Viva Laughlin pilot review

Viva Laughlin


murder mystery surrouding a guy trying to start a big casino in a small town



Type of Pilot: Musical Drama


Similar Shows: Las Vegas (dramas surrounding a casino)


The Inner Light: Sing-A-Long With Max Bygraves!


Strengths: None.


Weaknesses: Odd concept, executed in a wishy-washy, half-hearted manner for no discernable reason.


Impressive Characters: None.


Impressive Actors: Mädchen Amick has a thankless role in this show (as the hero's crying wife) but she is always watchable. Eric Winter, from Days of Our Lives, is good as the cop who investigates the murder at the centre of the show's mystery. P.J. Byrne is very good as the hero's accountant. D.B. Woodside has an even more thankless role than Mädchen as the bad guy's sidekick. D.B., what were you thinking??!! You've played the American President, for God's sake, why are taking a crap role like this?


Less-Than-Impressive Characters: All of them.


Less-Than-Impressive Actors: Lloyd Owen, who was awful as Indy's dad on The Indiana Jones Chronicles, is awful as the hero of the piece - Ripley Holden - whose goal is to open a casino in the small town of Laughlin. Quite why we should care about him, or his goal, is never really clear to me. Hugh Jackman is the bad guy of the piece. He's rich and nasty and he won't help Ripley set up his casino. He wants to set one up himself and employ Ripley to manage it. Boo, hiss, boo! Carter Jenkins, from Surface, is Ripley's wet son, who mopes around trying to get his dad to notice him. Ellen Woglom is the daughter dating a much older man, which drives Riley bananas (because that's what happens on TV when your daughter dates an older man). Melanie Griffith is especially awful as the wife of the murdered man. But the most awful actor, by far, is Sebastian Tillinger as the partner of the cop investigating the murder at the centre of the show's mystery.


Continuity: Strong.


Rewatchability: None.


Other Info: Based on an UK TV series called Viva Blackpool.

Three Things I Really Like About This Pilot:

Mädchen Amick

Eric Winter

P.J. Byrne

Three Things I Really Don't Like About This Pilot:

Sebastian Tillinger

Melanie Griffith

Lloyd Owen

Miscellaneous Comments:


The show is peppered with short musical numbers, when the cast sing along to well-known songs playing on the soundtrack. This is annoying and has little or nothing to do with the rest of the show.

GRADE: B-