Vega$

Plot

Dan Tanna is a private detective whose clients include Phillip Roth (Tony Curtis), aka Slick, the owner of multiple hotel casinos including the Maxim Hotel and Desert Inn Hotel & Country Club, in Las Vegas. Tanna is always called to investigate criminal cases or more absurd situations, such as a nun who claims to own the land on which the Desert Inn stands.

Tanna lives on the Las Vegas Strip next to Circus Circus Hotel/Casino, in the theatrical props warehouse owned by the Desert Inn Hotel and Country Club, which he converted into his living place. The design of Tanna's pad allows him to park his T-bird in his living room. Tanna also uses gadgets that were very high-tech for the time such as a car-phone and an answering machine that physically picks the phone up off the hook and into the microphone of a tape recorder).

Tanna often does battle with many of the various criminal element that would threaten the desert oasis.

Tanna is a veteran of the Vietnam War. This is illustrated through flashbacks in various episodes.

Supporting cast

Phyllis Davis played Beatrice Travis, Tanna's assistant, who is a single mom and a former showgirl. There is evidence that she was married before, but her husband had died. Although she and Tanna made a dashing couple, their relationship seemed to be purely platonic. Greg Morris played Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. David Nelson. Nelson was a no-nonsense cop who often had Tanna's back and vice versa. While Nelson was never one to breach protocol, he often secretly assisted Tanna in cases Metro Police couldn't officially touch. Naomi Stevens played police sergeant Bella Archer, who also assisted Tanna and Nelson. Bart Braverman played "Binzer," a college student who did Dan Tanna's leg work and usually provided comic relief. In the beginning of the series, Binzer was a petty thief who fled to Vegas to escape his former partners in crime from back east, as described in one episode, where his real name is revealed to be Robert Borso. Tanna seemed to have taken him under his wing and used his knowledge and connections of the street. Judy Landers played Dan Tanna's other assistant, Angie, who was also a showgirl, but unlike the savvy Beatrice was usually an airhead and would get things screwed up. She appeared only during the first season. Despite being initially billed as a co-star, actor Tony Curtis appeared infrequently during the first season, and only made a few appearances in subsequent years.

Guest stars

The series featured numerous performances and cameos by notable guest stars including: Muhammad Ali, Morey Amsterdam, Eve Arden, Kim Basinger, Demi Moore, Barbi Benton, Shelley Berman, Savannah Smith Boucher, Dick Butkus, Captain & Tennille, Kim Cattrall, Sid Caesar, Michael Cole, Shelley Fabares, Lola Falana, Erin Gray, Lorne Greene, Melanie Griffith, Lisa Hartman, Jack Kelly, Kurt Krakowian, June Lockhart, Gary Lockwood, Robert Loggia, Randolph Mantooth, Dean Martin, Maureen McCormick, Heather Menzies (Urich's real-life wife), Wayne Newton, Leslie Nielsen, Eleanor Parker, Slim Pickens, Pernell Roberts, Tanya Roberts, Cesar Romero, Isabel Sanford, Johnny Seven, Doc Severinsen, Alex Trebek, Mamie Van Doren, Abe Vigoda, Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, Shelley Winters, Lynda Day George,and Wolfman Jack.

Crossovers

In the Season 3 premiere of Charlie's Angels titled "Angels in Vegas", Robert Urich does a cameo as his Vega$ character Dan Tanna at the end of the episode. This episode aired the week before the Vega$ series premiere.

Syndication

Vega$ was one of the first shows to air in off-network syndication on FX when it began in 1994; FX ceased airing episodes around 2000. Vega$ is now airing on the Decades network as of July 2015.

DVD releases

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) has released all 3 seasons of Vega$ on DVD in Region 1.

In Region 4, Madman Entertainment has released the first season on DVD in Australia.