*****tvonthedaily is no longer recapping Vegas*****
The show is just not that great, leave alone the fact that I have no viewership for my recaps. The people have spoken.
Episode 5 – “Solid Citizens”
Air Date: October 30th, 2012
written by: Scott Ottersen
It’s growing harder to write about this show, considering this page gets no views on my website, but I will press on as if 1,000 people are reading it every week. I did, however, come to the decision today that I will NOT be watching season 2 of Vegas, if there is one. I just don’t think it’s a quality enough show, with a future that I’m really interested in. I don’t feel any excitement for any of the characters. I don’t think the leads are doing a great job portraying the characters they are casted for. I don’t buy any of the secondary characters, either. I just find it hard to follow along and truly give a damn about the show and its cast, therefore it will be a one and done for tvonthedaily and Vegas. But, as they say in Vegas, for this season alone, the show must go on.
Savino is setting up a dinner at a country club to meet the bankers about his loan for The Tumbleweed. And, part of the get-together is that we are going to meet the Mrs. Savino. And, we do meet her, and I’m unimpressed at the same time she’s saying she’s impressed with The Savoy and her royal treatment. I was expecting more from the mob boss’ wife.
Cornaro, from the Milwaukee crew, is missing. Well, we all know he’s dead, but to the police, he’s just missing for right now. The Mayor comes to visit Ralph and tells him that he needs to file his paperwork to enter his name on the ballot for Sheriff. He’ll run unopposed and win easily. Nobody cares enough about Vegas to run against him.
Uh-oh, Timmy Larson seems to have gone missing…and best guess is it was the pool boy who did it. Mom gives a good chase, but she’s no worthy adversary of an old Ford Galaxy. Ralph and Jack find the car within minutes and the car was set on fire in the driveway of a home. And, Ralph has his case for the week…
So, we head to Milwaukee for a quick glimpse into that crew’s livelihood. And, I mean a quick glimpse. It looks like we’re only going to meet Jones, some sort of stone cold killer…and he’s heading to Vegas on the next flight he can catch out. My guess is to find out what happened to Cornaro.
Jack tells Ralph that Milton Larson is the newest member of the Gaming board and that this abduction could have something to do with an enemy he earned from his short time on the board. He also constructs the highways in and around Vegas, so perhaps it has something to do with another contractor aiming to build highways in and around Vegas, Jack. Don’t forget about that angle.
Savino and his wife have an arrangement that Savino is looking to break. He wants his wife, Lori, to move to Vegas with him. He wants her to move out there so that they can be together, and live the “straight” life he promised her so many other times throughout their marriage. I’m not so sure getting out of the mob is just as easy as buying a new casino with your own money. I’m pretty sure Chicago will be pissed if you’re stealing casino patrons from them with your casino across the street from theirs. You should be smarter than that, Vincent.
“What makes you think they’ll call?” Ralph believes the Larsons have something that the captors want and don’t have yet, so they will be calling for it. He’s the lead actor of the show, so I’m guessing he’s right, Milt, you should listen to him. Sheriff Lamb heads over to The Savoy to ask Savino about the boy who was kidnapped, and to see if Savino can offer up any information, but all Savino will give him is that kidnapping a kid is not something a casino owner would go forward with when all they need to do is grease the board with some cash to get whatever license they need. Simple as that, Ralph. Also, there are quite a few casinos in Las Vegas, why do you always go to Savino when you hate him so much?
“Jones from Milwaukee is here.” He’s interested in finding Cornaro. And, he believes Savino has something to do with it. And, he’s not leaving Las Vegas until he figures out what did happen. Trouble brewing. Some people are going to end up dead over this matter. Probably not Savino, but someone will be killed.
The Larson’s get a call, someone asks them for money and to keep the law “out of this.” Same demands every kidnapper asks for, really. We’ve seen this scene millions of times before. The call came from Eastland Heights, from a payphone. And, the lighter used to torch the car had military etchings on it. Case is pretty much solved.
Jones is looking for a sandwich. He’s a hungry boy if all he cares about is eating when a pretty, and naked, girl is sitting in front of him. He finds it in Cornaro’s secretary’s bedroom dresser drawer. And, she shows him some titties to square the loss of the money that she took for her own self pleasures. Always the best way for a girl to square anything. Works every time. Unless the guy is gay. Or an assassin.
“I’m his father, you’re his uncle. It’s different.” Dixon wants to tag along to take down the military men (who they found with ease), but papa won’t let him. Aw shucks, paw. I’m sure once they’re getting shot at, he wishes he did bring him along since Dixon is the best shot of all of them, though. But, Ralph takes him out with a simple shot through the window, they check the motel room and ask for Tim’s whereabouts, but the guy dies before they can even get around to asking him a second time. Slick shooting there, slick.
I guess the titties weren’t enough for Jonesy. We see the girl dead, and apparently Savino is the first on the scene instead of the police. He’s worried that this murder is going to cause a war between Chicago and Milwaukee since he is having trouble making Jones believe that Cornaro skipped town, instead of being dead like he truly is, since Savino had him killed last episode (or the one before that, can’t remember).
“I chose you to be Sheriff for a reason.” My guess is because the rest of the town seems to either be on the side of idiot or gangster. Of course the city needs him.
Some guy named Gus gave Wade (the kidnapper who is now dead) $20,000. He gave him the money as a bribe to gain Milton’s vote through Andy Meachem, Milton’s brother-in-law. I guess we just learned that the boy’s uncle is behind the kindapping. Sheriff Lamb saves the day again.
Sheriff brings Andy and Milton into his office and Milton goes after his brother-in-law by punching him in the face. Andy tells them the plan was to just keep Tim for a day, he’d get the money and hand it over, but they double-crossed him and now things are going sideways. And, since the guys have never met Meachem, Ralph goes in his place to the dropoff spot. A tussle ensues, men die, and the boy is found locked up in the shed. Ok, NOW, Sheriff Lamb saves the day. Jumped the gun earlier there, my bad…
Jones took the bait and believed that Cornaro skipped town, after Red had the lot boy call Jones and tell him he parked his car there and took a plane elsewhere. That easy, huh? Dixon found corn in the undercarriage and assumed from that he may be dead, yet a stone cold killer doesn’t think to think that same way.
“I don’t want you in the line of fire.” So, not only does Sheriff Lamb have to deal with the mob, he now has to deal with his own son and the ramifications of that relationship.
Sheriff Lamb has Savino meet him out near the cornfields where he believes they buried Cornaro’s body, after killing him. If I’m Savino, I’m not too worried about this. If he did bury him out there, what are the odds that the Sheriff is going to dig in the right spot? And, even if he does, it’s not as if there is going to be any evidence that Savino committed the murder. Hell, he didn’t anyway. But, I do think it would make him worry to the extent that the Sheriff is no dummy. And, that may be an issue.
MVP of the Episode
I’m going to pick nobody. I don’t think anybody really stood out this episode. I thought about Dixon for a smidge of a second, but I just couldn’t go that route. And, I don’t think the Sheriff or Savino did anything too different from anything else they’ve been doing this season, so I can’t really choose either of them. It was just a blah episode, character-wise.
Line of the Night
“Wait, who got skipped?” – “Dixon Lamb”
Dixon is slowly becoming the only redeeming quality about his show. He is infusing some humor into the show, which I believe they need a little more of in order to revolutionize what they are doing here. Right now, it’s just going to be another crime drama that is successful just because it’s on CBS. It will get the total viewers since all old people in this country only watch CBS, but the coveted 18-49 crowd will never flock to this show. Like I said before, I’m out after this season and I fit into that 18-49 category. I think season 1 will be successful, but season 2 with be catastrophically horrible, if they get renewed.
tvonthedaily episode rating
C+
Like I said, a blah episode. I expect every episode to be the same, truthfully. And, that is sad.
Nielsen Ratings
Ratings are released after 11am est, so check back then for an update.
**Ratings are in, and they’re about the same at 10.74 Million viewers (and 1.7 18-49 rating). I suspect that CBS is pleased with the total ratings, but the 18-49 ratings may get this show canceled at some point.
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Episode 4 – “(Il)legitimate”
Air Date: October 23rd, 2012
written by: Scott Ottersen
Open episode with Ralph looking out on a beautiful setting and he still has that mean mug on his face. This man just can’t be happy, can he? I guess when a man tries to sell another man’s old oak tree, it can be pretty upsetting. So upsetting that he makes his brother answer his own phone.
“Time to go be Sheriffs.”
Savino, however, has a reason to be upset, because a casino patron is cheating inside The Savoy. And, apparently Jack has found a love match in Mia Rizzo. And, we also learn that Savino’s plan for expansion was denied by Chicago. Since he can’t expand from the inside, he’s planning on buying The Tumbleweed Casino, across the street, and building an even bigger casino on that land. And, he’s planning on doing it behind Chicago’s back. I’m sure that will go over well, Vincent.
We learn The Tumbleweed is just falling apart and management wants to make some big changes. Estelle, a lowly maid, is pissed at the union who is not listening to their demands, and she wants to strike now, not when their contract is up in six months. My guess is that Estelle is never going to see Cute Leonard again, and is going to be the victim in a nasty crime where Ralph and Jack are going to have get involved to bring her murderer to justice.
And, what do you know, Estelle gets herself ran over by a car. Hey, Estelle, you see a car coming down the street, you hurry your pretty ass to the other side!! Another piece of advice, you see that same car coming STRAIGHT AT YOU, you dive the fuck out of the way! That last piece of advice may save your life one day…
Mert Hayes, owner of The Tumbleweed, tells Savino he’s selling the casino, and Savino makes his play, offering his partnership and showing him a vision of the future for The Tumbleweed Casino. He tells him that he is going to get buried if he doesn’t come to his side. And, he probably meant that literally.
Randall and Terry Paltry come to visit Sheriff Lamb, telling him that Estelle was like family to them and is willing to offer a reward to help bring the killer to justice. This makes me think that there is something more going on with these two. I’m sure we will be seeing them again.
Lamb heads over to the last known address for Estelle and finds the place broken into already. As he gets to the back room, he hears a car making its getaway, and he gets to the window just in time to see the license plate on the getaway car. I’m no hardened criminal, but I think if I break into someone’s house, I’m not just going to park in their driveway, or even right behind their place. Maybe I put my car on the block over just for reasons like this.
Oh, Mia! I can see why Jack has it up for her. He interviews her for her “work card” and he makes his move on her, until he’s interrupted by Ralph. Such a cock blocker that Ralph. After Jack’s boner goes down, Dixon tells the group that the black car that Ralph saw leaving the scene belonged to the Union steward, Mr. Kovacs, who “had it in” with Estelle at the meeting.
Savino meets with a bank manager at his casino, promising him that things will be done legitimately, unlike any other casinos in Las Vegas. They make some deal about the lemonade he was drinking and his daughter being some sort of award winner. And from that, we can deduce that Savino may be getting his loan for The Tumbleweed. Or a new cooking show on The Food Network. Whichever comes first.
Ralph and Jack head over to The Tumbleweed to speak with Mr. Kovacs, who is trying to get his last paycheck, as if he’s in a hurry to skip town. Ralph and Jack rough him up a bit, but Mr. Kovacs tells them that Estelle had more to worry about than just him, considering she had been canoodling with a white fella (I sometimes forget this show is taking place in the 60s), and some people don’t much like that.
Uh-oh, The Tumbleweed is on fire!! One day I’m going to have to try that flaming rag in a liquor bottle action. I can’t believe that it would blow up the way this one did.
Mert Hayes runs off right after the bombing and meets with Savino. And, Hayes tells him that if he gets the Milwaukee
crew off of his back, they will have themselves a deal for The Tumbleweed partnership. If he can’t get it done quickly, Hayes is going to sell to Milwaukee. Savino approaches the Davey, leader of the Milwaukee crew, tells them to back off Mert and offers him a part of the deal if he leaves out Milwaukee. They shake on it and The Tumbleweed is Savino’s.
Jack finds out that Estelle has been getting $500 deposited into her bank account each month from Mr. Paltry. You remember him – the guy who wanted to offer a reward to catch her killer. Seems as if he’s pissed about his investment. They go and visit him at his home, and question him in front of his wife (ouch!!), who is probably just as shocked as everyone else at that door to learn that Estelle was his daughter. Uh, she seemed a little too dark to be a white man’s daughter, but you never know.
Let’s see, two guys shooting at a guy trapped inside a car, 4-5 feet away from his face and they can’t hit him?!? Oh, and he can somehow reverse his car out of the garage without hitting anything and not getting shot, all while being ducked under the steering wheel. I’m partially guessing he’d have been dead in real life. It appears the Milwaukee boys don’t want to share The Tumbleweed with Savino. And, they don’t know how to shoot a damn gun to save their own lives, let alone kill someone else.
Oh, wait, he got grazed in the arm. That makes it more believable. Sheriff Lamb heads over to Savino’s and finds the District Attorney already at his place. Uh-oh, not good news for the DA. It will probably be soon when Ralph realizes the law is not on his side in this matter.
“You fellas want to kill each other, that’s just fine. Just don’t do it in my town.”
“It’s my town, too.”
Oh yes, indeed. We will see, won’t we.
Hey, guess who drives a blue car? Simon Camden. He’s a drug-using sister lover, who broke into Estelle’s house to steal her jewelry to buy more drugs. And, conveniently, his car is in the shop. I didn’t much get all the story he was telling. Was he banging his sister? Was he stealing her tuition money to buy drugs even though it was in her bank account? I was a little lost here and too tired to keep rewinding it to figure it out. Feel free to fill my stupid ass in on whatever you know about this story he gave.
Johnny Rizzo is back in town. And he’s pissed at Savino for holding back on Chicago with his news on making a move on The Tumbleweed. Johnny tells Savino that if he’s going to go against Chicago, he wants in on the deal at 50% of Savino’s take, compared to the 10% that Savino first offered. Fair negotiations, considering Savino has no leverage seeing as how he was making a move without his boss knowing and could easily be “let go” for that.
Ok, now I get it a little. Estelle was paying off someone who knew about her secret. That’s how she lost all of her tuition money. So, I guess I went a little too hard on Simon Camden. I apologize. Perhaps you can score me a date with Ruthie, and we’ll call it even.
And, it was the maid at The Tumbleweed, Tracy, who was following around Estelle, snapping pictures of her and her white father. From those pictures, she earned herself $500 a month until Estelle started talking about how she was going to go to the police with what was happening. So, she ran her down with her car. Kind of a quiet penultimate scene, considering the entire episode was wrapped around who killed Estelle.
See, now THAT is how you walk up to a car and kill the people inside it! Thank you, Red.
Oh, Dennis Quaid trying to show off some muscle as he tells Jack he needs to live by his rules, and that damn oak tree is staying where it’s supposed to be, because when he looks out that way, he sees some pretty girl with a tad too much red lipstick on her lips.
Jack ends the episode by asking Mia out on a date, but finds out he’s a little late in asking, because the DA beat him to the punch, offering to take her to see the Hoover Dam and other sites around town. Sorry buddy, don’t you know the guy with the cherry red convertible always gets the girl!! Maybe next time. This could cause an interesting uproar in the war between the police and the mafia. I foresee some troubling decisions coming Jack Lamb’s way that have a little more meaning behind them than whether or not a well should be built near an Oak tree or off somewhere else on the farmland.
MVP of the Episode
Vincent Savino. Like I said, I prefer the “bad guy” part of this story more than Ralph and his boys. I find them boring, dull, and un-cop like. Keep the mob stories coming. Savino keeps finding the way to get things done that he needs, and even though Ralph does the same, I just like the way Savino handles his business a little better. That is all.
Line of the Night
“Mr. Savino, I pegged you first moment I laid eyes on you.” – Sheriff Ralph Lamb
Well, if he can’t win the MVP, at least I can give him the line of the night, right? I almost wanted to give it to him for the crack about the mob guys killing each other in his town, but I actually liked Savino’s follow up response better. But, I still liked this one from earlier in the episode more.
tvonthedaily episode rating
B-minus
Awfully close to a C+. I think I’m actually liking this show less and less as I continue to watch it. I just don’t like Dennis Quaid’s portrayal. And, even though I like Michael Chiklis in his role, I still don’t fully believe him as a big, bad gangster, who is going to run Las Vegas one day. The last thing we need is just another old police procedural show lie CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, blah blah blah. You know what all of those shows have in common? They’re on CBS. CBS is lame. I hate that CBS gets the most viewers. I still swear that they get the most viewers only because old people leave their tv’s on CBS and never change the channel.
Nielsen Ratings
Hopefully, the ratings will be released tomorrow at 11am est. It took forever to get The Mentalists ratings, so who knows. But, just keep checking back for an update.
**Late ratings update, I apologize. Vegas got 10.80 Million viewers, beating out most shows other than the two NCIS shows, The Voice, and DWTS. However, the 18-49 ratings are terrible, and there are actually some pundits out there saying this show may be canceled. Whereas I definitely don’t see that happening, I can see this show moving to a new night next season. I do think that this show may only last two seasons, POSSIBLY three, but what do I know? I just have a feeling that this show is going to teeter out of style towards the end of the first season, but they’ll already have renewed it by then, and we’ll be stuck with a second season. Maybe just a 13 episode run next year.
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Episode 3 – “All That Glitters”
Air Date: October 9th, 2012
written by: Scott Ottersen
The episode opens with the 1960 Olympic boxing team being interviewed at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with a boxer named Tommy Carroll taking center stage during questioning since he won the gold medal at the Games in Rome. I’m guessing this episode is going to have something to do with boxing, or someone on the team. I know, I know, I should have been a detective, right?
Clay Winthrop introduces himself to Ralph and Jack at a bar in some swanky restaurant where the Lambs’ just seem out of place. He tells Ralph that he’s writing a column about the new cowboy sheriff and wanted to sit down with him and pick his brain. I’m sure we all knew what Ralph’s reaction would be. Their conversation ended, just as it was being interrupted by ADA O’Connell, who tells them that she got a tip that Savino was hosting Angelo Lafratta, who is the head of the Chicago crime syndicate where Savino stems from.
Angelo is in Vegas to check up on how Savino is doing as the new manager at The Savoy. While Savino is hosting Angelo, he tells him that they need a high quality restaurant inside The Savoy to keep the high rollers inside their casino when they want to take pretty young ladies out for a bite to eat before they take them back to their private suites and play slots with a slit…if you know what I mean…and I think you do! Angelo tells Savino that he needs to get Johnny Rizzo’s approval, which just so happens to be Mia’s father. He also happens to be blacklisted from gambling at any casino in the state of Nevada.
Tommy Carroll ends up dying in the middle of the strip. As the Sheriff and his deputies are scoping out the scene, Ray Humphries, another boxer on the Olympic team rushes to the scene to find his best friend dead on the ground. As Dixon brings over a bloodied lead pipe, Ray takes off running right into the diner, where he just so happened to know that Garrity would be at that very moment. I wish I had that skill, and could know where people were at any given moment. I’d use that sense for every moment Jessica Alba ever showered. Anyway, Ray tells the Sheriff that Garrity is the man who did it, because he and Tommy got into it just the night before, and wouldn’t you know it, Garrity just so happens to have Tommy’s gold medal in his back pocket. Good storage spot for an Olympic gold medal. Why not just wear it around your neck, dummy!
As soon as I saw Mia step out of that car in the last episode, I knew that I kn
ew her. I just couldn’t pin it down as to where I remembered her from. What I did remember was that I was on the fence about whether or not I found her attractive (in her previous role, because in this role, I definitely found her attractive). But, when I found her real life name, I was even more convinced that I knew who she was. And, then I saw her imdb page and I saw that she was on the show Alcatraz. If only they would have let her show off her assets a little more in that role, they may have gotten a few more 18-49 viewers to check it out on a weekly basis. I was sorry to see that show go, but now I’m glad it did, because I’d much rather see her with the cleavage-filled dresses and long hair than dressed like a man, and a bob haircut.
But, I digress. I have a tendency to do that, so bear with me. Johnny tells his daughter, Mia, that she should start skimming money off the top just for the two of them as Savino walks up on their meal and escorts Johnny off of the casino floor, so that Sheriff Lamb has no good reason to step foot in there and arrest him. Instead, he takes Johnny up to his own personal suite, filled with all the casino games he could want to play, drinking the finest booze the casino can offer, and I’m sure a personal masseuse who offered up a happy ending or two.
Delving more into the case of Tommy’s murder, Sheriff Lamb digs deepers into the accusation that Tommy was a drug addict, which was proposed by Garrity. But, Tommy’s trainer tells a different story, and that the needles in Tommy’s bag were for painkillers and not recreational drug use.
Perks of being a Sheriff in Las Vegas – the strip clubs. “You check your coat here often.” Shit yes I do! I check my coat here so often that I don’t even wear coats anymore. They hand the coat checker the receipt they found in Tommy’s personal belongings and in return, she gives them a bag that is filled with some cash (that Garrity said Tommy took off of him in exchange for gold medal), a piece of paper with some code on it, and a gun. The waitress said Tommy seemed nervous and pale, and that he used the phone before he left. And, as they are leaving, Dixon does what any other man would offer to do and that’s stay behind with the half naked women and work the case.
Back at The Savoy, we learn that Johnny doesn’t like to win money. If I’m ever in Vegas and any casino manager wants to set me up with my own personal suite with a casino inside, where all the dealers let me win, I’ll gladly accept. I won’t go all apeshit on the dealer like Johnny does, beating him half to death.
After we learn Dixon won himself $10 at Amateur night by hanging his hat from his schlong, he learns that he’s been having too much fun and that the bag is now missing. How it ended up missing I don’t know, but I would imagine that the Sheriff would have just taken it with him. But, what do I know about being a Sheriff?
“Well I’m sorry Professor Lamb, I didn’t realize you mastered code breaking in your three weeks as Sheriff.” One of the lighter moments of the episode, and one of the only that actually made me laugh out loud. I do tend to like my dramas to take themselves seriously, but it’s always nice to see them branch out and aim to make us laugh every now and again.
He’s no Eddie Murphy in Delirious (which is still the funniest stand up I’ve ever seen and will go all Ralph Lamb on you if you try and argue against me), but Jack Lamb gets the joke across and earns a laugh from the crowd (me).
Ralph gets a call from the bellman at The Savoy (I’m guessing this guy might end up dead if he keeps making phone calls like this, working for the man he does), telling him that Johnny Rizzo is back on the floor, gambling. As he hangs up, Dixon walks into the station and tells him that he lost the bag, and oh yeah, the secretary cracks the code as being a bus from Las Vegas to Tucson at 7:00. Which means they better hurry to the bus station. Crack that whip, boys.
Jack and Dixon head to the bus station, where they find a woman on the bus, who just happens to be stupid enough to just sit the bag next to her in the open seat. Las Vegas sure is full of geniuses. Maybe you’d want to try a little harder to hide a bag that has a gun in it, I don’t know. Just a thought.
While those two are off finding purses, Ralph heads over to The Savoy and fights Rizzo right in the middle of the casino floor and Savino can’t do anything about it.
Mrs. Dunbar won’t talk about how she came about the bag, but Dixon learns that she’s not Mrs. Dunbar, because Mrs. Dunbar is dead. Ralph runs off in a tizzy, because he knows he’s seen her before.
“Sounds like your problem. Not mine.” Very true, but also very false. You are making it your problem, Sheriff Lamb. Savino needs to talk to Johnny alone (without Mia) in order to smooth things over so that he won’t lose out on the future of Vegas that Mia saw in Savino’s future. But, Savino learns that Johnny is going to be a problem, because he wants to whack Sheriff Lamb. And, he wants to do it tonight. But, before they go and kill Sheriff, they first need Angelo’s blessing.
I pride myself on being a background follower. I always look in the background of any picture I see. I always pay attention to the people behind the people I’m talking to. That is just my nature. But, hardly do I ever think I would remember a woman, who is in the very background of a short film I watched (for less than 10 seconds), from a good distance. If he truly did remember her from that fight footage, God bless Ralph Lamb and his eyes/memory. The man should win an award for that. Anyway, he tells “Mrs. Dunbar” that he knows she’s not Mrs. Dunbar, and that since she’s sitting next to Ronnie Davidson, another Olympic boxer, she must be Mrs. Davidson. She tells Ralph that her husband beats her and that Tommy was trying to help her flee from him, and that is why she had the money, the gun, and was on a train to Tucson. Ronnie caught her on the phone with Tommy, but she thought she hid it well enough from him that he wouldn’t find out it was Tommy, but when she heard he was dead, she knew she had to leave as quickly as she could.
I know this isn’t the best picture to speak on what I’m trying to express when I say that something about Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Sheriff Lamb is bothering me. His mean-mugging that he does throughout every episode is still getting on my nerves a little. Not a lot, but just enough that its become a “thing.” Is anyone else having an issue with this? The scene with Ronnie, and getting him to confess, he gives him this look and it just really looks like he’s taking a wet crap right in the seat he’s sitting in. I just don’t know how else to explain it, but I think Michael Chiklis needs to give him a few pointers, because I believe his mean-mugging.
Anyway, there I go again. The ME confirms that Tommy died of a heart attack, not the blow to the head that Ronnie gave him. He said that any prescription drugs mixed with his painkillers he was taking would definitely cause the attack, but the only problem was that Tommy wasn’t on any painkillers. So, that leads Ralph to my thought bubble in that Ray had something to do with Tommy’s death. Accident or on purpose?
Johnny makes his pitch to (I keep wanting to call him Don) Angelo about killing off Sheriff Lamb for disgracing him in his own casino, in front of his own daughter, and friends. He throws a jab at Savino, saying that if he can’t handle the Sheriff, maybe it’s time to let someone else have a crack at running The Savoy. Savino responds, saying that it’s Johnny’s fault for not being able to be content with his own personal casino, and that taking out the Sheriff is the wrong move because that would leave them with two dead sheriff’s in the matter of a month, which would not only put the Feds on their tails, but also drive tourism down in Las Vegas, losing them a shitload of money in the process. In the end, Angelo sides with Savino. I would have done the same.
The Sheriff confronts Ray, and tells him that he killed his best friend, on accident. He slipped him some of his asthma pills so that Tommy wouldn’t be able to fight. And, now he’s dead. And, instead of arresting him, he gives him Tommy’s gold medal. Because, in the real world, murderers are rewarded.
The episode ends with Angelo telling Savino that he’s doing a good job so far and that he needs to cool it with the ideas. He’s trying to solve problems that aren’t problems yet, and that expansion will come when it’s needed. Savino wants to be at the forefront, but it seems Angelo is content just sitting back and earning the money they’re already earning. I think I’m sensing an intrafamily war coming at some point this season. Perhaps, Savino is going to try and take over.
Anybody else agree?
MVP of the Episode
Vincent Savino. So far, I’m enjoying the “bad guy” scenes more than I am the “good guy” ones. I’m buying the Vincent Savino character more than I am the Ralph Lamb. But, even with that said, Savino had himself a more productive episode than Lamb did. Lamb solved a murder that practically solved itself. But, Savino earned himself some stripes with Chicago, proving that he’s the man for the job. And, that he has himself a bright future in Las Vegas, possibly “owning” Vegas at some point.
Line of the Night
“I’m just trying to keep my job.” – Vincent Savino
Said in response to Mia telling him that he is on the fast track to owning Vegas with his vision for The Savoy. Somehow, I think Savino understated what he’s truly trying to do. I think we all know he’s out for blood, money, and overall power. But, I guess that it was his “job” entails.
tvonthedaily episode rating
B+
This episode fell a little short of receiving an A, only because I didn’t like the murder case. I felt it moved a little too quickly, everything seemed a bit frazzled at times, with a bunch of things all happening at once. The Savino/Rizzo storyline kept this episode at a high level, otherwise it may have dipped under a B rating, which might be pretty hard to do for a show that I actually like. If a show I like dips to a C+ or below, that spells trouble.
Nielsen Ratings
Ratings aren’t released until 11am est, so check back after then for those numbers. I will have them posted.
**Ratings are in, and Vegas landed at 11.78 Million viewers, meaning the show dipped ever so slightly from 12.11 last week. But, it still easily won its time slot against Parenthood & Animal Practice. But, now it is losing to The Voice & Dancing with the Stars, which reached a season high of 13.18 Million viewers (The Voice was at 11.93 Million, but slaughtered the competition in the 18-49 share). I think that this is good news for Vegas, to stay steady while seasonal monster viewer shows like The Voice & DWTS are on the air, because once those shows are off the air, those viewers are going to stop DVRing Vegas and will watch it live. I’d imagine we will be seeing Vegas jump into the 13 Million viewer area once the reality competition shows go away.
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Episode 2 – “Money Plays”
Air Date: October 2nd, 2012
written by: Scott Ottersen
The show opens with Sheriff Ralph Lamb eating at a local diner and being told he doesn’t need to pay for his food anymore. But, being the man he is, he is unwilling to accept the offer and would rather pay his way through life, unlike what the previous Sheriff seemingly was taking advantage of with his label. As he leaves and walks ADA O’Connell to her car, Jack just happens to walk up on them (must be the smallest town in the country), and they notice a suspicious man walking into the jewelry store, brandishing a shotgun just before he walks inside. Ralph steals a broom from some custodian, who just happened to be what, sweeping the streets, and waits outside the entrance of the jewelry store, where he kneecaps the robber and is unloading the shotgun just as Savino happens to drive right by. What a convenient start to the show, huh?
Back at the casino, Red tells Savino that the new Sheriff cleaned house at the station and that they are going to need new people on the inside. Savino tells him they will worry about that in a minute, but for right now they need to clean their own house, seeing as how Perrin was stealing money from the casino and he needed to know if anybody else was in on it with him. A few of the employees take Savino up on his offer to walk out and never come back (rather than be killed, most likely) as Red tells him it’s going to be hard to make up the loss of the Count Room manager. But, Savino tells him that Chicago will send them a new Count Room manager.
Dixon happens upon the Sheriff and Jack as they’re loading the prisoner to take to prison and tells Ralph that he’s going to want to head to Henderson first (not more with Henderson – I feel like every crime on CSI happens in Henderson, so perhaps the head of CBS lives there and just likes hearing his hometown shout out on prime time television), where they find a dead body, who was tied up before he was killed. Jack finds valuables inside the house, which means robbery wasn’t the motive. Ralph sees the garage door open, and with the air conditioning on, that means something is awry. And, wouldn’t you know it, a girl is in the trunk of the car inside the garage. I’m not sure, but if I’m killing somebody, and locking a girl in the trunk of the car, I’m probably going to shut the door to the garage. I mean, don’t we learn, from a young age, to shut the garage door when we walk in a house, anyway? I feel the killer should have done this automatically, from reflexes of growing up. But, no such luck, and we have our first witness/clue to the killing.
The girl was Wes Sutcliffe’s girlfriend. She heard a knock at the door, Wes went to answer it and as soon as he did, he was pushed inside by a guy, wearing a ski mask, and holding a gun. He was alone, tied Wes up, threw her in the trunk of the car, and then that is when she heard the gunshot.
Ralph and Jack are back at the station, where Ralph doesn’t want to be (he’d rather work out of his ranch), and finds casino chips from the Savoy inside the Sheriff’s desk, meaning the previous Sheriff had been on the payroll of the mob working out of the Savoy (Savino and his gang).
Perrin and his attorney are meeting with the DA and ADA, who are adamant about Perrin getting the death penalty (of course the DA wants this, since he’s affiliated with the mob and doesn’t want Perrin to talk), but Perrin’s attorney tells them he will tell them everything he knows about the Chicago mob and Vincent Savino in order to get a lighter sentence, possibly even off completely. The DA takes this information to Savino, who tells the DA to let Perrin walk. DA Reynolds tells Savino he can’t just let Perrin walk, because the maid as a witness is too solid, but Savino tells him not to worry about her, because she’s going away. Cue scene of Savino’s boys escorting her and her family to their car, as they are paying for a trip to Florida for her and her family. What a nice mafioso. I’d have rather seen him kill her, seeing as how that might be more appropriate. You’d also have to figure the maid might know she’s an integral part of this murder case and that she may want to stick around for it, making it not so easy for her to be persuaded into taking some trip to Florida. They could have at least threatened her, right?
Dixon learned that Wes won big in a poker game at the Savoy and got the list of names of the other players in that game. They run those names for prior criminal history, and come across a Bill Rickers, who is suspected of domestic abuse after his wife came into the hospital beaten up pretty badly and not wanting to press charges. She also had rope burns on her wrists, same as Wes Sutcliffe did.
Savino and Red are waiting on their new Count Room Manager, when a female exits the car, being Mia Rizzo, someone Vincent knows well as he grew up with her dad in the “family.” Then, we are shown exactly why Mia got the job, as she walks into the Count Room and finding inconsistencies with their scale, meaning that someone was skimming their skim (stealing money).
Ralph and Jack meet with Rickers and ask about Wes Sutcliffe, but notice that he has rope burns on his wrists, as well, meaning he didn’t beat his wife and had been victim to the same crime Wes was. He gives them a story about a group of men with ski masks breaking into his home, beating his wife, tying them both up, and stealing money out of his safe. At the same time Ralph is questioning Rickers, Jack is questioning a friend of Bill’s, who tells Jack that Bill didn’t lay a hand on his wife, and that he called him right after the robbery took place and asked him to take his wife to the hospital.
Savino and Ralph have another standoff, where Savino tells the Sheriff that they got off on the wrong foot and that he’s looking for some cooperation, and that he’s offering his with the law, as long as they come to him with their problems before they just bring it into his house. Ralph gives Savino the chips that he found in his desk, telling him that he won’t be needing them, basically telling Savino that he’s onto him and that he’s not going away anytime soon. And, that he’ll never have him in his pocket like the previous Sheriff was.
Ralph and Jack head back to Sutcliffe’s home (crime scene) and find money still in his safe, meaning robbery truly wasn’t the motive and that this crime may be separate from the other crimes that seemed to be similar.
ADA O’Connell tries to talk the DA into taking the deal with Perrin and getting him to bring down the mob, but he tells her that he wants to take the murder trial to court and that it was the Governor wants as well. But, as they are walking by Perrin’s room, they see him in the room talking with a Federal Prosecutor, for most likely no other reason than to give up the information he has on the mob, as well as Savino.
Mia notices the house is staying on “soft 17” and tries to talk to Savino about how they can make so much more money if they hit on soft 17, but he doesn’t buy it and is interrupted by a phone call from a “friend” in the DA’s office, who tells him that Perrin is making a deal with the Feds. Red offers his services to “take care” of Perrin, once and for all. As a sidenote here, I’m not really buying Red as a bad guy. Am I the only one? I just don’t see it in his character as an actor.
Putting their play into effect, Nicholas Cota crashes into Dixon’s cruiser, and then gets into a fistfight with him in the middle of the street as a way to get locked up and placed in the same jail as Perrin.
Jack finds that the safe’s in the homes of the robbed were all installed by the same company, which is owned by a mob-affiliated guy out of Milwaukee, so Ralph and Jack decide to go bust up the guy a little after he’s a tad uncooperative. I’m starting to think I would have liked being a cop back in 1960. Good goodness, I could have practically killed people on a daily basis and been lawful doing so. Let me also report that if someone cracks a heavy glass over your neck, you are going to die! Also, if you are thrown out of a storefront window, first, you were thrown by a guy who was three times your size because those windows don’t just break like paper does, and second, you are also going to DIE! There was one time when I was standing 5 feet away from my brother’s car, I lofted a pebble up in the air (this was the smallest pebble you’ve ever seen) and it just so happened to hit the car window (drivers side door) and shattered it into pieces. Somehow, a piece of glass flew my direction and hit my hand without me even knowing it. I didn’t feel it hit me or anything at all, but maybe that was just out of sheer unbelievability that the tiny pebble I threw up in the air just shattered that window. But, story ends with me walking away and looking at my hand with a steady stream of blood going down it. So, if one tiny shred of glass can fly five feet in the air, knick my hand and make me bleed that heavily, what do you think is happening if you go through a window like that? Yes, he’d only have 2 or 3 cuts on his face, I’m sure. I’m waiting for a tv show/movie to get this right one day…
Anyway, Scarpone tells them that he sold his client list to a group of guys from Missouri, who were obviously the crew out there robbing these people now.
Savino gets a phone call from his boss in Chicago, telling them that they are now going to start hitting on soft 17. Apparently, Mia went behind their back, called her dad, who talked to the boss, who then told them they are going to do what she wants. That’s not going to go over so well for Mia making her presence welcomed in Vegas. Also, they learn that the boss is coming to Vegas to visit next week.
Cota goes in for the kill on Perrin, but he does so just as Dixon sweeps in to talk to him about paying for his cruiser. Why Cota was walking so slow into the bathroom to kill Perrin, I’ll never know, but I think the bigger question is why Perrin was even in lockup like that, when the Feds knew he was a marked man. You’d have to think they’d keep him off on his own as a way not to get him killed in a town where it’s normal for people to get killed so easily when going against the mob. Ralph, then delivers Cota back to Savino’s office at the Savoy, as a way to show “cooperation.” But, he knows that Savino knows why he is doing it and that it’s not really a way of showing cooperation, but more of showing him he’s still the boss around this town and he’s not going to let Savino get away with things that easily.
Then, of course, they find the Missouri crew right in the middle of a robbery (convenience is still king these days), Jack almost gets them killed by turning the light on in the hallway (and I can’t imagine how anybody misses somebody standing 3 feet away from them – that guy walking out of that room should have easily killed Jack before getting killed himself). Ralph, then, almost gets killed by the other robber, but Dixon saves his life by shooting the guy dead.
The Missouri crew claims that they didn’t kill Sutcliffe or anybody at all, for that matter. Ralph sees the picture of the knot tied on Sutcliffe’s wrists and realizes that it’s an old ranchers knot (bowline hitch) and no city boys could have tied that knot (because there are no cattle in Missouri, right?). That knot was tied by someone who knew about the robberies, and knew about Wes Sutcliffe. That person was Ted Ermin. They ask the girlfriend about Ted, and she tells them that they dated for a spell, but broke up a year ago (nothing like biding your time to get revenge) and it wasn’t pretty.
Back at the casino, Savino tells her about her soft 17 trial and how it’s not going to work because he’s tried it before and lost an incredible amount of money doing so, as well as an incredible amount of gamblers, who are going to leave because they will have better odds at other casinos. He puts her in her place and tells her that she was brought in to manage the Count Room, and to leave the casino running to him. She tells him she was just trying to run an “end around” and that it won’t happen again. You could see the spark light up in his eye when he heard that term, so we’re led to a dark street, where Savino takes a sledgehammer out of the trunk and Red automatically thinks he’s going to be killed, but that’s not Savino’s plan. Instead, he’s going to take out a fire hydrant as his end around, flooding the street, most likely to create a detour for when the Feds move Perrin out of Vegas.
Ralph and Jack get Ted to confess to his crime. You have to appreciate how easily these guys (not just in this show, but in ever cop show) get the criminals to confess. They say one or two things and it’s all over. At least they could get a lawyer first, and then see where it goes. Don’t just up and tell them you did it. With how they needed a witness in the Perrin case, I’d like to imagine Ted would have walked with ease seeing as how nobody saw him do anything and there just so happened to be a crew of masked men terrorizing the city, robbing safes and tying up people. All a lawyer would need to say is that perhaps one of the men went off on his own, killed Sutcliffe but didn’t have time to get the money because of the girl. But, instead, he tells the story about how it used to that the best cowboy got the girl, but now it’s the man who gets the most tips and it ain’t right.
The episode ends with Perrin being blown up while being transported out of Vegas by the Feds and Ralph finds chips on his desk, back at his ranch, realizing someone has been in their house, and they may be in for more trouble than they thought.
MVP of the Episode
Vincent Savino. He got what he wanted in this episode, much like Sheriff Lamb got what he wanted last episode. I don’t think anybody was a true standout of this episode, but I’m giving the edge to Savino on this one. I almost wanted to give it to Mia for how great she looked in her dresses, but I reminded myself I need to take this more seriously!!
Line of the Night
“You can’t watch a watch.” – Dixon Lamb
How true. However, kind of idiotic seeing as how heavy tv sets were back then, I don’t think if I’m going to rob someone in their house, I’m going to steal their television. I’ll take the watch and every other valuable in the house that I can walk out with in my hands, and not need help with. Then, I’ll sell that stuff and buy my own tv, and watch it!
tvonthedaily episode rating
B-minus
I thought it was entertaining, but was put off by the convenience factor and even some of the inconsistencies. I don’t know, I just didn’t like the opening scene, and when you don’t like the way a show starts, it’s hard to draw you back in. I did get drawn back in as the show went along, but really only enough to garner a B-minus grading. I’m expecting more out of this powerhouse show, and am going to need them to deliver, otherwise it’s just going to get good ratings because it’s on CBS, but be an underwhelming show.
Nielsen Ratings
12.11 Million, which still beat out every other show on network television, except the two NCIS shows (18.87 & 14.91 Million, respectively). It even beat out Dancing with the Stars, again, which was at 12.03 Million. I still find that surprising seeing as how much of a juggernaut DWTS has been over the years. But, this show does have enough star power and enough clout to remain on top, so I’m just hoping that the product ends up deserving the rewards it reaps.
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Series Premiere Episode – “Pilot”
Air Date: September 25th, 2012
written by: Scott Ottersen
When I first saw the preview for this show, I immediately knew it was going to be the new “hit” of the season. How could it not be? It has everything a tv show audience could ask for in Vegas, the 60s, the mafia, two big name actors, and did I mention Vegas? Who doesn’t like a good story about Vegas, and for this show to be about the uprising of Vegas, and the war between the mob and the small-town police force that Vegas was before it became the Vegas it is today. I was hooked from that first second.
However, let me just say they weren’t off to the greatest of starts with me when I saw that the premiere episode was titled “Pilot.” I know that episode titles don’t truly matter to many viewers, but I actually like to see what the producers and directors title the episodes. I like to watch the show and see how the title fits into the storyline, the acting, the actors, the characters, the background, the scenery, the whatever and whatever not. So, let’s just say that I was less than thrilled with “Pilot.” But, it didn’t sway me from watching the episode, that’s for sure, so I guess they still win in that right.
The series opens with the sun glaring down on Ralph Lamb, out herding his cattle in the desert as a plane comes zooming right above him, scattering his cattle everywhere. Seemingly pissed off at this event, Ralph takes off on his one horse-powered horse after the very plane that scattered his meat.
“Vincent Savino in the flesh” exits the plane, taking in his first glance at the Las Vegas desert that he is about to take over for his Chicago “family.” As he’s walking onto the runway, he notices a cowboy riding up on his horse, kicking up dust behind him in a hurry. Ralph rides right up to the airport office, and you have to commend the security back in 1960. I guess they weren’t too worried about terrorism back then. Fences did exist back in 1960, right? You can’t have a fence up around the airport? What if some cattle just mosied onto the runway as a plane was landing? Apparently, Ralph is all pissed off because he had a deal with the airport manager/air traffic controller to not fly planes over his ranch, instead flying them in over the casinos. And, cue fight scene between Ralph and three guys who just came out of nowhere. Savino sees the cowboy take a punch and keep on kicking the crap out of the three guys, taking notice of how tough he is. I never really saw Dennis Quaid as a tough guy. Not especially after his many turns on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, playing pranks on people. Hey, it’s ok for a grown man to watch The Ellen DeGeneres Show, right? Don’t hate.
The Mayor is backstage with the District Attorney, talking about the Sheriff being missing and some charity event they need to do press for when they are interrupted by Assistant District Attorney Katherine O’Connell, who tells them that the Governors’ niece has been found murdered. The girl is Samantha Meade and she worked at the Savoy Casino, which is knowledge that will come in handy later. The Mayor knows they can’t wait on the Sheriff and/or entrust the deputies to solve this crime, so he calls a deputy over to go and find a Ralph Lamb and bring him to the scene. The deputy does so, and Ralph is brought to the scene (how awkward is it to call a grown man, Ralph? I just don’t buy that name.) and told by the Mayor he is now in charge of finding the killer of Ms. Meade, and that he is now on the payroll. Only, Lamb doesn’t want his money, he just wants those damn airplanes to stop flying over his ranch.
“Take away the maybe.”
Cut to Savino being led into a warehouse by “Red,” who is telling Savino that things aren’t as bad as Chicago is making them seem, and he’s going to show that to him. Vincent stops him in his tracks, tells him that the “Savoy” (the very casino where Samantha Meade worked happens to be the one Vincent Savino is now in charge of – go figure) is bleeding money, his accounts are thin, and he has a rat on the loose (the Sheriff). He loosens Red up a little by telling him not to worry, and that he is going to be his right hand man as he plants the family flag in Vegas.
They walk into the warehouse and catch one of their crew beating a blackjack dealer, trying to get him to give up the Sheriff’s location. He ends up giving him the location and Savino takes out his frustration on the “animal” that was beating the dealer, gives the dealer some cash, and tells him to take some time off and come see him once he’s back. I’m sure this is happening all to show us the kind of “boss” Savino is going to be. A little hardcore, but some decency in him, as well.
Ralph makes his brother, Jack, his new deputy because he’s “good with numbers and better with people” than he is. I guess that’s all it takes to qualify yourself for law enforcement back then. Although, I don’t even think you need that these days. As long as you can pass the physical, you’re in. Or, at least that’s how it seems. Although, when you see 80% of the cops that are out there on duty, you kind of wonder how they ever passed any physical test. Jack’s training consists of Ralph telling him to ask a few questions, listen to what people have to say, but also that what they don’t say is just as important. Sound advice.
The DA is fighting with the Mayor about how this case should be handled, and that he should be placed in charge while the Sheriff is in hiding, and that the deputies should report to him and not some nobody off some ranch. Then, we’re given some background on Ralph and his Military Police background, and how he was on some special team back in the war that nobody really heard about. I think the greatest thing about this show is that its (loosely) based off of a true story. Ralph Lamb and Vincent Savino are real people, with real history together in Las Vegas. Ralph Lamb is the longest tenured Sheriff in the history of Las Vegas, and Vincent Savino had a lot to do with creating Vegas, so this show should be extremely interesting. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Ralph and Jack speak to Samantha Meade’s mother, who throws suspicion on a day laborer that used to work on her ranch, who ran off with his daughter a year ago after her mother disapproved of their relationship.
Before meeting with the boyfriend, they head back to the scene, where they uncover a shallow grave, covered by a board and some dirt, which was obviously meant for Samantha’s body, meaning whoever dumped the body had been interrupted. Alongside the grave were motorcycle tracks, but Jack comments about how it would be hard to drag a dead body out into the desert on the back of a motorcycle, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there and didn’t see something.
After that interlude, Ralph and Jack meet with the boyfriend, who doesn’t have an alibi, mentions how he talked to her the day of the murder and said she was working late, like always, which led him to believe she might be cheating on him. That gave him a little motive with no alibi, which made him the early favorite in the running of killer, although we all know it wasn’t him. Too easy.
Ralph, Jack, and Ralph’s son Dixon (another deputy) head over to the Savoy, where they learn that security said they never saw Samantha leave through any of the main exits, which leads Ralph on a journey through the back hallways of the casino in search of clues of how she did exit the building.
While Ralph mazes his way through the casino, Jack and Dixon are outside where there is a bit of a commotion as bikers ride through the strip (which definitely isn’t the strip we know today), damaging nearby shops/casinos, making it seem as if they might be the guilty party in this murder.
Back in the back hallways of the Savoy, Ralph stumbles upon a pool of blood and catches a lead pipe to the back of the skull for his efforts. Lights out. See you after the commercial break, Ralph.
Hotel security told the Mayor it was the bellman who hit Ralph with the pipe for softening his hard-on after catching him with the girl he was about to bang, but Ralph knows better than that. He mentions the blood pool, but ADA O’Connell tells him they found no such pool of blood when they went over the scene. The Mayor tells him to focus on the bikers and that the DA, himself, wants them as the lead suspects. So, they set up an old fashioned round-up, where Ralph runs down the lead biker on his horse. I don’t know about you, but I want to buy stock in that horse. He’s faster than a motorcycle and he’s not out on the track?!?
The show lays some foundation for later episodes by telling us that Mert Hayes (spelling?) is looking to sell the “Tumbleweed” and all the land surrounding it. I’m sure Vincent Savino will have stakes in that claim.
While at the event the Savoy is hosting, Ralph sneaks off into the credit department office and finds numbers in Samantha’s books that match some folders, except one of the files is missing. So, he finds a name attached to the number, and finds out from the front desk that the name isn’t a visitor, but instead the name of a suite in the hotel. But, he does have the name of the person staying in that suite, and that he happened to leave in a rush, leaving behind his bags and cash. Stewart Mills is his name, and he’s from St. Louis.
Jack finds out that Mills was skimming money from his bank back home in order to pay off his markers at the casino, and that he isn’t back in St. Louis yet, seeing as how his wife told him so, meaning he’s still in Vegas somewhere, probably in hiding. Ralph meets with some barber/pawn star asking about someone in a hurry to sell something to make some quick cash, and the man just happens to have an item a guy sold him earlier that day, along with where the guy is staying.
Cut to some secluded desert road where the District Attorney is meeting with the in-hiding Sheriff, telling him that Chicago is pissed at him because they believe he talked to the Gaming Commission. Just as the Sheriff is about to run off and leave forever, Vincent Savino drives up and we all know that’s the end of the Sheriff. If I’m the Sheriff, I pull my six-shooter and just start popping off shots. You have to know you’re a dead man at that point, so you might as well go out fighting, right? Maybe that’s just me. Although, if I’m the Sheriff, I’m not meeting with anybody in Vegas. Hell, I wouldn’t even be anywhere near Vegas, or even in Nevada at all if the damn mafia is after me. No thank you, I’ve seen The Sopranos, I’m not trying to have a broomstick shoved up my ass in some dingy hotel room.
Ralph, Jack, and Dixon find Stewart Mills hiding out in his hotel room. He tries to get away, but to no avail. I’m just surprised Ralph’s horse wasn’t involved in this capture. He tells the deputies that he had a deal with Bob Perrin, over at the Savoy, that he had to start stealing money from his bank or else Bob would have told everyone at the bank about his gambling debts. I’m not so sure why that was such a big issue, but apparently he didn’t want people to know he liked to gamble, and lose. He tells Ralph that it was Perrin who told him that he would handle the Samantha situation, and he was just assuming he meant he was going to buy her off seeing as how she was onto their “deal,” but then he heard about the murder and he knew he was in trouble, which is why he’s off hiding in some hotel. As they are leaving the hotel with Stewart in tow, we see Bob Perrin in his car, parked outside the place.
Ralph and the deputies bust into the Savoy with shotguns in hand, as well as a warrant for Perrin’s arrest. Savino tells him he better get the hell out of his casino, because he’s trespassing. Ralph reminds him who the law is in the town and checks out Perrin’s desk, anyway, where he finds a picture of Perrin next to an airplane.
Which leads him to knowing that Perrin was going to make his getaway by plane. Cue shootout at the airport. Cue new security at said airport, Jesus! Also, if a car is traveling that fast down a road and someone shoots out two of its tires, I’m guessing the car is not just going to slide sideways and come to a complete stop after just three or four feet of travel. For what it’s worth, Ralph Lamb would have been a dead man that day. He’d also have died an idiot for standing in the middle of the street as he shot out the tires of an oncoming car, speeding directly at him. Just saying.
ADA O’Connell tells Ralph that they don’t have enough evidence to convict and that they need a witness. They approach the bikers about a deal, Ralph throws another weak punch at someones face, and the biker eventually tells them that they saw a guy dumping a body, saw the girl dead and left her there, didn’t see the guys face, but did see his car. And, folks, that counts as a witness. I don’t know, I think I’d like the hotel employee who saw Perrin and Samantha together at the hotel as more of a witness than some biker who caused thousands of dollars of damage to several nearby towns, who just happened to see a car.
Savino and Red discuss how Perrin didn’t “take” too much from the casino, they’re more worried about him talking to the feds than the lost money they can just recoup. Red mentions that the “cowboy” might be a problem, but Savino says he’ll handle him when the time comes and not to worry. I’m not worried, Vince, but thanks.
ADA O’Connell takes Ralph to a new murder scene out in the desert, where the body of the former Sheriff lay in peace. And, just like that, Ralph Lamb has himself a new job.
The show ends with that intense look on Lamb’s face and I’m still on the fence of whether or not I’m buying him as a hard ass. So far, I’m teetering on the right side of the fence, but we’ll see where the season takes us.
MVP of the Episode
Ralph Lamb. It had to be Ralph with this episode. I wanted to side with Savino, but just couldn’t with the role he was given in this episode. It was Ralph’s MVP to lose, and he just didn’t do enough to lose it. I am guessing we will be interchanging these two throughout the season, possibly throwing in a third contestant once in a while, but I’d look for seeing this picture hanging in the rafters quite often this season.
Line of the Night
“You got yourself a new job, Sheriff.” – Mayor
tvonthedaily episode rating
B-plus
I considered an A-minus after the first viewing, but after watching it a second time around, and discussing it with myself, I think I wanted more out of the premiere episode. I know that with series premiere episodes, they tend to want to pack in as much information and background as they can within the time frame they have, but I think this episode could have used a little more. I think it was a tad jumbled at times, lacking in something I just couldn’t put my finger on. Or, maybe it just had to do with the whole Dennis Quaid as a bad ass. I don’t know, but I’m still expecting great things from this show, so definitely not hating on it with a B-plus rating.
Nielsen Ratings
12.11 Million viewers, beating out the likes of Dancing with the Stars (please let this show go away) and The Voice (I’m actually surprised at how low The Voice’s ratings are, although it does well in the coveted 18-49 demographic). It lost out to NCIS and NCIS:Los Angeles, but that was a given for Tuesday nights. I’d expect these numbers to probably stay around the same and continue floating around the 12-13 million viewer mark.
tvonthedaily 