Jump to content

November 17-21, 2008


Toups

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 95
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

I both agree and disagree with this. Because I am contrary like that. :D

Writers cannot write happy couples, because they are boring. Agreed. That doesn't mean they can't write couples who are deeply in love with one another and committed, but have angst and conflict. It's more challenging to keep them together and find other ways to create that drama, but if any part of soap story-telling were easy, we would love all the soaps and everybody would be watching them. It's harder to write long term couples. The easy solution to shake things up and keep things interesting is introduce an interloper that tears them apart, and then tell the long road to finding their way back together again. But as TnB and Josh and Reva, and many many others have proven -- that gets boring and predictable too. Mac and Rachel Corey are an example of one couple that I think was done very well for many years.

And certainly you can't keep every couple (or perhaps any couple) together permanently, if for no other reason than at some point personnel issues get in the way. If Thorsten Kaye leaves AMC, should we kill off Kendall too, or keep her on the show and reduce her role to that of mother, best friend and daughter? Fans are mad that Cady McClain was let go, but should Tad Martin be written out? As a fan of the characters more than of the performers, I agree that characters shouldn't be confined to a "pairing" just because fans of that pairing won't accept something different. TPTB shouldn't cave in to those demands. But the other side of that coin, and a glaring problem with OLTL and ABC soaps in general is that they have almost NO couples that represent that minority that realistically exists irl, that is together and in a committed relationship and are not in danger of breaking up. If realism is what you think they should be going for, they shouldn't ignore that bit of reality either.

I've always said that fans who want their faves to fall in love, get married, have babies and live happily ever after are really looking for a fairy tale, not a soap opera.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You just reminded me of why I hate fan wars!!! But I also think it has to do with the unclear vision these shows have period. They seem more interested in getting couples on the top 10 couples in SOD, than presenting clear characters that we can grow with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Who hasn't? it isn't until you re-watch the videos and realize the network has been making fools out of all involved, that you bury it in the sand.

Looking at what's happened in the last year- I can only think of a few stories that have been told in completion. How is one suppose to invest in anything happening when the majority of longterm stories are dropped midway. (I'm not counting the stories that take place over a couple of weeks.) Although I'm no longer a fan- I can imagine that's why OLTL does deserve kudos for completing much of what they've started- whether or not they're good could be argued. Young and the Restless is doing a much better job with that as of late, as they have the cast, history, characters to make all things worthwhile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Another problem with soaps is they've driven away what was the bulk of their core audience for YEARS: Women.

You don't write a storyline like Marty begging her gang rapist to screw her, and not expect to drive away viewers, especially female viewers. It's stuff like is why soaps will NEVER evolve, especially when you get RC acting surprised that people would be offended :rolleyes:

Sure I know times have changed and alot of men watch too

Not feeling the Pratt love either, IMO he's very overrated, so far the ONLY thing he seems to have done right is how he's writing Erica & Adam. The Annie storyline had potential but fell flat when it was reduced to her going crazy cause Ryan didnt wub her anymore. Of course it's about Ryan, another big problem with AMC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The regular viewer cares about Luke. He comes from an established family in Oakdale. I doubt the regulary viewer would give two [!@#$%^&*] about what happens to Noah. If Luke found someone knew who made him happy the regular viewer would be all for it.

As you say it's that fanbase that would be pissed. I hope LUke loses his virginity to anyone besides Noah. Of course it must be a male. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I even think...if written PROPERLY (which it won't be)...Luke COULD lose his virginity to Brian.

I realize that is stretching things, and I'm not advocating for this. But I want to agree with you. The rooting value is with Luke. As long as Luke is loved and cared for...that's really all we care about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

As I have said over and over again this is NOT THE FIRST TIME that women viewers have been offended at something seen on a soap opera. Women have been offended often throughout the years. In fact both men and women viewers have been offended.

I will say that there is a totally different generation of viewers who watch today and that is where the difference is. I guess you could say the former viewers would have to be more open minded. Even with illegal abortions and mixed race stories that were highly offensive to the times those viewers did not give up - they gave the shows another chance. Both the Pat Matthews abortion and the Carla Bernudi black/white romance came within the very first year of the soaps AW and OLTL and both soaps survived for many years after offending a large portion of their small audiences.

Again it goes back to the new generation where as I have talked about here we get mad over firings and threaten or do leave; we get mad over our favorite couple not being together; we get offended over a story and leave.

I am not saying that anyone should suspend their beliefs over anything and stick with a show if it totally offends you. All I am saying is we need to give things a chance. That is something we just do not do often enough anymore.

I get so amazed right now in so many of the discussions about Days the discussion is so often not about what can be done to help Days but who is the most important cast member to the show. And in the end it is not going to amount to a hill of beans who was most important to the show.

If fans do not band together and try to come up with what is best for the shows and not what is best for them and their faves then it ain't going to matter at all. Because there ain't going to be anymore Jarlena, Bope, Zendall, Liaison, JaSam, LuSam, etc. Because they are going to all be gone to the great soap heaven in the sky never to be seen or heard from again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

So True! Live and learn.

I do think Carlivati does follow through much better than some of his predecessors. I don't think they do long term stories anymore. Everything has to fit in that 13 week cycle they use as their boundary. And they're too quick to switch horses in mid-stream in my opinion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Oh I knew it was common (I did not realize Muenker's channel was gone - I'm glad I saved all those videos). I just didn't realize it was the case with the rape episode.  I never really felt like she dominated the show in her second stint either, although I can see where she probably did. I can feel it more in some of her first run, because the show was much different before she came in and suddenly a woman we'd seen for a year was [!@#$%^&*] and marrying an entire family.  In that sense Reva is more like Babe than Erica Kane. One of the more infamous AMC lines was, "Babe is love." You just know HB would have said that line about Reva at some point.
    • I disagree; if this were Chris Clenshaw, then I would be worried. But it's a new producer coming in to clearly create the canvas they want to create, and I'm okay with that. Re-introducing characters to shake things up and possibly take some other ones out of the canvas. It'll be interesting to see the finished product.
    • I am ready for our first full week in what feels like a while! They worked Sweeps month!
    • Beyond the Gates: A The Bold and the Beautiful: F Coronation Street: B Days of Our Lives: B- EastEnders: A+ Emmerdale: A- Hollyoaks: B+ General Hospital: C Neighbours: C+ The Young and the Restless: F For me, Beyond the Gates, EastEnders, and Emmerdale led the pack during Sweeps month, with Coronation Street and Days of Our Lives following. General Hospital and Neighbours sit in the middle with what I'd call a "take it or leave it" kind of Sweeps month, and the Bell soaps bombed (per usual).
    • Actors doing this is pretty common. I used to work for a company that produced a very successful sitcom back in the 70s. Actors who were guest stars on the show would ask to be provided tapes of their episodes. I assume they do it for a variety of reasons, i.e. to create a reel of their best work. I know of some soap actors who have uploaded saved work to YT. One is Ariana Muenker, who played Christine Valere on GL. She was uploading scenes from her many soap roles a few months back. Unfortunately, it looks like either she or YT took the channel down. Sharon Gabet and Mark Arnold help the EON YT channel by providing saved episodes. Along with EON eps, Arnold shared a guest stint he did on GL. Those episodes are really interesting because they involve the introduction of Nola's character, which was tied to the Roger storyline. When he came back after faking his death, he hid out at the boarding house. Nola being a snoop figured out something was fishy with him. She ended up helping the police. Very worth seeking out. I don't think anyone else has those episodes.  Makes you wonder if there's more out there than we know of because actors don't want to be bothered to run a YT channel. Can't blame them because it's a lot of trouble, but if only... I agree. While Lucci definitely used her fame from the show to build her brand and get work outside of AMC, Erica was always part of an ensemble. Yeah, she got a couple of whacky stories (like the "unabortion") but she never took over to the detriment of other actors and stories.
    • It must have been sometime in the early 80's. VI said he first heard about Marj Dusay's talent from CH. Hickland worked with her on Capitol.
    • Not having watched AMC was one of the reasons I hesitated to make the comparison, tbf. It's odd--I feel like I could argue Cassie, Olivia, Harley and Dinah suffocated the show along with Reva the last five years.
    • Laurie and Lance accompany Leslie to her Denver concert and she relies me on Lance for support.Unbeknownst to Leslie, Brad has had the operator make a special connection to the concert hall so he can hear her concert. The Maestro, realizing Leslie’s emotional torment over her failing marriage, tries to persuade her to tell Brad about the baby, and when she refuses, he writes a letter to Brad betraying Leslie’s confidence. After another fight with her mother about how learning about her parentage has upset her life, Laurie confides to Leslie that she feels cut off, outside. Stuart overhears this conversation, and Leslie has to tell him the whole story. She tries to explain fairly how Jennifer had left Stuart and actually only spent one night with Bruce, and faced the truth about Laurie only when she was forced to. Stuart is livid over this |betrayal and wants to confront his wife ‘now, but her doctor calls. Her one-year mastectomy checkup was fine, but he’s discovered irregularities in her cardiogram and doesn’t want her under any stress until further tests can be made. Stuart assures Leslie he won’t tell her mother he knows about Laurie until he can do it calmly, and doesn’t tell his daughter about the cardiogram.  When Chris continues to receive obscene calls, Snapper goes straight to the Beckers’. Ron insists he was home with Nancy, and she corroborates this. When she steps between an advancing Snapper and her husband, screaming, “We don’t have a telephone. He couldn't have called Chris,” Snapper finally has to believe her, and he leaves. But moments later Karen tells Nancy that Daddy went out while Mommy was in the shower. Ron insists it was just a few moments, for cigarettes. Nancy lets it pass, but the next morning finds a whole carton of cigarettes in a drawer  and asks why he went out. Ron coldly tells her she’d  better pull herself together, she’s letting this thing with Chris make her a little insane. Nancy ponders telling Chris but decides that all Chris would do is  badmouth Ron again, and she and Karen have no one but Ron and can’t leave him. When a telephone-installation man arrives with their new phone, Nancy asks him not to put it in. But Ron arrives and orders the installation made, telling Nancy she’s trying to run his life, as his mother did. When Nancy tries to call Chris, Ron frighteningly tells Nancy he’s done  everything they said he did, but it’s all her fault, as she never gave him what he needed. When he informs her he’s taking Karen away from her before she can ruin her, Nancy collapses in a catatonic state. Ron then calmly calls the hospital and requests help for his wife, “Fran Jackson,” who has had a breakdown.  Laurie, seeing the extent to which Vanessa will go to keep Lance to herself, warns Lance that his mother’s possessive feelings are unhealthy. Lance suggests Vanessa will consider Leslie a threat also when he learns that Les and Brad are divorcing and things will get easier. As soon as the hospital attendants leave with Nancy, Ron dials Legal Aid and has Karen tell Chris she’s all alone. Stopping only to leave a message for Snapper about where she’s going, Chris rushes to the Beckers’ apartment, only to realize that Ron’s tricked her. Ron sends Karen out of the room and, after expressing his hatred for all women, tells Chris he’s going to prove to her he’s a man. But Karen wanders back in as he has Chris pinned to the wall, and Ron’s mind snaps when he realizes his daughter has seen his perverted side. After smashing the wall mirror, he runs out, and Greg, terrified at learning where Chris is, arrives to find her comforting Karen. Chris takes Karen home, and after several days of fruitless searching for Nancy, she applies for temporary guardianship of Karen. Peggy and Jack set a New Years Eve wedding date, but Stuart is terribly upset to realize how irrational and incomplete Peggy’s plans are. When she suddenly makes all pertinent decisions in the space of a half-hour, Stuart tells Jack this doesn’t indicate certainty, but rather proves his point—she’s just trying to convince herself that the rape didn’t affect hers and it did. A chance remark by Stuart shocks Laurie into realizing he knows she’s not his natural daughter. When she hysterically screams out her alienation and her innate feeling that she was always 'different' he assures her with tears in his eyes that since they really love each other sincerely, it makes no difference; she’ll always be his daughter. Stuart explains that Jen still doesn’t know he has learned the truth, and he would like it to continue that way. In helping Brad pay his bills, Laurie finds Maestro Fausch’s letter and tells Brad that Leslie is pregnant. Ironically, to get to him with this news, she had to get |away from Leslie, and used a meeting with Lance as an excuse. When ‘Lance arrives soon after, he’s angry that Laurie lied, and she later has to explain that she has been helping Brad. Understanding her motives, — Lance agrees that she should continue to press him to |reconcile with Leslie. Brad, however, still won’t reconsider—in fact, the news makes him even more resolute. But Vanessa has had Laurie followed, and hits Leslie with a double blow. She gives her the report saying this proves her sister is involved with her husband, and then assures Leslie that Lance loves her, — not Laurie. Badly confused and hurt, Leslie lashes out by kissing Lance while he sits with her at the piano. Leslie then waits at the apartment for Laurie, and when she arrives, she bitterly accuses her of having an affair with Brad. Laurie angrily assures Leslie she  was with Brad with Lance’s full knowledge and that Leslie’s anger means she still loves Brad. She then explains to Leslie that Brad left her because he’s blind. In shock, Leslie rushes home to confront Brad, furiously berating him for treating her like a child who cannot decide for herself. But Brad, even with Leslie now aware of the situation, refuses to reconcile with her. When Leslie tells Laurie how unreasonable Brad has been, Laurie suggests that Leslie stop seeing everything from her own angle only. 
    • In regards to the Reva vs Erica discussions... I think there was one main difference between the two characters.... Erica never took over/ate up airtime on All My Children.  While she was a larger than life character, she never took over the show and there were times she was even supporting and not the lead.... while Reva basically suffocated Guiding Light in the later years with her presence.
    • That was such a missed opportunity, especially with May sweeps.  And, it would’ve been a much better story for Naomi/Jacob than whatever’s going on with June 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

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