Tilt: The Complete First Season

The current mania for TV poker explains ESPN's decision to produce this fictional series set in Las Vegas, written by the duo who penned 1998's Rounders. The plot involves a trio of young card sharks--two guys and a girl--recruited by a disgruntled former employee of the Colorado Casino to bring down house player Don Everest, a.k.a. The Matador (star Michael Madsen), who is also in the crosshairs of an out-of-town sheriff intent on vengeance against the man he holds responsible for his brother's death. The setting has a certain sleazy allure, of course, but it's not especially captured well in what appears to be a fairly low-budget production (shot in Canada), and the acting--even by veteran Madsen--is curiously flat. Worst of all, the script doesn't succeed in conveying the excitement of a high-stakes poker tournament, contenting itself with rather juvenile bits about how inexperienced players' tics can be read by experts and various methods of cheating. As if to compensate for the overall mediocrity, this three-DVD set compiling the 2005 first season's nine episodes offers an abundance of extras, including audio commentary on the first episode, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, outtakes, and footage of the 1998 world championship final table. No matter: by the end, you may feel that the last line--describing Vegas as a place most people come to lose--is all too apt. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)