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Lucky aired in 2003 beginning in April for 13 episodes on The FX Cable Network.

" Lucky" ( John Corbett) was a suave, charming gambler whose vocation had practically ruined his life-but who couldn't kick the habbit-in this dark comedy set in Las Vegas. A former World Poker Champion who had won and quickly lost $1 million and his new bride ( who dies), he tried gamblers anonymous but slid back into his old ways. His less talented sidekicks were Vinny ( Billy Gardell) a chunky guy who raised money by various scams ( like faking auto accidents) and Mutha ( Craig Robinson), a black dude and sometime confidence man with a kind heart. Theresa ( Ever Carradine) was a perky Realtor with a gmabling addiction who met Lucky at a GA meeting and adopted him as her " sponsor"-despite the fact that he couldn't stay away from the casinos. A variety of lovable junkies, loan sharks and crooks also passed through.

A Review From The New York Times

TELEVISION REVIEW; With Money and Blondes on His Mind
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By ANITA GATES
Published: April 8, 2003
Nothing fazes John Corbett's characters. There was Chris, the New Age disc jockey in ''Northern Exposure,'' who just shrugged and smiled beatifically when people referred to his prison record. There was Aidan, Carrie Bradshaw's fiancé, on and off, in ''Sex and the City,'' who stood by calmly as Carrie went through her emotional frenzies. Aidan even broke up peacefully. And there was Ian, the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant hero of ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding.'' Whatever it took to marry the heroine -- even being baptized, as a grown man, into the Greek Orthodox Church -- Ian would happily do. No big deal. Hakuna matata.

But in ''Lucky,'' FX's new half-hour series about a compulsive gambler, Mr. Corbett worries, struggles, comes close to panic and even cries a little. This is upsetting, even though the show is a comedy.

Reportedly, the only reason the affable Mr. Corbett didn't join the cast of the new sitcom ''My Big Fat Greek Life'' was that he had already made this commitment to FX. And it may pay off. If Mr. Corbett's character is troubled, he also has a certain surface self-confidence and he's a lot more pulled together than most of the people around him.

Mark and Robb Cullen, the show's creators, must have concluded that Mr. Corbett's unflappability would give him the world's most perfect poker face. So they cast him as a Las Vegas poker champion, Lucky Linkletter, who in the first scenes of the first episode, wins a $1 million championship and announces that the first thing he's going to do is marry the very pretty blonde at his side.

In the next scene it's a year later, and Lucky has somehow lost all that money, and his wife is dead. (We aren't told any more than that; presumably the details will be revealed little by little, if ''Lucky,'' which has its premiere tonight at 10, lasts.) He has given up the casino life, has started attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings and has taken a job selling cars, but when his boss reneges on a promise of a bonus, Lucky's only choice is to go back to the tables. He has to come up with $2,500 to repay his wife's parents for her funeral expenses.

Lucky always seems to need a certain amount of money by a certain deadline, and that may just be the normal day-to-day life of a gambler. His other problem is that he's such a nice guy he can be gullible. When an attractive blonde (come to think of it, all the women in the first few episodes are blondes) is going into hysterics because her purse and her luggage have been stolen, Lucky takes pity and gives her the money he's just won. Imagine his surprise when, later in the day, he sees her back at the tables in a dark wig. You'd think a guy as savvy as Lucky would have seen right through her act.

That's a problem in Lucky's world: con artists being conned by other con artists. When our hero's adorable sidekicks, Vinny (Billy Gardell) and Mutha (Craig Robinson), pose as doctors at the United States Orthopedic Surgeons Association convention, they set out to scam a couple of jovial conventioneers on the golf course. But the conventioneers turn out to be not exactly honest either.

Mr. Gardell and Mr. Robinson, both of whom have done stand-up comedy, give ''Lucky'' a solid comic foundation. In tonight's episode Vinny helps Lucky out by walking into the street and deliberately getting hit by cars again and again. The cash the drivers give him in order to avoid trouble soon adds up to the amount Lucky needs. It's beautifully done physical comedy.

Danny (Kevin Breznahan) is another cast regular, a sweet, antsy drug addict. Lucky has sympathy for the guy and asks, ''Why do you tell people you're clean when you're not clean, man?'' Danny answers, ''I just really dig making people happy, you know.'' Danny also mugs Lucky in the premiere episode.

Lucky's love interest, at least for now, is a fellow Gamblers Anonymous member. Theresa (played by Ever Carradine, daughter of Robert, granddaughter of John), who looks like Uma Thurman from one angle and a little like Madonna from another, is a particularly needy gambler. In the third episode Lucky and Theresa catch each other gambling again and fall into each other's arms. Dan Hedaya turns in his usual indelible performance as a nasty loan shark. Seymour Cassell is good, too, as a crusty old gambler.

LUCKY

FX, tonight at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9, Central time.
Created by Robb Cullen and Mark Cullen.

WITH: John Corbett (Lucky Linkletter), Ever Carradine (Theresa Phillips), Billy Gardell (Vinny Sticcarelli), Craig Robinson (Mutha) and Kevin Breznahan (Danny).

A Review from Entertainment Weekly

TV Review
Lucky (2003)
More --
GAMBLERS UNANIMOUS Corbett knows when to hold 'em
B By Bruce Fretts

John Corbett is Lucky,'' intone FX's promos for its new Vegas-set series, and a truer voice-over has never been spoken. Not because Corbett plays compulsive gambler Michael ''Lucky'' Linkletter, but because he's one of TV's luckiest stars, sustaining a lengthy career with minimal discernible range. The most you can say about the guy is that he has a pleasant demeanor.

Corbett's run of good luck began with his role as dreamy DJ Chris Stevens on CBS' sleeper ''Northern Exposure.'' He later exuded the same laid-back aura -- and recurred for far too long -- as Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City.'' (Did anybody believe Sarah Jessica Parker's cosmopolitan Carrie would find true love with an outdoorsy carpenter?) Then Corbett stumbled into a little movie called ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding.''

After ''Greek Wedding'' became the highest-grossing romantic comedy in history, Corbett's luck appeared to have run out. Screenwriter-star Nia Vardalos and the rest of the film's ensemble signed on for a CBS sitcom spin-off, the surefire hit ''My Big Fat Greek Life,'' but Corbett couldn't join them since he'd agreed to headline the obscure basic-cable dramedy ''Lucky.'' As it turns out, though, fortune may still be smiling on him. ''Greek Life'' is a big fat bummer, and FX is suddenly the hot network, thanks to its Emmy and Golden Globe victories for ''The Shield.'' Smartly written and stylishly shot, Corbett's vehicle proves to be a coolly addictive lark -- albeit one that utterly miscasts him.

With his rugged looks and soothing voice, Corbett can convey a pro gambler's outer confidence but not his inner doubt. Lucky is beset by personal demons (his wife recently died, and he also lost a $1 million poker jackpot), yet Corbett always seems to be at ease. His character constantly addresses himself in the mirror, an ill-conceived gimmick for such a fundamentally unreflective actor; his monologues sound more like Stuart Smalley than Travis Bickle.

How serendipitous that Corbett is surrounded by costars who perfectly suit the series' skeevy milieu. The little-known Billy Gardell and Craig Robinson swipe their every scene as Lucky's scam-artist buddies, Vinny and Mutha. In the April 15 episode, they pose as orthopedic surgeons to infiltrate a convention of potential marks. The delicious result is like ''The Sting'' rewritten by David Mamet. And when it comes to playing scumbags, no one's better than Dan Hedaya (''Blood Simple''), who's a scream as a loan shark with a soft spot for the canine comic strip ''Marmaduke.''

The only authentically Vegasy aspect of Corbett's Lucky is his Elvis-worthy pompadour and 'burns. Like Samson, Corbett's strength has long emanated from his mane. Steven Eckholdt (''It's Like, You Know...''), who replaces him as Vardalos' WASPy husband in ''Greek Life,'' aspires to a Corbettesque coiffure but falls short in this and other areas. While Corbett was typically relaxed, Eckholdt comes across as tentative -- the new kid in Greek class. His performance isn't the only difference between the sitcom and the movie. The newlyweds have been renamed (Nia and Thomas instead of Toula and Ian) and they now live across the street from her family's diner instead of next door to her pushy parents (uncured hams Michael Constantine and Lainie Kazan). The latter change was probably made to keep ''Greek Life'' from seeming too similar -- and paling in comparison -- to ''Everybody Loves Raymond.''

Review From The Seattle Post

FX's savvy 'Lucky' gives viewers a winning hand

By MELANIE McFARLAND
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER TELEVISION CRITIC

"The brave man carves out his fortune," Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra wrote, "and every man is the son of his own works."

Since we're talking about FX's snappy dramatic comedy "Lucky," premiering at 10 tonight on the cable channel, it bears adding that when Lady Luck is the mistress of that fortune, she undoubtedly will exploit her favor to make you her dog. And the leash laws in Las Vegas are brutal.

These notions propel the adventures of Michael "Lucky" Linkletter (John Corbett), a well-dressed, well-intentioned compulsive gambler negotiating recovery in Las Vegas, a bizzarro world of characters inebriated at the prospect of easy money as a quick fix. "Lucky" cracks open Vegas' glamorous veneer of fantasy and possibility so we can sniff the sweaty desperation pooling up beneath it. At the same time, "Lucky's" strange crew of recovering addicts and con men who bilk strangers to save their friends invite us to appreciate the heart it takes to grapple with human failure. Within the show's energetic, tightly edited half hour, it manages to be bold, bleak, cruel, kind and touching all at once.

At the center is Lucky's struggle to escape the addiction that was once his livelihood. When his back is against the wall, as is frequently the case, he regrettably turns to gambling to save his bacon. Even when he doesn't, his past still finds a way to harangue him in the most bizarre unexpected ways. Kicking and howling as he's dragged back to the betting table, Lucky is luck's most pathetic poodle.

"A house and a family," he mutters to himself, in a moment of self-reflection. "A job and long-term goals. Sounds nice. But I'm a gambler."

At least Corbett makes him a charming pooch.

"Lucky" will make viewers thankful Corbett didn't join Nia Vardalos in her new sitcom on CBS. While those WASP-y love interest roles he played in "Sex and the City" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" put Corbett back in circulation, "Lucky" allows him to regain the unapologetic swagger that made him such a kick on "Northern Exposure." Tough, savvy and thoroughly confused, Corbett's Lucky Linkletter is more Don Juan than Don Quixote.

One similarity with the latter, though, is that Lucky's battles appear impossible to win. When we meet this poker king at the top of his game, see him take the million dollar pot and pledge to marry his sweetheart, we learn that at one time, luck was enough.

Then the credits roll, a year passes, and Lucky's living in a motel -- room 13, naturally. His wife's dead, he's selling used cars and considering a loan from the mob. If not for his true-blue con men pals Vinnie Sticcarelli (Billy Gardell) and "Mutha" Legendre (Craig Robinson), Lucky's lifeline would have ended long ago.

The profound bond between Lucky and this pair of lovable crooks keep viewers in the game, too. Without their displays of care and outrageous acts -- a sequence in the pilot may have you laughing to the point of hyperventilation -- "Lucky" would lack heart and the odd quirks that give it a winning hand.

Good as it is, the show also defies definition. It deals out too many laughs to fit neatly into the drama category, but is far too dark to be called comedy, a quality that may make it difficult to gain favor among viewers. The laughter isn't non-stop, it often comes at another's very painful expense. It's a gas to watch Lucky attempts to give CPR to The Trake, a guy with a hole in his throat (Seymour Cassel, in a cameo), through a straw. This show is ridiculous, mean-spirited and hilarious.

I'll lay a bet you'll be addicted in no time.

A Review From Entertainyourbrain.com

Lucky" Review

By Shawn McKenzie 04/14/2003

When I heard that John Corbett was not joining his fellow movie cast members in the TV version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I was a little miffed. Did he think he was too good for the show? It really wasn’t his fault, since he was already under contract to star in FX’s new show, “Lucky,” and he wouldn’t have time to do “My Big Fat Greek Life.” It turns out to have been a lucky twist of fate for Corbett, because the show is much better than the “Greek” one.

Michael “Lucky” Linkletter (Corbett) is a compulsive gambler who happens to live in gambling central, Las Vegas. A year ago, he won the million-dollar prize at the Las Vegas Professional Poker Player Championship. When asked what was next for him, he said he was going to marry his girlfriend Sarah, and he predicted he would lose the money. Fast forward to today, and both things have happened. He married Sarah, but then she died (in a way that has yet to be explained.) He gambled away the million he won, and he had to borrow $8000 from Sarah’s parents, Bill and Carol, to pay for her funeral. He currently works as a car salesman for Stan McWatt (Robb Cullen, who also executive produces the show with his brother Mark), but his commissions aren’t making him enough. He tries other options to get the money to pay Sarah’s parents back. The first one he tries is borrowing it from a loan shark named Joey Leggs (Dan Hedaya), but Joey wants Lucky to gamble for him, and he doesn’t want to go back to that life. The next thing he tries is to collect some money owed to him from The Trake (Seymour Cassel), named after the tracheotomy tube he has to breathe through. He has no luck there, because The Trake passes out and goes into a diabetic coma. His two close friends, Vinny Sticarelli (Billy Gardell) and Mutha Legendre (Craig Robinson), a couple of fellow compulsive gamblers that he met in a support group, try to help him out, including Vinny jumping in front of cars so that the people who hit him will pay him. That helps a little, but a degenerate named Danny Martin (Kevin Breznahan) robs him. He decides to swallow his pride and risk letting gambling take over his life again by taking Joey’s deal. Along the way, he meets fellow compulsive gambler Theresa (Ever Carradine) at one of the support group meetings. She is a successful real estate broker, but has a bad gambling problem. Lucky agrees to be her sponsor, even though he may be soon slipping himself.

I don’t know how this show about a serious addiction still manages to be funny, but it is just that. Corbett isn’t the flashiest actor around, but this is certainly his most interesting character to date. Gardell and Robinson are the funniest part of any scene they are in, and Hedaya manages to be amusing and menacing at the same time. The show benefits from being on FX, because they aren’t required to have an annoying laugh track and the language is a little looser than it would be on the networks. That second thing has also helped the show’s fellow FX series, “The Shield.” This comedy has skillfully added enough drama to make it interesting, but not so much that it makes the show depressing.

I’ve gotta say it: we are “Lucky” to have this show. Corbett is also lucky he escaped having to star in that “Greek” show that never really improved in quality throughout its six episode first season run. “Lucky” marks the first quality sitcom for the mini-HBO known as FX, which up until now could only claim the sex-pun comedy “Son of the Beach” as its only sitcom success. Let’s hope the luck stays with the network and it continues to make us lucky with great new shows (have I stretched the word “lucky” out far enough?)

For more on Lucky go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_(TV_series)

For a Page dedicated to Lucky go to http://www.codeforfood.com/corbett/Lucky/index.htm

For a John Corbett Website go to http://www.codeforfood.com/corbett/