(OT) 'Sirens of Treasure Island'
Just out of curiosity, I did a web search for this live Las Vegas show which is featured in the climax of MC2. It plays nightly, weather-permitting, at the Treasure Island resort, and replaced the original classic "British vs. Pirates" show in the fall of 2003.
It's kind of silly, but it's free, and it's Vegas, so let's not complain.
I haven't seen this show live yet, but from what I've been able to gather, this is the plot (such as it is). A pirate sailor named Eros follows the call of Sirens into a small paradise-like cove. According to myth, Sirens are supernatural females believed to have a habit of enticing sailors and their ships to certain doom on rocks, etc. When Eros is captured by the Sirens who inhabit the cove on their ship, The Song, his shipmates soon follow on their ship, The Bull. These Sirens are not really bad, they're apparently lonely and want to invite the pirates over for some company. Instead, the pirates send a few cannonballs their way, and inadvertantly destroy the Sirens' wardrobe closets.
(You know, even the people at FOX television would have a hard time coming up with this kind of stuff.)
The Sirens are, understandably, a little peeved to see their wardrobe closets go north, so they summon their supernatural powers to whip up a storm and send The Bull straight south. (After all, new show or not, it's a Vegas pirate show - a ship's still gotta sink.) Then they take pity on their vanquished foes and invite the pirates onboard The Song for a big dance party. The End.
(Dance party stuff FOX television can do. I think.)
(I mention FOX television because I recently found out that former "American Idol" contestant Amanda Avila was one of the original Sirens when the show first started.)
And some trivia - what's really inside The Bull? A whole lot of machinery and not much else. The machinery allows The Bull to glide along a submerged guiderail as it sails into harbour - and later to tilt 45 degrees to simulate its sinking. But besides the machinery, there's not much else - not even a galley. So Sandra, Shatner and company filmed the pirate ship interior scenes on a special soundstage which "recreated" the interior of The Bull and allowed for water to simulate the sinking.)
So, here are some more links for you to follow.
Official Treasure Island website - http://www.treasureisland.com
(under "Entertainment", select "Sirens of TI", or click the link in the last paragraph)
The "Sirens of TI" section has a TV spot, video interviews, e-cards, an online game, and two webcams (register free with the website to view) for you to watch The Bull sink four times a night, as well as the party on The Song.
A synopsis of the show from the Go Vegas section of About.com -
http://govegas.about.com/cs/hotels/a/sirens.htm
A clip from "Sirens of Treasure Island" - http://frankguhlin.smugmug.com/gallery/668694/1/28856573
A short excerpt of amateur video footage from the show, in which Eros first meets the Sirens. Right-click on the link on this page and "Save Target As", the Real Player version on the page doesn't always work.
Various Photo Galleries -
http://www.pbase.com/wedeking/sirens
http://www.vegas-gallery.de/categories.php?cat_id=36&sessionid=2c1a86faf39b388d2102d175042db872
http://photos.accessvegas.com/cgi-bin/ImageFolio31/imageFolio.cgi?direct=Attractions_Scenery/Sirens_of_TI_Pirate_Show
http://vegasschmoe.smugmug.com/gallery/463621
http://www.serv2.com/sirens/index.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/motoed/sets/165716/ (three photos)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/motoed/sets/161986/ (last seven photos)
http://gallery.nobiscuit.com/sirens
Behind the scenes of "Sirens of Treasure Island" -
http://www.svconline.com/news/sirens_of_ti/
If anyone out there has seen "Sirens of Treasure Island" live, feel free to post your comments here and tell us more about this show.