March 1983 article on cable soaps

[EricMontreal22]

So is there any chance of tracking down part 2?

[DRW50]

I'm sure someone has it. If not I will get it eventually, most likely.

[soapfan770]

I asked a couple weeks ago in the DTS area about why syndicated soaps never worked, now I have to ask you guys why do you think these cable soaps never worked out? Low audience and not enough people having cable at the time? Not enough time to grow?

[dc11786]

Cable soaps came at a time when television was oversaturated with television serials, both daytime and nighttime. In the fall of 1984, you had 11 1/2 hours of soaps airing daily on ABC, CBS, and NBC plus 'Rituals' starting in syndication with 'The Catlins' and 'Another Life' (in its final days) airing on cable. Thirteen hours of soap were available and most people were going to stick to what they knew. At some point in the 80s, USA Network was airing 'Coronation Street' daily as well.

I think cable was smart to reair their soaps several times a day. It made them more accessible to the soap audience. I'm curious to see how those numbers did in the 11 o'clock slot. USA would later air 'Edge of Night' reruns in the late night / early morning to some success for several years. This might have been the way to go; cable should have considered something with a built in audience to try to grab viewers. From what I gather, cable soaps were an attempt to help brand the networks and give them an audience to work with. Movies alone could not draw a regular audience.

Another thing I think hurt cable soaps, or at least the Showtime serials, was that they weren't sure how to air them. Reading through the scripts for 'New Day in Eden' its fairly clear this was written like a daily soap. The narrative is too slow to have been a nightly series. I think 'Loving Friends, Perfect Couples' may have had a similar problem. I remember when MyNetworkTV aired the novelas once a week in a two-hour block it was hard to get into it. Disrupting the viewing pattern hurts the storytelling if characters disappear for a month at a time because they are out of the script for a couple of episodes.

The bigger issue is the narrative style had changed by the 80s. Soaps were no longer two women talking over the problems they were having with their husband and children over cups of coffee. They were more adventure-based and glamorous. These things cost money, which is something soaps didn't really require in the past. Soaps were cheap because they relied on familiar characters and family stories. By the 80s, I don't think soaps simply were cost-effective for a start up network.

[DRW50]

Part 2. That really isn't Paul Hecht in the first photo, is it?

[dc11786]

Carl, I think the picture labelled "Paul Hecht and Lori Hallier" are actually Maggie Sullivan and Jack (J.P.) Wagner from 'New Day in Eden.' The lighting looks similar to the picture of the duo in the first article. I suspect these were on the set pictures taken from the pilot episode. The scene seems to be the one described in the second article where Maggie's business phone call is interrupted by Clint's seduction. The real question is who is in the picture labelled 'Maggie and J.P.' since it doesn't appear to be Lori Hallier and Paul Hecht. I suspect it's from 'Loving Friends...' as I don't recognize the actors involved from 'New Day in Eden,' but it is possible these are minor characters who appeared in the early episodes.

The additional details about 'Eden' were fascinating. It was great getting an insight from Doug Marland on how he came up with the concept. From the scripts, I get a sense of what he was talking about, but it was interesting to learn more about AURIC. I didn't get the 'Big Brother' vibe from the later scripts, but it seems the character of Josh Collier (Steve Carlson) evolved over time. This confirms my suspicion that Josh Collier was a morally gray character, who the audience should waver in supporting.

The information about 'Lone Star' is interesting. I had trouble finding information on the show, but I did see it listed in different installments. There were 90 minute episdoes, but I think there were also some hour long episodes.

It was interesting to learn about 'Loving Friends,' especially the menage a trois plotline. Conceptually, it sounds interesting, but I'm suspecting it might have come off as exploitative.

[DRW50]

Thanks for the extra details. I have to admit I just can't see Paul Hecht as part of a young couple, or having threeways. Only a year after this he was on Kate & Allie as Jane Curtin's ex-husband, and he was clearly a middle-aged man. Am I thinking of the wrong Paul Hecht?

I think the idea of a threesome destroying a relationship is something different for a soap, and it sounds like they tried to avoid exploitation, but I wonder if they were trying to avoid too much. A few years ago Cinemax had one of their quasi-soap dramas that run for a few months, called Lingerie, and the main couple on that show had a threeway with her bisexual roommate. It was all a fantasy of course (after some initial awkwardness everyone got on fine and had more encounters), but it was done in a more balanced way than usual.

Lone Star Bar and Grill doesn't sound like a soap at all to me.

[AMCHistory]

I can't imagine watching a soap with nudity. Many of the sex scenes in daytime were already steamy enough in the 80's.

[DRW50]

A different promo for Loving Friends...

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[dc11786]

It's a shame that nothing more has popped up of these early cable entries.

Thanks.

I think there is a fairly short "New Day in Eden" promo in the March 1983 Showtime ads.

[DRW50]

I think I remember seeing that. I wish there were more too.