ALL: Can you let go?

[JoelMTL]

Everything comes and goes. As crazy as I've been about soaps over the years, I'd just have to get used to some other hobby/form of entertainment.

[Darcy]

I've watched soaps as long as I can remember and I thought I would never give them up for any reason. I preferred watching them to primetime even and was more obsessed with them than I should be. My first soap memory as a toddler/pre-schooler is a man telling his wife that he had been fired and I did not understand why he didn't have burns all over his body. In the 1970's when I was in grade school I watched AMC, DOOL, OLTL, The Doctors, Ryan's Hope, etc. (although only during summer and vacation/sick days as this was pre-VCR). In the 80's I watched AMC, GH, Ryan's Hope, The City/PC and a few years ago I started watching ATWT. The week before Xmas I stopped watching ATWT because it was so awful. This week I stopped watching GH because I just wasn't interested anymore. Next month I am going to stop watching AMC because of the latest crap they have pulled in disrespecting their actors and the fans yet again. That will leave me with Ryan's Hope on Soapnet. At least I know that won't disappoint me as I've already seen it.

[MarkH]

That is so f*cking touching! Seriously. My god, I so relate to that. Y&R got me through every family death, every relocation...

Man, that touched my heart! You've got the essence of soaps, and why it's so terrible to see the suits f*cking them up!

[MarkH]

Another amazing post that *gets* it!

[KLN]

Thanks! I really feel that way, though. Soaps are a tradition within my family, just like any other tradition... like Christmas, for example. The networks trying to take away our tradition feels the same to me as if they were to come out and tells us we were no longer allowed to celebrate the annual tradition of Christmas. It's just not right. They might not make the money they used to, but damn it... they are an American legacy. Just because the genre is dated doesn't make it useless. It's as if the soaps are our elderly relatives, and instead of loving them and respecting them and taking personal care of them, they've become an afterthought. It's like a grandparent just being tossed in a nursing home and forgotten all about. There's no respect anymore. For the genre or the viewers.

[tylerbo20]

NO....I hate weekends..RIP DAYS on NBC....HELLO DAYS ON CBS!

[KLN]

I've also come to the conclusion that the reasons I listed above are the reasons why many people take it so personally whenever their shows are bashed.

To many of us, these aren't just television shows. They're very personal to us. That's why we often take it personally whenever anyone (message board members, network executives, etc.) talk about OUR favorite shows as if they're worthless pieces of crap. It's like someone talking bad about your family. You can... but they can't.

[All My Shadows]

ITA.

I remember once when someone bashed AMC. They were in NO WAY a fan of the show at all. Barely watched it or new anything about it. They bashed it and the first thought that came into my mind was "[!@#$%^&*] you don't even know AMC!" as if it was a person.

[bellcurve]

Don't EVEN get me started on when I come out to people. No, they already know I'm gay.

I'm talking about coming out to them about watching soaps. I HATE it when people who have NEVER laid eyes on the genre pass judgement and even go as far as to compare it to WWE! It's just unbelievable. Don't go by stereotypes. Just sit down and watch. You won't be disappointed.

I think, when done right, soaps trump every form of visual storytelling: theatre, films, primetime. What other genre has a consistent batch of characters on for 30 minutes or an hour a day, every day 52 weeks a year? I mean, for a writer, the character developement would be a DREAM to explore. Instead of taking snapshots the way films, theatre, and even to a certain degree, primetime TV, daytime takes the time to completely figure out what makes characters tick, why they react the way they do, what kind of actions have an impact on the characters directly affected.

THIS IS WHY I CAN'T LET GO OF DAYTIME. It's a goldmine. It's long, rich history deserves to be respected instead of being crapped on by people outside the industry and message boards that have NO CLUE why daytime still exists(Yes, business blogging asshats, I am referring to you! Watch something other than Luke and Laura's Wedding and THEN you can judge the state of daytime soaps on television!).

As much as I [!@#$%^&*] about soaps, I still watch them. I judge them, I critique them, look for social messages and themes.

[psychofan]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! Ugh, nearly everyone I know who doesn't like soaps doesn't like them because they haven't watched them. My sister's fiance was around once when my sister, my mom, and I were talking about GH. LOL I tend to talk about them like they're real people, so I think I said something like "Oh, I hope Carly gets over this breakdown. I love that Sonny is helping her through this. He really does love her." My sister's fiance just looked at us and was like "Soap operas are so dumb." Does he know who Carly is? No. Does know who Sonny is? No. Has he ever layed eyes on GH or any other soap? No.

People sterotype soaps just like the steropype races and sexualities. It's awful.

[Cheyenne]

I just want all this talk about soaps coming to an end to stop. It's depressing.

[Kwing42]

The question isn't can I, but do I want too? No, I do not want to. As long as GL is on and ATWT is on, i will watch. If they go off the air, I have no point but lettnig go.

I would hope that everyone would be capable of donig that with a TV show.

[All My Shadows]

See, you done got ME started now!

It PAINS THE [!@#$%^&*] OUT OF ME when people act as if seeing a shitty parody on a late night talk show gives them the right to pass judgement on soaps. It's like...my God...sit your dumb ass down and actually watch these damn shows and then decide whether or not they're worth anything. Don't sit there looking for things to make fun of. Sit down like an adult and pay attention to it, take it seriously. And then tell me what you think. Because until you've done that, your opinion means NOTHING to me. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

A few weeks after last year's Daytime Emmys, I was watching the TVGuide Channel. This man (I believe the man's name was Andy Wallenstein or something like that) and this woman were discussing the recent awards shows. She mentioned the Daytime Emmys, and right out of the gate, this jackass starts bashing soaps. "I refuse to call those...those PEOPLE actors. I refuse to put them in the same league as primetime performers. I'll just call them those soap opera people. What kind of awards do they give out? Best Blonde? Why should anybody take any of those people serious at all?"

And the woman is trying her damnedest to defend our stories, but he keeps bashing them and bashing them. I just wanted to break his head open.

I fully believe that soap opera, when done right, is THE greatest form of entertainment, ever. It allows you to watch life from an outside perspective. It allows you to see a situation in a way that you wouldn't see it if it happened to you in real life. That's what good soap opera is.

[KLN]

Ugh, are you serious?

What's his name? I'll find him and kill him. How dare he!

[DruRocks]

That guy is obviously an idiot, because some of the performers in primetime and movies started their career on daytime. Not to mention Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy are pretty much soapy shows.