Vega$

This had to be one of the coolest shows on television. The thing that really made it great was the pacing of the show and its mix of the old Las Vegas and what Vegas was becoming. The other thing that made this show what it was were the numerous cameos of some of the brightest stars that would appear in Vegas on a regular basis such as Dean Martin, Wayne Newton and other members of the Vegas elite. However, all the glitz and glamour would never have mattered if it wasn't for the late great Robert Urich who made this role his own.

Funny story, I went to Vegas when I was 16 in 1980 and my Dad kept teasing my buddy and me we'd see Dan Tanna. We went by the "warehouse" where he lived and it was there alright, right behind the strip but instead of a bachelors pad with cool antiques and props there was an older contractor inside smoking a cigarette and cutting a board with a power saw. He said he owned the warehouse and leased it to the "TV Folks". I did see some props, like a jet ski that you'd see hanging on the garage wall when Tanna pulled in..it was nothing more than a painted jet ski on a paper thin piece of wood. There were plastic plants in the planters outside though complete with the Desert Inn sign..Anyway, we left and were heading down the strip. There I sat, slumped down in the back seat, dejected that I'd never see Dan...when low and behold and pickup truck with a guy operating a film camera passes us. I look out the window and up pulls ol'Dan in his flame red t-bird..white suit jacket and a nun in the passenger seat! I was going to a catholic high school at the time so I said it figured there would be a nun involved. My buddy and I start hollering for my Dad to pull over because the entire film crew pulled into a nearby parking lot. While my Mom ran to get film from a souvenir shop, we ran over to the T-Bird. There it was, the car of my dreams in all it's glory with an overheated engine. The production director told us not to get to close, but we looked over and Urich was talking with the "Nun" while holding a script. WOW. We were in hog heaven. I talked to the guys about the car for about half an hour and they told me all kinds of things about it, like there were two of em..One stock for up close shots and another that was for stunts..it had a big dodge engine in it, and a button on the shifter that would lock the back wheels, so they could screech around corners. The guys also pointed out the hub caps were bolted on with tiny screws because they kept flying off during chase scenes. They also told me it was originally a white 57 that had been painted a 1978 corvette red rather than the flame red that ford produced. The funniest part of the whole day was that Urich was trying to lay low and had taken off his white jacket and was wearing a green dress shirts with blue tennis shorts and sneakers..As he was standing in the shade, a dozen or so Asian tourist saw him and the car and ran over like a buffalo herd yelling.."Dan Tanna" Dan Tanna!!!" Urich was swamped and signing autographs..one of the tourist showed me a piece of paper Urich had signed and he had written.."Dan Tanna" instead of "Robert Urich"..Anyway, I was thrilled to see the car and some 18 years later I found the car(s)..but thats another story for another time.

I just wanted to note a couple of errors in the comments by raysond and add a couple of comments of my own.

Antonio Fargas was a guest star on Vega$ but never had a recurring role in the show. Bart Braverman played Dan Tanna's sidekick Binzer for the run of the show. Greg Morris played the proverbial police force contact for Tanna rather than his boss. Morris left the show after the second season and Naomi Steven's role was expanded to fulfill Tanna's need for somebody who could get the bad guy's records and deliver backup at just the right time. Tony Curtis, as Philip Roth, was as close as Dan Tanna had to a boss. Since Tanna lived on the premises of Roth's hotel, he had first dibs on his services but Dan was very much his own man.

Poster raysond also suggests that Robert Urich subsequently reprised the Dan Tanna role in the Spenser for Hire television series. Vega$ was actually a reprise of the Dan Tanna character which had first appeared in Charlie's Angels. However, the only commonality between Vega$ and Spenser for Hire was Urich's tough guy personality. Both shows had their own very unique styles, having to do as much with the values and lifestyle of the lead character as with their vastly different locales. Vega$ was the product of David Mann who would go on to greater fame as the creator of Miami Vice, another show that was known as much for its back drops as its actors and scripts.

Spenser for Hire was based upon the Boston private investigator in a series of novels by author Robert Parker (Parker continues to write Spenser novels although the character is getting a bit old in the tooth:)). As much as Vega$ and Miami Vice were dependent upon their backdrops: locales, clothing and vehicles; Spenser for Hire was dependent upon character and dialog. This was due in part to the ongoing participation of Robert Parker who is known for very well crafted dialog. The show was as much about Spenser's relationship with sidekick Hawk and love interests Susan and Rita as it was about the cases he handled. Urich played Spenser in four TV movies several years after the series ended.

Urich was a good actor who could be depended upon to deliver a credible performance in whatever role he took on. He will never be mentioned in the same breath with a Jack Nicholson or Clint Eastwood but his presence on the small screen has certainly been missed.

Vega$...the show where P.I. Dan Tanna drives his car into his living room...Vega$...where Dan Tanna never runs after the bad guy, he walks after him (and still manages to catch up with them) ...Vega$... featuring Tony Curtis as the man who appears in the opening credits and precious little elsewhere in the show...Vega$...where a glitzy showbiz soundtrack and a montage of glittering casino shots actually masks a show about a fairly shabby P.I. surrounded by badly dressed guest stars. I think this show deserves repeating for it was totally unlike any detective show before or since; think CSI meets Magnum P.I. meets Night of a 1000 stars and you get close as to what this show was like.

I am very surprised that there are not several comments already on here about this show! Vega$ is one of the many, many, many Spelling Drama's. I don't know what it is with him, but the magic he makes when he creates a show is incredible! This particular show had most of what the rest of his hits & non-hit shows have...Style! Its simple, take a detective in Nevada, all the casinos, showgirls, the bad guys, & the late70's early 80's & you have Vega$. The show lacked in speed. It ran dry often. All & all though, it is a fun show. I look at it now & compare Vega$ to Vegas now. Anytime it airs give it a try. 1-10 (7)