‘Las Vegas’ bets on going back in time

The glitzy drama “Las Vegas” (9 p.m., NBC) offers a fantasy flashback to the ring-a-ding-ding days when the Rat Pack and some of their more shadowy associates ruled the desert gambling city.

A visit to an antiques fair sends Danny (Josh Duhamel) back in time to 1962, when casino management appeared to be more about family connections than corporate clout. And we’re not talking about the King Family.

Ed (James Caan) breezes into town at the behest of his Chicago mob affiliates and takes over the gambling den. Needless to say, the former owners, of Kansas City extraction, have strenuous objections.

As network sweeps fantasy flashbacks go, this works well as both silly escapism and as commentary on the drama and its setting. The story takes into account the prevailing racism of the period, particularly in how it relates to Mike’s (James Lesure) job.

The plot makes several nods to the Vegas of our current present, including a primitive surveillance camera to catch gambling cheats and a novel way to make money by enhancing the appeal of the showgirls.

But all of this is an entertaining excuse, allowing the cast to wear fabulous clothes, smoke a lot of cigarettes and drive cool cars. There’s even a fake Sinatra “performance” worth catching.

CNN has shuffled its prime-time deck. Aaron Brown has been phased out to allow for two hours of “Anderson Cooper 360” (7 p.m., CNN). While smart and passionate about the news, Brown was not a particularly warm television presence.

I always thought he would be better suited as the more sober and receding half of a news team, in the kind of role Jeff Greenfield played so well on “Nightline” with Ted Koppel at the helm.

Anderson Cooper is clearly being rewarded for his energetic coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He’s young (for TV news, at least), intelligent and possesses the kind of strong personality necessary to stand out on cable TV.

The question remains: Which Anderson Cooper will emerge? In New Orleans, he displayed passion (some say too much) for Katrina’s victims. But often on the 7 p.m. edition of “360,” Cooper can betray a glib jokiness, closer in spirit to “The Daily Show” than serious news.

I suspect this second strain will vanish as Cooper concludes, a) there already is a “Daily Show” and b) now I’m competing with it. More important, he’s up against the blast furnace of permanent outrage that is Fox News.

Other highlights

Michael tries to prove his manhood as “Arrested Development” (8 p.m., Fox) returns to the prime-time schedule with a one-hour episode.

A slave to modern conveniences moves into the Little House on the Prairie on “Wife Swap” (10 p.m., ABC).

Filmmaker Bud Greenspan presents “Athens 2004: Stories of Olympic Glory” (8 p.m., Showtime), a colorful glance back at last summer’s games.

Michael must betray someone on “Prison Break” (9 p.m., Fox).

The Patriots host the Colts on “Monday Night Football” (6 p.m., ABC).

The two-part documentary “The Crusades: The Crescent and the Cross” (9 p.m., History) concludes.

A convicted killer escapes on “CSI: Miami” (10 p.m., CBS).

Jury duty can be a nightmare on “Medium” (10 p.m., NBC).

Cult choice

Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as the colorful Russian empress in the 1995 biopic “Catherine the Great” (6 and 10 p.m., Biography).

Series notes

A romantic getaway fizzles on “The King of Queens” (8 p.m., CBS) … New clues on “Surface” (8 p.m., NBC) … Too close for comfort on “One on One” (8 p.m., UPN) … Money changes everything on “7th Heaven” (8 p.m., WB).

The match game in jeopardy on “How I Met Your Mother” (8:30 p.m., CBS) … Smoking surveillance on “All of Us” (8:30 p.m., UPN).

Martin Sheen guest-stars on “Two and a Half Men” (9 p.m., CBS) … A bitter custody battle on “Girlfriends” (9 p.m., UPN) … Doing without on “Related” (9 p.m., WB) … Stewart needs help on “Out of Practice” (9:30 p.m., CBS) … The obligatory high school reunion episode of “Half & Half” (9:30 p.m., UPN).