ALL: Soap Trends

[DrewH]

Evil twins, multiple personalities, paternity issues, presumed deaths. Each soap has used one of those trends at one point or another. It has gotten to a point where fans are no longer shocked by what we're seeing. Which of the soap trends need to go for good, never to be used again?

[DrewH]

-Serial Killers

-Evil Twins

-Baby Switches

-Resurrection

[Ponz]

WTD stories.

[DrewH]

See, I don't have a problem with the 'Who's the Daddy' storylines. Sure, they're being used too often in daytime currently, but it's something that happens. It's not exactly far-fetched, which is probably why I don't mind. I hate far-fetched storylines.

Plus, WTD stories add a lot of drama to the mix. It's great to see two people, so in love, and then that third person enters the mix. We get to see them getting to know each other and then bam, the sex comes along. Then, the best part is when the woman finds out she is pregnant. It's like payback.

[Keith]

Did I inspire, Mr. Drew?

-WTD

-Back from the dead

-Evil twins

-Triangles for the sake of triangles

-Baby switches

-Serial killers

-Black and white characters

[DrewH]

You sure did.

And you're right about the love triangles. I hate when writers write a triangle, just to break up a couple. Now, I understand when the couple is having problems before this third party comes into the mix, that would make the one partner move to someone else. But when that third party is thrown in there, just to break them up, it's wrong.

[SteveFrame]

Great post.

Psycho killers/ladies running around terrorizing others - sorry I have liked them in teh past but they are overdone

I second the Who's The Daddy stories - need a rest

Super Villians/Cartoon Villians

Drew great idea. You should do a poll when you get a bunch of choices and let people vote on their top 5 or so.

[daysfan]

Oh, there are so many:

1. Serial Killer Stories. They have lost the touch they had years ago. They are not shocking and some of the victims just don't make sense sometimes.

2. "Who's the Daddy?" stories. They are really old and boring. Not interesting and a complete bore. There is really no point for them.

3. The Evil Twin stories. Yes this is ME, the huge Sam Evans lover saying this, but her story was when they were not old, it made sense as to why she did it and it was not some way to get the person who has a twin out of a prediciment. Now, all evil twins are used for is merely to let one character be innocent or the one who died in the place of their twin.

4. Double/Look-alike stories. Almost the same as evil twins, but the double stories are not that interesting anymore. As with the twin stories, now they are just used as ways to either make a character innocent or say that the double died and the character actually didn't.

5. As you said Drew, the presumed dead stories. I am flat out sick of these stories. They used to be good but now they are not. And, it's not a shocking presumed dead story either. Anymore you can guess them right off the bat and be right.

6. The most famous story of all that needs to go before all the others: the love triangles. They are good sometimes but they are used constantly. On Days, I like the Philip/Belle/Shawn story alot because Philip is not trying to keep Belle or get her. You know his feelings for her could still be there, but he doesn't necessarily want her. And, if a man or woman is paid to pretend to love the person that is sort of ok but not much. Now if it is a SMALL love triangle that only occurs for a few much to help the story that is fine, but not these long drawn out ones. They are annoying.

7. The psycho stories. I love all of them, and have expressed that and I still do love them ALL, but the psycho(especially woman!) stories are old. They have been used everywhere and need to be stopped. No more. I guess I would be fine with old psychos coming back because I love them but no more new nuts. A sly villian and like they are psycho but not a huge cartoon one it is alright.

8. This has been a big problem lately, and that is dumping the show with newbies. One or two backburner newbies is fine, and as time goes along mabye bring in a few more but OLTL, AMC, and some others have dumped a bunch of newbies on their shows. No one likes them no matter who the writer is.

9. Mistreating vets. It's ok for them not to air when they are sick, have personnal issues, etc. but when they can work they should be given more airtime. Even if they do not have a story they can serve a purpose on the show. It's possible and alot of writers do not do this and barely give the vets anytime.

More might come later!

[Shawn]

Love QUADRANGLES

Talking to yourself about your misdeeds JUST as someone walks in the door and says "What did you say?"

Not working and yet still having millions and a personal jet

Flamboyant eyebrow movements

[All My Shadows]

~ Onscreen deaths where, if it happened in real life there'd be NO CHANCE AT ALL of the person surviving, being explained away with stupid reasons, such as someone taking the person out of wreckage, or someone performing emergency surgency in the woods, or a twin who has/was never been mentioned ever before suddenly coming into the mix and being the victim.

~ Characters giving birth to full-grown children. Examples: Kendall and Josh, full-grown children of Erica on AMC.

~ Supervillains who never die. They "die" just so that the characters of their particular soap can sleep with both eyes closed for a few years, but then they return from the dead. And they [!@#$%^&*] things up for a year or two. Then they die. Then they come back in the next decade. And [!@#$%^&*] things up for a year or two. And the cycle goes on and on. How about taking one of these horrible, tortured souls and exploring why they do these horrible things to others? It's called redemption and if you didn't have this character raping people, killing people, burying people alive and [!@#$%^&*] like that, it'd be much easier to redeem them. Stefano DiMera, James Stenbeck, Sheila Carter, Mitch Lawrence...all characters who, if brought back to their soap today or tomorrow, would have absolutely no purpose other than the purpose they've had before and before. They turn the fans on for a while but they end up doing the same [!@#$%^&*] that they always do. It's boring, stupid, repetitive, and, in the case of Stefano, half the reason why soaps have such a horrible reputation now.

[Faulkner]

"Surprise - we're related" stories

Psychotic character gets written into a corner, gets offed, and the whole town is a suspect stories - too predictable

"Who's the Daddy" stories - especially stupid in a society still so scarred by AIDS. And don't these people use birth control? How insulting to women.

Serial killer stories - lazy.

"Everyone's rich" - also lazy. Characters live lavish lifestyles and get into trouble, but never have to worry about money. Wouldn't monetary concerns add drama instead of take away from it? And "poor" characters get "redeemed" by moving up in the classes. Again, an insulting equation of monetary success with virtue.

Insta-couples...romantic pairings that haven't been earned over time. When was the last time we were panting for a first kiss?

Pushing sketchily-defined newbie characters to the front-burner as the expense of long-standing vets

[winterguy125]

Seriel Killer storylines as a whole I like, but what I am sick of is the fact that it is always some person that is not really a core character that is doing it, what I would like to see is a core character for a change be the person that is doing the killing.

WTD- I can't stand these type storylines never have, totally boring and been done to nearly every soap character in history.

Triangles and Quadrangles- For the most part I can't stand them, but sometimes they are ok.

Twin Look alike- I would like to see more of this because the soaps I watch really have not done that to often, so that would be different for me.

What I really can't stand is dumb storylines about people hitting other characters over the head, and having them be dead.

What I like about ATWT right now is the fact that there are two fresh new storylines going Faith/Lily's weight problem storyline and Emily's hooker storyline, because these are storylines that are not done to death every year.

[DruRocks]

How about them hack writers. They really need to go.

[PhoenixRising05]

-Hack writers.

-Evil twins.

-WTD

-Baby switches.

-Cancer stories.

-Back from the dead stories.

-FORCED triangles and quads.

-Serial killer stories in which the victims are or mostly are people we don't care about and the killer ends up being no one we care about.

There is alot more but those are off the top of my head.

[SteveFrame]

AMS you are my hero today. Once again I agree with all of what you said but esp. this time what is in bold.