ATWT Canceled

[Vee]

I will add that there was something so fascinating and comforting about watching older episodes with the Snyder kitchen and Emma and so on; you could smell the house, the food, you could feel the warmth. I remember in the early part of the decade when they often ran those classic eps on holidays, and as OLTL and the other ABC soaps were not in the best shape, I would tape these Marland episodes and watch them over and over throughout the years. My favorite shows were suffering for much of this decade, GH and AMC still are, and so it was a welcome respite to be able to watch a show that still honored family and home and hearth and made you feel warm or nourished, even if those were just some episodes from almost twenty years ago. If I'd been able to, I would have watched Marland's ATWT instead of AMC or GH everyday. I was very grateful when OLTL renewed a sense of caring and family to its canvas, but it is only walking in the shadow of the footsteps of Douglas Marland. There is such a simple, easy heart to his work and the material, comforting people while also challenging or entertaining them, and that's what soaps are; people calling to check on one another, exchanging social contact, breaking bread. It's just the news of the day. That is what a soap is, that is how it is built for larger, more grand or action-oriented stories, and that is why websoaps miss the boat.

I will not credit Jean Passanante with a thing. She ruined AMC and I knew she'd do the same here. AFAIC the show fell apart when left in her hands, and Goutman did not care.

I hope ATWT does what I feel every soap should do when cancelled: Simply show life going on, people breaking bread at the farm, asking about each other, sharing time together. Don't fade to black, don't cut to commercial, just let the credits run over people going on. Don't ever break the illusion that daytime does not stop when you turn off the TV. Because it doesn't. The key to daytime is that people go away and come back, and you turn on the television, and those lives and families and that world has gone on without you but is still right there, waiting for you. There is a comfort in that that has always sustained me.

[Michael]

Very well said. I think what so many of these shows have lost is that warm center. It's what enables us to care about the big, ridiculous adventures and silly murder mysteries and everything else. When you can "come home" and live those smaller moments with these people you've come to know so well -- something that, no matter what, a once-a-week show cannot deliver in the same way -- there's such a remarkable connection possible. ATWT isn't even "my show," and I feel the loss very strongly because of that connection I've experienced just by checking in and following for short periods.

[DRW50]

It's the small moments which count. The friendly conversations. The joking around and the teasing. The uncertainty and unspoken feelings. That's what builds up to the big moments. Now most of the soaps want to be big moments all the time, not realizing that these big moments end up being so hollow because there's nothing to reinforce them. Now you have people who barely know each other yet immediately fall into bed or immediately hate each other just because the script says so, and we're supposed to go along because this is supposed to be exciting.

When Bob cheated on Kim with Susan, that story had built up for a year or more. Kim had spent most of her time with John trying to help Andy, and Bob tried to be supportive, even though he loathed John. Bob spent his time helping Susan through myriad personal problems, and Kim tried to be supportive, even though she loathed Susan. That's one of the reasons the reveal packed such a punch, because they had both tried, and tried, and it just hadn't been enough. In spite of Kim's resolve and stiff upper lip, it hurt her unbearably that he slept with Susan, of all women. And just so that viewers would not see Kim as a hypocrite, they did talk about the fact that Kim had had an affair with Bob while he was married to her sister.

Marland's ATWT knew viewers needed time, they didn't take viewers as some sort of drooling morons who forget something they saw five minutes ago.

And the scenes between the Snyder siblings and with Emma always had such depth and such humor and heart and nostalgia, along with the usual tensions, fights, and pain.

The time taken to create a strong payoff is why so many stories that fall flat elsewhere, like someone taking a loved one off life support, were so strong at ATWT. It wasn't about the shock value of Margo granting Casey's last wish even though she knew how much it would cost her, it was about the friendship between Casey and Margo, about the love Casey and Lyla shared (which had also been built up over a long period of time), about what this would do to Tom and Margo and their marriage.

He also knew how important the somewhat background characters like Ellen were, how they helped create a tapestry.

I also loved how long gone characters would make visits or would at least be mentioned in conversations. The show did not assume viewers thought these people never existed. Or even worse, the writers themselves did not realize these characters had ever existed.

[Michael]

"Hollow" is the perfect word for it. The Big!Moments!(!!!!11) mean nothing when the show hasn't bothered to cultivate an investment in the characters or the potential fallout. It seems to be pinned on the viewers, like we're expected not to have any attention span for this build-up -- but it's because the set-ups have become so hamhanded and obvious, instead of based in character. I'll use a Days example, because I have a greater command of that show's history: people complain that this current baby switch has gone on for "way too long" (and I've by and large liked the story), but Mike Horton's paternity was kept a secret for eight years. Onscreen. There's no way a show could get away with that today, not just because people have shorter attention spans, but because the whole damn story is written to be about the reveal. Of course we don't want to watch eight years of "I know what's going on here!" [commercial break] "You're planning a party for me, aren't you? You rascal!" It's such a self-fulfilling prophecy, as all of daytime seems to be these days. And it's a damn shame, knowing what potential is right there.

[Jonathan]

Who's his mother in law?

LOL! They've been trying to resuscitate that show for decades. Give it up Early Show, you'll always be a distant third to Today Show and GMA.

[DRW50]

His mother-in-law is Marie Masters (Susan Stewart). The stuff at Gawker about gee, did he have words with Les about putting Marie out of a job -- yeah, I'm sure this reporter is going to trash talk the president of CBS.

The morning show has never been successful for CBS. It wasn't successful when they tried it in the 50s and has not been since they railroaded Captain Kangaroo off the air because their news department always resented it for taking the place of a morning show.

I actually prefer the Early Show to GMA and Today, because they're both too slick and smarmy, but it's definitely been one long, painful failure for CBS.

[Cheap21]

Really not surprised. Its only a matter of time till the rest are gone. I predict OLTL is next

[SOAPSFOREVER]

Les is in an especially bad mood these days. CBS primetime is getting the crap beaten out of it by FOX (in the coveted demos). The CSI franchise is dying on the vine, along with all the other aging shows on his network. Not one of CBS new' fall shows is doing well, with the exception of The Good Wife, and it's hardly a breakout hit. I'm sure he's sweating a few bullets right now, and is in a fairly nasty mood, so why not ax a soap that's been on 53 years? He can plug Pyramid into the slot for half the price and get more money for his net. That's all execs care about anyway, the bottom line. Fans, who needs 'em? All Les cares about are the 18-34 demos. But what I can't abide is his totally insensitive remarks about the loss of World Turns. "It's time had come" and all that. Lots of viewers have a long history with this show, as they did with Gl and AW and all the other cancelled soaps before them. They entertained, filled a void, made us laugh and cry and wait (as Agnes Nixon said). As for your remark about soap writers "not getting it done" and not "adjusting" with the times, the net itself hamstrings these shows from being more contemporary and edgy. There's only so much they will allow to be seen during daytime, and a lot of it is pretty bland because the nets won't let the soaps push the envelope. Don't blame the writers. I'm sure they'd lover to move into uncharted waters storywise, but the nets pull them back. (By the way, what are these "newer type stories" you're suggesting soaps delve into? Name five that could make it on the air right now.)

[juniorz1]

:( I know how you feel. The days of you, me, OceanView, AnnaWorldTurner, PJ, oakdalelover, SpiritualJunkie, and GMob discussing, bickering, praising, and disagreeing about ATWT are gone and the little discussion that is left (that Dusty (Actor87) touched on) will fade into the sunset come 2010. I hope to see some of the oldies I mentioned show back up if only to post in this thread.

As I said earlier, for the better part of the decade, ATWT was my soap- my fave on the air. To be honest, right now, they're running neck & neck with DAYS, though for the past week or two, it's ATWT that I can't wait to watch everyday. It's tough when a show's cancellation is announced at all, but when they're on a creative upswing like AW was and ATWT is, it's downright heartbreaking.

And you're right, Ron, nobody can replace those characters. My God, SUSAN! Marie Masters. I will probably never see either one again after ATWT takes it's bow. I cannot tell you how depressing that is to me- Susan & Masters are a treasure. I hope they give her something to do this last year. I think most ATWT fans agree that days when Susan are on or when she is driving or involved in story, the show is guaranteed entertainment.

Ugh. It's going to be so depressing for the next few weeks seeing and reading this thread here every day.

[Franky]

I came to ATWT in 2006 after seeing Van Hansis on SoapTalk. At the time, my only exposure to daytime TV was DOOL, which has been in my family since the premiere. I was dying to see a story involving gay characters, and so that Van Hansis interview cemented it: I was going to start watching ATWT.

The interview aired on a Friday, so over the weekend I did a whole lot of research. (Being familiar only with the soaps that aired on SoapNet at the time, I had never even heard of the show!) Over the course of my "research," I quickly became acquainted with the name Douglas Marland and the golden period that his writing brought to the show. Anyway, Monday came, and at 2:00, right after DOOL, I was sitting on the couch watching CBS. It was the beginning of a ritual that would last 4 years (so far). (I know that that's peanuts to long time viewers, but in this day and age, hardly anything lasts that long).

I liked the show--not loved, but liked. I was particularly interested in Carly and Emily, as I recall. Anyway, I was curious about "my" new show, and so I kept on reading about it. It wasn't long before videos from the Marland era started to pop up on YouTube. That's what did it for me. That was the Oakdale that I wanted. And honestly, that's why I kept watching over the next few years. I had hoped that, someday, Oakdale might look like that again. It was that hope that got me through Paul and Meg, and Col. Mayer, and Martha Byrne's departure, the decimation of Craig, and on and on.

The really sad part for me is that that hope is now gone. I'll never get to see Sierra in real time; Frannie Hughes will never come back; Emma's kitchen will never be filled with a happy crowd again; Caleb, Ellie, and Seth will always remain characters from the 80's and 90's. I wanted--more than I can express--to get to see that kind of Oakdale every day. Now I never will.

I take solace in the fact that, through YouTube, I can keep on enjoying ATWT as it ought to have been. But it won't be quite the same anymore. It will be watching something that is static; something that is over for good.

For those of you who have watched this show for decades--for those of you who have a family connection to the show--for those who held out the same hope that I did, I am truly sorry. I joined this board to discuss with you, to vent my frustration with you, and to share my hope with you. Now, all that we can do is remember the good times together.

And for the cast and crew, all I can offer is a resounding "Thank You." You and those that came before you showed me some of the best television that I have ever seen.

[Ann_SS]

I don't think this NY Times article has been posted. The Times article is far more informative as it shows why the soaps are in danger due to low ratings in the key demographic categories. Also, Moonves gives more insight. He talks about "special soaps" surviving. I think he is referring to Y&R and B&B>

"Is it the end of an era?" Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS, asked. "Sort of. Only the special soaps are going to survive. It's certainly the end of the client-owned soap." He added, "All good things come to an end, whether it's after 72 years or 54 years or 10 years. It's a different time and a different business."

Here it is: http://www.nytimes.c...0daytime&st=cse

[marceline]

I just watched the Moonves video. Talk about ripping the band-aid off. But I didn't find him exceptionally cold. To him ATWT is just a product CBS is going to stop stocking. I'm glad he didn't try to feign affection for the show. That would've just been ugly.

[Ann_SS]

I said the same thing. I prefer truthful words and responses from Moonves. No faking of emotion. The man cancels shows all the time. He isn't attached to any of them or their fans. He is already looking for the next ratings draw for CBS. I think that some people are extraordinarily sensitive at the moment.

[Sylph]

It has been. JaneAusten commented on it.

[Ann_SS]

Oops, I missed it in the thread.