The Death of Soap Operas

[bellcurve]

From the few clips I've seen, DAYS's attempt at a sorority storyline doesn't make the younger characters look more realistic...it makes them look like they all took a page out of a lost SAVED BY THE BELL: THE COLLEGE YEARS script.

[DaysFanatic777]

I agree with the article and with you, bellcurve. Daytime's falling ratings are the result of bland storytelling, destructive gimmicks, and bad charterization. Soap fans were once the most loyal of all fans in the entertainment industry. Everyone thought that each of the "major" soaps had a core group of fans that would follow the ins and outs till the bitter end. If you would have said ten years ago that a "Days of Our Lives" wedding, any wedding might I add, would draw under three million people, even critics of the genere would have scoffed and said no way.

Now, soap fans have the internet where they can find spoilers and avoid taking time out of their busy schedules to watch. Honestly, I do it. I made time to watch John's Funeral, and the week following. Since then I've watched twice a week, max. I have a busy job, and since I can log on and find out whats goin on, It's simply not as important to watch. I feel like I'm part of the problem, and I've watched for years. I can even vaguely remember Doug and Julie's heyday.

Also, series like "The Sopranos" and "Grey's Anatomy"have taken the genere, and imporved it. They've given it an edge and sold it to prime time audiences.

And, to top it off, network TV is sliding downward. CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox, do not attrct the audiences they use to because cable networks are gaining steam. Daytime isn't the only problem. It's across the board.

Will soaps die? This is stupid, and I pray wrong, but by 2015... This is What I expect....

NBC.....Nothing at all. Days will find a home in syndication with a much lower budget, and may still be on the air, but not in it's present state.

CBS.....Y&R and B&B. The rest of the line up will be gameshows and talkshows.

ABC.....GH, and maybe AMC, if it can regain some of it's audience. Frons ain't a OLTL fan, even if the show is miles better than both of the others right now. AMC may have been banished to a half hour on soapnet by now.

I think we will see three soaps on the air by 2015, IF some thing doesn't give. It's hard to say, but someone up top has to wake up soon.

[PJA]

I agree with some of the comments in the article but I still think the majority of the reason that ratings are falling is because there are less people at home during the day and many more choices to choose from.

The veteran/newbie argument is kind of week. Don 't get me wrong I think some soaps do tend to focus on newbies to the detriment of veterans..however Y&R and B&B ratings plummeted and they have for the most part always featured their veterans. One could argue that Y&R over the last couple of years is paying less attention to its veterans but the ratings had already plummeted prior to then and for the most part their veterans are still pretty much frontburner.

I also think spoilers play a much larger part than many people think. I know for me personally when I used to read spoilers I enjoyed the show far less than I do now. Part of the reasons soaps were so successful was because of the shocking twists that would happen.

[MoTheGreat]

I think if the diversify the show little. & hire actor & actress that the viewers can connect to. It turns me off when I can't connect to the character that I suppose to be connecting with. I want to care about a character but if I'm not feeling the actor or actress in the part I want bad things to happen to the character. It seems like most soaps write for their white characters like they forget America is more then just white. In my own family I have multi racial great nephews now. That what drew me to Jamie on OLTL because she's multi racial.

If these white writers can't write for different races of people maybe they should hire black, asian, latino writers. I'm also tired that they separate the black & latin characters from the rest of the cast.

[TC]

Write a good show an people will record it.

[DeeeDee]

^ Exactly.

[Sylph]

I told you before - Gloria Monty destroyed the soaps. Along with James E. Reilly.

[PJA]

A lot of people record the soaps but that's not counted in the ratings.

[RuAsRuAnAu]

He is not an AMC fan, either. He is trying to get it cancelled. Ratings trump OLTL's "greatness". If it were ABC Daytime's most watched show, then it would be secure. I can see DOOL heading to DirectTV.

Which show will be canned next? Are ATWT and GL packaged deals?