I agree with the title card if only for the reason that soap openings have lost their charm and all anyone ever does is complain about how they never get updated. Actually, I would do a teaser-meets-title card, some quick edits of cast shots perhaps borrowed from whatever bumper they had going. Kind of like this:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/9_gy1MGcAGg?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param'>http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/9_gy1MGcAGg?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/9_gy1MGcAGg?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Hell, Erica's pic and the photo album closing would be fine by me. Or just the book by itself.

Edited October 26, 201015 yr by SFK

I agree with this. Let's suppose to say they implemented scab writers during the strike. Scabs who actually thought outside the box and shock oh shock, ratings started to rise. Regardless of the success, the minute the strike is over execs will return to the previous HW and that glimmer of success will be gone. I don't think there has been one scab writer who continued when the last strike occurred but that's a different issue. The bottom line is that change starts from the top. Without change the genre will continue to die with or without a strike. A strike will simply expedite it's death.

But I also have to wonder how much freedom are the scabs given? The executives surely must OK everything. So that's why scab/no scab in that sense is all the same.

You can't have Frons' wife telling the head writer who needs to be on All My Children today. And that's what's happening. It doesn't matter if it's McTavish or Pratt when the wife has a preference for certain characters and can manipulate her husband to do her bidding.

Edited October 26, 201015 yr by Sylph

I also wonder how would you 'disperse' the episodes? Would it be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday? Or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday? Or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?

A script fee for a 30 minute soap is about $1800 and $3300 for an hour-long one. That's the minimum.

It's $5000 for 90 minutes.

I'd go with Mon - Thu. Friday's aren't big ratings days anymore. Now, that *could* be because people wait to watch their recorded show until after the 24 hours that Nielsen counts but since the trend now is for dailies to drop as the week goes on I'd try to make the most of that.

That's interesting info about the script fees. Yeah, some of these folks are WAY overpaid.

But I also have to wonder how much freedom are the scabs given? The executives surely must OK everything. So that's why scab/no scab in that sense is all the same.

You can't have Frons' wife telling the head writer who needs to be on All My Children today. And that's what's happening. It doesn't matter if it's McTavish or Pratt when the wife has a preference for certain characters and can manipulate her husband to do her bidding.

Wives get to manipulate like that? Geez, I missed that day in marriage class!

Wives get to manipulate like that? Geez, I missed that day in marriage class!

So my only hope of getting what I want is to marry Frons?

I would consider just going back to an announcer and a moment of music. A lot of short openings look clunky. The AW opening above always made me think of how many people had been edited out and how they couldn't afford to put in new ones. The GL opening during most of the Rauch years, which was a quick second of the old theme, always reminded me of what the show had once been and I kept waiting for the rest.

I know a lot of people hated it but I kind of liked the opening for GL's 70th anniversary year.

Edited October 26, 201015 yr by CarlD2

I'd go with Mon - Thu. Friday's aren't big ratings days anymore. Now, that *could* be because people wait to watch their recorded show until after the 24 hours that Nielsen counts but since the trend now is for dailies to drop as the week goes on I'd try to make the most of that.

That's interesting info about the script fees. Yeah, some of these folks are WAY overpaid.

I think it makes sense. But then Thursday might become the new Friday. No salvation, I guess.

When you see these numbers and compare them to what you see on your TV screen, it seems as if the networks are just throwing the money into the fire: Here's $3000. Now go type down that crap.

In primetime, for 60 minutes or less, you get around $30000 for story + teleplay.

Fisrt, I just don't like the idea of half-hour soaps. I don't think you can get much storytelling accomplished in that time span but admittedly that's a personal prejudice.

I've never thought that going to half-hour shows would reduce costs that much because so much of the money is just sunk cost. When you "turn on" the lights the bulk of the energy goes to heating them up so whether they're on for 6 hours or 9 isn't as big a difference as we think. The make up person still needs to slather on the same amount of makeup. The wardrobe people are still taking care of the same clothes. Are crew members hourly? If so that would save money. But would there be any significant drop in the money spent on positions like writers, directors, EPs? (That's a serious question.)

It just seems to me that going from an hour to a half hour doesn't cut your costs as much as cutting 30-40% of the shows you'd need to produce. But this is all guesswork on my part. I'm sure someone can (and will) tell me how off base I am.

Perhaps 30 min. would be more cost effective in certain ways, and the subject of "time is money" is a good point you raise. When they still shot sequentially, they could crank out an entire ep a day and everyone would probably be home before dinner time. The current out of sequence format where they get an actor in as few days a week as possible and try to get all of their scenes knocked out means longer days. The thing is, when an actor is paid a day rate, he gets that same pay whether he's there for one hour or eight hours (then overtime kicks in). So hefty weekly guarantees aside for your top players, it can be cost effective to have Hairmodelia Recurring-McNewbie in one day a week and get ALL her stuff out of the way instead of bringing her in for three days. Light bills, energy, anything you rent "by the hour", all that kind of stuff you may save money on in the long haul, but when it comes to your cast and crew working for union rates, you have to sit down and look at where you'll really save your money.

Edited October 26, 201015 yr by SFK

I meant overall, not during the strike.

I read that in all dayparts, the ratings went down and people never returned. People discovered cable, home movies, etc. And it happened in 2008 too.

If the Fall Season is delayed, those same viewers will turn to Netflix, the internet, and cable for their fix. If the strike lasts into the Fall, networks and syndication companies(ESPN/Disney) may be smart to beef up sports programming to fill the void. Even games that might not normally be televised.

I understand how this would happen. I have to admit, I'm spending more and more time on youtube.

2008 GH recaps, for those who want to plow through them:

http://www.soapoperadigest.com/recaps/general-hospital/2008/021808/

I think the soaps would do fine:

Y&R: Bell and Sheffer and Cwickly are ficore writers and you can bet they will remain under contract through the next negotiation. They have lots of power and influence and can get scab writers or independent writers in LA to sub.

DOOL: Tomlin, Higly, Ford, Lisanti, Myers are all ficore..Mark Higly will come out of the kitchen to write. Victor Gialanella can come out of retirement..they will have a full team.

GH: Conforti and Wolfe are ficore.

AMC: Brown/Esensten are ficore and while they are scriptwriters now, you can be sure they will be in the story meetings if Kreizman and Swajeski strike. Hope Smith (producer) would probably write. And some of their writers could go ficore this time now that others have done it. Broderick would be a great candidate since she was teaching at a University and had gotten out of the business.

B&B: Bell is the owner and will still oversee the writing. Alden and Smith are ficore.

The only show that will suffer is OLTL. They will have to hire scabs or convince some of their writers to go ficore..which some may do this time around given that OLTL is on the brink of cancellation and many of their current writers have been on soaps for a few decades.

The last strike was justified and this one probably will be too. Are the networks and studios still claiming there is no money in streaming media and therefore writers want a percentage of nothing?

I think the soaps would do fine:

Y&R: Bell and Sheffer and Cwickly are ficore writers and you can bet they will remain under contract through the next negotiation. They have lots of power and influence and can get scab writers or independent writers in LA to sub.

DOOL: Tomlin, Higly, Ford, Lisanti, Myers are all ficore..Mark Higly will come out of the kitchen to write. Victor Gialanella can come out of retirement..they will have a full team.

GH: Conforti and Wolfe are ficore.

AMC: Brown/Esensten are ficore and while they are scriptwriters now, you can be sure they will be in the story meetings if Kreizman and Swajeski strike. Hope Smith (producer) would probably write. And some of their writers could go ficore this time now that others have done it. Broderick would be a great candidate since she was teaching at a University and had gotten out of the business.

B&B: Bell is the owner and will still oversee the writing. Alden and Smith are ficore.

The only show that will suffer is OLTL. They will have to hire scabs or convince some of their writers to go ficore..which some may do this time around given that OLTL is on the brink of cancellation and many of their current writers have been on soaps for a few decades.

And there you go... The beauty of behind-the-scenes of today's soap operas...

One would just have to see what kind of "product" these people will put on this time and how it'll affect the ratings, if at all.

The last strike was justified and this one probably will be too. Are the networks and studios still claiming there is no money in streaming media and therefore writers want a percentage of nothing?

Probably. Isn't it amazing that companies are getting rich on the web every day and yet there's never any money for creative writing... hmmm..... that seems odd, doesn't it?

I've often pondered the thought: is it because the dramatic arts have been seen as "Entertainment" rather than "Arts and Culture" and thus as a commodity they have had their value reduced?

someone told me DAYS' ratings went up during the strike

DAYS went to number-one the week of Steve and Kayla's wedding, and the scabs were responsible for that, I think.