COWBOYS VS MOBSTERS! 'VEGAS' ARRIVES...

Changing times for law and disorder in the new American period drama series VEGAS. Image: CBS.

They may not at first have believed their eccentric late comrade Bugsy Siegel's dreams of commercial enterprise avarice operating from the cattle filled, desert dunes of Las Vegas, Nevada, but by the 1960's it was soon a thriving melting pot of crime, gambling, entertainment-where the superstars of music, stage and screen mixed with other types of "personality"- with mighty vice generating profits for The Organisation (aka The Mob) that seemed just too good to be true, overlooked by on the payroll corrupted crime fighters. Dreams were made, empires were built, the beautiful people thrived, and the money flowed in- and anyone that got in the way of all of that...well, that wasn't a problem, either! Anything went and probably did, in a time and place where greed got greedier, and the bloodshed got bloodier!

Now, hot on the heels of popular and adult gangster TV and film dramas like BROADWALK EMPIRE, CASINO and GOODFELLAS, and having worn out the Vegas locale in modern series like CSI, TV producers have found a new way to tap the storytelling well of both aspects and create further mileage and strong characters by going back to the Golden Age of the Strip-its aura and iconism- with its emerging crime dynasty and the attempts by a small group of law-enforcers to fight back against them, blending it all together in a stylish and zippy PG audience friendly concoction. VEGAS is the result, from writer/creator Nicholas Pileggi and Greg Walker, whose prior September debut States-side proved a critical hit for its CBS makers (coming soon to the UK's SKY ATLANTIC channel).

Trailer: Vegas: sezon 1 - trailer #2 - YouTube

Law-breaker and law-maker: Michael Chiklis as Vincent Savino and Dennis Quaid as Sheriff Lamb.

Carrie-Anne Moss adds glamour to the glossy new series.

Having played the charismatic and uncompromisingly dangerous detective Vic Mackey in THE SHIELD, Michael Chiklis finally gets another hit series for his considerable acting chomps to wade into and enjoy (as well as making the most of a cool sixties wardrobe, too!) playing Vincent Savino, a man with ambition and plenty of attitude, based on the criminal exploits of a real-life boss of the time, Marcello Giuseppe Caifano. Facing off against Savino and his equally opportunistic family of devoted henchmen is stern rancher lawman Ralph Lamb, McCloud he certainly aint'!, played by the always-in-demand Dennis Quaid, a fine film actor with a diverse body of work (recently giving a brilliant performance as former president Bill Clinton in HBO's THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP), obviously enjoying the potential for this new series and the name talent of its creators, whilst, in a nice change, gamely taking the plunge into an interesting opportunity for some work on the small screen. Adding glamour and sex appeal to the male clash of good and evil is THE MATRIX's Carrie-Anne Moss, shedding her form fitting costumes as flying butt kicker Trinity to become law-following Assistant district attorney, and obvious love interest and dramatic confidante to Lamb, Katherine O'Connell. Cancelled series fantasy favourites amongst the mix include Sarah Jones, away from the dirty cells of ALCATRAZ, looking much more glamorous and feminine as savvy gangster daughter Mia Rizzo, whilst TERRA NOVA's lead hero Jason O'Mara wears a cowboy hat well as Ralph's younger brother and equally square-jawed deputy, Jack.

The Lambs have an early run-in with Savino and his boys.

Sheriff Lamb makes his presence felt in Savino's empire

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but with the evolving times, clash of ideologies, and shotgun blasting to come, I think we'll all be addictively caught in the dramatic crossfire soon enough.