Jump to content

ATWT Canceled


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 533
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

The shocking part about this news is not that ATWT was cancelled, but rather that it was cancelled so soon after GL. P&G has a history of spacing out the cancellations of their soaps: GL was cancelled a decade after AW, which itself was cancelled a dozen years after SFT. (Even the one-two punch of the cancellatons of EON and SFT came two years apart.) And, because P&G always considered ATWT as the crown jewel among its soaps, I figured the company would have been determinded not to let it go off the air for the next several years.

ATWT's cancellation is by far the most significant soap cancellation to date. For one thing, ATWT--along with AMC, DOOL, GH, and Y&R--is a "brand" that has near universal name recognition among those in the general public who don't watch soaps. (No other cancelled soap can make that claim.) Additionally, this marks the first time that a soap which had been #1 for a very long period of time has been cancelled. (Aside from ATWT, only GH and Y&R have been #1 for extremely long periods of time.) Perhaps most significantly, ATWT's cancellation means that the genre will lose what I consider to be its most influential soap: ATWT was the first soap to become a megahit, the first to feature a supercouple (Jeff and Penny), the first to feature a well-known b*tch (Lisa), and the first (along with EON) to run for 30 minutes. (Also, were it not for ATWT's megahit status, AW and DOOL would have never existed; in turn, it was the success of those two soaps that led to the creations of OLTL, AMC, and Y&R.)

It seems obvious that OLTL will be the next soap to get the axe, especially considering the fact that the plan to move into AMC's old NYC studio has been postponed indefinitely. However, I don't want to make any surfire predictions, since just a few months ago I predicted that ATWT would outlast OLTL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

There is no real comparison between MLBN and SoapNet. MLBN was created by the owners of MLB and their partners to promote professional baseball and earn media revenue from the game. Even if MLBN loses money for an extended period of time, the MLB can withstand the loses and see positives in promotion of the game. In contrast, SoapNet was created to provide additional soap programming. SoapNet discovered that there was no audience for repeats of some daytime and prime time soaps so they looked for alternate programming because it cannot continue to lose money for an extended period of time and stay on the air. Also, baseball has a humongous fanbase that SoapNet cannot begin to touch.

A more general thought, there is false belief among soap fans that there is an audience out there who would watch the soaps if only they were available or that the ratings would be higher. I think that these are faulty premises. There are few people would watch the soaps even if they were the bestest ever or if SoapNet showed them night and day. The failure of soap programming on SoapNet to garner a good audience provides some evidence to come to this conclusion. The soap audience will continue to dwindle no matter what due to factors outside of the network's control.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

While I agree that P&G wants out of the soap business, the one thing that makes no sense to me is this: why did they wait ten long years in between the cancellations of AW and GL? (Why not just cancel GL in the early part of the decade, and then do the same to ATWT a year later?) The only explanation that makes any sense is (as you alluded to earlier) because of the bad economy, they can no longer afford to space out their soap cancellations but instead must shut down production ASAP.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Oh PLEASE. <_<

Especially Jonathan Reiner! I remember when he used to run and moderate the TVGuide Online Website and Message Boards and he(the ardent Passions viewer) was rather pleased to kiss the ass of show-killer Susan Lee, and expected fans to just get off her back after he painted "such a sympathetic portrayal of her." It was disgusting. Reiner was the original Nelson Branco, minus the sleazy sexual innuendos.

I doubt either one of them is losing any sleep over ATWT's cancellation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm not sure that P&G wanted out of the soap business as much as they only found it useful as long as they could advertise their products on the cheap and didn't particularly care about the quality of their soaps. I am sure that once their soaps started to lose money, they lost all interest and wanted out. However, they waited for CBS to finally have enough and cancel them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Duly noted.

I just don't understand why those two would even bother saying anything. Casiello is too busy pimping Y&R on his Twitter to give a damn about his alma mater, PGP. And Reiner is a corporate kissass who now produces lame reality shows. There is a sense of irony in "the ones who made it," suddenly posting about the demise of ATWT. Like they're Meg Ryan or Julianne Moore or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I was never a big fan of Reiner's; Casiello I'm not a fan of his writing because I think his writing for Y&R is off and he seems like he just goes with Sheffer from show to show, but I can buy he's probably genuinely sad the show is going.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

He didn't follow Sheffer to OLTL. That was his good pal, Dena, who was HW the show. :) Maybe she'll surface to Y&R in some sort of capacity and get rid of Sheffer's team.

I don't buy either one of them is sad about it. Reiner works in reality TV right now. Casiello is probably just happy to keep a job and is tweeting about it to everyone who'll listen, at the expense of his dignity. If he spent half the time he focuses whoring the show on Twitter that he does on his breakdowns and scripts, maybe day-to-day Y&R wouldn't suck so bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I haven't responded to this sooner, because I don't quite know what to say... ATWT was never "my show," like GL had once been and like AW was when it went off; I've never watched it regularly longer than a few months at a time. But I certainly caught it often enough over the years and was familiar with the characters and the actors, and I have always had a great deal of respect for all the history that was still packed into just about every episode - whether or not the writers intended it or were even aware of it - and the impressive, decades-long tenures of so many of the veteran cast members. And mostly I always wished that I had been around to see the glory years and/or that anything I've seen since I discovered ATWT could have drawn me in as a regular viewer. Now that will never happen, but I've been watching a few clips on YouTube from the mid-80s this week and I got chills. If I am feeling a sense of loss about this, I can only imagine what lifelong viewers - let alone lifelong employees - are feeling. My heart goes out to everyone who loved this show.

As for fans who are trying to find ATWT a new home being called "pathetic," I am pretty sure (especially after seeing Les Moonves' comments this past week about the cancellation) that anyone who devotes a significant amount of their free time to any one of these shows - whether they do so by trying to get Lifetime to pick up ATWT or by posting on a message board such as this one - is looked upon as pathetic by the networks who make these decisions. So I'm certainly the last person to judge, and I say more power to any campaign to "save" ATWT, whether or not it succeeds. But that's just me...

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

    • There's still a year or two before Larkin arrives. Joel is there already. EON does noticeably youthify, although I think they carry it off. Admittedly I haven't seen most of the Jodie stories, which from what people here have said aren't great.
    • I don't mind the actor who plays Brian. He's fine. The problem for me is that Paige seems so wishy wishy. She doesn't seem to have much of a personality at this point so I don't see why Brian would be so besotted with her. She just lurches from one trauma to the next. Granted, it's only been a month, but she's not as vibrant as April or even Deborah who has had minimal screen time by this point.  I do worry about the influence of GH on the show since I'm in fall of 1979 and characters have conversations and there's not the drive to "youthify" the show. However, I think Marceau (sp?) is gone. He was given a rather tame sendoff. How long was the actor on the show? I hope this is not a sign of things to come. I worry the show is setting up a murder mystery around one of my favorite characters and I will be mightily annoyed. I also noticed in recent Search for Tomorrow episodes uploaded to YT that the actors playing Logan and Eliot showed up. I don't watch the show but they were in the screencaps. When does Larkin Malloy show up or has he already left? Joel Crothers hasn't shown up either unless I've blinked and missed him.
    • Dr Linden. She treated Vanessa's drug addiction (although Vanessa seemed to forget that by Henry's suicide attempt) , and she's mentioned during Reva's PPD. Although I can't recall if she's actually shown right off the top of my head. She probably was temporarily shelved when Sonni was a therapist (between her crazy times) And I think Billy sees her after he falls off the wagon after Reva's death.
    • Kinda agree. I have some issues with the sets. Nicole's living room is bland-looks like a display home. Bill and Hayley's is too small and basically hideous. And neither of them have a front door/entrance or staircase. People just appear from the corridor. Those green accents  at Uptown are way too much. Also,Naomi and Vanessa not having an office or a home .
    • Thanks @Paul Raven  That Grainger story always reads like hog-wild melodrama, not very similar to the more subtle stories for Rita in her last few years. I wonder how Lenore played the material.
    • More from 1976 Lynn, apparently making every effort to overcome her alcoholism, accepts a baby-sitting job. However, when the baby starts crying, Lynn begins to get nervous and takes one drink, then another. By the time Bruce and Van arrive home, Lynn is on the floor, ineffectually trying to find the doctor’s number, sure the baby is ill. When the mother arrives; she vows to let everyone know what goes on in the mayor’s house.Bruce insists that Lynn has to go, but Van, learning that Lynn can’t remember drinking the cooking sherry, calls Joe to report Lynn’s blackouts. Joe wants her institutionalized but gives in to Van’ s pleas that Lynn needs loving attention. Eddie has sent some of Felicia’s work to a New |York gallery owner and reports to Charles that Lisa Cooper wants to exhibit Felicia’s work. Charles refuses to tell her this and later admits he feels he has “cowed”her attention because of his being confined to a wheelchair. What Charles doesn’t say is: that he’s plagued with fears she’ll leave him for another man. Felicia is exuberant as she starts painting again. She tells Charles how she feels about it, but, jealous of anyone or anything that takes attention from him, Charles tries to undermine her confidence. Eddie finally professes his love for her. He will be happy to step forward if she will only let Be and admit that they belong together. Charles tries to stop Felicia’s ‘trip to New York by making her doubt her own work, and when that fails, he finds business reasons at his bookshop to keep Di, his ex-wife, who is running it for him, from accompanying her. Felicia finally decides it’s not going to work and tells Eddie they might as well call it off. Instead, he arranges for Lisa Cooper to come to Rosehill. Charles is rude and insulting to Lisa when she arrives at the house to view Felicia’s work, and his derogatory remarks about shady gallery dealings prompt Lisa to tell Eddie that living in such an atmosphere could permanently stunt an artist’s development; if Felicia is subjected to this indefinitely, it’s not even worth Lisa’s while to take her on as a client. Felicia finally decides she can’t be torn apart any longer and must accede to Charles’s demands. She tells Eddie her career is over and she won’t paint any more, breaks down in his arms, crying bitterly, then pulls away, unwilling to acknowledge that her feelings for him are deeper than she dare face. Charles is delighted when she prepares to dispose of her art supplies, insisting everything will be fine once she has accepted that this part of her life is over. But she cannot do it. She promises him that he can set the limits and terms, but she must paint. Arlene discovers that her mother is planning to avoid the surgery she needs, and the accompanying medical bills, by leaving Rosehill and moving in with her sister Dorothy out west. Arlene manages to prevent this by calling her aunt and telling her the truth about Carrie’s condition. Dr. Tom Crawford has been footing the costs of Carrie’s presurgery tests, but Arlene knows that Carrie won’t like this. So she tells Carrie that David Hart, the son of Meg’s late husband, the former mayor, has heard about their plight and forwarded the money as a gesture of friendship, to be repaid when possible. To convince Carrie that she does indeed have the money, Arlene asks Ray to just lend it to her for a few hours, so she can convince Carrie and then immediately return it. Ray instructs her to get dressed for a night on the town and takes her, out implying that the money will be waiting at the end of the evening. When Ian Russell happens to join them, Arlene doesn’t suspect anything is afoot, but when e Ray suddenly leaves, she becomes furious, realizing what he’s done. But she finds Mr: Russell a distinguished and cultured man, and decides there’s no harm in having a drink. After cocktails and stimulating conversation, Ian suggests that they go to his place, and Arlene agrees. But when they get there, Ian matter of factly suggests that they skip the preliminaries and get on with it. Ian is embarrassed and annoyed to discover that Arlene is not a professional call girl and that Ray didn’t explain to her the purpose of their |meeting. He is apologetic and solicitous, until Arlene, explaining why Ray felt he could pull this on her, mentions her sick mother in need of an operation. Ian starts to laugh at this overworked standard line, and a livid Arlene storms out of his apartment. Thinking it over, Ian decides he’s more intrigued with Arlene than he is annoyed at Ray, and calls Ray for her telephone number. But Arlene is not delighted to hear from him, and he has to use a good deal of soothing charm before she agrees to have dinner with him at one of the better local restaurants.During dinner Ian again apologizes for his mistake, and he gives Arlene a diamond pendant as a token of his gratitude for her forgiving him. Ray arrives to interrupt an otherwise enjoyable evening with a business matter, and quietly reminds Arlene that Ian is his customer and she’s not to cut herself in with him. At home, Arlene examines the pendant and is convinced that it’s genuine. She hides it in her dresser drawer, unable to bring herself to show it to her mother.
    • LOL!! That's funny.  I actually thought he got a little better.

      Please register in order to view this content

    • Oh God, she's back? I thought those first scenes were well-intentioned but hysterical.
    • More Guiding Light 1976 At dinner the next evening, Grainger tells Rita he still can’t understand why she inherited from his father and he’s hired a lawyer to help him discover what her role was in his father’s death. Telling her he knows she lied to him, he again warns that he will destroy her reputation in this town. As Rita insists she’s done nothing wrong, Grainger, growing even more angry, lashes out, “Ill see you charged with m—”. Suddenly he clutches his head and collapses to the floor. As people rush to help him, Rita quickly slips out of the restaurant. Grainger is rushed to Cedars and treated for stroke. Rita is even more frightened and upset when it appears that he’s going to recover under the excellent treatment and care of Ed, who is assigned as his attending physician, and Peggy, who is a fine specialty nurse. Rita, drawn by an unseen force to his door, is further shaken when Peggy, seeing her, presses her into temporarily spelling her so she can take a short break. Ed is determined to come to Rita’s aid, as she did his, and brings a big steak for dinner to her apartment. But Rita is too unnerved and shaky to even be with Ed, and disappoints him by asking him to leave before dinner, explaining that she’s extremely tired. Ed knows it’s more than that, and is doubly determined to help her out of this depression, but when she starts to cry, he leaves her, as she wishes. Roger, remembering how Grainger fired him from the oil fields for- being a friend of Rita’s, is disappointed to learn that Grainger has come out of his coma and that Ed feels Grainger’s paralysis and inability to talk may just be temporary. Rita is pressed to assist Tim with a spinal tap on Grainger, and is frightened when her presence causes Malcolm’s pulse rate to rise rapidly. His doctors are unable to understand his rapid pulse changes. Rita tells Roger why Grainger is so hateful toward her. While she was his father’s special nurse, Malcolm made physical advances toward her and she fought him off. His father noticed her bruises~and instantly guessed his son had manhandled her. The old man then swore to her he’d never forgive Malcolm for this cruelty. Roger again warns Rita that nobody is to know about his connection with her and with the Graingers. He fears that if Peggy learns about it, she will leave him.  Ed continues to press his concern and support on Rita, and while it helps to a certain degree and she’s grateful, Rita can’t bring herself to tell him what the source of her worry is. Each day, as Grainger rallies a bit more, her fear and tension increase. Finally, Grainger is able to barely murmur, “Lie... father ... Rita,” to Peggy and manages to crudely letter “RITA S” on a pad of paper. Peggy, assuming that Rita has somehow managed to get Grainger to respond, summons her to the hospital in the hope that she can further stimulate him and thus hasten his recovery. But a major catastrophe, a train derailment, - has immobilized the entire area, and Cedars, as well as all local hospitals, is being overrun with patients. Even though she’s off duty, having served her full shift, Rita is pressed into distributing the patients’ medication. Peggy, explaining that Grainger has already had an accidental delay of medication, which could have caused a major setback, must receive his dosage exactly on schedule. The sight of Rita again agitates Grainger, but she finishes her extra duty and returns home, drained and oversensitive as well as exhausted. When the regular nurse does her usual check, she finds Grainger lying over the side of his bed, unconscious. She issues a “Code Blue” call for the emergency team, and Steve, there almost immediately, starts resuscitation and then gives adrenalin, right into the heart, but Grainger is dead. As soon as he hears, Ed rushes to Cedars in amazement. This is all impossible to him, as he saw Grainger’s recovery as a certainty. He immediately institutes an investigation to determine the cause of death. Roger, told by Peggy what has happened, notifies a stunned Rita just before Ed arrives to question her about everything she can remember about the last time she was in Grainger’s room. Rita, unable to understand what’s happening around her, breaks down in tears, crying that she could be responsible for his death. Ed comforts her, assuring her that he’s not blaming her, just trying to find out what happened.    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

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