MAB Interview: Says other Soaps lost their way

[All My Shadows]

Ron and this bitch are one and the same. "All them other soaps are sh!t, but we got it goin' on, y'heard me!"

[Cheap21]

Bitch is straight up delusional

[dragonflies]

Can I have some of what she's smoking?

[Khan]

Not even if I were on chemo and sick as a dog would I want what she's smoking.

[LoyaltoAMC]

I definitely understand them needing to strike a balance between the old and the new, to modernize the dialogue and keep a swift pace. I also can understand her every day should feel like a Friday comment. Like it or not, we live in a culture of immediate gratification, and the soaps are not immune from that. I like a slower pace and not having one shock after the other too, but that's not the reality of modern day entertainment. Bill Bell's Y&R of 1987 simply would not work now. I haven't watched much lately, so maybe it's not fair of me to judge, but I gather from a lot of the comments here, that her execution is mostly awful, especially for long-time fans.

[dm.]

Delusional as always.

[Soapsuds]

+!

I can't believe the garbage she is spiting out on this interview.

[NYC123]

[Cyberologist]

Well I like Y/R and yes its not absolute and no soap is for me she did say some things I agree with especially this and pacing maybe I have ADD because most of daytime loses me because of momentum; I can only compare with the few TV shows I watch and what I consider excellent writing and pacing and one would be The Good Wife

I too believe everyday should be like a Friday with a powerful ending to keep me wanting to come back the next day it can be subtle and save the biggie for Friday; I notice the attrition of viewers on a lot of shows from Monday until Friday so they need something to make the viewer not want to tune out. I do believe that soaps "have not kept up with a lot of what most audience expect on soaps: my issue is women driving stories in a genre comprised mostly of all women. I just can't imagine shows like GH that refuse to do this in 2011. I just think with these webisodes that are telling very good story with the little they have to work with many that I can't wait to see and I look at writers on these six soaps who squander most of their time five days a week half of them with horrible storytelling and execution.

[DRW50]

I actually think that all of daytime would benefit from slower pacing. There is a way to make it seem like something is happening even if it isn't. MAB, and most other soaps, manage to make it seem like absolutely nothing is happening, all while burning through story.

Most primetime shows have slow pacing and viewers stay with it. Something like The Mentalist has the Red John story that has lingered on for years, yet viewers have not defected in droves.

[beebs]

Personally I think Y&R from 1987 would work beautifully. I saw a random 1989 episode on YouTube recently and was thoroughly entertained beginning to end. And I have the attention span of a young child after a case of Pepsi. Point being: If you write it well enough, it won't feel that slow-moving. MAB just isn't anywhere near talented enough to make me sit through one HALF hour, let alone 5 hours a week.

[DeeeDee]

+1.

[Cyberologist]

+2.

Good point I hadn't thought of

Also agree, I am watching a lot of vintage GH and I am really into re-watching a lot of the storylines because I was younger now I have more of an adult perspective and the outcomes are different now.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Oh I really enjoy the slower pace too. I was watching an episode of Secret Storm from the 60s on youtube a couple of weeks back. All the scenes were of characters talking, and absolutely nothing happened in terms of plot development. It was fascinating. The point I was trying to make was just that the younger viewers they're desperately trying to attract crave the faster pace and will change the channel if there's not even a mini-cliffhanger in the prologue. Of course the whole thing is ridiculous, because young people are not watching soaps and cannot be lured in no matter how much TPTB try to attract them with the younger characters and lightening-fast stories.

[DRW50]

I guess to me there are ways to have mini-cliffhangers without burning up story. Bill Bell did it for years. All you need is a line of dialogue, a facial expression, a music cue, to make someone want to see more.

I think young people would watch soaps if they had a reason. They don't. No one does today.