Monday, January 01, 2018
Fox Mid-Season Pilot Review: LA to Vegas - Premieres Tuesday (Jan. 2)
LA to Vegas - Tuesdays at 9:00PM ET/PT on Fox
Premieres Tuesday, January 2, 2018 at 9:00PM ET/PT
Ed Weeks as Colin
Nathan Lee Graham as Bernard
Olivia Macklin as Nichole
Peter Stormare as Artem
Dylan McDermott as Captain Dave Pratman
Before getting into what's wrong with it, maybe it is worth pointing out the positives of the series. The individual cast members of the series make up a great are decent actors who could do well on a good TV series with good casting. But that long list of qualifiers already brings up the first problem with the series: it has a cast that doesn't seem to fit in with one another. In watching the first episode, you couldn't really see how they all fit together. So what we've got here is a case of a good cast that seems to be poorly matched.
I also couldn't really tell where the stories are going to go on this series. In the pilot, we got to see Ronnie losing out on a job opportunity and (possibly) opening a new door with a new relationship and the young couple who went to Las Vegas to get hitched. The possibilities with the main cast seem limited, though, as long as they're in the air, so this series will definitely need good guest stars with good stories, and the one in this pilot wasn't all that compelling of a story.
I had trouble finding the laughs in the pilot as well. I've always felt that not all sitcoms need a laugh every minute. In fact, some of the best sitcoms of all time won't necessarily make you laugh out loud at all. But they make up for that with solid storylines, which this series is lacking in what I've seen.
It is worth pointing out that one cast member that I sort of enjoyed that seemed to be underutilized in the pilot was Nathan Lee Graham. I had never really heard of him (although I've seen every episode of Scrubs, which he appeared in one episode, so I've undoubtedly seen him before), but some of the better scenes and somewhat funny (the comedy was still limited by the series itself) scenes came from him. Assuming this series doesn't work out, it would be nice to see him elsewhere, as he seems to have a lot of potential.
Preview:
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Wednesday, September 27
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Big Thanks Little Thanks" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Leah tasks Sandra with making the Thanksgiving turkey, but Sandra's got no clue how to cook and there are a lot of hangry residents ready to revolt. Anastasia struggles to cope when an old friend passes away.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "Super Senior" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Anastasia decides to go back to college, but quickly discovers how much things have changed since she was last on campus. The rival facility across the street challenges the Pleasant Days crew to a walk-a-thon for charity.
Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "By Any Means Necessary" (BET, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chilecia becomes Jeremy's good luck charm in poker but it hinders Philip's relationship while voting differences cause an argument between all generations at the facility.
The Ms. Pat Show - "Body Aches and Body Shakes" (BET, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Brandon's past comes back to haunt him when he decides to switch his career path; Terry gets a little too friendly with a colleague at work.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)
Wednesday, September 27
- Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Watch Howie on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Jim is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Richard Kind (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Spin City/Mad About You) - Richard appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Billy Gardell (Bob Hearts Abishola/Mike & Molly/Yes, Dear) - Billy is a guest on a repeat of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) and Heather Dubrow (Stark Raving Mad/Jenny/Life with Roger) - Jenny and Heather are guests on Watch What Happens: Live at 3:30am on Bravo. Jenny talks all about the 10th season of the hit Fox reality show, The Masked Singer, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Leslie Odom Jr. (Love in the Time of Corona/Big Dady) - Leslie will be on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso/Krapopolis) - Hannah unpacks her role on the new series Krapopolis on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
- Matthew A. Cherry (Young Love) - Matthew talks about Max's Young Love on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
- Peter Facinelli (Nurse Jackie) - Peter will be on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:40am.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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