Lamb actually tells a biker his code. Lamb and the biker are juxtaposed. Bikers live by a code. The gang went through three towns and wreaked havoc because they felt they were the law. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world when violent bikers like the gang depicted in the "Pilot" decide they are the law. Lamb believes being the law involves discipline, accountability, and responsibility. Ralph Lamb is the ideal hero of a CBS procedural. He is the triumphant cowboy in paintings, riding his horse as the sun sets, lit up by the dying rays.
The "Pilot" is well-done. The mysterious case-of-the-week follows the typical beats. The writing is strong. The performances are good. The direction was terrific. It does feel like you've been dropped into 1960s Las Vegas. The creators promised a mixture of serialization and procedural. The ending provides a preview of the balance. Ralph needs to investigate the death of the officer we saw earlier. I'm not interested enough in the show to continue watching on a weekly basis though. I watched the episode without any expectations, and I found that I quite enjoyed it. It could be one of those shows one can watch every now and then if you're in the mood for classic Western with more than touch of mafia intrigue.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
The intensity to which Lamb goes after every criminal is dumbfounding to say the least, and the constant “look” that Dennis Quaid (not Hopper) gives us is so often I start to wonder if he can do anything else. Still, comparatively, the show is pretty good and I will keep watching. My DISH coworker says it’s getting decent ratings too, which I figure should guarantee even more success and money to keep it a class act show. I found out about it when my Hopper PrimeTime Anytime feature I enabled, automatically recorded it. I like the fact that I find lots of new shows to watch, since every major network show records each day.
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