Television City at The MGM Grand

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 
Address: 3799 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Date: March 2003
Website:  tvcityresearch.com

  Deep within the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is Television City.   It is a place where those who are tired of trying their luck on the casino floor can try their luck with the CBS television schedule.  We were walking by when the staff out front asked us if we would like to take part.  It would take less than an hour and we would get some discounts in return.  We did end up redeeming our gift shop discount for a CSI t-shirt and a Late Night with David Letterman hat, so we did not do too badly.
  Basically you sit and watch a TV series pilot episode and fill out survey questions that ask you what you liked or did not like about the show.  They will in turn use this information to ultimately decide whether this show makes it to air or if any changes are required.  Often on TV, a show can change drastically between the pilot and the second epsiode.  Actors get replaced, characters removed, or the overall tone of the show is adjusted.  It was all up to us.

  The show we watched was called Charlie Lawrence and starred Nathan Lane in the title role.  Nathan has had many roles throughout the years, but is best known for The Producers, The Birdcage and as Timon the meerkat in The Lion King.  Other recognizable actors were Ted McGinley, who has appeared on both Happy Days and Married With Children, and Laurie Metcalf, who starred in Roseanne and plays Sheldon's mother on The Big Bang Theory.
  While the show was not bad, it was not something we would watch again unless we were on vacation and getting some gift shop discounts in exchange for our time.  When the show was over we filled out our surveys and let them know what we thought.  Several months after we returned from Las Vegas, Charlie Lawrence did appear on television.  Only 2 episodes ever aired before the show was abruptly pulled from the schedule due to poor ratings.  Hey, we tried to warn you CBS.

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Map of Our World
Television City At the MGM Grand

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Post # 25

Penn & Teller

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Address: 3700 W Flamingo Rd.
Date: March 2003
Website:  www.riolasvegas.com/shows/penn-and-teller.html

  During our first visit to Las Vegas we purchased tickets to see Penn & Teller at the Rio casino.   Penn & Teller are illusionists who always mix their magic with a little comedy, brains and danger.  Penn is the big, talkative one and Teller is the smaller one who never says a word.  You may have seen them perform together on Saturday Night Live or in one of their various specials throughout the years.  Penn once appeared on an episode of Friends and sells Joey one volume from an encyclopedia set.
  Our evening began when we decided to walk from the Bally's casino to the Rio.  The Rio is off of the main strip but, like everything in Vegas, looks closer because of the sheer size of it.  As we walked along Flamingo Road we left the crowds of Las Vegas Blvd. and soon we were the only pedestrians on the street.  As the sidewalk crosses the Las Vegas Freeway it becomes entirely enclosed by a cage, and fortunately we did not come across anyone else as we felt just a little bit trapped.  Not put in a clear box and then locked into a wooden box trapped, but a bit uneasy.

  We did eventually arrive at the show and took our seats.  On stage was a clear box and a wooden box which the audience was welcomed  to come up and inspect.  Later Teller was placed in the clear box and then locked into the wooden box.  Penn gives the audience an option to either close their eyes and be amazed or keep them open and see how it is done.  Anyway Teller's escape is not so much an illusion as it is purposefully constructed boxes.
  Another highlight of the show is when two audience members write something onto bullets.   One bullet is put into a gun and given to Teller, the other handed to Penn.  Pieces of glass are placed in the middle of the stage between them.  The two illusionists line up their shots from opposite sides of the stage and fire.  They both flinch back a little bit, then reveal that they have the opposite bullet between their teeth.  The glass in between has shattered and has holes through it to prove something passed through.  How did they do it?  While Penn & Teller are known to often reveal how they do a trick, this one they kept a secret. 

  After the show there was a meet and greet with the two performers.  One of us had their ticket signed by and picture taken with Penn and the other did the same with Teller.  We are sort of a mix of their stage personas as one of us is tall and quiet and the other is small and talkative.  We paired up based on height.

  We really enjoyed the show and now it was time for us to perform one final daring escape act of our own.  We headed back into our sidewalk cage in a darker, later, Las Vegas night.

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Map of Our World
Penn & Teller

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Post # 18