TVSquad

NBC's Las Vegas ended abruptly in February with two couples -- Danny and Delinda and Sam and Vic (her deceased ex-husband's brother) -- just about ready to tie the knot. But the shocking news that Cooper had died in a plane crash blanketed the ceremony in a gloomy pall -- the same pall that Vegas fans felt upon learning that the series had been canceled. Here are my top six reasons why Las Vegas needs to come back for a wrap-up movie, if not another season:

1. Spin-Off Opp. A TV movie would be a great opportunity to spin Las Vegas into a new series for Josh Duhamel and James Caan. I've sorely missed watching Caan rough up the bad guys this season, and he and Duhamel would make a great P.I. duo, collaring modern-day Vegas criminals a la Crime Story's Lt. Torello. Are you listening, Michael Mann? Pretty please, with wing-tip shoes on top?

Las Vegas is one of those shows that I've always thought was in the same category as Wings and Just Shoot Me!, one of those nice little shows that never generates any buzz, but does just well enough in its timeslot to keep getting renewed. If you're around on a Friday night and there's nothing to watch, it's always good to stumble across the show; the beautiful triumvirate of Cox, Marcil, and Sims is always nice to look at, and they make good use of celebrity guest shots. Most of all, the show stars James Caan; 35 years after The Godfather, the man is still compelling to watch, even if he only seems half-interested in being on the show most of the time.

Anyway, the crew at the Montecito is going to get another year to distract us from our lonely Fridays, as NBC has decided to pick Las Vegas up for a fifth season, according to TV Week. "The cast and producers have consistently given us what we want from Las Vegas - pure entertainment," said NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reillym "and we're looking forward to another fun ride next season with the show." Ah the beauty of low expectations: the show is averaging a 2.8 rating for the season.

Maybe no one realized this yet. Or, maybe no one really cared. During the 2005-06 television season, seven alumni of FOX's Beverly Hills, 90210 have appeared or will appear in a regular series.

Do you doubt me? Do you think it isn't true? Do you think I have way too much time on my hands? Well, the last may be true, but that's not the point.

Click on, dear reader, for the proof that you seek.

I am a total sucker for the Olympics, but I really hate all the cheesy, promotional crap that goes with it. This time around, NBC and Chevrolet are teaming up to feature some camera-friendly Olympians in their very own mini-movie. Oh, joy. It airs during Las Vegas on NBC in February and it'll also be included with advertisements before the trailers start at AMC, Cinemark, Regal, UA and Edwards movie theaters. Now, I clearly remember the little mini-movie that Chevrolet did during the last summer Olympics where a bunch of athletes call each other and drive their own Chevrolets to Athens (way to carpool, guys). I wanted to throw something at the movie screen everytime I saw it. Why? As a general rule, athletes can't act. You hear that, advertising geniuses? Athletes. Cannot. Act. This time around, the lucky Olympians are halfpipe snowboarders Kelly Clark and Ross Powers, alpine skiers Eric Schlopy, Ted Ligety, and Julia Mancuso, freestyle skier Toby Dawson and snowboarder Seth Wescott. They're all somehow paired up with the cast of Las Vegas and then whisked off to Torino, Italy for the competition. There will also be a behind-the-scenes mini-mini-movie of the mini-movie on NBC's website.