Jump to content

Primetime Soaps


Recommended Posts

  • Members

Oh I liked Titans. I felt it had so much potential but probably being on NBC was the ultimate thing that hurt it. How long did it last? Felt like only a few episodes. Not enough to make an impact

Anyone watch Pacific Palisades? Another I felt had potential and Im surprised Fox didnt give it the chance it gave Melrose

Please register in order to view this content

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 1.3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

My mom and I watched Pacific Palisades weekly. When it and later Pasadena got unceremoniously yanked, I think we kinda gave up and resigned ourselves to the fact that those good old days of primetime sudsers were over. My mom was a BIG fan of Savannah too. The shows got younger focusing on twentysomethings during that '90s wave, and then of course they went even younger but that never seemed to bother my mom too much (she even watched The O.C.), she was just always up for a good soapy story and these days you're lucky if you can even get that, regardless of character age.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I ask this because I never watched the show, but isn't Damages a procedural?

Either way, I think The Vampire Diaries is a great "soap" right now. There's backstabbing, rivalries, romance, plot twists and all the episodes usually end with a cliffhanger. It's heaven really, for me anyway.

Edited by Amello
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well, not in my world. It has elements of a procedural, but a lot of soapy twists, turns, long-term (seasonal) stories, uses non-linear narrative devices...

We've had flashbacks, flashforwards and this season we have flash-sideways. :) It has a narrative, the haters say it doesn't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The Vampire Diaries is fantabulous. Favorite new show since Friday Night Lights, and definitely my fave on network TV. And its ratings are awesome, too (for The CW).

As far as what are soaps and what aren't soaps, I think the media (and maybe fans?) uses one of two definitions to describe something soapy: 1 is all about the melodrama, "OMG she slept with her husband's uncle's mother's son's nephew's brother!!" stuff, and 2 is simply that it's serialized. I've seen 24 called a soap based simply on its serialized nature, yet there are two-hour movies (Sirk! Curtiz!) that are called soaps, and they're not serialized. It really begs the question...what is a soap? Is it one of those, both, or neither one?

See, to me, Little House on the Prairie is pure soap. Like, 99 and 44/100 percent. It wasn't really serialized (though there were always long-term plot points), but to deny it of a soapy label would be like spitting on the grave of Landon himself. He worked really, really hard to make sure the people of Walnut Grove had really horrible lives. And, really, that's what soaps are all about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Next week is going to be such a sad time... I just feel it based on what was shown today. I'm wondering if the whole John being bandaged thing being a throwback to how he first arrived on the show was a Ron C idea since it just seems as though this would be something he would come up with.  If so, it's good that Cwikly/Ford are in charge with the implementing of the idea instead of him. Just a delayed thought from the Ciara scenes earlier in the week, or last week.. and how she had an odd way of dressing/acting.  I chuckle because little Ciara did say that she admired and wanted to be just like Kristen when she grew up.  So the fact that her outfit choices are so odd/off beat and her manner is a bit OTT just fits.. especially since Eileen's Kristen had an odd sense of fashion and that frantic OTT undertone to her delivery. With that said, a part of me wonders how Eileen's Kristen would have handled the scenes being done this week in regards to John's situation.   
    • My god the smirking was back in full force today. He almost started smiling after Johnny mentioned he wouldn’t be there if EJ hadn’t raped Sami. I will say I did like seeing him with Dee as they’ve always had great chemistry.    They really are giving a lot of false hope with John getting better. I wish they hadn’t done that. Monday is going to be devastating. I really liked all the characters mixing and mingling today.  Nu-Rachel is still too sweet for me. Loved all the flashbacks. Everyone looked so young. Really enjoyed Brady’s scenes with John today.  
    • Valerie Mahaffey Dead: ‘Northern Exposure,’ ‘Dead to Me’ Actress Was 71 Loved her. I've never seen her Doctors work. 
    • Valerie Mahaffey Dead: ‘Northern Exposure,’ ‘Dead to Me’ Actress Was 71 I just loved Valerie on my early '90s TV shows. This one gets me. 
    • I assume they did at some point during the finale...
    • Kelly was a horribly-written character overall. Just think, two Emmy-winning actresses (including Cynthia Watros, Nina, GH, and Annie, GL) couldn't make it work. Pamela is campy, but so are Dani, Vanessa, Leslie, and Joey. And, I don't want to be too judgy because my love for camp changes depending on the show. OLTL, DAYS, and some eras of GH had me rolling with the camp. However, Passions was overkill and I hated it. And, here, I can take it or leave it. It's ok in small doses (note to RC). I see this show as more of a serious drama.
    • I think one of the reasons that pilot didn't get picked up was because Vicki L was associated more with being Thelma Harper and playing older then she was playing her own age.  It was a blessing it didn't get picked up, or we would have been deprived of the syndicated era of Mama's Family.   Also, worth noting a Pre Night Court Marsha Warfield and pre Perfect Strangers Rebecca Arthur in the cast.  All talented women, but stuck with a bad script. And the other pilot had a pre Fran Fine.. Fran Drescher as the best friend.  I think that pilot might have been picked up if Karen Valentine and Fran Drescher switched roles.
    • So, on rewatch....did Rick and Mindy never have sex? 
    • Cady had a fairly posh accent or manner as Rosanna - the character was a 180 from Dixie when she went to ATWT, and it was a huge success initially. As someone mostly only familiar with the nagging, miserable or clueless Dixie of the mid-late '90s and early 2000s it was what convinced me Cady could act. I thought she was incredible in her first run. Later, in future stints, her hair and story and performances were all over the place but a lot of that was down to the show for me. She brought some of Rosanna back with her to Dixie in her ill-fated return and a lot of people didn't like it, which I understood but I did think the character needed some change. I think she's had a little bit of the same persona and arch performance in every role she's played since, including Jennifer Horton at DAYS or Kelly at Y&R, who later became a maniac and was easily the worst work I've ever seen Cady do. It has kind of infected her overall mannerisms, I'll allow that, but I do think she brought Dixie back together as herself while still evolving the character when she returned to AMC again in 2012-13. Nonetheless, for me the upshot is that this is a character where Cady's kookier recent performance style suits the role. But I can understand it grating for people.
    • Yeah, Loretta Swit's passing stings. My late dad LOVED the show (he died last November) and watched it religiously. In first run and repeats.  And I was literally born the day after the show's premiere, so I grew up with it! I know many loved later, softer Margaret, but I loved Early Hot Lips. In real life, I'm all for less misogyny, but to me, the early years of M*A*S*H were just funnier. May Loretta Swit rest in peace. Thanks for all the memories connected to my dad!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy