As a surveillance expert for the fictional Montecito Resort & Casino, Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel) has his share of problems in this new series. But the biggest is his compulsion to talk to the audience.
The voice-over plague starts early, when Danny is caught in the act with temptress Delinda Deline (Molly Sims). "Never sleep with the boss's daughter," Danny tells us, "especially if the boss is Big Ed Deline, former head of CIA counterintelligence and the greatest surveillance-security man Vegas has ever seen." Whoa, Danny, let me take a few notes, okay?
James Caan's Big Ed is so bent out of shape over Danny and Delinda that the veteran actor sounds as if he's back in The Godfather: "Welcome to the family. If I catch you lookin' at another girl, take a poison pill because I'll kill ya." But when Delinda makes a slow-motion entrance at a restaurant, Danny confides to the viewer, "She may actually be worth getting killed for." I say don't believe the hype. Delinda isn't anywhere near as hot as she'd have to be to justify all the panting and fuming. The Danny-Delinda pairing is a loser that Las Vegas should drop like a bad poker hand.
What's more interesting about this show is the Montecito's security operation. Working from an ultrahigh-tech nerve center, Big Ed, Danny and company keep tabs on cheaters and other troublemakers, while pit boss Nessa Holt (Marsha Thomason) coolly patrols the casino floor. When a moralistic U.S. senator binges on Vegas vice in the second episode, it's up to the security team to keep a nosy reporter away from the action. The story could be a lot better written, but it does provide Caan with a juicy opportunity to get in the hypocrite's face.
If Caan grabs more screen time and the writers build on the hints of sexual chemistry between Danny and Nessa, I might place a small bet on this superslick series-provided Danny learns the virtue of occasional silence.
DRAMA
