World Turns for a buck!

[Saving ATWT]

Jack, I may be (quite possibly wrong) but I could swear Frons spent something like 30 million for the show. The article may have spoken about how a Candian production firm pulled out and Frons kept going on with the project. I could be wrong as to the figure; however, I know he paid a huge sum.

Because World Turns has somewhat of a built in viewersip, I would say it is less of a risk. I w'd bet yo a buck that ATWT would bring in a better rating than Army. Also, the budget for ATWT could be scaled back by reducing cast, getting rid of vets who only get used twice a month, getting rid of some less used sets and asking cast/crew to take further pay cuts. ABC could make up for this via distribution in other countries if they were to be the show. I have even heard that there was talk of moving GL to Toranto in a move to slash costs. If some or all of these moves were taken, ATWT could come in at around 30 million a year.

I'm not saying there isn't a risk but, with soapnet ratings growing as they are, this could work.

[Saving ATWT]

Here is an idea...why doesn't the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. do soap and start with ATWT? Working in Toronto is cheap and they could also sell the program here in the States? There were talks about moving GL up there for production a few months back and turning it into a weekly.

[EricMontreal22]

Being Erica (which actually isn't half bad and seems to be doing well) is Canadian too and may cost Frons more--when he picke up the hockey show MVP it was already dead as a doornail here in Canada so I can't expect it to have cost that much.

[Saving ATWT]

No, it was MVP that cost him a fortune. I got MVP and Army Wives mixed up, flipped the names> They ened production up in Canada and Frons paid to resume it. I know this sounds nuts i am pretty sure the sum was 20 million. The artice...wish i saved it..talked about the risk of the move. World Turns at least has fans who would follow it to SoapNet. If he is gonna blow cash, why not waste it on a worth while show.

Toronto would make a great hub for soaps. Half the cast would either move or travel plus there is a great local pool of talent. Does CBC make many shows? Why don't we see more of them in the US?

[EricMontreal22]

But the SoapNet purchase of the show came after it had ended--and no new episodes were made... Wow.

Most talent used on Canadian tv shows is for the tons of American shows filmed here (in Toronto or even more likely in Vancouver/Burnaby). There's a lo t of controversy about this but, it is what it is. It's been fairly recent that the major Canadian networks, CBC, Global and CTV have had majlor dramas or comedies (as opposed to sketch comedy shows or talk shows)--Degrassi's redux, silly soaps like Whistler, etc. Also a few high profile Canadian shows that were co financed by CBS--Flashpoint (I never watched it so not sure if it's still being made)--and we have had a number of great cable shows (Slings and Arrows springs to mind). But because we get all the American networks on basic cable anyway, and a host of other reasons, most of what gets watched, and so aired, is American.

CBC has had a few attempts at a homegrown soap (most recently, umm Riverdale which had some Coronation Street talent, aired right after Corrie in early primetime and was pretty awful)

[Saving ATWT]

I don't think it would ever happen but do you think World Turns would do well if made by CBC or another Canadian network? They could certainly work out a deal to air the show in the US. I also wonder how a TV shows ratings would change if Canadian viewership were counted. Nielson should probably do a North American count as opposed to just US figures.

We get Degrassi dwn here but not sure about Flashpoint. I wish an American network would pick up Corrie. It seems like Canadians bet the best mix of TV: American, British, and homegrown programs.

[EricMontreal22]

I've read that Y&R in Canada does extremely well (it's partly because unlike most soaps here which we get simulcast on a Canadian network at the same time we can watch on the American station, you can see tomorrow's Y&R on a Global, a Canaidan network, station later in the day and in many markets it airs when people come home from work--4 or 5). And I know back at the end of its run AW was one of Canada's top rated soaps. The problem is ourpopulation is so small I'm not sure how big a difference it would make--when you read Canadian tv ratings (which for the most part are fairly similar to American in terms of what shows do best). In early Dec CSI was the top rated show with just under 3 million viewers apparently, for instance. Still it would make some difference (interestingly American box office charts for movies DO include Canada).

I think As could do fine on CBC. Flashpoint apparently (I don't watch it) is still on CBS, it will be a midseason show this year.

[Saving ATWT]

I am suprised CBC does not want to produce more original content to syndicate in the States. I think it is time for the networks to look at the broader English-speaking North American audience. I'm guessing that this would also help cities like Toronto. There is no doubt that World Turns could save a lot of money by making such a move. One guestion...Is CBC gov. owned?

[Khan]

You know what will happen if ATWT (or any soap) were to relocate to Canada, don't you? Oh, yeah, sure. ATWT wouldn't be cancelled anymore, but all those actors who would elect not to move and/or commute? Either their characters are written out, or they're replaced w/ Canadiens. And if you had trouble adjusting to Noelle Beck as Lily, just imagine how much more difficult it'll be to accept Sophie Gendron!

[EricMontreal22]

Well they have like 3 new shows premiering this week and have been having more success with shows like Being Erica and the comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie which has been sold overseas a lot--so I think they're starting to see this as profit that in the past they didn't. CBC is largely gov funded (but not entirely and it does have commercials, unlike say the BBC). They actually used to air some American soaps in the daytime--I think in the 70s AMC and Edge of Night and they kept AMC till the 90s at any rate and briefly had OLTL, but when some new tax rules came up for them a lot of people complained that their taxes were going to a station that aired American soaps so they removed them--and then those soaps ended up on rival privately owned networks who VERY quickly snapped them up (after being largely the ones who complained about the CBC having them)

That said I don't think Toronto nor Vancouver really need any help when it comes to tv and films being made there even if most of it seems to be American.

... Who's Sophie Gendron? A ton of soap actors are Canadian already (sure we're gto blame for Cameron Mathieson but...) and the amount of Americans working on Canadian shows and vice versa makes me think no one would really notice

[Saving ATWT]

Thanx for the info regarding Canadian TV. I hope that the growth at CBC leads to move viewing options here in the States.

As for KHAN'S remark regarding Sophie Gendron: Recasts happen all the time. While I'm not loving BEck, the recast isn't all that bad. I am willing to bet that quite a few actors would make the comute because it isn't as if soap stars are exactly in high demand anymore. I'm sure Maura West will get a few offers; however, the vast majority of ATWT actors will be out of work.

World Turns has changed so much over the last decade. I do think any future changes would be any more jarring than what we have already scene. In addition, I try to give actual characters more focus than the actors who play them. I'm a writer and the actor who may eventually plays him or her isn't so much on my mind. For example, I like Roger Howarth...oters don't...but I could adjust to a good recast. I look at soaps more like the stage than any other TV genre.

[Khan]

Sophie Gendron is a Canadian actress who's popped up on a number of those women-in-peril movies that Lifetime (or Lifetime Movie Network) runs about every weekend. Usually, they have titles like, "The Perfect Husband," or "The Perfect Neighbor," except, they're not, lol.

So do I. And on the one hand, I agree that the character should matter more (for lack of a better word) than the actor. However, on the other hand, I feel daytime has lasted as long as it has because viewers come to rely on seeing the familiar faces on their screen everyday. It isn't enough to know Lily's still in Oakdale and on the show; viewers need to know, or see, that Martha Byrne's still playing her, too.

[NorrthCafe]

Daytime writers seem too fond of denying viewers the couples they want. They tear down iconic couples just to force the partners into 'new' relationships and refuse to reverse the course even when fans start tuning out. It's not the ONLY problem soaps have, but it's one of the biggest problems many of them have had. ATWT was among the worst perpetrators (along with the BnB and the writers' attack on Brooke and Ridge). Writers feel the need to utterly destroy of the beloved partners in order to justify splitting characters up. Pissant and Goutman destroyed Carly each and every time they wanted to split the couple and made Jack an unrecognizable unlikeable prig who couldn't wait to demoralize Carly for every imperfection each time they wanted Jack with someone else.

[Saving ATWT]

I totally agree and it is nothing more than lazy writing. It is also kind of sleezy: the idea that these characters play musical beds every few years. I mean, why not leave Jack and Carly together and actually write for them as a couple. Marriage isn't always bliss and there is so much potential for interesting story.

KHAN, I agree with you that daytime viewers do get attached to actors. Byrne is a great example. Her leaving is a big part of ATWT's death. BTW, I am not one of her biggest fans and I get why Goutman did not want to make her eppy count part of any contract. I am no Goutman fan but feel she was asking for way too much. They never use Emily (actor name escapes me) enough but she isn't pulling that [!@#$%^&*].

[JellicleCat]

Maybe that's one of the reasons Martha wanted an episode guarantee, so that she wouldn't join Kelley Menighan Hensley on the backburner, only seen once or twice a month (if that often).

The ironic thing is that there has been no visible decline in airtime for Lily since Noelle Beck took over, so why Martha couldn't get that guarantee is a mystery.