Titans

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.

Titans was a fantastic soap that aired in the fall of 2000 on NBC. NBC axed it after they only aired something like 10 episodes. NBC should have given it a chance. Titans probably would have become the next Dallas!. Titans had a great cast of soap opera alumnis including Victoria Principle(Dallas), Josie Davis(Beverly Hills 90210),Jack Wagner(Melrose Place), and Ingo Rademacher(General Hospital) I will miss Titans and I will miss not seeing the last few episodes because I would have loved to have known what would have happened.

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.

At first glance, Titans seems like just another one of Aaron Spelling's "guilty pleasures." However, after a few minutes of watching, this show obviously does not come up to par. The characters are dreadfully cliche and unoriginal. You have your gold-digging, trophy wife Heather Williams, (Yasmine Bleeth)and her hopelessly in love older husband Richard Williams, (Perry King). She also is bent on seducing her new husband's son(Casper Van Dien), whose baby she is also carrying. I also found the casting to be quite awful. Casper Van Dien shows hardly any emotion, and when he does, it is through a tightening of his mouth or tensing of his jaw. Yasmine Bleeth is too transparently evil and doesn't even have a bad girl, man-eater appeal. Most of these actors were obviously hired for their looks alone, except Spelling's alummni, such as Jack Wagner.

As the show progressed, I was so turned off by Van Dien and Bleeth, that I found myself rooting for Peter Williams (John Barrowman), Van Dien's cynical smart alec brother, who has a special soft spot for Samantha Sanchez, (Lourdes Benedicto).Unfortunately, she is hopelessly in love with Chandler. Why, I don't know. Barrowman shows much more of a range of emotions in one show than Van Dien has in the entire series run.

All in all, Titans disappoints.It definitely does not come up to any of Spelling's previous shows in quality, casting, or plots. Titans is not inventive or creative in the least. But if you need an hour of mindless entertainment where you don't need to use your brain, this is the show for you. I give it a 3 out of 10.

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.