December 27-31, 2010

[DRW50]

I think AMC is the soap Frons has always felt the closest to and had the most influence over.

[cct]

I actually am liking AMC right now, which is why it's so sad to see these ratings. I think Broderick's return earlier this year brought back some of the heart and community feel it was missing for over ten years. I think D/D have tried to continue some of that. I just wonder if it isn't moving too slow for the regular viewer; not the ones on the board who lament the good ol' days. The bang-bang plots and short-sightedness of a Pratt, or even McTavish aren't there.

The truth is the soap audience has grown older and older and as the audience gradually dies off, the audience for soaps is getting lower and lower. They are failing to recruit any young people, and I'm not sure too many young people go for what we are seeing right now on AMC, which is a decently paced, mostly character-driven piece.

And I do miss my social stories, and yeah, I don't care for Rylee version 72 either...but what I miss most of all is the clever dialogue I saw in a youtube clip just the other day on this board from when Greenlee and Leo were first hooking up. That's what brought ME to AMC and kept me there. That quirky humor and fresh dialogue. Now I feel the dialogue is mostly like every other soap.

[EricMontreal22]

Sadly... And he seems to have the least connection with OLTL. He loves GH, obviously, but I think he feels (or felt anyway) that for the most part it was right on target with its mob bosses and violence.

[marceline]

And that's what's going to kill it.

[DRW50]

I wonder sometimes if he would have moved OLTL or GH to another coast, would have fired Pratt (if that was Frons)...it's just too bad he has such awful taste in what to do with a soap.

[JaneAusten]

OLTL no way. I don't think he would feel it would be worth it. GH he'd likely move all of ABC Daytime to where they are versus moving the crown jewel of his lineup to the opposite coast and risk messing it up.

I think he has the right intentions I just think rather than using facts and legitimate research to make decisions and set direction, he uses his own personal perferences and gut.

[EricMontreal22]

I'm gonna get in so much flack for saying this, and it won't add to my reputation as a secret OLTL hater but, compared to OLTL which I think is constantly let down by its dialogue, AMC still has better than average dialogue (particularly when the beloved Kate Hall is scripting). But I agree, a lot of that wit and humour is flat out gone.

That said, and while I dont' want to overstate my praise of AMC right now, I agree pretty much exactly with you (and I am a younger viewer--demo wise, but I admit probably not the type of younger, new to soaps viewer this kind of show might attract). That said, I have had a few friends lately watch a couple of episodes with me by chance (it's been on when they've been over, etc) and most of them have outright said they would NEVER turn on a soap--and then have genuinely seemed interested, or I get comments on hwo the acting is so much better than they expected from a soap, etc. That doesn't really say much, but I think it does say that much of this audience they're trying to court wouldn't even THINK to turn on the show, anyway (it doesn't help that, to the best of my knowledge, ABC never ever ever advertises their daytime in primetime, unlike NBC and even sometimes CBS). So what's the point in trying to court an audience who can't even be reached?

But I agree--remarkably I think it's kept (despite crap like the Rylee pimping) much of the feel that returned to it when Broderick came back last Spring, and in many ways it feels more like Pine valley to me than the show has in close to a decade (I admit at first in McTavish's return I had a similar feel). I'm glad I'm not alone. Yeah I complain about stuff in the daily thread--but I prob would as well during fave eras of mine that I did watch (even if I'm not implying it's as strong as then). That's why posts like the recent Daytime Confidential McTavish rumour leave me scratching my head a bit. I see at the show right now a lot of what they've been complaining AMC and soaps in general have been missing for a long time. I almost wonder if they're still even watching, or if they just are so used to expecting the worst that that's all they can see?

And there's the problem. I will give Frons SOME credit--he's passionate and seems in his own twisted, negative way more commited to daytime than those at other networks, for example. The problem is he doesn't understand when to back off, when it's better to just let people do what they're good at, all that genuinely important stuff.

And I gotta add, sorry for coming off as snarky, Monty. It just feels that often (and I know this isn't all the case--as big AMC fans like R Sinclair prove) the people lately who have been slagging off AMC, haven't even really been watching the past year. And I can understand why--why give it another chance at this point--but it does annoy me when I see some repair and good stuff being done, or make a statement like that it feels a lot more now like a traditional classic soap, and get disagreement from someone who hasn't watched in 2 years...

[JaneAusten]

I am going to venture a guess that perhaps he has backed off of AMC and let the new writing team do their thing so to speak and give the show back a few of the things that made it special. But the problem is it hasn't resulted in any positive momentum in the only thing that counts ratings. I think what will happen is likely a new writer(? MCTavish) will be hired who can possibly turn the show around in the ratings for the short term and then worry about what happens next. I don't think they honestly have the time to worry about long term direction at this point. I would expect they have more immediate concerns at this point.

And I am sorry to say I'm not interested in investing or returning to AMC I can say I honestly don't care who they bring on or what they do. I wish I felt differently because I loved the show for so many years, but when I gave up a few years back it was for good and I've never ever looked back.

[EricMontreal22]

It's sad but true--obviously right now short term (ratings) improvement is all that matters.

[DRW50]

Well then clearly people missed that day and then tuned back in because they heard about Zimmer in a Santa suit.

[EricMontreal22]

[Cyberologist]

GH is barely recognizable so if its an identity you're going for I would say its a show of newbies they have dismantled and obliterated mostly "all of its history" and is in a current state of flux of trying to rebuild it on the backs of the vets that are trashed in writing and get minimal airtime and for the most part prop newbies in top tier story while they are sidelined...w/the exception of Sonny/Jason/Carly/new old Lucky/Dante and its a misogynistic mess...

The action is usually just plopped with no lead up and /or usually some plot device. There is no hospital for the "most part" maybe one story that involves Robin/Patrick who has been propping a new character for over a year now another one Dr. Terrell..The other times its just mobsters getting shot or "all Sonny's children."

This week was a little Quartermaine/Spencer wedding so I watched to see Tracey Quartermaine who had minimal dialog this wedding was a backdrop for Sonny/Jason/Dante

who is overexposed and commercialized while a two time emmy winner is merely his appendage.

Extreme favoritism on which stories play many are dropped or postponed at the drop of a pen...or you wait for years with out an ending or a satisfying close ...IMO its too many characters too many segments and terrible blocking. Bob Guza has the attention span of a gnat and it shows up in stories I get whiplash..he is not a storyteller. And Brian Frons sanctions this so I give him absolutely 'no' kudos.

[MontyB]

I don't think you're being snarky. I completely understand where you're coming from. You love your show. Even thought I probably won't tune back in, I hope it improves also. I don't want to see any more shows go off the air anytime soon.

[Steve]

ICAM. I think AMC had recaptured its heart when Broderick returned and for the most part, hasn't lost the sense of community yet (although the recent spoilers that the show is planning on expanding Caleb's family and the Castillos is a bad sign). I doubt any show is going to do social issues anymore with the networks so worried about ratings.

But AMC has gone back to being a traditional classic soap, even though it doesn't have the witty dialogue that I too used to love. At this point, the good outweighs the bad, imo, and it really sucks that the ratings are so low when the quality is the highest its been in several years.

[cct]

You know, Eric, your comments about your friends' casual viewing got me thinking. (I, too, was pleasantly surprised at how decent the acting was on soaps after years of hearing how amateur it was; not that I haven't seen some horrid people on AMC; Hello Anton!)

I really think it's a time investment this ADD society doesn't have any more. My mother and I both watch AMC; she also watches the rest of the ABC lineup. We are frequently asking each other "how far are you on the soap?" as we are both often 1-2 weeks behind. (One of the reasons for my late entries in daily threads). She works part time; I work full time in a career that often requires some overtime to get things done, have a second job, am raising kids, own a home, etc. Even when I'm enjoying AMC, like now, it is difficult to keep up with a five day a week hourly show. (35-40 minutes on DVR, thank God).

When I was younger, it was easier. That's why I think, as with me, you have to hook them when they are in high school or college (not easy to do with the plethora of media outlets now)and then they may stay with it. Even people I talk to who don't watch soaps will mention how they used to in high school or college. My grandmother passed ABC's lineup to my mother and to me. That's not happening as much anymore as extended families don't live together as much. (Perhaps a reason why minorities are a large soap audience; because they do moreso?)

Sometimes, when I think of how much time is consumed by staying with this program, I often wonder what will happen when the inevitable ball drops. I'm sure I'll be there to the end, as I haven't dropped out yet, but there's no denying that asking someone to participate in a long-reaching daily commitment is harrowing in our sound-bite age.