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Sin is America’s biggest preoccupation. It all goes
back to our puritan roots and our voyeuristic nature. We
want to find out what nasty business all of our neighbors
have been up to while making sure that the gateway to Heaven
is open to us. My pretentious opening lays the groundwork
as to why we are fascinated with Las Vegas the city and
the TV show. There’s nothing like finding out that someone
you like (whether they are fictional or real) has some sort
of skeleton in their closet. The second season of “Las Vegas”
arrives with all the drama of letting it ride at the craps
table. Big Ed (James Caan) the head of operations at the
Motecito Hotel, his daughter Delinda (Molly Sims) and his
youthful prot égé Danny (Josh Duhamel) are all back for
a bolder, larger third season. During the cliffhanger finale
for season two the hotel was blown up so one would presume
the employees had to find new jobs and the guests had to
get lives. Such is not the case in Sin City where buildings
go up as quickly as the stakes during a poker game. ---
Image & Sound:
Universal didn’t gamble with the third season of “Las
Vegas”. This sharp transfer captures all the glitter of
Sin City and the accompanying cacophony on the floor where
guests win, lose or draw faster than they can check out.
Colors are as bright and bold as the neon of Vegas itself.
I’m happy that Universal gave up the ghost of the DVD-18s
that plagued just about every TV show they put out for the
last two years. They were a disaster when it came to handling
and manufacturing flaws. I am a bit surprised that Universal
chose to squeeze as many as five episodes per disc (the
average for an hour long show is four per disc). Whoever
handled the DVD mastering for this did a terrific job and
I was sur prised that there weren’t any major digital flaws
mucking up the works as a result. Audio remains as dynamic
as the first two seasons of the show with a nice crisp mix
with plenty of activity in the surround speakers. ---
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