Discuss the Soaps

AMC: Pratt Is History...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:23:05 +0000

SID inititally reported that close sources were telling them that "Pratt is History..." Minutes later, it's official:

SOD ONLINE
Charles Pratt, Jr., whose controversial reign as head writer of ALL MY CHILDREN began in June 2008, has been released from the position. ABC confirms the ouster, but had no further comment. Stay tuned for more details of who will usher the citizens of Pine Valley through their cross-country move in January!

Discuss...

AMC: Friday, November 20, 2009

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:01:46 +0000

Franco, shmanco. We've got Ryan Lavery.

Good couples who don't work/bad couples who do

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:51:48 +0000

Are there any soap couples who should have worked, but for some reason, be it bad writing, or something with the actors, it just didn't click?

What about couples who should have never worked, but somehow did?

For the first, I would pick Nick/Chelsea from DAYS. That relationship could have been special, but there were too many downright horrific storylines shoved at them in 2007, to the point where his having sex with her mother was the highlight of their relationship. Poor Nick probably got more bad writing than the rest of the Horton family combined.

I would also pick Logan/Lulu from GH. This could have been a classic storyline, and instead, for so many reasons (JMB's asexuality, whatever backstage issues were going on with Josh Duhon, the usual wretched writing), it was a disaster.

For couples who shouldn't have worked but did, I would pick Max/Roxy from OLTL. The show obviously had no real plans for them, but Ilene Kristen and James de Paiva really clicked together, and Max was better than he'd been in years and years. I was very upset when this was so abruptly ended.

AMC: Thursday 11.19.2009

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:34:30 +0000

This is not how I wanted it to go down. I guess Annie had to lose in order to level the playing field, but not this much so soon.

This Kaidan/Zendall thing is just hella random. It's so difficult to follow no matter how hard they try to rationalize and justify Aidan's train of "logic."

Does Zach know how to say anything other than a weightless demand/order?

"I want my wife home, NOW!"
"I want Adam to confess, NOW!"
"I want the truth, NOW!"
"I need my diaper changed, NOW!"

It's like, shut the hell up! What are you going to do if nobody does what you want -- NOW?! Recite more poetry? Wear another Red Wings piece of propaganda?!

David Canary was amazing today! I love his commitment and sportsmanship. He plays what he's given, not matter what condition the material is in, and does his honest best.

Kendall sure loves getting drunk while on heart medication.

Regardless of a Simone reference, or not... if I have to hear that lame ass story about the lipstick in the kettle in Kendall's kitchen one more time...! Ugh!

Websoaps--Could they be better than daytime soaps?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:34:32 +0000

Due to the sad state of soap operas; I have been checking out various web soaps/series. Some are fairly mainstream and some very amateurish. And despite some weak acting in a few cases, the writing for these shows have been better and some instances superior to many of the major daytime soaps.

Now my question is why aren't daytime executives snatching up these upcoming writers who aren't afraid to be fresh and innovative? Why is daytime refusing to grow-up and change? Why are web shows already becoming more appealing than daytime soaps?

Here are some of my reasons web shows are better?

1) Focus is on the characters.
2)Emotions and feelings drive the story and the characters react to each other in "realistic" ways.
3) Relationships are essential and written by people who actually seem to know what love really is or can be.
4)Drama and conflict is created within and between the characters and not just plot points.
5) Story lines are realistic and simple, not about space aliens, ghosts, dead children, three week pregnancies or diseases etc.
6) Most casts are integrated and actually blend well together.
7) Even though some production values aren't that great, they are still better than most of GL's last production model.
8) The actors actually show up in their scenes and appear like they care about their character.
9)Diversity is allowed.
10) Web shows allow me to be entertained in a way soaps haven't done in forever!

Days: The Cast Dance Off

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:47:11 +0000

Molly (Melanie) & Casey (Chad) posted this on twitter.

Its super cute. Nice to see the DAYS cast having so much fun.

Crystal Chappel brought it. Peter reckell, Eric Martsolf, John Aniston, and Wally Kurth were amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqUtUnfi-4E

Soap Writer dies

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:10:55 +0000

From Variety Magazine, soap writer Ron Sproat has died. I didn't see this posted anywhere yet.

Quote

Ron Sproat, who wrote hundreds of episodes of serial "Dark Shadows" in the 1960s, died of a heart attack in his Manhattan apartment on Nov. 6. He was 77.
Sproat wrote for "Dark Shadows" starting at the series' creation in 1966, continuing for three years as the creator of characters including vampire Barnabas Collins.
*snip*

After college, he began his career in TV, writing for the anthology series "United States Steel Hour" and "General Motors Presents." He later worked on TV shows such as "Love of Life," "The Secret Storm," "The Doctors," "Where the Heart Is" and "Strange Paradise."

The rest is at Variety He was also an LGBT writer.

AMC: Wednesday 11.18.2009

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:00:14 +0000

Okaaaaay, ENOUGH! Erica and Ryan are just absolutely appalling.

A look at Hogan Sheffer's

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:32:07 +0000

As far as what I have seen on the internet most (who are vocal)seem to hate Hogan Sheffer's writing style. I personally didn't mind his tenure much (with Ed Scott's arrival) at Days and have hated more than I have loved his tenure at Y&R. I did not watch his tenure at ATWT as I never got into that show (maybe those viewers could add a perspective). My observation of HS writing style are that certain trademark elements are evident i.e. not too subtle hints of misogyny have followed his tenure on both shows, OOC writing from a character development standpoint, outlandish soap tricks used for momentary shock value. He also can contribute a sense of excitement that may revitalize a soap with necessary tones of camp.

I liked his tenure at Days more than I hated it.

I loved the killing of John Black (I know most don't agree here). I know much of that had to do with Ed Scott's decision but still Sheffer & company wrote it the right way. I wanted JB to stay dead but I knew TPTB would eventually cave. I love that it freed Marlena from this passive aggressive, vvictim comatosed stae they kept her in for over 2 decades. They rediscovered the characters fire and relit it, and I connected to Dee-Hall's take on the character is ways I have little memories of doing in the past.

I loved the created EJ-STEFANO- Tony/Andre dynamic. I loved Steve towards the end of Sheffer's tenure. I also Loved Shawn - BElle and Philip THEY BECAME EXCITING. I also loved Hope/Belle devloping dynamic and I loved the bit of conflict it brought between Marlena and Hope. The Marlena "Black Widow" esque characterization was made of win and Dee rocked it. I loved the Sorarity storyline, Stephanie's rape done in flashbacks was a step up for me gaining respect for Days. Chelsea being kick a$$ was great the scene where she punched dude (I forgot the characters name) was made of win. I appreciated the break up of the uncle/niece couple though they ended up back together again. Loved Nick Fallon, hated Willow. I also thought Kate was under-used during his tenure and clearly so was MBE

Whilst I loved that they introduced options for Sami other than Lucas being her soulmate (I was never on that bandwagon, Lucas treats Sami like crap when he's ready), I do think his EJ- SAMI dynamic was very flawed. I was sold on EJAMI because of both actors obvious chemistry with each other and James Scott sold it, Ali did some good work too (she's usually touch and go with me). However I didn't necessarily have a problem with the idea behind Santo and Colleen , I do think it was not best thought or well played out story. Loved the scenes with Tony and Hope on the roof, hated Steve in the nuthouse story but I loved the re-introduction of Benji and the Benji/Steve dynamic. Loved Steve taking Stefano hostage. Sami EJ dynamic, see the falling in love with the rapist thing I'm on the fence about but also the way both EJ and Lucas treated Smi was pushing it. I also thought the Colleen /Santo thing had too much misogyny there.

I hate his tenure more on Y&R

IMO these characters aren't Hogan-esque characters. The women are intellectual and so are the men. They are all well developed characters

Things I believe are Hogans own handywork:

Sharon's stealing/whoring undiagnosed illness. Now in he beginning I loved this I saw SC tackle the role beautifully imo and it was plausible given the character's history.

The degredation of Phyllis, not saying Phyllis would never degrade herself. I think a good job was done as to show why the character would degrade herself through it but then after the sh!t hit the fan and she still gave Nick choices I didn't recognize the character anymore.

Nick was more his cheating lying self so all in all in that way the story work. It's flaws are it made Jack too sappy, and it degraded BOTH women for the sake of Nick. So on one hand it worked on another it degraded both Female character's for the sake of a no good, intelectually challenged cheating man.

This vision of Billy I would say also have Hogan written all over it. There seems to be two dimensions to Billy these days, self absorption & being sorry when he's caught. The characters that revolve around Billy (except for Chloe) i.e. Mac, Chance are left out in the cold because Billy must get propped for some reason. Just Lousy character development.

Everything else on Y&R I don't know how much credit Hogan take for it. I think that's probably a shared responsibility if I were to guess.

Add on.....

Peter Bergman 20 Years on Y & R

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:14:41 +0000

Peter Bergman Dishes on his 20 Years on 'The Young and the Restless'

On Nov. 27, it will have been 20 years ago that Peter Bergman made his debut on "The Young and the Restless" as Jack Abbott. Now he talks to ET about the rivalry between Jack and Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), soap-opera sluts, the MTV effect and why his soap has been No. 1 for so many years.

ET: When you first joined "Y&R" did you have any idea that you would still be there 20 years later?

Peter Bergman: Not a clue. As a matter of fact, I came from "All My Children," and on "All My Children" when you replaced someone … I replaced Terry Lester on "Y&R" … any replacements on "AMC" didn't work. What I didn't realize was what a success "Y&R" had made of their replacements: Melody Thomas Scott is a replacement; Jess Walton is a replacement. There are a few on the show that have been very successful. I figured I could make the job last six months if I worked really hard at it, and here we are 20 years later.

ET: After playing Jack Abbott for 20 years, what still keeps him fresh for you?

Peter Bergman: I have one of the few characters in daytime that keeps changing every day. On Monday, Jack is a really, really kind and thoughtful brother. On Tuesday, he is the boss you never want to have. He is manipulative, cunning and nasty. On Wednesday, he is the most manipulative brother a sister ever had. And on Thursday, he is making peace with people. It changes all the time. We have a couple of characters on the show that are really the same every day and I don't know how they do it.

ET: Jack's big antagonist has always been Victor Newman. He is returning to the show. Any teases about what is in store?

Peter Bergman: We won't be going fishing together anytime soon, but we will welcome him back. I will look for lots of trouble for him.

ET: How has daytime changed over the more than 20 years you have been a part of it?

Peter Bergman: Let me give you a few examples. When I first started, on every single show there was the town slut. You can't do that post-AIDS. People on television are talking about whether or not they are protected. That stuff never went on 30 years ago. Scenes were longer. Stuff really happened in scenes. Between commercials there would be two scenes, now there are four.

ET: Do you think that is because of MTV?

Peter Bergman: In part because of MTV; in part, America's attention span has just shrunk.

ET: As an actor did you prefer the longer scenes?

Peter Bergman: It was better. More stuff happened in a scene. What happens now over four scenes used to happen in two scenes. We have scenes now that are literally just a page long.

ET: What is the question that fans ask you the most often?

Peter Bergman: Fans ask me most often: Do Eric and I get along in real life? My answer is … next question.

ET: I actually think that most people in daytime get along because there is a team spirit on shows.

Peter Bergman: We all are watching each other grow up. I am watching Christel Khalil on the screen. She got married since she has been here. She was a little girl when she got here. She now has two dogs and a husband and we lived through all that. People have babies and graduate from high school and college, so we all go through it together. It makes for a family.

ET: Why do you think "Y&R" has been No. 1 for so long? Do you think it is the reality of the stories?

Peter Bergman: I think in part it is the reality of the stories. There is something to be said for momentum and people not changing the channel. When you turn on "The Young and the Restless," you know what you are going to see. You are probably going to see Nikki (Scott), or Victor, or Jack, or Ashley (Eileen Davidson) -- the people that you are used to seeing on the show. Some of these other shows, you turn it on and you don't know the characters.

ET: And you know this because…?

Peter Bergman: I always make it my business to watch [other soaps]. I am here at Television City in my dressing room. I watch "Days of our Lives," "One Life to Live," "All My Children," "General Hospital" and "The Bold and the Beautiful." I make my way around a) because I have friends on these shows; and because I can steal stuff.

ET: You mean like acting tips?

Peter Bergman: Right. "Oh, that really worked, I am going to do that. I am going to remember that."

ET: What do you do in your down time?

Peter Bergman: Mariellen, my wife of 25 years, and I are now empty-nesters. We built a house on Balboa Island in Newport, CA, so we are back and forth to there quite a lot. There, I walk the dogs, I sail, I bicycle, and I have been playing piano since I was 20 years old, so I still do that.

"The Young and the Restless" airs weekdays on CBS.

The best/worst Baby Switch Storylines

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:53:42 +0000

Lots of soaps have done them. They seem to be a staple now.

From AMC's with Maria and Erica( I think it was those two) to Babe and Bianca, to Y&R's with Ash and Sharon( which you wouldn't even know they did one with the horrible writing, its never played on) To Days current one with Sami and Nicole. Which Soap has told the best/worst baby swap storyline?

To me Days has set the new standard. Y&R's is TERRIBLE!!!!

Your thoughts?

ATWT lack of diversity/balance

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:44:15 +0000

I have always been curious to know who ATWT's targeted audience was? Every other soap seems to have a targeted audience or a very unique fan base but ATWT never really seems to have any particular fan base. And even though I have watched ATWT off and on for 20 years, I currently don't see myself in any of the show's current characters.

Just based on the current casting it appears that the show is definitely going for a more conservative, middle-age, non diverse viewership. Just look at the the latest departures Adam (young), Bonnie (minority), Vienna (non-american) and Mason (gay) and upcoming casting. * Sorry don't count Brad/AP because he was let go before DK came along.

It's amazing how the writers fail to write for the 20's somethings, the token gay couple is a mess, interracial couples are very short-lived, minority characters simply forgotten and most characters over the age of 60 are rarely seen. And now the new writer seems even more determined to write this show like it's Mayberry in Middle-America.

I would love to ask Chris Goutman and the writers why?? Are they really that blind to see that their viewership is suffering and that any type of diversity could increase the ratings. Why isn't the show bringing back Jessica, Ben, Bonnie, Jade, Derek, Dallas? Why did Vienna have to be sent off? Why did Adam have to leave just because Mick was coming to town? Why is Alison and Maddie (who are pretty interchangeable) the only 20's women on the show? Why couldn't a cute and sassy Latina, Asian or Arabic women come and sweep Casey off his feet instead of him hanging out with dreadful Alison and boring Maddie. If Dusty had to break up with Bonnie, why couldn't some sexy woman of color come on the show and get his attention, instead of him lurking around Teri, some Lucy look-alike or Janet? Yes these women might be pretty but dang, they all look alike. And I won't even start talking about the lack of diverse males on the show.

Maybe it's just me, but I love to see diversity in my life and unfortunately ATWT isn't living up to my expectations. It's really is sad because as much as I would like for ATWT to succeed, I fear that tiic narrow-mindedness is going to lead it straight to cancellation.

AMC: Tuesday 11.17.2009

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:12:16 +0000

I think those are all the choices, right? Kinda took me a moment to think, what with Taylor and Hayes basically writing the show the last two months!

I voted Taylor just to get it out of the way this week.

Cute Old Y&R cast & crew photo

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:50:04 +0000

Check this out. I recently added Jess Walton to my facebook, was going through her pictures & came across this. Then I noticed Brenda Epperson had posted comments on it & struck up conversation with her. Much to my delight, she responds and even added me to her facebook. She was always my fave Ashley and such a gem. What a treat to find out she's a pretty cool chick IRL as well.

http://www.facebook.com//photo.php?pid=33064&id=100000194695802

Venice The Series: First Promo, Thoughts?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:48:39 +0000

Does anyone plan on watching this? I have to say this is much better quality than I anticipated, it looks better than some of the soaps.

I wish we would have heard some of the dialogue though. I'm going to check it out since I think this is likely the future of soaps (online that is).

Any thoughts on the promo?

Y&R Dennis Cole

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:32:40 +0000

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i6b92ac9c285d01761703a9ba071d55bc

Quote

'Felony Squad' actor Dennis Cole dies

Ex-stuntman also appeared in 'Love Boat,' 'Charlie's Angels'

By Gregg Kilday

Nov 16, 2009, 06:51 PM ET

Dennis Cole, a stuntman who rose to TV stardom in the 1966 series "Felony Squad" and went on to dozens of guest-starring appearances throughout the 1970s and '80s, died Sunday at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 69.

The cause of death was not released.

Although born in Detroit, Cole had the blond, athletic look of a quintessential California surfer, which earned him the attention of physique magazines and led to his casting as rookie detective Jim Briggs on "Felony." After that show's 2 1/2 year-run, Cole followed with the series "Bracken's World" and "Bearcats!" and a stint on the daytime soap "The Young and the Restless" that began in 1981.

Cole guest-starred on such series as "Medical Center," "Police Story," "The Love Boat" and "Charlie's Angels," where he met his second wife, Jaclyn Smith, to whom he was married from 1978-81.

He encountered tragedy in 1991 when his son Joe, from his first marriage to Sally Ann Bergeron, was murdered during a home invasion robbery. The case was never solved.

In recent years, Cole became a real estate broker in Fort Lauderdale with his wife, Ree Cole, whom he recently divorced amicably. He is survived by his brother Richard.

All: My experiment

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:09:19 +0000

I havnt been on this site in a few years and even back then I never really posted but I thought I�d talk about my experiment.

I come from a �soap family� my grandmother, mother, and many close cousins of mine at least watch one soap. So I grew up seeing a lot of daytime drama on the tv screens. As I grew older the soaps I got close to were Days and Y&R. But in 2007 I couldn�t take neither soap any more and stopped watching soaps daily all together.

But since a lot of people in my family watch soaps I have seen bits and pieces of some over the past year and recently I decided I want to start watching again. But I didn�t know which ones to start watching. So I decided to start an experiment last week and DVR all the current soaps and see if any of them could get me hooked. I plan on doing this throughout the rest of the year and pick 3 soaps to continue to watch in the new year. I figured I would probably be biased with Days and Y&R and that wasn�t necessarily the case.

Right now in my opinion the two hardest soaps to get into are AMC and Y&R. Both shows came off totally boring to me. On AMC I just cannot connect with any of the characters. I either find them boring or already hate them like Ryan, Adam, Zack, and pretty much most of the guys. With Y&R I know most of the characters from watching the show for so long, but like AMC and find them all to be boring. Some out of character like new Mac and new Billy. I read recaps of the last few months and wow I am glad I didn�t watch. I wouldn�t have hated the whole baby SL with Ashley and Adam. And the pointless death of colleen. Two thumbs down for both of these shows so far.

B&B tho I also find it boring, at least it has my interest. I love Sarah Brown and was happy to see her on the show. I read up on the Bill and Katie story and since my cousin watches it, she was able to tell me a lot about them. I like them both and enjoyed the wedding. Maybe because its kinda retro Brad and Vicki from Y&R. I am glad the focus wasn�t on Ridge, Brooke and Taylor like it was always back in the day when I would watch occasionally. No thumbs up for B&B but no thumbs down either.

ATWT AND GH surprised me. ATWT was really the wild card for me. I expected to hate it or find it boring, but I didn�t at all. I didn�t read the best reviews for it, but it held my interest and I enjoyed pretty much everything except for �nuke.� Whom I find contrived and the fall on Friday was not very well done. I cheated and started watching GH a little early (because of my undying love for Sarah Brown). The climax to her exiting the show was phenomenal and actually made me like Sonny which would make my mom proud. I think the Lucky, Liz and Nik triangle is good so far and I am giddy for James Franco to debut. 1 THUMB up for both shows!

DOOL was always my favorite soap opera from when I was six and Marlena was possessed by the devil till two years ago when I stopped watching. But two years ago I was just not enjoying anything that was going on and with all the newbies I thought I would be hard on it like I was with Y&R, but with Carly�s return and the big return to me, Vivian I had to give it a chance. I enjoyed it a whole lot. Though it is slow and drawn out it feels so Days to me. In fact I am glad it was a drawn out week because I get to see all the emotions of the characters that way. Sami/Ali Sweeny was great in the middle of the week. And with the exception of thick sculled Hope and Lucas gone at the moment, I am loving Days again! 2 thumbs up!

Which brings me to OLTL. The soap that had all the good reviews going in. 2 of my cousins and my mother said this was the best soap right now. Most of the reviews online and in message boards were also positive, but I expected it to be all hype. I expected it to be over rated, but I found last week to be very thrilling and the only soap I didn�t fast forward through once. I found it very plot heavy, but the characters have enough spark to each hold their own. Maybe I was in a horror movie mood because I found the whole Mitch stuff to be like a horror movie, but I enjoyed practically everything last week. It was the best soap of the week in my opinion and leading the way in my experiment for week 1.

I embark on starting on week 2 this week. Which will be harder because I was on vacation from work last week and this week it is back to the grind, but I will do my best. I look forward to OLTL, DAYS, ATWT AND GH. And I am dreading Y&R and AMC, but I shall see what week 2 brings and let you all know what I think. If you really care! haha

ATWT: What's up with Van's Shitty acting??!!!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:59:03 +0000

What the hell was that today??

AMC: Monday 11.16.2009

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:27:41 +0000

Homanda did the honorable thing by going against her principles in the name of regaining her life with Jake. Quit blaming David when you make it soooo easy for him to use you, tramp.

Gidget and her Dum Dum goons are reprehensible. It's difficult for me to view Gidge and the goons doing this as some kind of noble act... because they're playing with Adam's head to BRING HOME KENDALL! It's like a triple whammy! First, I hate all three characters involved. Second, I love both of the characters they're messing with. Three... they're doing this so one of the most annoying shrews ever to hit Pine Valley CAN COME BACK HOME!! Why, oh, WHY??! Has my 20 years of loyalty not been enough that you people still need to torture me?!

But seriously. Erica and Ryan have nothing better to do than just hang around the hospital, being smug, hypocrtical-borderline-incestuous cretins?!

Speaking of the Shrew, I did have to laugh at the faux note "K" sent "Z" about her big comfy bed... which immediately led Zach into imagining Kendall in her big comfy bed... telling him there's enough room to snuggle up together in her big comfy bed!

Y&R: Week of November 16, 2009 Discussion

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:43:16 +0000

OLTL: Discussion for the week November 16

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:54:52 +0000

Discussion for the week November 16

AMC: Friday 11.13.2009

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:54:59 +0000

I came in for the second half, and even that was too much Gidget and the DumDum twins. I am just so glad I was able to see the three stooges look as stupid as they are!

Damn, Kendall can fall asleep fast! She literally puts her head on the pillow and not even 10 seconds later is out cold and in full dream mode. I guess drinking a bottle of wine when you're a negative 0 and weight 98lbs can do that to you.

Considering I missed the first half hour, I shudder to think how they were able to prolong Homanda and David. It's kinda funny, to me, and yet so sad and true at how a Martin Man can make a woman lose all of her senses. I love David, but what he's doing is skeevy and OBVIOUS and Duhmanda should be able to see right through it. Instead, she continues to rationalize her spreading her ootie by claiming she's doing this for Jake and her life with Jake so she can be with Jake. My other question is, why is she so concerned about Jake never finding out about this? Didn't this romantic coupling start off with Jake using her as a good time girl he dumped for Taylor -- and later one called her a hooker? He shouldn't be surprised in the least.

I hope Beth Ann Bonner gets a handle on who this character is supposed to be and fast.

How soaps dug their own grave

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:58:44 +0000

The cancellation of Guiding Light this year was not totally unexpected, much as it was sad. But it is, more than the cancellation of almost any other soap, an act that is powerfully symbolic because of the historic status of the show.

But the decline and death of Guiding Light, as much as anything, encapsulates exactly what has gone wrong with Daytime over the last two decades. The gross mismanagement of the show through the 1990s (although this was shared with AW and ATWT) and disgustingly bad decisions ranging from the death of Maureen right through to the Carruthers storyline. They just encapsulate everything that has and is going wrong with our beloved genre and why the very existence of this genre is now threatened.

And really, the real reasons why the genre got into the state it's in can be explained far more than by changing socioeconomic trends. It's because the PTBs have dug the graves of their shows over a very long time.

They've ceased striving for respectability
Daytime, once upon a time, strove for higher standards. And shows like Y&R, AMC, AW and ATWT at various times (among others) strove for respectability beyond Daytime through relatable, and often socially relevant storylines. That's why Y&R with its realism managed to rise to the top and stay there for many years- and storylines like the Olivia/Nathan/Keesha AIDS storyline and Cassie's death showed that because they were storylines touching issues people deal with in real life.

The way people watched their shows changed as a result of the supercouple phenomenon. It led to the creation of rabid fanbases virtually holding the shows at ransom, fans who watched for their favourite characters and couples rather than the show. While wacky, far-out storylines existed on soaps, from the 90s onwards they became the rule rather than the exception. Soaps became incredibly short-termist as this sort of thinking spread through Daytime like cancer. So instead of striving for excellence, they've striven to become eve more stupid.

They've insulted viewers' intelligence
To tie in with the above, Daytime has insulted the intelligence of fans, and the soap fanbases are unique for having the memories of elephants. The constant undoing of history and insulting intelligence by stupid storylines, returns from the dead, and hiring eye candy rather than real actors all contributed to the alienation. Above all else, they became obsessed with a particular demographic, tailored their shows to suit, and resulted in insulting the intelligence of the said demographic.

Furthermore, soaps have lost their air of unpredictability that had viewers in suspense. These days it doesn't take much to figure out what happens. Whereas once upon a time you could be left in suspense and get years' worth of stories from something.

Even more, they've failed to learn their lessons from Primetime. Sure, there's garbage on Primetime too but there's still much quality drama. But Primetime TV in general still strives for betterment and to be taken seriously by viewers and critics. Daytime just gave up. The most successful Primetime dramas usually don't hire actors for their visual appeal to a tailored demographic, they hire them on the basis of their suitability and talent. Heck, a show like Ugly Betty is the exact OPPOSITE of what Daytime has tried to do in recent years.

So there you have it. The IICs have nobody to blame but themselves for the mess they're in. And enough people agree with me, because more people have left Daytime in the last 10 years than in any previous decade.

Horror on Soaps

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:07:25 +0000

It occurs to me that though I am a major supporter of classic, down-to-earth domestic drama on soaps, I also feel there is a place for the outre if done right; this may be because I was raised on Dark Shadows.

Making the twain meet between that kind of gonzo fantasy and simple Labine-style soap is an insurmountable problem that has always fascinated me, pushed me to try and workshop. As a tween, I thought up an incredibly silly soap opera where the pilot episode would open with the teenage daughter killing her possessed father in their home, then burying him on the lawn in secret with the butler's help; by the end of the episode he would've been back taking tea with the family, with none the wiser except him and daughter dearest. There was also a strange subplot in which a Debbi Morgan-type would struggle to solve her husband's murder, and run his restaurant business - while also reuniting with him as a ghost, and the story would begin to actually chronicle their attempts to "make the relationship work" despite the minor inconvenience of his death. That was the way my feverish adolescent brain worked.

Today, it's a little different. As a kid, even though I liked Dark Shadows and enjoyed James Reilly's Days, I knew the latter show was largely crap in my book. The writing and scripts did not hold a candle to the '90s-era GH or OLTL, and I simultaneously gravitated to the gritty Linda Gottlieb OLTL, even as I was still consuming Dark Shadows. Later, I hated much of James Reilly's latter-day work, and didn't bother with Passions beyond the first month.

But the question that still nags me is, can soaps do horror stories? Ghosts, demons, or whatever? And if not, why not? Why has a soap never really attempted a haunted house story, or has one? Didn't Loving do some story when it started? Is there a way to fuse the two approaches in a way that makes it organic to the show itself? Please, lend me your two cents. It beats another thread in which Sylph browbeats people about his latest industry crush.

Characters who have too many children

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:51:17 +0000

Whether we see these children born during the show's lifespan, or they pop up out of nowhere via rewrite, are there any soap characters whose endless amount of offspring seems excessive to you? Or soap characters who only have one or two children, but have them for no apparent reason other than bad writing?

My picks:

Ridge, Taylor, and Brooke, B&B. Of their combined eight or nine children, only two have ever been involved in decent stories (Rick, Bridget) and that ended sometime before Friends went off the air. The Ridge/Taylor kids have been particular failures, to the point where even killing one of them off fizzled out after a few months.

Tad, AMC. Why does he have a child with Krystal? And why did they spend an eternity on his miracle child with Dixie, complete with two women being murdered (Dixie, Julia) to try to generate some sort of emotional resonance for this story, when Tad barely ever spends time with her? I guess he did such a great job with Jamie and JR (one of whom apparently no longer exists and the other only exists when Tad needs to score points against Adam) that the show just couldn't resist tossing a few more traumatized tots into the Martin moat.

Harley, GL. I still, almost a decade later, have no idea why she had a child with Rick Bauer. At one time she and Cassie seemed to be in endless cycles of pregnancy (or in Cassie's case, miscarriage and adoption and the occasional childbirth), and in the end, it all added up to nothing.

AMC: Thursday, November 12, 2009

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:52:09 +0000

All the tresses were lookin' unusually good today. That's about it. Oh, and Amanda is about to whore herself out.

OLTL: Still Surprising After All These Years by Huffington Post columnist Ed Martin

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:03:20 +0000

"One Life to Live: Still Surprising After All These Years," is a wonderful professional analysis of OLTL's dynamic early November sweeps--the Kish (almost wedding), Nigel/Neville, creative decision making on soaps, and how it all fits into OLTL's history.

Written by veteran TV columnist Ed Martin (mediabizblogger.com; HuffingtonPost.com; jackmyers.com)

So proud to feature semi-regular guest Ed Martin on my site.

http://www.marlenadelacroix.com

Marlena De Lacroix
(a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman)

Phyllis? - MS Hair

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:00:57 +0000

I noticed that Phyllis hair was short one day and long the next day. And in her conversation with Amber and Daniel, I thought, along with the longer (from the day before) hair and the flat affect, this could be Sheila? I think the short-haired Phyl was the real Phyl - laying into Patti. What do you think?

Y&R Carole Robbins character

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:45:59 +0000

So how did she leave the show? I remember she was a popular supporting character as the Jabot secretary and being good friends with each of the Abbotts giving them advice and support and even a brief fling with Jack. I remember her story where she married Skip the photographer and adopted the baby from the teenage girl and fought off lots of legal problems surrounding the adoption when the baby's father resurfaced. It was sort of front-burner and Skip and Carole were fun and adorable but they seemed to fade out of the woodwork. Carole was essentially replaced by the Connie Wayne girl...remember her? I did come upon some clips from late 1992/early 1993 where Carole was working as Victor's secretary and looked VERY unhappy. Anyone remember?

AMC Anniversary

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:40:18 +0000

All My Children will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary and most of you know. Does anyone know the date or dates it will be broadcast?
I don't want to miss it.

So far, these are the past actors that will be on the show during this anniversary celebration:

Kelly Ripa --(Hailey Vaughn Santos) and Mark Consuelos (Matteo Santos). They got married and rode off into the sunset. Married in real life, too.

Julia Barr --(Brooke English), last seen in 2006. Julia played Brooke, Erica's arch rival (and ex to Tad and Adam) from 1976 through 2006.

Eva LaRue -- (Maria Santos Grey), last seen in 2005. Maria, whose love story with Edmund Grey was epic (as was her rivalry with Erica Kane), was also linked with Zach. Eva played the role from 1993-1997, and then from 2002-2005.

Laurence Lau -- (Greg Nelson). Greg, last seen in 2008 at Jesse and Angie's wedding, was a regular character from 1981 until 1986. Greg was the object of affection for Liza for many years. Also, love interest with Jenny (Opal's daughter and Tad's sister).

Taylor Miller -- (Nina Cortlandt Warner. Last seen in 1995, Taylor played Nina, Palmer's daughter, from 1979-1989.

Leven Rambin -- (Lily Montgomery), Jack's innocent, autistic daughter. Last seen in 2008, Leven played the role from 2004 through 2008.

Eden Riegel -- (Bianca Montgomery). Erica's daughter and Kendall's sister, Bianca was a regular character from 2000-2005, with extended stints on the show since then.