AMC is a very difficult show to write correctly, IMO. Good MC had the perfect balance of comedy, drama, romance, family, etc. and it blended perfectly. Now it's just a mess, I'd say it's the worst show on air by a long shot. Watching it now there is no way I'd believe anyone if they told me it was once a brilliant soap.

With all the talk of an implosion at CBS, ABC has already imploded and I can't wait to see them do something with their soaps. CBS is being smart by shaking things up and improving the quality whereas ABC is falling further and further into abyss.

Sorry, Erica, that's wrong. "Passions" has beaten Port Charles in the ratings so it has not "always" been dead last.

True that. Maybe EricaKane4Life meant dead last "in QUALITY." I know I would agree.

The show is only the "laughing stock" of the daytime industry. The show has been named "best soap" by TV Guide for two years in a row, named best soap by Entertainment Weekly for one year and critically LAUDED by other "mainstream" magazines. Heck, USA Today called it as good as "The West Wing" when that show was at its highest point. Frankly, you're WRONG when you say the show is critically de-claimed--because it's not true.

The TV Guide heralding is becuase Michael Logal has a slightly closeted Sci-Fi fetish and obviously loves Reilly for his daring(I call them cheesy and socially irresponsible) plots. And let's not forget, he said upon PORT CHARLES's well deserved cancellation that, as a vampire soap, it was better than all the other ABC serials combined.

And USA Today isn't even worth the ink it's printed on. I bet orangutans(probably related to PASSIONS's Precious) run and operate that shi^^y publication. I use USA TODAY for toilet paper.

PASSIONS is widely known for being BAD SOAP OPERA. The mainstream media(and people I've talked to about the show) just thinks its a brilliant parody of soaps and they have CLEARLY missed the memo. I truly believe Jimmy Reilly farts these stories out of his ass, believing they are great and don't stink.

PASSIONS *IS* critically de-claimed. People just label it as "parody."

As for not achieving good ratings, the fact that it surpassed "Sunset Beach's" series high and continually hit the 2's at this JER-produced show's heyday, shows that you're wrong. Entertainment Weekly even wrote a special article titled "NBC Soaps Float" back in 2000, referring to Passions' highest (and impressive for its 'new' status) ratings--a 2.9 with Sheridan's buried alive storyline.

I thought BEACH's first day rating was a 3.0. Has PASSIONS ever achieved that?

So, once again, regarding "Passions," you're just wrong. And I'm sorry if that's harsh, but I'm the show's No. 1 defender; you mess with it, I mess with you. (if it's an erroneous statement, such as the ones in your post, which I've proven wrong).

Well you're wrong. But then again, you do equate PASSIONS with quality, so that explains alot. LOL.

"Well you're wrong. But then again, you do equate PASSIONS with quality, so that explains alot. LOL."

Not to be rude, but I could say the same thing for GL.

At least Passions is *supposed* to be one giant clusterf***.

True that. Maybe EricaKane4Life meant dead last "in QUALITY." I know I would agree.

The TV Guide heralding is becuase Michael Logal has a slightly closeted Sci-Fi fetish and obviously loves Reilly for his daring(I call them cheesy and socially irresponsible) plots. And let's not forget, he said upon PORT CHARLES's well deserved cancellation that, as a vampire soap, it was better than all the other ABC serials combined.

And USA Today isn't even worth the ink it's printed on. I bet orangutans(probably related to PASSIONS's Precious) run and operate that shi^^y publication. I use USA TODAY for toilet paper.

PASSIONS is widely known for being BAD SOAP OPERA. The mainstream media(and people I've talked to about the show) just thinks its a brilliant parody of soaps and they have CLEARLY missed the memo. I truly believe Jimmy Reilly farts these stories out of his ass, believing they are great and don't stink.

PASSIONS *IS* critically de-claimed. People just label it as "parody."

A lot of truth these. I'm not going to show disrespect to any show by saying thus, but I'll say things as they are- Passions fans are undeniably very passionate about their show, and so are Days fans. But they (and I'm a Days fan myself) have this tendency to get very defensive when their show is being criticised, even when the criticism is warranted.

Instead people should ask why they've been criticised in the first place- because Passions, and sometimes Days at its worst, have a lot of the things for which Daytime soaps get ridiculed for.

Contrast that to the fact that Y&R is one of the soaps that not only appeals to a wide audience, but also is one of the soaps which gets respect outside of Daytime- and AMC and OLTL, at their very best, also got that.

I thought BEACH's first day rating was a 3.0. Has PASSIONS ever achieved that?

I wasn't aware of that. I know that the Shockwave storyline brought SB their best-ever weekly ratings.

Others will say that Passions is one of the only soaps not to have lost its audience in the past 6 years. That may be true, but I tend to apply the "depreciation theory" here- a very expensive car can still be expensive even after it loses a big chunk of its value. A very cheap car won't lose as much of its value, because it doesn't have much to fall anyway.

Days, Y&R and B&B have lost around 30% of their audience since 1999, whereas Passions hasn't lost as much- but they didn't attract that big an audience (in comparison to the other soaps mentioned) to begin with.

Now Sunset Beach was often very campy, and Santa Barbara could also be camp- but at least they were more adult and could be taken more seriously.

Not to be rude, but I could say the same thing for GL.

At least Passions is *supposed* to be one giant clusterf***.

Honey, I would take "She's a Marvel" and every other "Inside the Light"/Character Study(no matter how bad they were) over Hell In A Closet, The Battle Between Good vs. Evil, PASSIONS: Vendetta, Sheridan Kidnapped By Clowns, and every other craptastic plot PASSIONS has featured over it's time on the air.

Not to say that PASSIONS hasn't had its good moments or talented actors, but GL under a shi^^y budget, Kreizman's uneven writing, and Ellen Wheeler's actor-friendly Executive Producing, has accomplished more in almost a YEAR than PASSIONS has in it's 7+ years on the air or ever will. And, IMO, PASSIONS has had more tie-ins, heavy promotional pushes, and a bigger budget. NOT TO MENTION GL GOT AN EMMY NOMINATION FOR BEST SHOW! How 'bout that: being recognized by the academy!

Ellen Wheeler/David Kreizman are GOD in comparison to Jimmy Reilly. They have done more to challenge their actors and this genre than Reilly could ever imagine.

Yes, I admit, GL has its problems. But I'd rather watch it anyday over PASSIONS, which gives their actors the same beats to play forever and ever.

A lot of truth these. I'm not going to show disrespect to any show by saying thus, but I'll say things as they are- Passions fans are undeniably very passionate about their show, and so are Days fans. But they (and I'm a Days fan myself) have this tendency to get very defensive when their show is being criticised, even when the criticism is warranted.

Instead people should ask why they've been criticised in the first place- because Passions, and sometimes Days at its worst, have a lot of the things for which Daytime soaps get ridiculed for.

EXACTLY! This is why people believe PASSIONS is parody. I think it's a embarassing mark on a genre of television I so dearly love and respect.

Now Sunset Beach was often very campy, and Santa Barbara could also be camp- but at least they were more adult and could be taken more seriously.

Can't judge SB too much, but BEACH had it's terrible, PASSIONS-like moments under Margaret DePriest and Christopher Whitesell. The difference: a) faster-paced. better actors. c) more hip and trendy.

PASSIONS is to soaps what mold is to bread. We want to eat bread when we are hungry...some people don't care if they eat bread with mold on it. Some of us eat the molded bread when there is nothing in the kitchen to eat(thanks, NBC, for providing me entertainment when everyone else takes the day off). But, at the end of the day, those of us who like fresh, quality bread feel ashamed for eating it. The mold isn't THAT harmful, but it's not something you would eat on a regular basis. Or admit to your friends if it didn't taste that bad.

EXACTLY! This is why people believe PASSIONS is parody. I think it's a embarassing mark on a genre of television I so dearly love and respect.

Can't judge SB too much, but BEACH had it's terrible, PASSIONS-like moments under Margaret DePriest and Christopher Whitesell. The difference: a) faster-paced. better actors. c) more hip and trendy.

I agree, but Sunset Beach was able to incorporate both camp and traditional soap even if they didn't always get it right.

I'd also add d) Sunset Beach had very good production values. Location shots and all.

"Well you're wrong. But then again, you do equate PASSIONS with quality, so that explains alot. LOL."

Not to be rude, but I could say the same thing for GL.

At least Passions is *supposed* to be one giant clusterf***.

My goodness, everyone's claws are beginning to show.

I agree with the statement that Passions is a soap opera parody. When I tell people about the soaps I watch and they mention that they've seen Passions, I always make the disclaimer that Passions is not a soap that represents what the majority of them are like. I say it's intentionally bad (or maybe that's just the excuse I give).

Lately, alot of people I work with have seen the shows I watch and the first thing they always comment on is the melodramatic bad acting on DAYS. When I watch GL, they admit the acting is pretty good. This is coming from people who aren't used to the over-emotional daytime dialogue.

You either get "Passions" or you don't. Sorry, but some people don't think it's "so bad it's good." Yes, some people ACTUALLY believe it has high quality and has a certain "fresh" something. Take the series premiere, for instance. You had supernatural, you had lush location shooting and much of the soundtrack included "radio" music as background music. It was something completely new to American daytime. Or at least, what most people would see as fresh, young and hip. I just re-watched the first episode yesterday and couldn't help thinking, "Dang! This is the beginning of Classic Passions and I can't believe I'm watching how great it was!" You had the supernatural yes, but you DO have traditional soap stories, with Theresa's Cinderella aspirations, Whitney's dream of being a tennis player, Kay and Jessica's sibling rivalry, the larger-than-life Cranes....it was all so good! And that's how we felt..a.nd we're entitled to feel that way. And sorry, but Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today and I'm sure several others...can't be denied. You can't call it critically DE-claimed. IT'S-NOT-TRUE. Deal with it.

You had supernatural, you had lush location shooting and much of the soundtrack included "radio" music as background music.

there are lots of crappy direct-to-video horror films, even pornos with location shooting, radio soundtracks and supernatural elements. PSNS biggest problem is that the idea was poorly executed by JER. The majority of the show was poorly cast and his stories are so drawn out that it's hard to become invested in anything.

It is possible to create a respectable supernatural soap, Dark Shadows is proof of that. I'd even argue that Port Charles did a great job with it as well. But Passions is a disaster and always has been. Yes before they had more high camp and supernatural events, but I still don't think the writing was any good. Oh yeah and just because I think it's crap doesn't mean I don't get it.

And sorry, but Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today and I'm sure several others...can't be denied. You can't call it critically DE-claimed. IT'S-NOT-TRUE. Deal with it.

All of these programs, including Best Week Ever are mocking the show and basically saying it's so-bad-it's-good. JER's writing on PSNS and DAYS is the reason many people think soaps are a joke. I can't say how many times I've talked about watching soaps and people bring up Marlena being possessed by the devil or Passions.

Who cares what some people believe soaps should be? There IS an audience for that high camp, "soap sendup" in daytime!!! I'm sick of people taking "Passions" fans and regarding them as some sort of "fake" daytime fan, since "Passions isn't really a soap."

A LOT of us enjoy the show and love it for what it is. I will always defend it because I've always loved it. I can admit it has SUCKED at times, but sorry, there's a reason a lot of fans call 1999 to 2001 its "classic" era. The show WAS executed well back then. Everything CLICKED. IT was a good show. Again, sorry! We like it. We think it was good. We WANT those days again. That's all that matters. And it IS a real soap! Why? Because 1) it airs in the daytime; 2) it's recorded on videotape; 3) it airs five days a week in *daytime*.

It's-a-soap.

Again. Deal with it, naysayers.

As I've said before, it's not that PSNS isn't a real soap or a supernatural soap, but it's a bad soap. I'm not disputing that it's a soap, just saying that it is one of the worst soaps ever written.

BTW, I also don't think people who watch the show have bad taste, aren't real soap fans, etc. Taste is in the eye of the beholder. I'm a La Toya Jackson fan and many people think I'm insane.

You either get "Passions" or you don't. Sorry, but some people don't think it's "so bad it's good."

LOL. Well count me in as someone who's glad he doesn't "get it."

I will give Reilly a backhanded compliment...his writing is very similar to those Romantic Era writers who sat in opium dens and did stream of consciousness bullshit that no one really gets or understands other than those who are gun-ho about it.

Yes, some people ACTUALLY believe it has high quality and has a certain "fresh" something. Take the series premiere, for instance. You had supernatural, you had lush location shooting and much of the soundtrack included "radio" music as background music. It was something completely new to American daytime. Or at least, what most people would see as fresh, young and hip.

Uh, GH ALWAYS(and still does play) contemporary music on their shows. And, sorry, but to me, contemporary Top 40 Radio sucks anyway. I think, to use a lot of that to anchor your show proves that your scenes can't withstand on their own merit. Contemporary lyrical music=gimmick to keep people tuned in.

And PASSIONS had lush location shooting in the beginning to establish the New England setting of the show...but do they still go to Oxnard, CA or Maine to do "lush" shooting for the show? Don't think so.

And, by the by, THE CITY, BEACH, and SB continually had location shootings throughout their entire runs, not just during the first two months of the show as a ploy to get viewers hooked.

I just re-watched the first episode yesterday and couldn't help thinking, "Dang! This is the beginning of Classic Passions and I can't believe I'm watching how great it was!"

I think it COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT! God, I loved the first three months PASSIONS was on the air, but they never went ANYWHERE storywise. And you could tell it wasn't going anywhere. And, if you look at it from an objective standpoint, just about every character is still at square one. The biggest problem with this show is that none of the characters have grown over the 7 years on the air.

You had the supernatural yes, but you DO have traditional soap stories, with Theresa's Cinderella aspirations, Whitney's dream of being a tennis player, Kay and Jessica's sibling rivalry, the larger-than-life Cranes....it was all so good! And that's how we felt..a.nd we're entitled to feel that way.

All those stories moved SOOOO SLLLLLLOOOOOOOW! God, molasses out of my ass moved faster than most of the stories on that show.

And sorry, but Rolling Stone, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today and I'm sure several others...can't be denied. You can't call it critically DE-claimed. IT'S-NOT-TRUE. Deal with it.

I've stated TVGuide and USA Today's rave reviews for the shows, but Entertainment Weekly and The Rolling Stones don't specialize in the genre. And they all rave about it because it fulfills every bad soap stereotype. Shallow, trashy, and devoid of any awareness. Because they think that is what the genre encompasses, and they think PASSIONS does it best.

Oh, and by the way, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS was chosen "The Best Show to Watch When You Call In Sick at Work." Hmmm...why wasn't PASSIONS on that list?

there are lots of crappy direct-to-video horror films, even pornos with location shooting, radio soundtracks and supernatural elements. PSNS biggest problem is that the idea was poorly executed by JER. The majority of the show was poorly cast and his stories are so drawn out that it's hard to become invested in anything.

THANK-YOU!

It is possible to create a respectable supernatural soap, Dark Shadows is proof of that. I'd even argue that Port Charles did a great job with it as well.

GOD, not PC again! I have to respectfully disagree. But, that's because I thought Karen Harris was such a fabulous fit for that show and her ER-driven version should have never been replaced with "The Vampire Chronicles."

Who cares what some people believe soaps should be? There IS an audience for that high camp, "soap sendup" in daytime!!! I'm sick of people taking "Passions" fans and regarding them as some sort of "fake" daytime fan, since "Passions isn't really a soap."

I do think PASSIONS is a real soap. I just think it does a sh^teous job of conveying drama to the genre.

I agree there is an audience for high camp. Have you seen the MyNetworkTV boards? LOL. We are a few fans who love these high-camp productions. But the difference between those and Reilly is that Reilly's ego is SO big and he never thinks his chitlins stink. EVER!

My biggest concern is with those who see PASSIONS and think that it is art or represenative of all daytime soaps, when it is clearly not. I just hope the Brad Bell speculation is true. PASSIONS has had enough time and chances. Daytime is SO ready for something different.

A LOT of us enjoy the show and love it for what it is. I will always defend it because I've always loved it. I can admit it has SUCKED at times, but sorry, there's a reason a lot of fans call 1999 to 2001 its "classic" era. The show WAS executed well back then. Everything CLICKED. IT was a good show. Again, sorry! We like it. We think it was good. We WANT those days again. That's all that matters. And it IS a real soap! Why? Because 1) it airs in the daytime; 2) it's recorded on videotape; 3) it airs five days a week in *daytime*.

It's-a-soap.

Again. Deal with it, naysayers.

Again, I'm not refuting that you love the show or that it is a soap. We just think it sucks. Again...deal with it.

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As I've said before, it's not that PSNS isn't a real soap or a supernatural soap, but it's a bad soap. I'm not disputing that it's a soap, just saying that it is one of the worst soaps ever written.

BTW, I also don't think people who watch the show have bad taste, aren't real soap fans, etc. Taste is in the eye of the beholder. I'm a La Toya Jackson fan and many people think I'm insane.

Chris, my comment wasn't directed toward you or anyone in particular...just naysayers in general. I've seen this A LOT of places, where some people come out of the woodwork and call "Passions" the 'anti-soap' and dispute that it's a soap or say it's hurting the genre...blah blah blah. We're tired of it. We enjoy it, leave us alone. That's all I'm saying.

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Also, bellcurve, I don't mean "Passions," in the beginning merely used top 40 music, maybe one song in a show, like GH as you mentioned. In the beginning, it was like a telenovela. Most of the background music in one show alone was pop music. It was a cool thing that I hadn't seen on daytime before, other than in a Spanish telenovela about a young maid, where they rarely used original background music. Also, yes, the lush location shooting went away,but for the first two years of the show, you FREQUENTLY had establishing shots of the Crane mansion, the bennett house, the Lopez Fitzgerald house, etc. Sadly, they're gone. But it was another hting that set it apart from most soaps...not to mention all those kitchen scenes and scenes that played out, as soap magazines pointed out, where current soaps had long abandoned story settings.

So what I'm getting from everyone here is that Passions and its fans are a dingleberry on the ass of daytime television

You may not like Passions but there are A LOT of people that do. Don't wish it ill will because it's not your cup of tea.