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"We're hindered by (network) standards and practices on what we can show on the air," says Gary Scott Thompson, creator of the hit NBC series about the behind-the-scenes operation of a casino. "The name of the show, after all, is Las Vegas, and you know what happens there."

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Unless you're a married man from Oklahoma - then you go for the poker

A lot of what happened during the show's first season was declared too risqué for broadcast, but it appears on the DVD set that arrives in stores today. The series, now in its second season, stars James Caan, Josh Duhamel and Nikki Cox. Las Vegas Season One: Uncut & Uncensored (Universal, $60) borrows a page from the movie DVD playbook that holds racy, unrated versions far outsell the tamer one shown in theaters.

The ploy hasn't been tried on TV DVD, with the exception of reality TV shows such as Big Brother, which sometimes feature additional footage too racy for TV.

But as far as Universal Studios Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau is concerned, it's the wave of the future for the booming TV DVD category. In 2004, TV DVDs generated an estimated $2.3 billion in consumer spending and, according to Merrill Lynch projections, is on track to grow another 30% this year.

Kornblau says that based on the success of unrated versions of films such as American Pie and American Wedding, he's committed to trying the same with TV DVD.

Among the scenes cut from the televised Las Vegas by NBC but included on the DVD:

•A wet T-shirt contest. "Even though we shot it, we were never able to show it," Thompson says. "But here on the DVD, we're showing it in all its glory."

•A double-entendre about a Hummer. "We had a bunch of girls in a Hummer limousine," Thompson says. The line "was delivered perfectly by the actress, but we weren't allowed to do it."

•Various flashes of skin, comparable to Janet Jackson's 2004 Super Bowl performance. "We had to paint out a lot of things last year, using visual effects. But for the DVD we went back in and put the original footage back in," he says.

Jackson's breast-baring incident, in fact, is what led to NBC censors' crackdown, Thompson says.

"We were totally under the radar until Janet Jackson, and then everybody got scrutinized," he says. "And by the name of our show and the fact that we have four beautiful women, I think the microscope really came out. We're in a running battle on a weekly basis."

Even so, Thompson says, he hasn't changed any scripts — or any shoots.

"My objective is to push it to the limit every week," he says. "You know, it's Vegas. There are strip clubs, there are scantily clad women, there's just this insanity that happens in Las Vegas, and we have to show that to maintain our show. So I just tell our director to shoot it all.

"If something gets cut, I figure at least we'll get it on the DVD."

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