To Catch A Hangover Sequel?

Dateline NBC's Chris Hansen has taken up the good fight to catch scam artists, pedophiles and internet predators, and we were fine to let him have his fun. (We didn't really like our Uncle Frank anyway.) But when we heard that he was heading to Las Vegas with his crime fighting crew (the special airs Monday), an Eiffel Tower-shaped alarm bell went off. The point of Vegas is to buy a hooker from a drug-dealing pimp in a stolen car without consequences, and if that pusher has Chris Hansen and a sound guy in the back seat, Vegas will shut down faster than you can say "Branson, Missouri." But from crisis comes opportunity (crisitunity). Given the relatively nonthreatening content of The Hangover (tiger, Tyson, weird Asian guy), this could be an opportunity for the writers to crib some darker plot points for the Hangover sequel. Warning: Possible spoilers ahead.

Without revealing too much of The Hangover (which we liked), the envelope felt under-pushed in terms of illegal activity. Not that Zach Galifianakis has to enter the white slavery market, but we hope that the sequel takes it to the next level.

That level is where Chris Hansen makes his money: Ordinary criminals just hoping to score some coke or trim or a hot Dodge Charger who are caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sounds like buddy comedy material to me. Even this small sampling from the press release for Monday's special shows strong B-plot potential:

[Hansen] joins Vegas detectives from the 'Pimp Investigation Team' and watches as an undercover detective pretends to try prostitution for the first time. A man attempting to become her pimp quickly approaches her and after police move in, Hansen talks with the man who was arrested for pandering.

Let's hope the pimps are the only ones doing the pandering come Hangover 2. Normally, TV news magazine sizzle reels are pretty tame/lame, but NBC paid for a guest voice-over (pretty sure it's Lenny Venito) to really play up the goumba aspects of Sin City. It's unlikely that Hansen will take down any big fish, but hopefully Todd Phillips will catch the show: