ESPN deals itself a new hand with 'Tilt'

Thursday, January 13, 2005

By MELANIE McFARLAND
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER TELEVISION CRITIC

When ESPN decided to break into scripted television, it hit the ground running with "Playmakers." The football drama, spun from players' less-than-heroic moments off the field, did well with viewers. The National Football League was none too pleased. ESPN makes millions from its partnership with the NFL, and money beats fan loyalty every time. And that spelled the show's early retirement.

Knowing that, ESPN's foray into the corrupt underbelly of Vegas' poker scene, "Tilt," seems a safer choice for longevity. The channel's broadcasts of World Series of Poker may be performing well, but the game needs ESPN more than it needs to save face. So the final line in "Tilt's" premiere -- "When you take on Vegas, Vegas wins" -- probably won't apply to internal politics this time around.

"Tilt," debuting tonight at 6 and 9, also has Michael Madsen, known and strangely loved for his work in Quentin Tarantino's movies.

Madsen plays Don Everest, an appealing villain known as The Matador, who earned his nickname by "luring the young bulls into the ring to cut them down," as one commentator puts it. Madsen wonderfully revels in each subtle evil act his character commits, much of it at the behest of smarmy casino owner Bart "Lowball" Rogers (Don McManus).

The trick is that The Matador is a trap, giving the house the edge in the one game where it's not supposed to have it.

Battling these odds, three of Everest's young victims have joined forces for some much-needed payback, led by the impish Eddie Towne (Eddie Cibrian). With his partners, Clark Marcellin (Todd Williams) and Miami (Kristin Lehman), they're a card shark Mod Squad, each in it for reasons cryptically alluded to between drinks. Miami, for instance, was run through at the tender age of 12. How, we don't yet know, although it had better be uniquely scarring, since the years tend to fade most humiliations.

To sweeten the pot, "Tilt" viewers also get strippers, a buckshot smattering of violence, and a fellatio scene that's as graphic as basic cable will allow. You can't say ESPN doesn't know its audience.

But "Tilt" loses its edge by spending much of the premiere maneuvering through setups whose main purpose is to give the show additional grit and spangle. Lots of the side trips made in the name of inching them closer to The Matador's orbit amount to throwaway hands in the end.

The same can be said of the puzzling introduction of bit characters who come and, in a few cases, leave before you can figure out what they have to do with anything. A little clarification, and soon, wouldn't hurt.

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