Spyder Games

By James Poniewozik

This soap, set within a video-game empire, aims to remake the genre for young 'uns by borrowing from the telenovela (telling one story, a murder whodunit, over 65 episodes) and Kevin Williamson's Scream (loading up on winking meta-references). The story moves a touch faster than most network soaps, and there are a few laughs--some of them intentional--but MTV could have gone further. NBC's soapernatural Passions is more innovative than Spyder Games' familiar sex-and-business setup; and the cheap production values are strictly daytime.

--By James Poniewozik