Dr. Vegas 

A young, unconventional doctor lives and works in an old-school, Palms-like hotel/casino in Las Vegas.

Creators:

John Herzfeld, Jack Orman

Stars:

Rob Lowe, Sarah Lancaster, Lisa Gabriel

Cast

Series cast summary:
Rob Lowe	...	Dr. Billy Grant 10 episodes, 2004-2006
Sarah Lancaster	...	Veronica Harold 10 episodes, 2004-2006
Lisa Gabriel	...	Black Jack Dealer 10 episodes, 2004-2006
Joe Pantoliano	...	Tommy Danko 7 episodes, 2004-2006
Tom Sizemore	...	Vic Moore 6 episodes, 2004-2006
Adam Clark	...	Frank Broz 6 episodes, 2004-2006
Amy Adams	...	Alice Doherty 5 episodes, 2004

Storyline

Dr. Billy Grant (Lowe) took the gamble of his life when he leaves behind the world of emergency medicine to become the in-house doctor of a high-end Las Vegas casino, where he attends to the round-the-clock medical needs of guests, employees and their families amid the lures of Sin City.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | casino | las vegas nevada | 

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Taglines:

One heals. One deals.

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Genres:

Drama | Crime

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Vegas - A szerencsedoki

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bender Brown Productions,Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his memoir Love Life, Rob Lowe says that he lobbied for Tom Sizemore to be cast as Vic Moore despite his reputation for erratic behavior and drug issues. However, despite Lowe vouching for him (and paying a portion of Sizemore's salary out of his own pocket), Sizemore did prove to be unreliable in the role. In the book, Lowe recounts getting a phone call from Sizemore at 3:45 a.m. in which he started screaming and wailing about how his girlfriend had been decapitated, parts of her were pitched in a dumpster, and he was currently searching for her missing torso - and that was why he would be unable to make it to that day's shoot. Lowe recognized it as an excuse for skipping work rather than an actual sign that any girlfriend of Sizemore's really had met a grisly and partitioned end, hung up, and went back to sleep.

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Quotes

Dr. Billy Grant: What really happens in Vegas does stay in Vegas.

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Connections

Referenced in The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (2009)

User Reviews

Not bad, not great

It's inevitable that there will be comparisons to NBC's Las Vegas show with James Caan. In my opinion, Las Vegas is the superior one because it was there first. But what Las Vegas lacks and what Dr. Vegas gains is the cast. With the exception of James Caan's presence, all the actors on Las Vegas look like they stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. They're all very attractive females and males. But unfortunately, their acting talent doesn't match that of say, Dr. Vegas.

What's interesting about Dr. Vegas, which does feel like a Las Vegas clone, is the cast. Even when he's in bad projects, Joe Pantoliano always delivers his trademark schtick of being a great wiseass. Seriously, you can't beat someone like Pantoliano who adds a breath of fresh air to anything. Another thing is Tom Sizemore's in the show, which seems like a step back considering he's had success in films. Rob Lowe's a decent actor, but unfortunately his character, is just a little too bland.

While Las Vegas focuses on the security team of a casino, Dr. Vegas is a little more sporadic with only one character representing a certain department. Such as Rob Lowe's character represents medicine, Sizemore's character is security, and Joe Pantoliano is the big boss. Since it's a little more sporadic, it's a little hard to keep track of the characters and where they're going. What NBC's show has going for it, besides familiar guest stars, is it's got a unique visual style. That is, a music video style of film-making in the vein of Ocean's Eleven. It's a show that's about hip Las Vegas.

Dr. Vegas, of which I only viewed the pilot, is still trying to find it's feet (that is, if it ever gets back from "hiatus"). There's only a few characters to follow, but rest assured, the success of a show can guarantee more characters being brought in. But this show feels like a barebones operation that's still trying to get it's feet wet.

All in all, I would recommend Las Vegas to Dr. Vegas because Las Vegas is just a little more fun and perhaps, accurately captures the atmosphere of Sin City itself. However, what Las Vegas needs, is an actor like Joe Pantoliano to really stir things up.