GL Changes Look This Week

[Noel]

I saw that a couple of times airing on Oxygen this past week. At least CBS is pimpin' it up a little bit.

[Southofnowhere]

Will GL get an ratings bump out of this whole deal-eo or what?

[UKBoi]

I think there will inevitably be some sort of ratings rise just out of curiosity but unless their stories are good enough they wont be able to sustain viewership. I think a move like this will benefit GL as it's the only time I've seen a whole cast and crew so psyched up and enthused about the genre and a soap get as much press attention as this in recent years. Maybe this new look will flop, but at least GL arent going out without a fight.

Personally, I think this is going to work. I do think they could have invested in more expensive cameras or even ran the show through some sort of film look because some shots do look a little amateurish, but I'm sure it's just teething problems that will be solved in time.

[tanyia2]

The stories stink and the actors are leaving so this will not help GL.

[Dan]

Honestly, nothing is going to save GL at this point. The current regime is too concerned with flash-in-the-pan effects to fix the core of what is wrong with the show -- the utterly juvenile writing and one-note characterization. The fans are far too fractured and even the fanbases have been pissed all over. Former fans have been driven into complete apathy (myself included). I couldn't even get too upset at the utter lunacy that was DevilWill. I just couldn't give a damn and have resigned myself that I will probably never watch another episode of current-GL (unless I'm in a self-masochistic mood). I'm not even going to tune in for this "experiment." I refuse to give that incompetent bitch Wheeler my household rating statistic. She and her moronic cohort Kreizman have turned an intelligent, heartfelt, and thought-provoking show into a disgraceful shadow of its former self.

[miss wolf]

Review of the February 29 episode...ifmagazine.com

[Shakur]

That's a pretty harsh review in some respects. Not completely unexpected though based on what we've seen so far of the new technique. They definitely need to work on the lighting and sound. If they can perfect that I think this new format could be great for the show visually.

I'm hoping that all of the "mainstream" writers reviewing the show's new look - and criticizing it's writing - will force CBS to finally force some changes in the soaps weakest area. I honestly believe that paired with a good Head Writer, that Ellen Wheeler could do great things with GL. Her belief in Kriezman is her biggest flaw.

Either way you look at it this is a huge gamble for GL (and ATWT when they switch). There is no way that either show will go back to the traditional more expensive production format, and if they don't make this look work really well, then it just drive away more fans.

[Vee]

This looks extremely amateurish. With The City and British soap operas, they put an aesthetic and a real attention to detail and lighting behind it, combining realism with deft artistry and never let their budget concerns (not that they had this many) overwhelm their storytelling and the world they were creating. This show just looks washed-out and cheap. The locations are often extremely unconvincing and there are way too many bare hallways that could be anywhere. The camera is too shaky, not "realistic" or "edgy," just shaky. The editing is extremely slipshod. That early bit with Rafe leaving Natalia to be with Daisy was so randomly shot and cut. It all looks and feels like a student film, or a high schooler's home video project.

And God, the new theme and opening are awful.

[Greg's GL]

IA with alot of what you say, Dan. I think the only difference is that I'm an apathic fan still watching this train wreck out of nostalgia for the once wonderful town of Springfield. With the recent and rumored departures coming up, I may soon tune out as well. <SIGH>

[Vee]

Whoever is responsible for the Cyrus and Harley storyline also needs to be fired. It's destroyed Harley for me. Didn't Beth Ehlers claim in her letter about RPG that she had hoped to be reunited with Gus this year? I'm not a big Gus fan but anything is better than this.

[Noel]

Really? I thought it was like totally awesome! Take a look at it!

I must say that I truly admire the person's imagination and creativity, but can you imagine if the new theme looked like this? I swear to God I would die! I really would. I'm trying to find the new theme opening, but unsuccessful so far.

[stenbeck212]

The first episode of this overhaul was a strange indicator of what will come after it. I can't understand what the tone is or should be - a dramedy? I totally thought it was a spinoff of Men In Trees. Without a doubt, the complacent actors need to make their techniques even subtler now. For some reason the tags are gone and jumping between situations is quite hasty. Meanwhile the look has become an extended commercial from Springfield's tourism board. The cameras don't seem to add visual depth like others, which might be why we get so many close up shots. That's a bit claustrophobic, and you can tell that the sets are no bigger than a closet. Tiki Cedars is still around too! Scary. The opening montage and bumpers are gorgeous, thankfully. I didn't think GL would ever have a sung theme.

[miss wolf]

Another article on the changes - news.yahoo.com

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Then why doesn't she do something about it? I wish Barbara Bloom would realized that the problem about the stories is EW and DK.

[Vee]

That montage at the end was nauseating. I know GL loves to play with time nowadays, but how are we supposed to pick up on the same scenes on Monday (as the preview indicated)? It just all feels so slapdash, cheap and hurried. That on top of bad stories is a mess. P&G keeps talking about "blazing the trail for the future of soaps" with its new shooting for GL and ATWT but this is hardly new and it doesn't look nearly as professional or appropriate as The City did ten years ago, or Ryan's Hope did twenty years ago or the British soaps have for many, many years. It all just looks bad.

And when they try to shoot the same way on the existing sets they just look more pathetic than they already did. Main Street looks like a tinker toy playset now.

[Toups]

I watched the full episode today and I thought it was just okay. I didn't like the lighting and sound either. The interior sets are so small. The background music is bad. I didn't mind the camera work - I didn't think it was shaky at all. Ellen Wheeler should look at how Friday Night Lights does things, IMO. Oh well, I hope Wheeler is able to work out the kinks and eventually the new production will slowly improve.