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 UPDATED: January 11 with photos from the event.
If you live in Las Vegas and are a fan of the TV show Las Vegas, you might catch a glimpse of the NBC stars tonight.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman is presenting the keys to the city to the cast and the executive producers of the NBC show Las Vegas in a ceremony at the Palms tonight.
Josh Duhamel, Molly Simms, Vanessa Marcil, James Lesure, and Camille Gauty are walking the red carpet from 6-7 p.m., followed by the ceremony at the Palms.
For any Tube Talk readers attending, I expect a full report. And pictures of Josh Duhamel, of course! UPDATE: Thanks to kind Tube Talk reader Kim, here are some photos of the cast from last night's event. Check out Josh Duhamel's t-shirt, featuring a photo of James, with hair. Too funny.
 
 Tom Selleck fans, are you sitting down? Selleck is in negotiations for the role of the new owner of the Montecito Resort & Casino on Las Vegas, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
I know. I know. Simmer down!
If Selleck can work out a deal, he’ll be back on our screen on a regular weekly basis for the first time since Magnum P.I. wrapped in 1988.
If Selleck takes the job, I hope his character fares better than the previous Montecito owners. (A giant squid killed Dean Cain’s character and Lara Flynn Boyle’s character was blown off the roof.)
Las Vegas will be low on testosterone this year, as James Caan vacates his role as Big Ed. So, Selleck could fill the much-needed fun, tough-guy void that Caan is leaving. Caan is exiting the show to pursue his movie career.
If Las Vegas lands Selleck, then I applaud executive producer Gary Scott Thompson and his gang. They know how to cast. Cain was a fan favorite, and Selleck is, too.
Selleck has had recent notable guest roles on Friends and Boston Legal, but not a regular weekly gig, much to my dismay. In my Emmy column in 2004, I pondered why the TV folks weren’t chasing Selleck, as he caused quite a fan stir at the awards ceremony when he presented an award. Fans were screaming and whistling to such an extent, the poor guy could barely get through his dialogue.
Selleck would fit well with the fun-loving Las Vegas cast, including Josh Duhamel, Vanessa Marcil, James Lesure and Molly Sims. I’d be willing to bet that he might even bring in some new viewers.
For more Tube Talk stories on Tom Selleck, click here. (Yeah, I'm a little obsessed.)
 by Jennifer Squires Biller
That’s how you end a season finale. Wow! I haven’t been this excited about a cliffhanger since someone shot J.R.
It’s as if the Las Vegas writers came down with Attention Deficit Disorder and couldn’t decide who to put in danger, so they gave every character a dilemma or an impending death sentence.
That’s overkill, you say? Not in Las Vegas. Here, among the fast-paced, fast-talking casino cohorts, a kidnapping, an explosion, and a shooting seem perfectly plausible.
Those of you who missed it, Danny was headed back to Iraq, to take the place of a marine, facing a third tour of duty, who had saved his life. But before Danny went off to war, he grabbed a gun and went after Mary’s pedophile father, who Mary was intent on killing with her own six-shooter. Ed, facing divorce papers from Jillian, discovered that Danny and Mary both went after sicko Daddy, and showed up at the guy’s usual watering hole. All three took aim, shots were fired, and Daddy hit the pavement. Meanwhile, at The Montecito, Sam was kidnapped, by her creepy whale, and smuggled out of the hotel in a trunk, just as gunmen shot up the vault and made a bid to rob the casino. Then, Delinda, desperate to tell Danny about her pregnancy, tried to befriend the emotional marine, only to discover that he had wired a bomb to blow himself up, inside the hotel. Cut to The Montecito exploding — yes, again.
See what I mean about A.D.D.? Las Vegas Executive Producer Gary Scott Thompson said he wanted to write as many cliff-hanging mysteries as possible, so that NBC would be forced to renew the show for next season. Mission accomplished, Mr. Thompson. This one was a winner.
After the show, I asked Thompson who really shot Mary’s daddy. This was his response:
Regarding who shot Mary's father, the online poll suggests Ed. Yet, Danny and Mary had reasons to shoot him. Danny said he would kill him if he ever came close to Mary, again. But, hey, we will see how the voting continues; I might change my mind on who really did it.
Thompson is referring to a poll at the NBC Las Vegas Web page. (And for the record, Mary got my vote.) Also at the NBC site, Las Vegas fans can read a chat transcript that Thompson and actress Molly Sims did with fans after the finale.
Another interesting tidbit about the finale is that Vanessa Marcil (Sam) got carpet burns during her trunk-escape scene. Sims spilled that tidbit during an interview last week. Apparently, Marcil is quite the trooper when it comes to doing her own stunts. And you thought she was just another pretty face.
As this season of Las Vegas comes to a close, let’s take a minute to give props to Mike, now affectionately known as “Peanut Head.” The dude never gets any respect, despite that he’s instrumental every week in solving the big mystery. Now, it appears Mike is going to save Sam. Hopefully, he won’t get blamed for the robbery and explosion. I’d hate for him to have to go back to singing backup for his “Aunt Gladys” Knight. Because, frankly, “It’s hard out here for a pip.”
New episodes of Las Vegas begin next season. Stay tuned to Tube Talk for the premiere date.
 I spoke earlier today with Las Vegas star Molly Sims and the show’s executive producer, Gary Scott Thompson. The two were kind enough to do a press conference call to discuss this week’s season finale of Las Vegas and the big changes coming to The Montecito next season.
Next year, the show is moving forward without original cast members James Caan (Ed) and Nikki Cox (Mary). No decision has been made yet on who will take Ed or Mary’s jobs at the fictional hotel, or who the new owner of the Montecito will be, Thompson said. He also would not divulge whether the popular recurring character of Casey Manning is truly swimming with the fishes — er squid — or if he’ll pop up again next season.
What is certain is that this Friday’s season finale is going to be a thrill ride for Las Vegas fans, Thompson said.
“There’s an explosion. Molly’s character is pregnant. We’ve got a shooting,” he teased.
Thompson wouldn’t confirm whether Delinda would have a baby bump next season, despite a valiant attempt by Sims, and reporters, to get him to spill script secrets. What is known is that Sims has not been fitted for a fake pregnancy tummy yet.
For the legions of Cox fans wanting the scoop on why she isn’t returning, Thompson did comment on her departure: “She has other things that she wanted to explore and try out,” he said. It was recently reported in The Hollywood Reporter that Cox was allegedly a victim of budget cuts, but Thompson didn’t mention that.
Sims and Thompson shared some fun anecdotes during the call, discussed their favorite Vegas moments and talked about what other NBC show they’d like to see do a crossover. Hint: Steve Carell, there’s a suite waiting for you and the rest of The Office gang at The Montecito.
Here are the highlights of the interview:
Will Caan and Cox be back for guest spots?
Thompson: “Jimmy did say, ‘ I don’t’ want to leave you in the lurch, so why don’t I come back from time to time, (schedule permitting.)’ He was very open to doing guest spots, possibly the season opener, and then maybe some other ones down the line. I think it would have been easier for Jimmy, if we didn’t get picked up for season five, then he wouldn’t have had to say, ‘Count me out.’ I’m hoping that Nikki will want to come back and do some guest spots, as well."
Why isn’t Caan returning next season?
Thompson: “Jimmy wanted to do features. He was itching to do a movie, and he couldn’t do them while we were shooting. TV is really tough. Eighty-seven episodes is a long time to be away from a feature career. That’s four years; that’s an eternity in features. He turned down a lot of features over four years. Some of them we tried to make work, but with the schedule of TV, it’s impossible.”
Why isn’t Cox returning next season?
Thompson: “Nikki just got married, and she has other things that she wanted to explore and try out. I can’t speak for her personally about what her plans are in her personal life. (That’s probably a question directed toward her people.) She comes from the sitcom world, and I think she really wanted to go back and do sitcoms and try some other things. People don’t really understand that it’s very difficult being on a show as long as this. And kudos to the people who make it past five or six years. But most (who do) are on sitcoms, which are really easy to shoot, compared to a drama. (On sitcoms) they do a table read, they have one rehearsal, and they shoot the thing. When you’re on a drama, it is an eight-day episode, anywhere from 12-18 hours a day, five days a week, for almost 11 months straight. Our first season, we were shooting 18 and 20-hour-days, and sometimes in our second season, too. It’s really hard on people to play a character for so long and to keep doing the same thing over and over again. They just want changes. In Jimmy’s case, he’s toward the end of his career and wanted to move on and do some stuff that he really wanted to do. And in Nikki’s case, she’s at the beginning of hers, and there are other options and opportunities out there. As an actor, as a writer, creator, no one wants you unless someone else has you. The opportunity to jump is usually while the iron is hot. You don’t jump after the show goes down, because, well, the show has failed. But, to jump off a successful show means you’re going to have lots of other options.”
How will cast changes change the dynamic and plots for next year?
Sims: “I think anytime someone leaves and they bring new people in, it ultimately changes the dynamic. It’s always someone new, and someone you’re not used to working with, someone that brings new energy. I don’t believe in replacing the old with the new, but I have to say that it’ll be surprising. That’s the best way to describe it.”
Thompson: “There is no way we can ever replace James Caan or Nikki Cox. These are two valuable players on Las Vegas. I don’t like the word “replacement,” because we can’t replace them. Obviously characters come and go on Las Vegas all the time. Some stay longer than others. Some fly off the roof. That’s what we’re gonna have to sit down and figure out, when I get the writing staff back here because we start shooting early in April. We’ve got a lot of things hanging. We have to figure out who owns the Montecito. Is there gonna be a replacement for the James Caan character or for (Mary’s) position? Are there new people going to come in, or are the old people gonna take over some of those jobs? We haven’t quite figured that out yet. My objective was just to get us to season five, so I wrote this incredible cliffhanger. My objective was, if I close everything up, there’s a reason for them to say, “Series over.” And if I don’t do that, then, they can’t say, “Series over,” or 15 million people are gonna be really pissed off at NBC. (The cast changes) are a new development. The departure of a couple cast members was kind of a surprise, and the season finale had already been written. And it’s going to be kind of challenging to get us out of the situation I put us in.”
Las Vegas has done several crossovers with Crossing Jordan. Are there any other NBC shows that you’d like to see do crossovers?
Sims: “I wish Steve Carell (The Office) would come.”
Thompson: “The Office could come to Vegas for a convention. Let’s put that out in the universe. And apparently, we live in the same universe as Heroes, because they have come to the Montecito, and they have shot on our set. And every time they’re in Vegas, we see the little Montecito sign. We’re open to anything, because on our show we can do that. Everybody goes to Vegas, so there’s no reason why any show couldn’t come to Vegas.”
I received a ton of mail after Casey Manning was killed by a giant squid. Is Dean Cain’s character truly dead and was that the point of the autopsy comment, or will he pop up again next season?
Thompson: (Laughter) “I actually got a ton of mail, too. And then when they found out that he’d been poisoned, and possibly whacked, because he had leveraged the Montecito to the hilt, I got another ton of mail. I can’t say one way or another. I can’t divulge that in case it may or may not be a storyline. But, I will say one thing, the greatest thing about the giant squid was two days later, off the coast of New Zealand, the largest squid ever found was pulled in by a fisherman. It was like 83 feet long.”
Will Cheryl Ladd be returning as Jillian?
Thompson: “I’ve spoken to Cheryl. She wants to come back. She loves being on the show. She actually pitched that she’s the new owner of the Montecito! So, I’ll take that into consideration, Cheryl. Thank you.”
Online fans seem to love the Sam and Delinda scenes? Are there any plans for more friendship scenes between the girls? And what’s it like working with Vanessa Marcil?
Sims: “We call her “little whipper-snapper.” She’s an amazing, feisty, little actress. I think she is one of the best on our show. She’s so fun to work with. The girl speaks faster, and clearer, than any person I’ve ever met, to the point where I start speaking faster.”
Thompson: “I always have to step in and go, ‘Molly, you’re picking up her cadence. Stop.”
Sims: “She’s so fun and mean and fabulous. It’s great.”
Thompson: “But to answer your question, “Yes, they’ll have lots of scenes together next season.”
What’s the mood on set since Cox and Caan announced they’re leaving?
Sims: “It’s always hard when you’ve been with people for four years. Nikki is one of my best friends. Jimmy has been such a pleasure and such an amazing teacher. I’m gonna miss them. It came as a shock and a surprise. They were amazing people to work with. The amazing thing about our show is that we all really like one another. I think on most shows that’s not always true, but in our case, it is. I knew that Jimmy had turned down a lot of stuff, I just didn’t think he was gonna go.
Thompson: Look, George Clooney left ER and that show is thriving. People come and people go. That’s what’s expected. It’s gonna happen. Hopefully, we’ll be lucky that we’ll be on for another five years and more people will come and go.”
Molly, do you identify with your character?
Sims: “Yeah. I totally identify when I’m kissing Josh. I identify really well! She’s fun and charming. I think she dresses a little sexier (than me.) She’s more blatant, and a little more manipulative than I am.”
Thompson: “What we try to do is take a lot of the traits of our actors and incorporate them. Sometimes, something will happen to our actors, and unbeknownst to them, it’ll turn up in a script, just because we think it’s funny. We’ll hear about something that happened to one of the actors, over the weekend, and sneak it into a script. And that’s just a way of entertaining ourselves, after four years of seeing each other every single day. We see more of each other than we do our own families.”
What happens when the cast/show goes to Las Vegas? Do the casinos treat you like local heroes and welcome you to the inner sanctum?
Sims: “When we go to Vegas, we are treated like princes and princesses."
Thompson: “Yes, we’ve been in the inner sanctum. We are treated very well. But, I hate to hang out with Molly because she’s mobbed all the time."
Sims: “And they call you by your characters name. They scream, ‘Danny, Sam, Delinda.’ It’s strange. I think a lot of people aren’t from Vegas and think the Montecito is really there."
Thompson: “Yes, they do. It’s one of the number one questions asked of cab drivers, “Where is the Montecito?”
Much thanks to Sims and Thompson for taking time to chat.
The Las Vegas season finale airs Friday, March 9, on NBC at 9 p.m. EST.
 by Jennifer Squires Biller
Talk about cliffhangers, Las Vegas certainly knows how to produce a season finale. Big Ed took a bullet to the chest. The bride, Delinda, was making eyes at her former flame, Danny. The groom, Dr. Derek, was puking. And I have no words to describe the convoluted mess that is Casey/Sam/Mary/Woody. I need an aspirin to keep it all straight. (Or maybe just a shot of that breath spray Mike is so fond of. I’m convinced it contains more than just cinnamon.)
I’m 100 percent sure Delinda won’t wed do-gooder Dr. Derek. This is party-girl Delinda. Hooking her wagon “’till death to her part” to a man whose idea of a good time is listening to Christopher Cross’ “Sailing,” while male bonding, doesn’t seem like the best idea.
Meanwhile, how funny were the scenes where Sam and Danny were trying to find dates to the wedding? I was hoping they might go together, but then Woody came rushing in at the last minute. It doesn’t matter. There isn’t going to be a wedding anyway, when Ed doesn’t show. So, “thank you” to the gunman for stopping this fiasco before it starts. And once again I ask, how is it that Sam is OK with Casey and Mary dating? Not likely. Bring on the next season, and hopefully more Casey Manning(Dean Cain.) He was a great addition to the cast this season.
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UPDATED: January 11 with photos from the event. 
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