Lessons Of Cop Rock, Unlearned: Viva Laughlin Cancelled

Blasted by critics as a "train wreck," "horrid" and "totally botched," not to mention possibly the "worst show in the history of television," Viva Laughlin, CBS's Nevada-set musical/mystery drama series, just became the first scripted casualty of the fall TV season, and good riddance. Starring a lifeless Lloyd Owen -- not to be confused with ex-Croupier Clive Owen -- as an aspiring casino entrepreneur being investigated by the local PD for murder, the series failed to capture the quirky brilliance of Blackpool, the 2004 BBC serial from which it was adapted, and audiences took note and stayed away. Which is a shame, because the original Blackpool was awesome television, and that's not just because I have a massive crush on co-star David Tennant. Like Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective before it, the gimmick of both shows was that characters would routinely break into lip-synced pop songs, such as Kenny Roger's "The Gambler" or Elvis' "Viva Las Vegas," but whereas the UK version created a tone that was equal parts campy and dramatic, without taking itself too seriously, as seen in this interrogation scene between Tennant's PI and David Morrissey's casino-owner wannabe...

...the American version seemed devoid of any joy or emotion. And I'm not just talking about guest star Melanie Griffith's Botox-blitzed face. Modern musical numbers, a la the song-driven one-offs from Buffy or Scrubs, require a certain amount of irony or tongue-in-cheekedness that's absent from Laughlin producer Hugh Jackman & Co's knock-off. Native Brit Owen also seemed to have a difficult time mastering his American accent, unlike his compatriots on House, Bionic Woman, and Life.

But BBC America fans, never fear. I'm sure next season will bring another American studio attempt to bring a popular Brit-com over the Atlantic and fail spectacularly (game shows, however, are a completely different story). In fact, the U.S. has a pretty good track record for getting successful UK series lost in translation; for every Office, there's a Coupling, Cracker, or Men Behaving Badly. Then again, maybe such series have just been in the wrong hands. Paging Ben Silverman!

Comments

[cadavra]

The COP ROCK analogy is inapt. COP ROCK was an original musical drama with the cast singing songs written specifically for the show. LAUGHIN had its actors singing along with hit records; it wasn't Jackman singing a new version of "Sympathy For The Devil," but him essentially dueting with Jagger on the original. In other words, karaoke without the vocal track scrubbed. COP ROCK was an honorable failure; this was lazy rubbish that deserved a rapid demise.

[PhxJustice]

Was "Viva Laughlin" the best in television? Not even close, but I was giving it a chance and thought it had promise. It was a hell of a lot better than watching what else is on Sunday nights at that hour.

[Janco54]

I watched 30 minutes of it and all I can say is "wow - there's 30 minutes I'm not getting back." It was HORRIBLE. Bad, sad, awful, terrible........
Thank God for everyone they pulled the plug quickly.
And can Melanie Griffith's lips get any bigger? My God, pretty soon her top lip is just going to be a part of her nostrils.

[canadagood]

Big problem with the show: Laughlan is certainly not Las Vegas nor even Reno ("The Biggest Little City in the World").
I kinda enjoyed the show in a trashy way. There was nothing in it to indicate that the Viva Laughlin was anywhere than on The Strip. Certainly having most of the area's population in a place named Bullhead City should have provided lots of writer ideas for both drama and humour.
According to Wikipedia:
Laughlin population 8,629 in 2006
Bullhead City population approximately 39,000
Blackpool, England population 142,900.

[JScott]

I wondered why a small town that only came in existence in the last 30 or so years merited a TV show, there's not much else there other than the casinos, maybe that's why they were smart enough not to do another one and call it Viva Atlantic City or Viva Morongo or Viva Spotlight 29 (even tho that sounds like a TV anthology show) (google em folks).
And lets not forget the stillborn American version of ABFAB which Roseanne was gonna put to TV.

And I'm still waiting for an American vesion of
'Keeping Up Appearances' (There was a Hindi
version made for India) (google it too)

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

Anyone who has ever been to Laughlin rolled in the floor in laughter at the thought of the town being something other than a blue collar, blue hair destination. The commercials were a hoot.

At least in Las Vegas if you don't like gambling, there are other things to do. Not so in Laughlin. It's gamble or sleep or sit in the sun.

Isn't it sad that there are no roles for the likes of Melanie Griffith and that she had to take on this laughable project just to keep working? Lindsay Lohan can find roles when she's not in rehab or jail or whatever. Pathetic.

[moodygirl]

I certainly agree after watching this tragedy last night. But Blackpool looks hysterical where can we get to watch it?

[TJS]

There was better lip syncing in those 1950's Godzilla movies. Come to think of it, the acting was better, too...