LA to Vegas Series Premiere Plot Summary:
After missing her chance to transfer to JFK, Ronnie (Kim Matula) quits her job as an airline stewardess. But before she can leave, she has to make the round trip flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
I’ve made it abundantly clear in past articles that I don’t watch a lot of comedies. Still, I can identify many of the beloved American sitcoms of the past 50+ years. I also know that some viewers, particularly millennials, have migrated away from the traditional networks. The big networks need their sitcoms to evolve past obvious sets, multi-camera setups, and laugh tracks. That’s partially why LA to Vegas, a show lacking all three, looked promising when promos starting popping up.
There are many sitcom subgenres, the most prevalent being the family sitcom. LA to Vegas is an example of the workplace sitcom. The case for comedy in general (but not always) is that the characters don’t know they’re in a comedy. They live in an intrinsically absurd world. This means characters in a workplace sitcom do things that would normally get them fired. If you can you accept that, you’ll be able to enjoy the humor.
The humor of LA to Vegas is the mash-up suggested in this article’s title. It’s not a complete match; it lacks the randomness of Airplane! and the preachiness and mean-spiritedness that Family Guy has fallen into. Similar to both, LA to Vegas focuses on mini-stories with dialogue and gags designed to push the envelope. A couple of standouts from this episode are an unruly, nosey passenger and a stripper looking to recruit. A key difference with LA to Vegas is it revisits these moments and some of these characters will probably be recurring.
How you feel about these jokes is quite subjective. Whereas one person might find them funny, another might find them desperate. The premiere’s hookup in the plane bathroom is definitely a low-hanging fruit, though the writers manage to put a tiny spin on it. The question I answer whenever I review comedy is whether or not I laughed. I didn’t laugh wholeheartedly, to be honest, but I did snicker or smile at a few things. I can easily say the show put me in a good mood.
LA to Vegas is by no means amazing, but I did enjoy moments and characters, like the sassy Bernard (Nathan Lee Graham). It’s also nice to see the normally dour Dylan McDermott let loose as Captain Dave. It’s a show you can put on in the background, if nothing else.
