Have the networks created the downfall of soaps?

[Wendy]

I was reading the "Saving GL/ATWT" thread [neither of which I watch], and the one thing I had seen repeatedly mentioned by the board posters - and yet, not by the CBS Daytime President - was why the writers would not be replaced.

And that question is asked by everyone for every soap - by myself included, and the fact occurred to me: the networks no longer invest in their shows, as much as the lip service claims otherwise. What am I talking about? Easy. It's all well and good to say "Fire Hack #1! Soap A needs a new regime!" And it is probably true.

The trouble is, as far as I can tell, none of the three networks have any such writing programs to cultivate new blood/talent. I have heard rumblings that ABC did years ago, but I believe that is no longer the case. And I don't think CBS nor NBC [that one is obvious] have any such program in place, either.

When you look at how soaps are dropping week by week, it is likely that no one would now want to write for a genre that looks like is in its death throes. But, the fact is, had the networks been proactive before the significant downturn began, soaps may not be in such dire straits to begin with. Sort of "chicken and the egg" thing here, isn't it?

So, the networks recycle the same few writers that were fired on one show and plug them into another one, expecting a different result. Isn't that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over yet expecting a different outcome? It certainly would seem to apply here. In the end, the sad thing is, it keeps happening because there are no other options, be it because TIIC cannot or will not take any risks with new blood because of fear of failure or whatever. And now, because there's not enough money. Yet, new blood could help the genre with more revenue, assuming new ideas could help ratings. A circular argument, to be sure, but there you go.

The only flaw there is, things are already failing across the board at an alarming rate.

Sigh. I am aware this is likely a depressing post. But what depresses me most of all? It's all true. At least, I think so.

What do you all think?

[billyjill]

The networks have failed to save the soaps, first and foremost. I think that's the most accurate way to put it, and then it started a cycle of self-damage. There are a lot of factors that are beyond their control that have contributed to the hard times that have come upon daytime, but they can't control those. They can, however, control how they cope with those. Ultimately? Soaps picked the wrong strategy, and yes this preceded the absolute dire straits we're in now. They tried to become primetime and tried to cater to people who weren't soap fans to begin with. The logic was, well numbers are numbers, if we trade in this viewer for that viewer, that younger more impressionable and brand-malleable viewer, where's the loss?

In recent years, however, the other shoe has definitely fallen. It is primetime that has embraced serialization, once the forte of daytime, and it is primetime that is beating soaps at their own game. Daytime had the winning formula all along, and dumped it in a miscalculated attempt to modernize. Gotta love irony. And it's not to say that modernization is not necessary, but you can't forget the basic things that made you successful to begin with, because in addition to showing a misunderstanding of how fiction and mass distribution interact, you're basically telling your long time viewers that you are now embarrassed by them. Daytime became that lame-ass loser husband who, in the throes of a midlife crisis, runs off with the 20-something hot young thang that could only ever be expected to reject him, and then runs back to the wife who now can't stand him any more. Ten years down the road, that hot young thang grew up a bit and found she likes a guy who, despite a hipper haircut, resembles that lame-ass loser before he was so utterly lame. Irony, we all love it don't we?

How daytime stopped stopped attracting talent ... well in acting, a few things. One, daytime stopped asking for talent. They wanted the underwear models instead. Two, the writing started sucking, there was less depth and so fewer and fewer serious actors were fulfilled. Three, the cheese and melodrama that daytime is often enough prone to stopped being balanced out by meaty emotions and relevant stories, so the reputation of daytime suffered. So now, at best all the talented younger actors think of soaps as bootcamp, preparation for bigger and better things. No one wants to stay around any more to talk to dolls or floating heads or their own reflection as they rehash redundant plot points in tired expository synopses. Josh Duhamel? Jensen Ackles? Jonathan Jackson? I mean, did you even expect them to stick around? Do you blame them for not?

And as for writing ... sigh, I really do think its that reputation thing. Everyone is attracted to primetime now. No new blood is coming in and all the old guard that actually knew how to run soaps, in addition to getting older, were first ignored by the networks, so not only did soaps lose their talents, they lost the ability to train new blood. Even more incentive for newcomers to prefer primetime. And what's attracting them? What's the buzz about primetime? Serialization.

I tell you, it really hurts.

(Um, basically Wendy, I agree with you.)

[Wendy]

Damn, billyjill, your post encapsulated everything that brought daytime to its knees better than my post did. I wish my view of this was seen as crazy, but alas, it is true: the talent that built daytime is either seen as irrelevant and now not wanted - or died off, with no one equal to their talent to replace them.

So, daytime is now trapped in mediocrity. Sad, isn't it? Too bad it had to end up like it has.

[Loretta3938]

I wonder what is considered "good" ratings during the daytime? With numerous cable and satellite channels now available to viewers, even primetime isn't getting the ratings they once got. For example, Friday Night Lights garnered a 3.6 recently. That's lower than Y&R's daytime ratings...so what can we expect for the rest of daytime? ITA that networks need to support their daytime dramas more heavily. Only CBS's Y&R was willing to shell out money for a full one-page ad in TV Guide to promote their fall storyline.

Why can't the "Who Wants To Be A..." franchise try a competition for writers (TV Guide's network has one for producers already)? We have so many good fan fic writers on the net. The potential is there...and since networks are so fond of their reality programming, someone...even SoapNet...should step up to the plate.

Loretta

[RuAsRuAnAu]

There is a similar thread: http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=22600