DVD Review: Vega$ - Season Three, Volume Two

For three seasons, (1978 - 1981), Robert Urich starred as private detective Dan Tanna on Vega$. The new three-DVD set Vega$ - The Third Season, Volume Two features the final 11 episodes of the program. While the show was relatively popular in its day, that was over 30 years ago, so a brief refresher of the basic premise is probably in order.

As the title indicates, the series was set in Las Vegas. One of the more striking elements for me in watching these episodes is the fact that Sin City had not become the “theme park” it is today. Places like New York, New York, or the Luxor had not yet been built. So it is kind of fun to see such old Vegas landmarks such as Circus, Circus and the Golden Nugget.

As a private eye, Dan Tanna’s main client is Philip Roth (Tony Curtis), who owns a number of casinos. Although Tony Curtis was originally billed as Urich’s co-star in the first season of the series, his role was diminished greatly as the show progressed. Tanna worked fairly closely (unofficially) with the Las Vegas Police Department also. He was a colleague of sorts, especially with Lt. David Nelson, played by Greg Morris. Morris looks great, by the way, it seems like he hasn’t aged a day since his previous starring role in the Mission Impossible TV series.

In keeping with its location, Vega$ plots often revolved around crimes committed in the casinos. The first episode of this set is “Heist,” which flips the script a bit. After one of Roth’s casinos is held up, he asks Tanna to put together the “ultimate” team to rob another of his casinos. The idea is to figure out where the holes in his security are, and fix them.

Even though the guys Tanna gets together are each to be paid $25,000 for their services, there is no honor among thieves. Once they successfully pull off the heist, things become all too real as the crooks decide to keep the cash. Plenty of excitement ensues, but in the end, our hero saves the day.

Thanks in part to its on-location filming, Vega$ boasted a number of high profile guest stars. I guess if someone were actually playing in Vegas, it was easy enough to fit in an appearance on the show. Some of the guest stars in these final episodes include James MacArthur, Michael Cole, Harry Guardino, Cristina Ferrare, and Edd “Cookie” Byrnes, among others.

Article Author: Greg Barbrick

Greg Barbrick is a Seattle native who was first published in 1988, in his hometown music magazine, The Rocket. Since then his work has appeared in print and online for numerous sources. He Googles himself so often that his mother told him it would make him go blind.
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