AMC and OLTL Canceled!

[DRW50]

I think GH's last scene will be a homage to CNN's Paula Zahn ad, where we see a photo of Jason and hear a zipper being lowered.

Exactly. Besides, most stories are fairly easy to guess even if you aren't reading spoilers. Many fans over the years have tuned a story out even without knowing the details.

[Khan]

As I've said on numerous occasions, though, soaps aren't supposed to be about "what happens next." If we are following the characters as closely as we're supposed to, we'll know what is going to happen. The question, though, is when? That's why that one dude told us to "tune in tomorrow," b/c that could be the day when the thing we've been anticipating finally happens.

[All My Shadows]

Those soaps being youth-centered didn't kill them. Those soaps being youth-centered when most youth couldn't watch them killed them. Teen dramas were HUGE in the 90s and 00s. There was definitely a market there, but I don't get why the networks thought they were going to get that audience in the freaking daytime. I don't understand why the Girls 12-17 demo is so freaking important when the vast majority of Girls 12-17 are in freaking school when soaps are on.

They should have just <Annie Wilkes>PUT THE COCKADOODIE YOUTH SOAPS IN TIMESLOTS WHEN THE COCKADOODIE YOUTH WOULD SEE THEM</Wilkes>.

My dream is to write a high school based soap that airs three nights a week at 10:30PM (central). That would work. Teens and young people might not be able to watch something every day at 11am or 2pm or 5pm or 7pm. But if you catch them when their day is winding down, they're in bed doing homework or on the phone or on Facebook or something? They're guaranteed to be there nearly every single night, no matter where they were or what they did during the day. Catch them at that time, figure out what type of show they want, and give it to them. Family Guy reruns have been going strong as hell on Cartoon Network for years now because they pretty much have a captive audience.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'm glad this thread exists, even if it is about the cancellation of two beloved soaps, it proves how fans on this message board at least are still passionate about the genre and discussing the ins and outs of it.

Too bad mediocre soap writers on Twitter, like Tom Casiello, accuse us of doing otherwise.

A big part of what's wrong with daytime is the contempt for the audience that a lot of these writers, producers, and execs have. Will all fans ever like everything dished out to them? Of course not, but it doesn't mean they should be discounted and treated like animals being fed food. You can't take your core audiences for granted and wonder why the genre you work for it in shambles and dying.

[Saving ATWT]

Hispanics make up a huge chunk of key demos, especially in major cities, and non-Spanish soaps just didn't catch on within the community. No real effort has been made to even recruit these viewers aside from B&B. Also, the never ending 50 year saga like The Guiding Light probably is a thing of the past. We will either get some sort of mini series or a soaps that runs for 7 or 8 seasons. We will never get any sort of scripted drama that tapes 54 weeks a years. I'm suprised soaps haven't gone on summer break a long time ago. The ratings in warm weather aren't good anyway.

As mentioned before, the UK does soaps during prime time and this seems like a viable option for a mini-network like CW or MY. Y&R would make for great cheap programming and actually rates higher than 90210. The main problem is that soaps can not be repeated, sold on DVD or later sold into syndication. This was an issue dating back to the days of Dallas and has been a problem with Brothers and Sisters, Housewives, and Grey's. Also, the 'female' demo is hard for a major network because men (boyfriends, husbands) tend to swipe the remote control--this is why female oriented TV ends up topping the list of DVR shows.

I've noticed something odd going on. Back in the day, shows and even newspapers dropped the 'The' from titles. The Guiding Light simply became Guiding Light in the 1970's. Now, 'The Talk, The View, and The Chew have all opted to use an adverb.

[Khan]

That's wonderful to hear, Loyal. But must he say yes to every offer that comes his way? Even Susan Lucci, practically the only performer in this industry who has successfully used her level of fame to make herself into a "brand," has also exercised a little judgment in terms of business deals. Otherwise, we'd probably see her at the grand opening of a Golden Corral in Tuscaloosa!

[LeClerc]

Such a beautiful version.

While I'm sure the writing for the finale will be okay, it's the little details that could be added in from a production standpoint that will be missing. JHC just doesn't have the history with the show. Does she even know about the original theme? Doubt it. I suspect they'll just use the current opening on the last day, the original theme music won't be heard anywhere during the episode, they'll use some random score from the current repetoire in the final scene. It's just going to be lacking. I don't anticipate any meaningful additions in production. OLTL is very lucky to have Frank Valentini, who has been there forever.

[DRW50]

Hasn't Dallas done pretty well on DVD?

[Khan]

The truth is, the only ones who've hung in there - I mean really hung in there - and not just OLTL, but probably all the soaps - are those aged 50 and over. (And I'm being generous by including 50-year-olds. Really, I could go even higher, lol.)

[Khan]

Robin, I love you, but you're already thisclose to making Charlie Sheen look competent (to stand trial).

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Speaking of Strasser, has anyone seen this TV movie she did during one of her breaks from OLTL?

I just stumbled upon the promo for it:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BbaWXNhNyc4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Khan]

Let's put it this way: it's 2011, and not only can we still count the number of gay characters on soaps on one hand, but it's still actually newsworthy when a(nother) one comes out of the closet.

[Marley]

Have you seen Catherine Hickland's tweets? I admired her guts right after the cancellation but today she went after Jenny McCarthy for tweeting something about soaps being cancelled, IMO it made her look kind of pathetic.

[Saving ATWT]

I actually agree that CBS sould have cancelled ATWT and GL pre-2000. ATWT was my favorite soap but the show fell apart after Marland--was even slightly bumpy even towards the end of his run. Lorraine Brodrick later made a total mess of the show creating a slew of new characters no one cared about. Probably ABC should have canned OLTL back then, too. New shows might have brought in a new generation of viewers.

Maybe a soap should be cancelled once it becomes clear that the show will never again rank number one. By the 1990's GL and World were both too top heavy with vets and viewers had already formed a strong (negative) opinion regarding each show. CBS was scared after seeing the failures over at NBC. Also, The staus quo was garnering enough money with little built in risk.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Catherine Hickland just needs to sit her pathetic ass down already. It was somewhat fun in the beginning, but no one cares now.