Columnist Jon Katsilometes: Talking with James “Bucky” Buchanan, the star of a new reality show on Court TV, about the show’s future

Jon Katsilometes

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006 | 8:44 a.m.

Fabulous Las Vegas runs Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach John Katsilometes at kats@lasvegassun.com or at (702) 259-2327 or (702) 812-9812.

Las Vegas attorney James "Bucky" Buchanan's life is a spirited mix of courtroom intrigue and social hobnobbing.

Court TV is interested in the intrigue, not so much in the hobnobbing.

"We were going to make this a fun show, with a lot of my activities on the Strip, but Court TV took that all out," Buchanan said Monday during a phone interview. "It's a no-frills show -- no parties at penthouses or any of that stuff."

The reality show focusing on Buchanan, "Las Vegas Law," debuts at 10 tonight on Court TV. Man-about-town Buchanan has been a player in such prominent Las Vegas cases as the Ted Binion murder trial and the 311 Boyz trial, but "Las Vegas Law" centers on less-sensational cases.

"We didn't pick notorious cases. We picked cases, some of them going on right now, that are more recent to show how the criminal justice system works from the beginning," Buchanan said. "We show the court system in a good light. We pick up clients, interview them, talk about their cases and bingo -- we take it all the way to the end."

The first show is titled "Trial of the Blonde," which chronicles the travails of a 22-year-old woman whose legal troubles are rooted in drug abuse. "Lots of weeping," Buchanan said of that episode.

Court TV has committed to seven half-hour episodes and, if all goes well, it could run for years. At some point the fun-filled personal lives of Buchanan and his wife, Gianna, will be definitively chronicled.

"It's a law show," Buchanan said. "But I think they'll loosen up down the line ... I'm somewhat of a character."

NoteMart

Live and let live: Live local advertising returns to Las Vegas this week as Marla Letizia's Mobil Billboards of Las Vegas airs a series of live commercials just before "Good Morning America." The spots begin Thursday, between 6:45 a.m. and 7 a.m., on KTNV Channel 13.

The ads are to feature a song written by the company's corporate concierge Susan Haller, who will also sing the jingle. Joining her is musician and relief manager Gavin Smith, who alternately plays guitar and keyboards. Letizia says it has been between 20 and 25 years since a local company attempted to air live TV commercials ...

Friends in the Hall: The Nevada Entertainer/Artist Hall of Fame at UNLV is accepting nominations for the prestigious George Sidney Award, which is given annually by the school to recognize achievement in arts and entertainment. The deadline is Feb. 24.

This is the fourth year the Hall is bestowing the Sidney Award. The first three honorees were Sidney (the legendary director was awarded posthumously), Tony Curtis and Phyllis McGuire.

To request a nomination form and to learn the details of how to nominate an individual, e-mail Wendy Wilson at wendy.nelson@UNLV.edu ...

NBT -- Not a Bad Take: Adding the table sponsorships to the live and silent auction pledges, Saturday night's Nevada Ballet Theatre Black & White Ball at Wynn Las Vegas grossed more than $500,000 ...

No reservations: They don't receive much, or any, fanfare, but the rooms that sit on the south side of the Stardust were once the Royal Nevada hotel. Those rooms date to April 1955 and were taken over by the Stardust when it opened in July 1958. When the Stardust is taken down, those rooms -- believed to be the longest continually operating rooms on the Strip -- will be gone, too ...

Monkee business: A Vegas reference made recently by the eminent Thomas Friedman of The New York Times bears a closer look.

In criticizing the tiresome audio tapes recently released by Osama bin Laden and his sidekick, Ayman al-Zawahri, Friedman wrote that the duo sound like rock stars recycling their greatest hits in Las Vegas lounges. "Now Appearing at Caesars Palace, It's the Monkees! And at the Aladdin, Ayman and Osama!"

Not so! In April 2001 the Monkees (minus Michael Nesmith) actually played at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre. And from what I heard, they killed ...

Two for the road: I fell into a trance while tailing a silver Dodge Magnum with plates reading DRHYPNO. And a reader called after spotting FATSLOB; unfortunately, she did not get a good look at the driver for verification.