SHOOTING STARS: British, German science shows venture to Las Vegas

What are the odds?

The odds of not one but two TV shows about science — from Europe — visiting Las Vegas during the same week?

It’s just the sort of thing the BBC’s “Bang Goes the Theory” might ponder in the segment they’re scheduled to shoot today.

The prime-time science show is expected to hit the Strip this afternoon for a five-minute exploration devoted to probability — or, more precisely, “how the human brain perceives probability,” explains Dallas Campbell, one of “Bang Goes the Theory’s” regular presenters.

The Las Vegas stop is the culmination of a cross-country shoot for a separate special, an hour-long “Bang Goes the Theory” exploration of “Drake’s Equation.” The special, Campbell explains, reviews “50 years of science” and “how science is starting to fill in the blanks” regarding an endlessly fascinating question: “Are we alone in the galaxy?”

To that end, the BBC crew called on renowned astronomer Frank Drake, whose eponymous equation inspired the special’s title, at the West Virginia Observatory where he “redid his original experiments” for the special, Campbell says.

The cross-country trip that followed has taken the crew to San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles — and to Death Valley, where the show will focus on “how our knowledge has expanded” through “a bit of astronomy,” he notes.

Eventually, however, all roads lead to Vegas, Campbell acknowledges, because “the allure of Vegas never leaves.”

That also holds true for the German science show “Planetopia,” which also is expected to visit the Strip and the Fremont Street Experience during a scheduled 12-day shoot starting Tuesday.

Noodling around: A pilot for a new locally produced kids’ cooking show, “Use Your Noodle,” will shoot here in July.

First, however, an open casting call is on the menu. Producers are looking for about a dozen cast members (ages 6-9 to 30-55) to appear in the scripted half-hour, from the 12-year-old host Amanda (and her potentially pesky younger brother) to a recurring Mad Scientist. (To say nothing of a guy in a gorilla suit.)

The open call will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at Vegas City Artz, 6700 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite G.

Longtime Las Vegan Rose Heeter is casting the project — and making her directorial debut on the “Use Your Noodle” pilot.

Creator and executive producer David Politzer used Alton Brown’s Food Network series “Good Eats” as a template for “Use Your Noodle,” with two in-the-kitchen segments bookending a “family segment” — or, as he describes it, a “making Mommy and Daddy happy segment” exploring such issues as nutrition and the environment.

A former family therapist who’s the father of 4-year-old twins, Politzer “realized that families today are doing fewer things together than ever before,” he notes. As a result, “Use Your Noodle” aims to “provide a vehicle that increase fun activity within the family,” he explains.
For more information on the casting call — or the project — e-mail Heeter at GetCastinVegas@aol.com or telephone 594-4198.

Quick hits: The New Zealand TV series “WANNABEn” is scheduled to conclude a six-day shoot Tuesday on the Strip. The celebrity interviews they’re filming are expected to air in October on Australia’s Network 10 and New Zealand’s TV3, reports line producer Rachel Wisbey.

VH1’s also scheduled for a one-day shoot at The Venetian and Palazzo, while Fox’s “Cops,” History’s “Pawn Stars” and truTV’s “Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Pool” also keep rolling along.