The recent writer's strike not only shortened the seasons of many shows this year; for some it shortened their lifespan as well. Such was the case with
Las Vegas, which underwent several cast changes for the fifth year of the program: Nikki Cox ("Mary" and James Caan ("Ed Deline") departed, and the latter change meant we saw precious little of Cheryl Ladd ("Jillian Deline") as well. Tom Selleck arrived as new Montecito owner "A.J. Cooper", and Camille Guaty (
The Nine, Prison Break) came in as the new concierge, "Piper" (who's unaware that she's got a secret connection with Cooper).
After what I thought was turning into an interesting transition year, that was going pretty well story-wise, NBC decided to fold their cards in the middle of the writer's strike, and just cancel the show outright. Worse, they left fans hanging in the middle of a cliffhanger with a pregnant Delinda Deline (Molly Sims) suffering a possible tragedy in the middle of a funeral that had previously been planned to be a triple wedding.
Yes, I'm avoiding the spoilers as much as possible here. But if you want a HUGE spoiler, then you can find out how Gary Scott Thompson (the show's executive producer) may plan to wrap things up via a cameo in his new program, the remake of
Knight Rider. The pilot for the next-gen version of the classic series did indeed have a scene at the Montecito, so it's not a stretch at all. If you want to know more about what could happen (barring NBC giving the fans a *much-preferred* wrap-up telefilm), then read
Michael Ausiello's blurb at TVGuide.com (don't forget: possible spoilers at that link!).
Despite these setbacks, the episodes that comprise what turned out to be the final season of the show are full of fun and guilty pleasures, with surprises and developments for the remaining long-running characters Danny, Delinda, Mike, and Sam, along with the new cast members. So I'm very glad that Universal has announced a
July 22nd DVD release date for
Las Vegas - Season 5. The cost of this 4-disc set will be $59.98 SRP, and it will include the following extras:
- Gag Reel
- VFX Featurette
- Hot Stuff
- NBC.com Webcasts
Video is Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1), audio is English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and English subtitles are included. Guest stars include James Eckhouse, Ernie Hudson, real-life Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, real-life owner of The Palms George Maloof,
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Ted Allen, and musical star James Blunt. Stay tuned for package art.
