Vega$ (1978–1981)

Dan Tanna is a private investigator in the gambling town of Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas can be seedy or glamorous, depending upon the point of view. This show is also notable for perhaps ... See full summary »

Creator:

Michael Mann

Stars:

Robert Urich, Bart Braverman, Phyllis Davis

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Robert Urich	...	Dan Tanna (69 episodes, 1978-1981)
Bart Braverman	...	Bobby 'Binzer' Borso (69 episodes, 1978-1981)
Phyllis Davis	...	Beatrice Travis (69 episodes, 1978-1981)
Greg Morris	...	Lt. David Nelson (57 episodes, 1978-1981)

Storyline

Dan Tanna is a private investigator in the gambling town of Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas can be seedy or glamorous, depending upon the point of view. This show is also notable for perhaps the only known portrayal of a house with a "drive-in" living room.

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Plot Keywords:

private investigator | las vegas nevada | intentionally misspelled title | thunderbird | one word title | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las Vegas

Filming Locations:

Landmark Hotel - Convention Center Drive and Paradise Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aaron Spelling Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (68 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dan's pet name for Phillip Roth was "Slick".

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Connections

Referenced in Battle of the Network Stars IX (1980)

User Reviews

Complete Style Over Substance But Awesone Nonetheless

Great, breezy show whose best feature is that it was filmed on location in fabulous Las Vegas. Created by Spelling-Goldberg productions in the same vein as its previous heavyweight crime series Starsky & Hutch and Charlie's Angels, it featured the same types of plots, music, action and parade of beautiful people and period heavies only now in a much more exciting locale!

Robert Urich was perfectly cast as private detective and Vietnam vet Dan Tanna, replete with a showgirl secretary, Beatrice and bumbling guy Friday, Binzer. Tony Curtis was really only present during the first season as casino owner Philip Roth, whose retainer to watch over his various Vegas hotel holdings basically allowed Dan to do a lot of pro- bono detective work. After appearing in the pilot, Greg Morris didn't join the regular cast as Lt. Dave Nelson until season 2 and then stayed through the series' end effectively replacing Tony Curtis' Roth as the authority figure in Dan's world. And no one could forget Tanna's amazing drive-in pad.

While there seemed to efforts to try and make Tanna a deeper character with complex emotions, we're talking seventies TV, so it was unfulfilled. Things had to be wrapped up with a neat, little bow in an hour with no time wasted on a character's personal struggles. Same thing with the plots which were great on the surface but rarely fully developed. But it was escapism at it's best given the setting and the setup.