Sunday, September 19, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CBS' 'dr. vegas' stars Rob Lowe as a casino physician with a gambling problem

Rob Lowe, left, is "dr. vegas," under the watchful eye of boss Joe Pantoliano.

Las Vegans can be excused for stifling a yawn when told that yet another TV show is being set here.

But the writers and cast of "dr. vegas" think they've come up with a concept that will differentiate the show from the likes of those casino reality shows and NBC's "Las Vegas."

Debuting Friday at 10 p.m. on CBS (KLAS-TV, Channel 8), "dr. vegas" was partly inspired by Dr. Joseph Fink, a longtime house doctor at Caesars Palace.

Rob Lowe plays Dr. Billy Grant, the house doctor at the Metropolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. His good friend and boss is Tommy Danko, played by Joe Pantoliano, the hotel's general manager. Vic Moore, played by Tom Sizemore, is Tommy's first lieutenant -- part casino host, part gambling director and part enforcer. Sarah Lancaster plays blackjack dealer Veronica Harold.

Co-executive producer John Herzfeld created the show and wrote the pilot.

During media interviews at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour, Lowe said he read the script and asked himself: "How did this come about? Did this happen? Is this a real person?"

"So I started sort of doing my due diligence on the concept and I really sort of fell in love with the idea that this was a world where we could tell provocative stories and not have it be gratuitous -- not do a law practice show where there's a severed head in the drawer," Lowe said.

Las Vegas is a big draw for filmmakers because "it's America's playground," said co-executive producer Jack Orman. "Because it's America's playground, I think that there's a lot of people who have had a taste of it. That's why a lot of shows are set in New York and L.A. If you haven't grown up there, at least you've been once or twice, so there's a certain universal appeal to the place. And I guess if you haven't been there, it's so mythologized, as this place -- where you can go and do anything without consequences -- that people want to tune (in) and check it out."

The city tends to be glamorized by Hollywood, but Orman said "dr. vegas" will show a different side. "For me, behind the glamour and the fun and the comedic elements, you have to have character, and you have to explore the world behind what has become the illusion. I think some of the shows that are on the air now regarding Las Vegas help perpetuate that illusion. And I think that if we can jump into it, show some of that, but also show the other side of it through our characters ... then I think we could really offer something unique."

Lowe found his character's complexity an attraction.

"It's certainly more interesting for me, as an actor, to play a doctor who's a great doctor, but he struggles with what may or may not be a very heavy gambling addiction," Lowe said. "That duality, that sort of contrast, makes it interesting for me."

At the same time, Lowe said the show will not be bleak. "This should be a place where you want to go and spend an hour on Friday nights."

A part of the show Lowe finds especially challenging is getting the medical terms and action correct.

"I'm lucky I don't get squeamish," he said. "I'm good with fake blood. I'm good with horse intestines. I'm good with knees coming out. That's good casting from that point."

Orman also sought authenticity on the writing side, bringing the writers here for a field trip.

"I think that helps ground the show, rather than looking at movies or other television shows to base your reality, and it's just better to actually go to the real place," he said.

"To grab an audience, to be provocative is really incumbent upon a writing staff in today's television climate," Lowe said. "And so one of the reasons I decided to do this show was, `Hmm, do you think there's anything provocative going on in Las Vegas? Let me think.' And the answer is: `Everybody's provocative in Vegas. You go to Vegas to be provocative.' So to me, it wasn't about Las Vegas, per se. It was about a place in the country where you can do provocative storytelling and have it be completely organic."

As with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and other shows set in Las Vegas, "dr. vegas" is only partially shot on location. In filming the pilot, the cast and crew set up at Green Valley Ranch for interior casino shots. But since then the casino has been created on a soundstage at Warner Bros. in Burbank, Calif.

The soundstage was used for reasons of style and design, Orman said.

"We wanted to have it a little bit more compartmentalized so the set could be a character in the show and you could move between stages and have the feeling of a bigger place," he said.