TV Guide Reviews Sunset Beach

SON OF A BEACH

If we had reviewed NBC's Sunset Beach upon its debut, it would have been lacerated for its stunning incompetence and thorough pointlessness. But the show currently airing isn't the show that premiered 19 months ago. Yes, this Aaron Spelling production is still lavishly mounted, majestically hyped and studded with superhuman specimens seemingly sculpted by da Vinci. But it did not do what it was supposed to do, namely, lure gazillions of young, previously untapped advertiser-desirable viewers to daytime TV and, in the process, reenergize the soap opera genre. In fact, SB has wound up the lowest rated of all 11 daytime soaps and, according to NBC, is a possible candidate for cancellation. But something quite marvelous has happened as a result: This show is now behaving like an unwanted, illegitimate child. It is incorrigible. It is pulling itself up by its own bootstraps and surviving on raw nerve and gut instinct. It is demanding to be noticed. And we must confess, this is working like a charm.

You have to love a show that will try anything to get our attention (high-speed freeway chases; a July 17 earthquake that was a scary, technological marvel; and, coming August 3, a rip-off of "The Poseidon Adventure"), but what really endears us to SB is its willingness to own up to its mistakes. The majority of its original cast members, many of whom were ghastly, have either been fired or whipped into shape, some miraculously so. Susan Ward, initially unwatchable as Meg, is now a real contender; Clive Robertson, who started out being merely OK as Ben, now has superstar written all over him. At first, SB tried to get away without core families (mandatory for any successful sudser), and that has been duly remedied. The writing is vastly improved, sometimes quite moving and often wickedly inventive. The writers even managed to breathe new life into the done-to-death evil-twin plot.

With Dominique Jennings (Virginia), Jason George (Michael), Russell Curry (Tyus) and the very dishy Sherri Saum (Vanessa), SB boasts a vital, intriguing African-American contingent, something most other soaps can't claim. Other thrilling talents include Eddie Cibrian (Cole), Randy Spelling (Sean), Nick Kiriazis (Antonio) and Elizabeth Alley (the Linda Tripp-inspired Melinda). Even bit players soar, most notably Margarita Cordova as Mama Torres, Mariann Aalda as the hideously deformed Mrs. Hart and Bonnie Hellman as snarky Nurse Stacey, who intrudes at all the wrong moments. Where SB still falls short is with its leads: Sam Behrens as creep lawyer Gregory Richards and Lesley-Anne Down as his boozy ex-wife, Olivia. The former lacks fire and surprise (odd, considering he was so dynamic on General Hospital); the latter gets by on big hair and the kind of spacey, melodramatic performance that used to pass for acting on Dynasty. We encourage SB executive producer Gary Tomlin to continue kicking butt. Your show is on a roll, and you can't stop now.