If ABC cancelled All My Children, would CBS acquire it?

[Adam]

Now if AMC's budget crunch means we are in for another Peapack Express than by all means pull the plug. I couldn't bear to see AMC reduced to that....

I just hope if and when AMC or any show is cancelled, we as the fans get a proper send off...... not like Port Charles ending with a friggin cliffhanger!

Everyone should gather at the Martin's for a retirement party for Joe, and they should all look through the "photo album" and then close it one final time with Agnes Nixon doing the epilogue as a voiceover.

[Scotty]

I don't see OLTL getting cancelled before AMC. Actually I see it as the other way around. And All My Shadows is right about the soap predictions. People have been saying for the last ten years that there would only be one or two soaps left by now. And yet, here we are in 2009 with 8 of them still on the air.

[Dan]

Honestly, I think those cancellation theorists need to recognize the fact that once most of these shows are gone. They are gone and NEVER coming back on. Soapnet doesn't want them. Shows that shift networks historically lose a good chunk of their audience. Passions proved that Direct TV wasn't an option.

Furthermore, would we even want them to change networks? Just ask the fans of Search For Tomorrow, Edge of Night, Passions.

[detroitpiston]

Exactly. People just need to stop thinking about this bull s.hit and enjoy their shows while they last. If it gets canned, then you can start worrying.

[All My Shadows]

That's another thing I don't get. "Well, by 20xx, only Y&R and GH/B&B will still be on, the rest will most likely be internet-only/mobile phone productions/etc." Bullshit! If they're not airing on TV, I don't see any production companies or networks bending over backwards to put them online or whatever. And even if they did such a thing, they'd all be sexless porn. One set. Five characters. Awful dialogue. And no dry-humping to make you forget that.

[MarkH]

See, I don't think it is a theory. I think simple market economics and ratings trends make it clear that these shows are almost done.

As evidence, we have (a) Ellen Wheeler crying and being thankful for each extra day, ( Chris Goutman talking about downsizing to three days a week; © Days being grateful for a "final" renewal, with a 40% license cut, and (d) ABC reportedly doing 50% cuts, and possibly moving their shows to cheaper production sites.

This is 'circling the drain', folks. Truly, it could not be more obvious.

Hello! This is not just because of the current economy! This is about the general decline of network broadcasts, young viewers' defection from classic television. When this is compounded with the awful daypart in which soaps reside (no one is home during the day anymore), the lack of intergenerational viewing in most homes, etc. etc...soaps are going away. That is fact, plain and simple. I say that not with joy, but with dull resignation. It helps (me, at least) to be prepared.

For me, it helps to remember too that for "every loss, there is a gain". The cancellation of these soaps creates an eventual need for a "rebirth" of the genre. Someday, it will appear again in some form, on a more viable media platform than network television.

When TV debuted, all but 1-2 radio soaps died. That was okay. New shows debuted on TV, built for that medium, and the genre was vital (with cancellations and debuts) until 10-15 years ago. That is a good long run.

The next generation of soaps may be very different, but it will be there for those of us who enjoy the genre. Where? I don't know.

And moreover, the serial format is alive and well everywhere. Comedies, dramas, Sci-fi...most of it now follows serial conventions. Even the crime procedurals have some small continuing thread (a burgeoning romance between two cops! a hidden secret from the past!).

[Dan]

I should probably clarify, I agree that daytime as we know it is on its last legs. Hell, I'm a former GL fan after all.

I'm just so tired of all these people speculating that other outlets are going to be bending over backwards to keep these shows (DAYS going to CBS and now this whole "what about AMC?" [!@#$%^&*]).

[rangethatrover]

Don't get me going on AMC's cheap looks and Walmart lighting design.

I am still convinced OLTL would go first.

OLTL is MY show- but I still think that AMC and GH have some bounceback potential audiencewise, Days as well.

I hope all of these shows somehow survive.

That is why I respect OLTL and Y&R for constructing some damn good shows.

[DeeeDee]

When Days is cancelled there will be MADNESS.

[All My Shadows]

ABC and CBS will both get shipments of a million calendars everyday for at least a year. "See! There are still some DAYS left!!!"

There are so many things I could say in continuation of this, but I just won't lol

[Khan]

You got that right!

Has anyone here ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Because, to me, that's what all this cancellation talk is. Not that I would mind, exactly; as bad as most of these shows are, w/ no hope for recovery, they need to go, lol.

[Khan]

Too bad no one wants to save GL, because I've some busted flashlights I'm just dying to unload!

[Soapsuds]

For a minute there I thought you were talking about Guiding Light. Silly Me....

[Khan]

"One set"? Please. GL should be so lucky.

[All My Shadows]

Might as well have been talking about it!

I'm just glad they scrapped the ITLs before Wheeler hopped on her new production model. Can you imagine episodes where half of the action is Grady walking down a dirt road while Thriving Ivory plays in the background?