Doctors, lions leave Vegas
This has not been a good week for Vegas-themed TV shows. NBC has pulled the Siegfried and Roy-inspired, computer animated "comedy" Father of the Pride from its schedule for the month of November, putting the show's entire future into question. November is a sweeps period, when networks typically air their strongest programming to increase ratings. Father of the Pride's absence (in favor of expanded episodes of the weight-loss reality series The Biggest Loser) is a big vote of no confidence in the show's ability to draw viewers. No official cancellation announcement has been made, but don't be surprised if the show's disappearing act becomes permanent.
Also gone for sweeps is CBS' Dr. Vegas, which, unlike Father of the Pride, premiered with little fanfare and has been airing on Friday nights to middling ratings. The Rob Lowe vehicle is officially "on hiatus" and has been pulled for all of November and December. At this point, it would take a medical miracle for it to come back to life.
Local CD
Industry (3 stars)
Preservation America
Although they've been around for seven years, local industrial rockers Industry have already missed the boat on their sound, a straight-ahead hard rock approach tempered with occasional synth flourishes. That's not to say their second album is bad, just that it sounds a little dated. The songs are solid even if they all sound the same, and the production is impeccable. It's just not much different from that 1996 Stabbing Westward album you found in the bargain bin.
DVDs
Ali G Indahouse (R) (1 star)
$27.98
The wacky interviews conducted by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for HBO's Da Ali G Show reveal as much about the vacuity of politicians and corporate big shots as anything on The Daily Show. But this feature-length extension is about as funny as a crutch. Doesn't anyone understand longer isn't necessarily better?
California Split (R) (4 stars)
$24.96
Robert Altman's delightful buddy film has gone virtually unseen since its release in 1974. Elliott Gould and George Segal portray a pair of bust-out gamblers addicted to the adrenal rush that comes with winning big and losing bigger.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused (R) (3 stars)
$27.98
Billed as "The Ultimate Party Collection," this imaginatively re-packaged set includes both funny and influential portraits of high school life. Sean Penn's spaced-out surfer dude Jeff Spicoli may have had more influence on teens than any character since James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause.