Titans (2000 TV series)

Titans is an American prime time television soap opera created by Charles Pratt Jr. that aired on NBC October 4 to December 18, 2000. Thirteen episodes were filmed, of which eleven were actually aired. Produced by Aaron Spelling, the series was initially marketed as a "Dynasty for the new millennium," attempting to emulate the style of Spelling's earlier hit series. However, low ratings led NBC to cancel the series before its first season was completed.

For the 1981–82 Canadian series of the same title, see Titans (Canadian TV series).
Titans
Title card
GenreSoap opera
Created byCharles Pratt, Jr.
Written byCharles Pratt, Jr.
Starring
Theme music composerSneaker Pimps
Opening theme"6 Underground"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (2 unaired)
Production
Executive producers
CinematographySteven Shaw
Production companies
Distributor
Release
Original networkNBC
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Original releaseOctober 4 (2000-10-04) –
December 18, 2000 (2000-12-18)

Synopsis

Aviation magnate Richard Williams (Perry King) is engaged to the much-younger Heather (Yasmine Bleeth), but is unaware that she previously had an affair with his son, Chandler (Casper Van Dien). A pilot, Chandler is unsure whether he should tell his father the truth, but Chandler soon discovers that Heather is pregnant with his child. Meanwhile, Heather clashes with Richard's former wife Gwen (Victoria Principal), who lives in a mansion across the street. After Richard and Heather marry, Chandler's scheming brother Peter (John Barrowman) finds out about her affair with Chandler.

Cast
Cast of Titans (from left to right: Barrowman, Principal, Bogush, Van Dien, Davis, King, Bleeth)

Main
  • Yasmine Bleeth as Heather Lane-Williams, Richard's second wife and Chandler's lover[1]
  • Casper Van Dien as Chandler Williams, the golden boy of the Williams family, and a former pilot in the Navy; Heather's lover[1]
  • Perry King as Richard Williams (episodes 1-5), patriarch of the Williams family, a dashing man who runs Williams Global Enterprises with an iron fist[1]
  • Victoria Principal as Gwendolyn "Gwen" Williams, Richard's ex-wife and mother of his four children. She owns a nightclub, Pulse, and a chain of hotels. She lives opposite Richard and detests his new fiancée, Heather[1]
  • John Barrowman as Peter Williams, Richard and Gwen's other son[1]
  • Elizabeth Bogush as Jennifer "Jenny" Williams, Richard and Gwen's daughter[1]
  • Josie Davis as Lauren "Laurie" Williams, Richard and Gwen's daughter[1]
  • Lourdes Benedicto as Samantha Sanchez, Richard's executive assistant and the daughter of the family's former maid[1]
  • Jason George as Scott Littleton[1]
  • Jack Wagner as Jack Williams, Richard's brother (episodes 2, 6–13)[2]
  • Ingo Rademacher as David O'Connor (episodes 2–13)
  • Kevin Zegers as Ethan Benchley (episodes 3–13)[2]

Recurring
  • Katie Stuart as Faith
  • Michelle Holgate as Eve

Production

The casting of Van Dien and King was announced in February 2000.[3] Additional cast members included soap opera veterans Bleeth, Principal, David, and Wagner.[2][4]

Titans premiered on October 4, 2000,[5] and four additional episodes were ordered in November 2000.[6]

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"TBATBAOctober 4, 2000 (2000-10-04)11.6[5]
Navy pilot Chandler Williams returns home to find that his ex-lover Heather is engaged to his father.
2"Dysfunction Junction"TBATBAOctober 11, 2000 (2000-10-11)8.2[7][8]
3"Guess Who's Chumming for Dinner?"TBATBAOctober 18, 2000 (2000-10-18)6.73[9]
4"Stormy Heather"TBATBAOctober 25, 2000 (2000-10-25)7.57[10]
5"Frisky Business"TBATBANovember 1, 2000 (2000-11-01)7.23[11]
6"Bad Will Hunting"TBATBANovember 8, 2000 (2000-11-08)8.5[12]
7"Torn Between Two Mothers"TBATBANovember 15, 2000 (2000-11-15)N/A
8"Desperately Seeking Heather"TBATBANovember 22, 2000 (2000-11-22)N/A
9"Secrets & Thighs"TBATBADecember 4, 2000 (2000-12-04)6.56[13]
10"Angels with Dirty Minds"TBATBADecember 11, 2000 (2000-12-11)5.48[14]
11"Payback's a Bitch"TBATBADecember 18, 2000 (2000-12-18)N/A
12"She Stoops to Conquer"TBATBAUnaired in the U.S.[Note 1] (Unaired in the U.S.[Note 1])TBD
13"Someone Wicked This Way Comes"TBATBAUnaired in the U.S.[Note 1] (Unaired in the U.S.[Note 1])TBD
Notes
  1. Aired only in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Poland, Russia and New Zealand

Broadcast

Titans premiered on Wednesday, October 4, 2000, before the season two premiere of The West Wing.[5] Titans attracted 11.6 million viewers and delivered key demographics for NBC,[5] but ratings for the second and third episodes declined significantly.[7][9] They climbed again for subsequent episodes,[10][11] to a high of 8.5 for the sixth episode.[12] Around this time, four additional episodes were ordered.[6] The show averaged 8 million viewers over its initial eight weeks, ranking 83rd overall.[15]

Titans was moved to Mondays starting with its ninth episode on December 4, 2000, taking over the timeslot previously held by cancelled sitcoms Daddio and Tucker.[6] Ed, a dramedy which had premiered the same week as Titans and was also suffering from declining ratings, moved into the vacant Wednesday slot.[6] While Ed saw ratings improvement,[16] Titans attracted only 6.6 million viewers for its Monday debut, and was effectively canceled the next day with the announcement that NBC would not be ordering additional episodes.[17] Though the remaining four produced episodes were expected to be aired,[17] only two were broadcast in the United States, the last on December 18, 2000.

Reception

John Kiesewetter of The Cincinnati Enquirer called the series "a mindless soap about filthy-rich, amoral people" but added, "As much as I wanted to hate Titans, I couldn't stop watching. Perhaps Mr. Spelling and Mr. Vincent have reinvented Dynasty, creating a Young and the Shirtless for the new millennium."[18] David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun called the acting "stunningly bad", citing Principal as "the one saving grace on the show".[19] Phil Gallo of Variety singled out Bleeth as "eminently watchable".[1] Despite the show's low ratings, Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin called its cancellation "a mistake", suggesting that viewership would have grown over time.[15] Media ad buying executive Bob Flood admitted to Variety after the show's cancellation, "We thought Titans would be better than it turned out to be."[20]

References
  1. Gallo, Phil (October 2, 2000). "Review: Titans". Variety. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  2. Feiwell, Jill (August 11, 2000). "Kevin Zegers". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  3. Adalian, Josef (February 27, 2000). "Van Dien, King set for Titans". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  4. "Soap Stars Set For Titans This Fall". Chicago Tribune. June 24, 2000. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  5. Kissell, Rick (October 5, 2000). "Landslide ratings for bow of NBC's Wing". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  6. Schneider, Michael (November 9, 2000). "NBC shifts Ed sked". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  7. Kissell, Rick (October 13, 2000). "Eye's Bette pays ratings dividends". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  8. "Ratings Drop For 2nd Debate". New York Daily News. October 13, 2000. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  9. Kissell, Rick (October 19, 2000). "ABC, NBC tie in Wed. adult ratings". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  10. Kissell, Rick (October 30, 2000). "Peacock demo pride". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  11. Kissell, Rick (November 1, 2000). "Goodman laffer bows big". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  12. Kissell, Rick (November 9, 2000). "NBC dominates week as the WB leapfrogs". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  13. Kissell, Rick (December 4, 2000). "Millionaire payoff". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  14. Kissell, Rick (December 19, 2000). "Sound is music to NBC's ears". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  15. Baldwin, Kristen (December 11, 2000). "NBC made a mistake by canceling Titans". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  16. Kissell, Rick (December 7, 2000). "ABC tops NBC; Ed rolls on new night". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  17. Adalian, Josef; Schneider, Michael (December 5, 2000). "Peacock rooks on rocks". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  18. Kiesewetter, John (October 4, 2000). "New Fall TV". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  19. Zurawik, David (October 4, 2000). "NBC's Titans: Without Principal, it's unprincipled". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  20. Bernstein, Paula (January 1, 2001). "Fall skeds flummox media seers". Variety. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
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