adrianne-schoen It is amazing how terrible this show is. The original series, the BBC's Viva la Blackpool is well acted, original, and surreal. It is a joy to watch. I would highly recommend it.There have been a lot of British shows that have been butchered by their American adaptations, but none have missed the mark as badly as Viva Laughlin. The original works because the music punctuates the feelings of an otherwise very serious and dark story. The result is surreal and edgy. Laughlin is a painful over the top Broadwayisation of the original. Laughlin's horrible acting and reworked script makes it impossible for you to connect to any of the characters. Laughlin fails miserably at capturing any of the emotion or beauty of the BBC version.

bobromoff I live close enough to the real Laughlin to be able to spend lots of time there, and so I was looking forward to this series. But what a joke! It was obvious that nothing was filmed there, except a few establishing shots of the Colorado Belle. I also laughed at references to 'Laughlin PD' (the town is considered a rural area and is served by Las Vegas Police) and especially the aged boyfriend introduced as 'a professor at the University'. Um...would this be Bullhead Community College, the closest thing to higher learning and a considerable distance across the river? It follows that I was so very disappointed at the lack of realism. This is Laughlin! Where are the queues of old people waiting for the buffet to open? Where are the chain-smoking old ladies with their key rings full of players cards? The folks hooked both to their oxygen and their slot machines dropping their dollars? The man arguing that his two-for-one should be valid at weekends? Thinking about it, I lament the show's cancellation; sometimes something so bad is actually quite good - for laughs.

kanespock Was the show cheesy? Yes -- of course it was. How could something with its premise not be? That said... I had a smile on my face the whole time. Too many of the shows now have such dark themes, sets, etc... that you end up enrapt in the plot, but depressed about the state of the world. Viva Laughlin dealt with real life themes, but made the whole process fun. It had an excellent cast, the sound track and performances were witty and professionally executed. For all that the plot included some heavy issues, it was not an intense show and left you feeling well entertained. I wanted to applaud after Fontana's opening number.Again, I'm sorry its gone. I'm not surprised, but I am sorry.

Simon-109 The critics are ripping this one apart but not many have seen more that what those of us who tuned in last night, saw. I like it and enjoyed it.I like daring shows and I can't think of not too many things more daring than singing along Elvis, Jagger and Blondie in national television. The acting is pretty decent and the show is tremendously entertaining.The questions would be, how long can't Viva Laughlin! maintain the entertaining factor? How many good songs that are familiar to their target audience can they find to shoehorn into the script? That is not an easy task.I am not sure of the answers, but what I know is that I am tuning again next Sunday and that I am recommending the show.