Titans - Dynastie der Intrigen

I just finished watching the debut of this campy Aaron Spelling serial (Titans) and right away it had me hooked. Like another one of Spelling's best Melrose Place these characters glue you to your TV set. Spelling once again proves he knows how to mine merry melodrama from the gaudy traumas of the rich and beautiful, in Beverly Hills where there's to much gold and glamour to count. To start here's a rundown of the family the industrialist (Perry King) who is housed across the street from his proud ex-wife (Victoria Principal) then enter a steamy trophy bride (Yasmine Bleeth) who's hellbent on destroying not only daddy dearest but the entire family including her recent navy love (Casper Van Dien) King's hunk of a son. Wow! These plots and stories sound like fun! That's why Spelling is great he always keeps high drama present which leaves the viewer guessing as to what is going to happen next also the casting is great especially Victoria Principal who always is a pleasure to watch. I remember her classic days on Dallas it's great to see her in prime time again. Melrose Place veterans Perry King and Jack Wagner bring great stability to the show. Iit's always nice to have two great TV veterans around for one more time. And for former Baywatch babe Yasmine Bleeth need I say more except if looks could kill. Everyone should have a good time with this guilty pleasure which will have plenty of guilt to go around. Sure it remains to be seen if "Titans" will live up to the expectations of other Spelling hits such as Melrose Place or Dynasty, but I would be willing to bet it will. It's sure going to be fun.

What's tv without a steamy Aaron Spelling production! That's right, the man that brought you "Melrose Place" and "Beverly Hills 90210" is getting back on top with TITANS. The new guilty pleasure that oozes with unlimited wealth and intoxicating beauty cooks up prime-time with rich people in complicated situations. Yasmine Bleeth leads an all-star cast as Heather Lane, the young and manipulative gold-digging new wife of Richard Williams (Perry King), the wealthy owner of a powerful international company. It just so happens that Richard's son Chandler (played by hunky Casper Van Dien) had a rompy relationship with his new step-mom two months earlier. Heather, dropping the bombshell that she's pregnant with Chandler's child DURING her wedding, goes head-to-head with Richard's ex-wife Gwen (played by former Dallas babe Victoria Principal) who lives right across the street. Jennie (Elizabeth Bogush), a recovering alcoholic and Laurie (Josie Davis), the owner of dance club Pulse, share sibling rivalry when David (General Hospital's Ingo Rademacher) arrives on the scene to romance the sisters. Business son Peter (John Barrowman) has eyes for the family secretary Samantha (Lourdes Benedicto), who has eyes for only Chandler. The troubled family gets even more complicated when Uncle Jack (Jack Wagner of "Melrose Place") takes over the family empire after brother Richard dies before episode 6 and kicks up a relationship with sister-in-law Gwen.

Secret pasts, sibling rivalry, steamy sex, battling the bottle, and untimely death is flooding TITANS. Just think... all that and only 6 episodes have been shot so far. Forget the dying "Millionaire" rage and sink your teeth into TITANS!

I don't care what everyone else says I think it's a great show. I'm not the biggest fan of Ingo Rademacher and Casper Van Dien, but I think they're great actors. I have never missed a episode yet and I don't plan to either.

Someone tell Aaron Spelling - the days of the nighttime soap remain, alas, over. Particularly if this is the best he can come up with. First of all, there is no longer the budget pool available to do a prime time soap about wealthy people the way it should be done so there is no opulence - just a lot of outdoor settings and a hallway. Melrose Place, set in an apartment complex that looked like a sleazy motel was a better idea by far. Secondly, the cast is too young. To have the patriarchs be 50-ish Perry King and Victoria Principal means that we're into teenagers by the time we get to the bottom rung. Badly needed: David Selby. Worse, Perry, playing a complete idiot, was killed off and Jack Wagner, age 40, was brought in. Spelling tapped into the Beverly Hills 90210 ex-cast INSTEAD of the Melrose ex-cast, which is where he should have gone. This show was badly in need of Heather Locklear. Thirdly, no bitch. Principal had the turn of a phrase with a velvet glove - where was the knife? Calling Morgan Brittany! Fourth, too many characters were introduced too quickly, confusing the audience.

All in all, the cast was badly in need of fire, chemistry, dialogue and storyline. It had none.

What can I say? I've always been drawn to serialized dramas, whether they be daytime or primetime shows or movies (and some of these "dramas" are pretty corny and funny, too!). And who knows the trials and tribulations of glamorous soap people than Aaron Spelling? Already this might be a new guilty pleasure for me. A rivalry is brewing between Victoria Principal and Yasmine Bleeth's characters, and that looks like it will be fun. Many former daytime and primetime soap stars make up the cast, such as Bleeth, Josie Davis, Ingo Rademacher, Casper Van Dien, Perry King, Jason George and Jack Wagner.