ABC:WTF? ABC actually did a network promo with the soaps?

[Contessa Donatella]

Well, I'll be. Yes, there they are. My oops. I guess that's when I reached that confusing point of oversaturation of symbols.

[All My Shadows]

I just don't get why CBS can't do something like this. Historically, they've had the most successful daytime lineup of all of the networks, with some of the highest-rated and longest-running shows of all time, yet the way they treat their daytime shows and their histories is just ridiculous. Anyone remember their 75th anniversary special? The game show segment consisted of Bob Barker coming out, running a quick script about game shows, and then showing a quick montage of brief clips from a couple of shows. And that was it. No more game shows mentioned at all, not even the long-running primetime ones from the 50s and 60s.

And for soaps? Well, let's see. Patricia Heaton (of all [!@#$%^&*] people) comes out, prattles on about how she and her girlfriends scheduled college classes around Y&R (heeheehee haahaahaa, they were crazy obsessed soap fans hahahaha!!!), goes on about the importance of soap operas (you know, because she's never been on one in her life), the camera periodically pans to the audience where we see Jeanne Cooper (obviously pissed off), Martha Byrne (fake smile), Susan Flannery (apathetic), Kim Zimmer (blah look), and Helen Wagner (apathetic as well). And then, here's the real big thing(!!): a nice little montage of people who "got their starts!!!!!" on CBS soaps. There was no mention at all of any of the *real* stars of CBS soaps, and there also was no mention at all of any of the canceled shows either. Just a great big middle finger to CBS's soap opera legacy.

It's just ridiculous because again, they have five of the most known TV titles in the country. EVERYBODY knows those shows just by saying their names. EVERYBODY. Millions of people grew up watching the damn shows! And CBS acts as if they're NOTHING!

[!@#$%^&*] off, CBS!

[AddictedToSoaps]

Oh god I remember that! That was such a huge insult to the soaps.

[dragonflies]

AMS I remember that, OMG I was so freaking pissed!

[Contessa Donatella]

I was beyond furious. The whole show was done so wrong! And, yes, the super slight to daytime was disgusting.

[AddictedToSoaps]

Here's the daytime portion of the 75th Anniversary special.

[All My Shadows]

My God...five years later and I still want to plant bombs up her ass and destroy her. Oh damn, the stars' reactions were better (or worse?) than I remembered. Flannery and Cooper are just like "what-the-[!@#$%^&*]-ever, bitch" and it's Martha who has the blah look and Zimmer who is fake smiling (though she might just be smiling because of the mention of GL's anniversary). Helen Wagner falls into the what-the-[!@#$%^&*]-ever realm as well. The whole thing is less than three minutes, too. Just wow. Wow.

It's pathetic when people could put together better tributes with just clips and Windows Movie Maker.

If I'm not mistaken, our beloved Jeanne actually went to the press with her dislike of the segment.

[Contessa Donatella]

Thank you for posting that. It makes me sick, still or again, but thanks for posting it!! Besides being a pitiful pittance, its approach is insulting to daytimers, insults people who have stayed in soaps or come to soaps after doing other things and has frackin errors in the text!! Again, it's not the messager.

Who produced it?

[detroitpiston]

The look on Susan Flannery's face is the same one I had when this first aired.

[Astrotruf]

Here's an 8 minute behind the scenes video of the promo shoot.

Susan Lucci is interviewed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOS2RbiYRbg

[Jonathan]

Great clip. That was a massive undertaking.

[DavidEvanSmith]

I love it! I need to go work for Troika design group, I love that kind of stuff. I'm trying to do all the things they did with that commercial in my lowly little Photoshop program! Amazing.

Thanks for posting these links.

[Gordon24]

Thank you for posting the behind the scenes. WOW after hearing about all the work that went into the promo I love it even more!