Based on the BBC series Viva Blackpool, which was entertaining for a few weeks, but once the novelty of the musical numbers wore off, turned out to be merely a dull murder mystery filled with uninteresting characters. Sadly, the American version is even worse; it's the most spectacularly awful new show of the year.
Lloyd Owen stars as Ripley Holden, who's about to open the Viva casino in Laughlin, Nevada, when one of his major investors announces that he's backing out of the project. If Ripley can't replace that money fast, the Viva will never open and he'll lose everything he's sunk into the project. So when that investor is found dead in Ripley's office, Ripley is the obvious suspect.
The show's gimmick is that there are musical numbers scattered throughout. They aren't original songs, and the actors aren't even really the principal performers; instead, old pop records are played -- Elvis's "Viva Las Vegas," Blondie's "One Way or Another" -- and the actors sing along, doing a few desultory dance steps along the way.
The one thing the BBC version of the show did have going for it was the courage of its convictions; those actors threw themselves wholeheartedly into the cheesy production numbers, and managed to give them enough energy and enthusiasm to distract you -- at least for a little while -- from how silly the idea was. But in Viva Laughlin, the actors go into those numbers with a distinct lack of excitement; they're vaguely embarassed by what they're doing, which makes it utterly impossible for the audience to be engaged by it.
The other crucial flaw in the show is its leading man; Lloyd Owen is devoid of charisma or personality, which is only emphasized when Hugh Jackman (who will have a recurring role in the show) makes his first appearance to "Sympathy for the Devil." As poorly choreographed as the number is, and as inaudibly mixed as Jackman's voice is (we mostly hear the records, not the actors), it's still the best few minutes the show has to offer. It's hard for any show to survive when its leading man can't hold the screen against the supporting players.
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