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Spotlight on Fandoms: Las Vegas
Welcome to the Montecito Casino and Resort in beautiful Las Vegas, where you can pretty much do whatever you want. Just remember that Ed Deline and his surveillance team are watching your every move, so you better not cheat at his casino.
Las Vegas is a total guilty pleasure show. It was panned by critics and not expected to last, yet it was the only new show NBC renewed for a second season in 2004. It's not something you can take really seriously, but it's so entertaining. The show revolves around Ed Deline's relationship with his protege, Danny McCoy. Add to that a strong ensemble cast running the casino and a revolving door of outrageous guests and con artists. There's always something going on at the Montecito. And yes, there will be spoilers ahead.
The Characters
Ed Deline (James Caan): He's a former CIA operative who's now in the casino business. Originally, he was head of the security and the best surveillance man that Las Vegas had ever seen. He is later promoted to president of operations. He can probably kill you in a hundred different ways if you cross him, and that's not all. "Big Ed can do things to you with a fork that will make you cry for your momma," Danny says of him in the pilot. Ed is very protective of his family and he thinks of his staff as family.
Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel): He's a Las Vegas native who joined the Marines and and served in a counter-intelligence unit. Now he's in his hometown working in casino surveillance for his mentor. Danny's a playboy who has a past with nearly every woman at the Montecito, but Mary and Delinda are the ones he cares for above the rest. Mary is his childhood sweetheart and best friend. He nearly married her while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving with the Marines in Iraq. He's matured a lot since the first season and is currently living with Delinda.
Mike Cannon (James Lesure): Another Las Vegas native, Mike is a mechanical genius with a graduate degree from MIT. And despite the brains, he found that he made more money as head valet than as an engineer. For the first season, he was the one opening the limo doors and hailing cabs for the Montecito's guests, giving him a perpective into the comings and goings of the casino that paid off when surveillance needed information. After Danny is recalled to active duty at the end of the first season, Mike joined the surveillance staff full-time. He's also a smooth-talking ladies man who hasn't yet been able to find a serious relationship.
Samantha Jane Marquez (Vanessa Marcil): The top casino host in Las Vegas, Sam is a businesswoman whose primary ambition is to make more money. Her commission is a percentage of what her high-roller clients lose at the gaming tables so she's always chasing after whales, the top class of high-roller who can drop at least a million dollars in a trip to the casino. She's sneaky, cunning and ruthless, and she will do anything to land a big client. Sam was separated from her husband Casey for about seven years before he showed up at the casino to try and win her back while buying the Montecito, but they eventually divorce. After Casey dies, he leaves her the hotel and casino in his will. She didn't get much time to enjoy it before one of her whales kidnaps her.
Delinda Deline (Molly Sims): She is Ed's wild-child daughter and the cause of many headaches. In the pilot episode, Ed catches her in bed with Danny. She proceeds to dump him four episodes later once Ed got over the shock. In a effort to get her to settle down, Ed persuades the chef of Corinthian to give her a job. Delinda starts out in the kitchen, becomes a hostess by the end of the night, and within a week she renames the place to Mystique and makes herself the manager. She adds a night club and makes it one of the hottest spots in Las Vegas. After a brief stint managing Pure while the new Montecito is under construction, Delinda returns as head of food services for the new Montecito. Her biggest coup is bringing in Wolfgang Puck to open a new signature restaurant. Delinda is much tougher than she looks. When a health inspector tried to blackmail her into dating him, she brought her dad to meet him, but Ed simply supervised while Delinda beat him up. She's been kidnapped twice, held for ransom, and fought off a rapist who drugged her. Her biggest challenge is yet to come: motherhood.
Mary Connell (Nikki Cox): She's the Montecito's director of special events, eventually becoming hotel manager after the Montecito is imploded and re-built. It's implied that she was also a casino host (though the original scripts called for her to be a hooker and were re-written shortly before filming began). Mary is also Danny's best friend and childhood sweetheart. They have a long, crazy history together, nearly getting married at one point. Mary is Sam's opposite. She's sweet, caring, kind, and always putting other's needs before her own. Mary is a child abuse victim who takes justice into her own hands at the end of Season Four.
Nessa Holt (Marsha Thomason): Known as the "Ice Queen," Nessa is the best pit boss in Las Vegas. Her connection to Ed was murky in the beginning, but eventually it came out that Nessa's father was one of the best con men in Europe until he was forced to go straight and work for Ed Deline and the CIA. When he was killed, the Delines adopted Nessa and raised her as their own. While Nessa was a series regular from the beginning, they tended to treat her as more of a guest star when it came to story lines. In season two, this started to change when she and Mike Cannon started seeing each other on the sly and she learned that her father may still be alive. The season ended with a cliffhanger as Nessa and Delinda boarded a plane to London to track down Nessa's father. However, Marsha Thomason opted not to return for another season and Nessa is reportedly in hiding with her father.
Jim Cooper (Tom Selleck): The new owner replacing the Ed Deline character in Season Five.
Piper Nielsen (Camille Gauty): The new concierge replacing the Mary Connell character in Season Five.
Recurring Characters
Jillian Deline (Cheryl Ladd): Ed's wife and Delinda's mother, Jillian is a guest star who shows up often enough to count as a regular cast member. She's also a shopaholic. She's coped with Ed's numerous CIA-related absences and keeps growing more fustrated that his civilian job also keeps him away from his family. At the end of season four, she gives him an ultimatum: quit working or she's leaving.
Mitch (Mitch Longley): One of the key members of the surveillance team, Mitch is a paraplegic, but that doesn't stop him from being a ladies man.
Monica Mancuso (Lara Flynn Boyle): She's the widow of a much-older billionaire who left all his money to her at his death. She used it to purchase the original Montecito, implode the casino, and built an all-new resort in its place. Monica ran things her own way, causing Ed to quit. Then came her argument on the roof with Danny, when Monica met a completely bizarre demise.
Casey Manning (Dean Cain): He's a billionaire businessman who pretended to be dirt poor when he married Sam years ago. She left when she discovered the truth. Casey eventually found her at the Montecito and tried to win her back but failed. After Monica's death, he bought the Montecito and re-hired Ed as president of operations. Casey and Sam divorce and he starts dating Mary. Like Nessa, Casey has a sudden exit from the show despite being in Season Three's cliffhanger finale. Mary dumps him by cell phone in the Season Four premiere. He later dies in a strange fishing accident after being poisoned. In his will, he leaves the casino to Sam along with with a mountain of unpaid taxes.
Gunther (Harry Groener): He's not even mentioned in the Las Vegas Wikipedia entry, but it's hard to leave out Gunther. He's the chef at the Montecito's top restaurant. Then he hires Delinda as a hostess and she starts her ascent to head of food operations at the Montecito. Gunther is furious when she brings in Wolfgang Puck to open a new restaurant. Wolfgang and Gunther have their own Iron Chef-type competition and Gunther loses. Humiliated, he sells his the restaurant to Charo (yes, that Charo) and is never seen on the show again. Possibly never. There is a crazy rumor being reported at SpoilerFix.
Polly (Suzanne Whang): She's the spa manager who tells clients just a little too much about her personal life. She's absolutely hiliarious to watch (note that the video is probably NWS).
Why Watch It?
It's mindless entertainment, but it's so much fun! Like the real Las Vegas, anything goes and you have no idea what to expect next. For example, they had Jean-Claude Van Damme guest star as himself, and he gets "killed" in a stunt gone bad. The cast may look really pretty, but James Caan sets the standard and the acting is terrific. I will not complain again about him leaving.
The show also gets a lot of great musical performances, from the Pussycat Dolls to Sugarland to John Legend.
Where Can I Find It?
Las Vegas airs on NBC on Friday nights at 9:00 ET with the fifth season premiering on September 28. TNT has been airing it in syndication as well. All four seasons are available on DVD as well. Just a warning: the episodes on DVD don't use Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" as the theme, even though it appears on the official Las Vegas soundtrack, which majorly annoys some people. There's additional information here on where to find it on the TV.
This Post Is Useless Without YouTube Links!
Opening of the pilot episode. Ed catches Danny and Delinda together. Possibly NWS, but fun to watch.
Danny apprehends a suspect during a comic convention with a little help
Clips from the Season 3 finale and Season 4 premiere. They both show what's best about Las Vegas.
Video clips from the official site. Their musical performance clips are really pretty short, so here's John Legend. Yes, this is the clip with Sam in the bunny suit. And oh look, there's Sam onstage with the Pussycat Dolls.
So that is the insanity of Las Vegas. Questions? Comments? Chocolate?
Las Vegas is a total guilty pleasure show. It was panned by critics and not expected to last, yet it was the only new show NBC renewed for a second season in 2004. It's not something you can take really seriously, but it's so entertaining. The show revolves around Ed Deline's relationship with his protege, Danny McCoy. Add to that a strong ensemble cast running the casino and a revolving door of outrageous guests and con artists. There's always something going on at the Montecito. And yes, there will be spoilers ahead.
The Characters
Ed Deline (James Caan): He's a former CIA operative who's now in the casino business. Originally, he was head of the security and the best surveillance man that Las Vegas had ever seen. He is later promoted to president of operations. He can probably kill you in a hundred different ways if you cross him, and that's not all. "Big Ed can do things to you with a fork that will make you cry for your momma," Danny says of him in the pilot. Ed is very protective of his family and he thinks of his staff as family.
Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel): He's a Las Vegas native who joined the Marines and and served in a counter-intelligence unit. Now he's in his hometown working in casino surveillance for his mentor. Danny's a playboy who has a past with nearly every woman at the Montecito, but Mary and Delinda are the ones he cares for above the rest. Mary is his childhood sweetheart and best friend. He nearly married her while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving with the Marines in Iraq. He's matured a lot since the first season and is currently living with Delinda.
Mike Cannon (James Lesure): Another Las Vegas native, Mike is a mechanical genius with a graduate degree from MIT. And despite the brains, he found that he made more money as head valet than as an engineer. For the first season, he was the one opening the limo doors and hailing cabs for the Montecito's guests, giving him a perpective into the comings and goings of the casino that paid off when surveillance needed information. After Danny is recalled to active duty at the end of the first season, Mike joined the surveillance staff full-time. He's also a smooth-talking ladies man who hasn't yet been able to find a serious relationship.
Samantha Jane Marquez (Vanessa Marcil): The top casino host in Las Vegas, Sam is a businesswoman whose primary ambition is to make more money. Her commission is a percentage of what her high-roller clients lose at the gaming tables so she's always chasing after whales, the top class of high-roller who can drop at least a million dollars in a trip to the casino. She's sneaky, cunning and ruthless, and she will do anything to land a big client. Sam was separated from her husband Casey for about seven years before he showed up at the casino to try and win her back while buying the Montecito, but they eventually divorce. After Casey dies, he leaves her the hotel and casino in his will. She didn't get much time to enjoy it before one of her whales kidnaps her.
Delinda Deline (Molly Sims): She is Ed's wild-child daughter and the cause of many headaches. In the pilot episode, Ed catches her in bed with Danny. She proceeds to dump him four episodes later once Ed got over the shock. In a effort to get her to settle down, Ed persuades the chef of Corinthian to give her a job. Delinda starts out in the kitchen, becomes a hostess by the end of the night, and within a week she renames the place to Mystique and makes herself the manager. She adds a night club and makes it one of the hottest spots in Las Vegas. After a brief stint managing Pure while the new Montecito is under construction, Delinda returns as head of food services for the new Montecito. Her biggest coup is bringing in Wolfgang Puck to open a new signature restaurant. Delinda is much tougher than she looks. When a health inspector tried to blackmail her into dating him, she brought her dad to meet him, but Ed simply supervised while Delinda beat him up. She's been kidnapped twice, held for ransom, and fought off a rapist who drugged her. Her biggest challenge is yet to come: motherhood.
Mary Connell (Nikki Cox): She's the Montecito's director of special events, eventually becoming hotel manager after the Montecito is imploded and re-built. It's implied that she was also a casino host (though the original scripts called for her to be a hooker and were re-written shortly before filming began). Mary is also Danny's best friend and childhood sweetheart. They have a long, crazy history together, nearly getting married at one point. Mary is Sam's opposite. She's sweet, caring, kind, and always putting other's needs before her own. Mary is a child abuse victim who takes justice into her own hands at the end of Season Four.
Nessa Holt (Marsha Thomason): Known as the "Ice Queen," Nessa is the best pit boss in Las Vegas. Her connection to Ed was murky in the beginning, but eventually it came out that Nessa's father was one of the best con men in Europe until he was forced to go straight and work for Ed Deline and the CIA. When he was killed, the Delines adopted Nessa and raised her as their own. While Nessa was a series regular from the beginning, they tended to treat her as more of a guest star when it came to story lines. In season two, this started to change when she and Mike Cannon started seeing each other on the sly and she learned that her father may still be alive. The season ended with a cliffhanger as Nessa and Delinda boarded a plane to London to track down Nessa's father. However, Marsha Thomason opted not to return for another season and Nessa is reportedly in hiding with her father.
Jim Cooper (Tom Selleck): The new owner replacing the Ed Deline character in Season Five.
Piper Nielsen (Camille Gauty): The new concierge replacing the Mary Connell character in Season Five.
Recurring Characters
Jillian Deline (Cheryl Ladd): Ed's wife and Delinda's mother, Jillian is a guest star who shows up often enough to count as a regular cast member. She's also a shopaholic. She's coped with Ed's numerous CIA-related absences and keeps growing more fustrated that his civilian job also keeps him away from his family. At the end of season four, she gives him an ultimatum: quit working or she's leaving.
Mitch (Mitch Longley): One of the key members of the surveillance team, Mitch is a paraplegic, but that doesn't stop him from being a ladies man.
Monica Mancuso (Lara Flynn Boyle): She's the widow of a much-older billionaire who left all his money to her at his death. She used it to purchase the original Montecito, implode the casino, and built an all-new resort in its place. Monica ran things her own way, causing Ed to quit. Then came her argument on the roof with Danny, when Monica met a completely bizarre demise.
Casey Manning (Dean Cain): He's a billionaire businessman who pretended to be dirt poor when he married Sam years ago. She left when she discovered the truth. Casey eventually found her at the Montecito and tried to win her back but failed. After Monica's death, he bought the Montecito and re-hired Ed as president of operations. Casey and Sam divorce and he starts dating Mary. Like Nessa, Casey has a sudden exit from the show despite being in Season Three's cliffhanger finale. Mary dumps him by cell phone in the Season Four premiere. He later dies in a strange fishing accident after being poisoned. In his will, he leaves the casino to Sam along with with a mountain of unpaid taxes.
Gunther (Harry Groener): He's not even mentioned in the Las Vegas Wikipedia entry, but it's hard to leave out Gunther. He's the chef at the Montecito's top restaurant. Then he hires Delinda as a hostess and she starts her ascent to head of food operations at the Montecito. Gunther is furious when she brings in Wolfgang Puck to open a new restaurant. Wolfgang and Gunther have their own Iron Chef-type competition and Gunther loses. Humiliated, he sells his the restaurant to Charo (yes, that Charo) and is never seen on the show again. Possibly never. There is a crazy rumor being reported at SpoilerFix.
Polly (Suzanne Whang): She's the spa manager who tells clients just a little too much about her personal life. She's absolutely hiliarious to watch (note that the video is probably NWS).
Why Watch It?
It's mindless entertainment, but it's so much fun! Like the real Las Vegas, anything goes and you have no idea what to expect next. For example, they had Jean-Claude Van Damme guest star as himself, and he gets "killed" in a stunt gone bad. The cast may look really pretty, but James Caan sets the standard and the acting is terrific. I will not complain again about him leaving.
The show also gets a lot of great musical performances, from the Pussycat Dolls to Sugarland to John Legend.
Where Can I Find It?
Las Vegas airs on NBC on Friday nights at 9:00 ET with the fifth season premiering on September 28. TNT has been airing it in syndication as well. All four seasons are available on DVD as well. Just a warning: the episodes on DVD don't use Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" as the theme, even though it appears on the official Las Vegas soundtrack, which majorly annoys some people. There's additional information here on where to find it on the TV.
This Post Is Useless Without YouTube Links!
Opening of the pilot episode. Ed catches Danny and Delinda together. Possibly NWS, but fun to watch.
Danny apprehends a suspect during a comic convention with a little help
Clips from the Season 3 finale and Season 4 premiere. They both show what's best about Las Vegas.
Video clips from the official site. Their musical performance clips are really pretty short, so here's John Legend. Yes, this is the clip with Sam in the bunny suit. And oh look, there's Sam onstage with the Pussycat Dolls.
So that is the insanity of Las Vegas. Questions? Comments? Chocolate?