NBC has lowered the ax on "Titans," admitting failure in its attempt to revive the glitzy prime-time soap opera genre. The big question is whether the show's failure will also be the death knell for the network's chief programmer.
"Titans" actually started out with some degree of promise — not that this entry from Aaron Spelling and Co. wasn't pretty dopey right from the get-go, but the pilot episode was also campy fun.
The fun disappeared almost immediately, however, leaving something that was a lame cross between "Melrose Place" and "Dynasty." The characters were boring, and the focus was confused. This sort of show cries out for a villain and/or villainess, and the role written for ex-"Baywatch" babe Yasmine Bleeth just didn't do it.
And a move from Wednesdays to Mondays didn't work — the weak ratings got worse.
("Titans" is scheduled to air at least two more episodes — this Monday and Dec. 18 — but whether the remaining two installments of the 13-episode order ever make it on the air remains to be seen.)
All of this is not good news for NBC Entertainment President Garth Ancier, who championed the show in the face of opposition from his superiors. The network has done quite well in the ratings this season, but Ancier's critics point out that none of the shows he brought to NBC since joining the network early this year have contributed to that success.
Of the seven shows NBC debuted this fall, three — "Tucker," "Deadline" and "Titans" — have already been canceled. The buzz in Hollywood is that the low-rated "Michael Richards Show" is about to be next (and may, perhaps, have been pink-slipped before your paper was delivered this morning). The sitcom "DAG" is also struggling.
The network has expressed some confidence in "Ed" and moved it to what it hopes is a more advantageous time period (Wednesdays at 7 p.m.) this week, but ratings have not come close to matching critical acclaim. And NBC renewed the critically panned sitcom "Cursed" through the end of the season, but that appears to be a case of having bigger problems and nothing to replace it with.
Add to all of that the fact that Ancier's boss, NBC West Coast President Scott Sassa, refused to give Ancier a vote of confidence last week when the two were talking to TV critics via conference call . . . well, it's not a good sign.
WB RENEWALS: The WB has lower ratings than NBC — and lower ratings expectations — but the emerging network has had comparatively more success with its new shows this season.
The WB has ordered additional episodes of "Hype" and "Grosse Pointe" and had previously given similar votes of confidence to its other two new series, "Gilmore Girls" and "Nikki."
And the WB has also ordered more episodes of two sophomore series, "Felicity" and "Roswell," both of which were somewhat iffy entering this season.
THE GILMORE CURSE: Speaking of "The Gilmore Girls," you may have noticed that halfway through each hourlong episode, the WB provides a brief recap of the first 30 minutes of the show.
That would be for viewers who watch "Friends" and then start flipping channels because they're not particularly interested in watching "Cursed."
"Friends," of course, is produced by Warner Bros., which also produces "Gilmore Girls" and is a part-owner of the WB network.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com