SHOOTING STARS: Saget plans on ‘Strange Days’ in Las Vegas

  Most people probably know Bob Saget from such wholesome TV hits as “Full House” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” A few know him through edgier fare, from “Entourage” to his spectacularly scabrous turn in “The Aristocrats,” Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza’s 2006 documentary tribute to the filthiest joke in showbiz history.
  But Saget’s new project for A&E, Tijuana Entertainment’s “Strange Days,” will present the actor and comedian in a new light, promises executive producer Troy Searer.
  “It’s not ‘Full House,’ it’s not ‘Entourage,’ ” Searer says of the upcoming hourlong show, a “comedy documentary” series with Saget immersing himself every week in “a counterculture or alternative lifestyle, through Bob’s unique perspective,” he explains.
  So far, Saget’s adventures have taken him from the Ukraine (accompanying guys searching for mail-order brides) to a Kentucky-to-Florida road trip, during which he rode sidecar with a motorcycle club.
  Vegas being Vegas, however, Saget will have not one or two but three experiences to explore, from three very different perspectives, during the five-day visit scheduled to start Saturday.
  The first involves “a whale — a “big-time, multi-multimillion-dollar gambler,” Searer says. The second focuses on three generations of a Missouri family: grandparents, parents and their children. The third revolves around a bachelorette party from Michigan.
  Overall, “It’s looking at Las Vegas through Bob’s eyes,” Searer comments.
  Legrand times: Las Vegas has provided the setting for a variety of PBS musical specials featuring everybody from Liza Minnelli to the Osmonds.
  This week, an all-star lineup assembles at the MGM Grand Garden arena for “Michel Legrand & Friends,” an upcoming PBS salute to the Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer (pictured) of such memorable movie scores as “Yentl,” “Summer of ’42” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” (which introduced the Academy Award-winning “The Windmills of Your Mind”).
  The Saturday night concert, hosted by Jon Voight and Jennifer O’Neill (who starred in the Legrand-scored “Eternity” and “Summer of ’42,” respectively), features a host of performers, including Las Vegans Steve Lawrence and Jerry Lewis, plus Dionne Warwick, Melissa Manchester, Andy Williams, Patti Page and Frank Sinatra Jr.
  The show’s executive producer, Las Vegan Vince Vellardita, came up with the idea for the special while viewing a Legrand documentary he’d produced.
  The tribute special will “tie in movies and music” — and, Vellardita reasons, “what would be a better place for it than Las Vegas?”
  In addition to the live-from-Las Vegas performances, the special will feature taped performances by Sting and Peter Gabriel, among others, plus “some special guests (who) will be popping in,” Vellardita promises. “It’s going to be wonderful.”
  The 80-minute special is scheduled to make its PBS debut in the fall.
  Hometown haunt: Las Vegas-based paranormal investigators Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin headline the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures.”
  And this week, they won’t have to venture far from home for their latest adventure. Today through Wednesday, they’re scheduled to check out a residence in the upscale Scotch 80s neighborhood for a show expected to be telecast later this year.
  In addition, “the team has a great deal of evidence that points to other areas,” executive producer Daniel Schwartz e-mails, so “the probe is also going to comprise some of the Strip’s casinos and the downtown area,” in addition to “a desert connection” that may lead to more filming.
  Beyond the hometown connection, Las Vegas “is a place with a great deal of reported paranormal activity,” Schwartz notes — which explains why Bagans, Groff and Goodwin “have had their eyes open for possible stories based in the city for several years.”
  Calling AT&T: Southern Nevada landmarks, from the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign to Hoover Dam, are more than ready for their close-ups.
  That’s because an AT&T commercial continues production on a national TV ad that also is expected to feature scenic desert driving shots.
  Helicopter fly-over views of the glittering Strip at night also will figure in the national spot designed to promote the company’s “increasing coverage of the U.S.,” explains Steve Yeager of the production company Traktor Inc. Yeager’s location scout and manager for the three-day Southern Nevada shoot, which is expected to conclude Tuesday.
  The AT&T campaign also will spotlight several other landmarks, Yeager notes, from the Hollywood sign to St. Louis’ Gateway Arch.
  ‘Odds’-on extras: The CBS pilot “The Odds” isn’t scheduled to begin its location visit until next week, which means aspiring extras still have time to apply for background roles.
   Local casting agent Julie Goldman’s looking for extras (AFTRA and nonunion), ages 25 to 60, who can look upscale enough to be convincing during scenes set at a jewelry show. Shoot dates are March 31 and April 3, 4 and 5.
  If you’re interested, e-mail a recent photo and contact information to Goldman at julie@gacasting.com.
  And stay tuned to next week’s Shooting Stars for more details on “The Odds” and the other CBS pilot scheduled to shoot here next week, “Defenders.”