TITANS
WEDNESDAYS, 8-9P.M., NBC
STARRING: Lourdes Benedicto, Ingo Rademacher, Victoria Principal, Perry King, Jason George, Josie Davis, Yasmine Bleeth, John Barrowman, Elizabeth Bogush, Casper Van Dien (clockwise from far left), Jack Wagner, Kevin Zegers
PREMISE: Suds, studs and sirens, as shameless and mindless as possible. Former Dynasty followers will be thrilled to find Aaron Spelling once again mining merry melodrama from the gaudy traumas of the rich and beautiful, now from Beverly Hills, where there are too many triangles to count. For starters, meet the industrialist (King) who lives across the street from his proud ex-wife (Principal) and who is about to marry the scheming tramp (Bleeth) who recently bedded his straight-arrow flyboy son (Van Dien). Get the picture?
THEY SAY: "There hasn’t been a good soap on in a while. They’re tough to do, and the way to get the audience’s attention is with the cast," says Spelling. He personally wooed Principal (Dallas), whom he calls "our quarterback," and has also enlisted Melrose Place vets King and Wagner (a late cast addition who plays King’s brother and, we gather, usurper). As for Baywatch babe Bleeth? "She instantly got it," says exec producer Charles Pratt Jr. "Off-camera, she’s the center of fun on our set. She probably has a little too much fun, truth be told."
WE SAY: At least someone’s having a good time. NBC is billing Titans as a "guilty pleasure," and there’s plenty of guilt to go around. Like a bad Saturday Night Live parody of a soap, it’s constructed of equal parts cardboard (the actors) and cheese (the scripts). We get the joke, but it’s not as funny as it used to be.
