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Series premiere review: 'Vegas' - 'Pilot': My heroes have always been cowboys

What did everybody think of the new CBS drama?

By Alan Sepinwall Tuesday, Sep 25, 2012 11:00 PM

<p>"Vegas."</p>

"Vegas."

Credit: CBS

I posted my review of CBS' "Vegas" this morning. Now it's your turn. For those who tuned in tonight, what did you think? Were you happy to see Dennis Quaid on the small screen? To have Michael Chiklis in pure villain mode? For those who aren't into the CBS procedural vibe, were there enough ongoing elements introduced to keep you happy as Quaid and his guys solved the case?

 

Alan-sepinwall-sm
Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
Related Searches: vegas, Dennis Quaid, Michael Chiklis

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  • Mastershake_talkback_profile

    War Chief Shake Zula

    I thought it was alright overall, but it was a little more sluggish than I was anticipating. I kinda hope they balance the pacing out as it goes along.

    September 25, 2012 at 11:10PM EST Reply to Comment
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    MoreTears

    A very weak script, and the usual tough guy/plaster saint as the lead in a CBS show. And contrary to what Alan said in his review, it really is completely appropriate to knock a CBS show for being a CBS show

    September 26, 2012 at 12:27AM EST Reply to Comment
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    bearcouch

    This episode was a bit rough. Also fell too easily into the CBS procedural formula. I will continue to watch, but I was hoping for more.

    September 26, 2012 at 1:08AM EST Reply to Comment
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    viginti

    Yeah, I think there was enough clever world-building and ongoing narratives in this episode to keep me compelled: seeing these two men establish themselves and then meet is all I would want from a fully serialized pilot let alone a semi-procedural one. Whether or not I feel the same about next week's though will be the real test.

    How far have you seen? I think this may well be another trait that the show shares with Justified, a single episode first season with more mythology to come later on, but I hope that they get there a little quicker myself.

    Full thoughts: deerinthexenonarclights.com/vegas-pilot/

    September 26, 2012 at 1:18AM EST Reply to Comment
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    OnlyMe

    I like procedurals. I even admit to watching NCIS. And I was really, really bored.
    Really bored.
    But it was a CBS show and if their audience hasn't already gone to sleep at 10pm, they'll probably watch it.

    September 26, 2012 at 1:48AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Sir Ingenious

    What kind of procedural is this? Fringe/Terriers/Chicago Code type of procedural or a standardized procedural-procedural type of show?

    September 26, 2012 at 2:25AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Robin

    Yes, it kept me interested and I'm not a fan of procedurals at all.

    They have two very good actors in the leads and some very competent-to-good actors in the supporting roles. They have done a nice job of capturing a particular era of Vegas without going over the top. They did some decent setup for potential on-going conflicts.

    Was alot of it fairly standard stuff we've seen before? I'd say yes, and accept that as a valid criticism. But I think the hope some critics have that this will turn into a Good Wife-esque drama is understandable, and I'm definitely in for at least the next 4-5 episodes.

    September 26, 2012 at 2:50PM EST Reply to Comment
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    berkowit28

    I suspect that a lot of the drama will also depend on how well and complex the two characters of the mayor and the District Attorney, especially the DA, are written, and their interactions with the new sherriff and the crime boss. (I can't remember anyone's name yet.) The mayor clearly wants all the new development and big city money coming into his town, but he also seems to genuinely want law and order. That's why he hires the Quaid guy. But the DA is the guy who sets up the death-by-bad-guys of the former sherriff. He's clearly very, very crooked. He's also the boss of our apparently honest lady Assistant DA. There's lots of possibilities of interesting interactions here. If they're half as good as Justified's, this could be an interesting series. If they're just clichees, it will be a big disappointment. I suspect it will take some time to see what they do with these. They'll also need to introduce and portray several bad guy henchmen as distinct individuals, too.

    September 26, 2012 at 2:54PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Sareeta

    The closest shows to procedurals that I watch are Fringe and Longmire. I thought Vegas was similar to Longmire in that you've got a sheriff of an older generation dealing with change coming to his town. Lamb, like Longmire, even has a Native American sidekick! The one big difference is that we get a glimpse into the life of his adversary, Vincent Savino, instead of strictly following Ralph Lamb's story. As Alan pointed out, it's telling that Savino doesn't want a guy beaten up unnecessarily to get info---it's morally wrong and also it attracts attention.

    I thought it was enjoyable. I think both Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis completely own their roles and both are fun to watch, especially when they share scenes. Carrie Ann Moss' character seems not only attractive but competent as well. I hope we get some character development with the supporting cast as the series moves along.

    September 26, 2012 at 8:11PM EST Reply to Comment
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    John Earl Burnett

    Quaid & Chiklis work but supporting cast is weak, as was the writing and direction! I kept waiting for the A-Team van to arrive. Very 80's... Numbers show it got the Geritol demographic but is not carrying or do I believe it will carry the all important advertising demographic (18-49). I do hope they can make the cheap looking production stand up to it's full potential. (I love the overall plot)

    September 27, 2012 at 1:46PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Mike

    I want to like this so, so much. Seeing Michael Chiklis back playing a heavy makes me so happy, and I share Alan's deep love of Dennis Quaid, but it's just too generic procedural. I'll certainly come back if it goes in more of a serialized Good Wife direction because I have so much affinity for Chiklis and Quaid, but as of now, it's a pass.

    September 27, 2012 at 8:46PM EST Reply to Comment
  • Satan_is_real_talkback_profile

    erika_herzog

    i wish there was more meat and potatoes for Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis to gnaw on. Mangold is an okay director but with this rich vein of visual potential i thought it was sort of underwhelmingly directed.

    i'll give it a few episodes -- heck i stuck with NO ORDINARY FAMILY all the way through as a THE SHIELD fan. but it needs to be better / less procedural.

    plus i'm having a hard time distinguishing the cowboys and criminals apart. underutilizing wonderful Richard Edson is criminal.

    need this to be more of a character piece a la LONGMIRE and less of a CSI thing. that's a dusty creaky old model that is done better elsewhere.

    oh well....

    September 29, 2012 at 1:05AM EST Reply to Comment

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