So maybe _Spyder Games_ is not the most original show on television. And maybe the actors are a little green. And well, yeah, the story lines are a bit predictable. But so what? _Spyder Games_ is less an original soap and more an homage to the genre. And when it comes to the completely empty calories and mindless entertainment soaps provide, _Spyder Games_ is spot on.
The creators of the show are self-proclaimed longtime soap fans, and it clearly shows in their work. SG utilises practically every plot twist and character flaw classique ever used, save the ground-breaking [don't laugh] Ivan-is-gay story line. (Well, Erica's daughter is a lesbian on _All My Children_, so perhaps 'unprecedented' is more appropriate. Gay men are indeed a soap rarity.) And while the plot may seem a bit trite, there's something amusing and comfortable in such blatant cliché.
SG really deserves kudos for its campy experience in escapism. If anything, it offers its viewers a half hour out of the day to abandon all faculties of the brain and space out in its mindlessness. Its one stroke of true genius is a cast including _Sunset Beach_ alum Shawn Batten and Christina Chambers, Go-Go's guitarist and green-haired pixie Jane Wiedlin, and the John Waters Baroness Mink Stole. Beyond that, it's just brilliant. And not in the conventional sense, but rather in its reverence to the housewife-stories from which it was born.
The creators of the show are self-proclaimed longtime soap fans, and it clearly shows in their work. SG utilises practically every plot twist and character flaw classique ever used, save the ground-breaking [don't laugh] Ivan-is-gay story line. (Well, Erica's daughter is a lesbian on _All My Children_, so perhaps 'unprecedented' is more appropriate. Gay men are indeed a soap rarity.) And while the plot may seem a bit trite, there's something amusing and comfortable in such blatant cliché.
SG really deserves kudos for its campy experience in escapism. If anything, it offers its viewers a half hour out of the day to abandon all faculties of the brain and space out in its mindlessness. Its one stroke of true genius is a cast including _Sunset Beach_ alum Shawn Batten and Christina Chambers, Go-Go's guitarist and green-haired pixie Jane Wiedlin, and the John Waters Baroness Mink Stole. Beyond that, it's just brilliant. And not in the conventional sense, but rather in its reverence to the housewife-stories from which it was born.