In the words of Dan Hedaya's character, "Motion is life. Standing still could be fatal." After watching this series' first two episodes of "Lucky", I realized how much most of television programming was standing still. We allow ourselves to grow accustomed to bland, lifeless shows such as "Will & Grace", "Friends", and "Everybody Loves Raymond". And run-of-the-mill dramas like "The Practice", Law & Order", "CSI: Miami". Then when something new and refreshing comes along we realize what great tv is capable of. What "The Shield" is to cop shows, "Lucky" is to tv comedies. John Corbett plays Lucky Linkletter, a compulsive gambler living in Las Vegas trying to overcome his addiction. That he lives in Vegas is not inconsequential. The show plays up the fact that Lucky and his cohorts reside in the gambling mecca of the Western hemisphere by featuring several scenes inside of casinos. In fact, the premier episode begins and ends with Lucky sitting at a poker table. In between these scenes we meet the great cast of supporting characters, see Lucky attempting to go straight (including having joined Gamblers Anonymous), and we learn that he's feeling guilty over the unexplained death of of his newlywed wife. In short, there's a lot of show packed into this half-hour. The question is which Lucky will prevail, the good or the gambler? Can they coexist? Can Lucky even BE Lucky without the gambling? More importantly, will "Lucky" still be "Lucky" without it?
It'd be too cliché to give this show an 11 out of 10 rating, so I give it 10 out of 10--and will reduce my ratings of all other tv shows by one.
