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AMC: The Prospect Park Era (old production thread)


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It was nice while it lasted, the soaps got a second chance and though it didn't last, I think they closed out in better shape than the network runs did. There were cliffhangers in the PP finales, but sometimes there's nothing wrong with a little mystery at the end of the series.

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I truly agree with this.

Funny thing is, I think that PP didn't believe they were doing daytime-- that was apparent in the fact that they started to use the phrase "anytime" soaps, which never really stuck. But by virtue of picking up two cancelled daytime dramas, they were thrust into the daytime maelstrom, whether they wanted to or not.

I think they were trying to redefine the 'rules' but trying to reinvent two 40+ years old shows that have fan bases that have ahem...strong opinions on what they want, they probably got stuck in more ways than one.

I agree with SFK that the financing is probably available for brand new series on the web, but not for shows that represent the traditional daytime drama. I think in order for them to have grown/maintained the proper financing, they probably would have had to stick with/make the changes that would have pulled the shows away from their traditional foundation and as a result, perhaps the majority of their very vocal fanbase.

So many on Facebook, etc already expressed outrage over the changes that were initially tried--could you imagine, what the reaction would've been had PP taken ideas to their logical end? That would involve serving two masters, which wouldn't have been possible. Either PP would have had to make the changes that would have attracted the financing or veer toward the side of staying loyal (i.e. traditional) to the most vocal part of the fanbases of these shows. I just don't think both could've happened simultaneously.

I do think PP tried to 'split the difference' but ultimately it wasn't enough to keep these shows going.

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I agree with a lot of that Dramatist - it was obvious PP was trying to reshape the shows into something akin to a weekly drama one might find on cable. I wasn't bothered by the language or nudity, but a lot of traditional soap fans hated it. I think PP moved too quickly in terms of changing the number of episodes. A lot of fans were already unhappy that the shows were being brought back with half hour episodes, four times a week, so the quick drop to two episodes threw a lot of people for a loop, not to mention screwing up the FX/Canada deal. If PP wanted to do an hour a week, then they should have either started it that way or moved a lot slower to transition that direction. To me it seemed to indicate a possible lack of understanding about just how change averse many soap fans are.

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I don't think it's hit met yet that we won't know anything more about Celia's past or guardian, who Pete will end up with, if David will meet his son...sigh. I feel the new actors/characters are making letting go of AMC much harder than OLTL. There was so much more life in this product. I hope it is reinterpreted again some day.

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One of the biggest problems with relaunching online IMO *was* the fact that so many fans could not handle change and the illiteracy out there (in a couple of different ways) did not help. Even if my Netflix fantasy came true, can you imagine all those idiots (ones who don't remember they pay for their TV service) who would grump about paying?

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Pretty much what I was trying to say -- I am not sure the quality of the product really could have brought in more viewers or not because so many fans had issue with the format and medium used. Sure Susan Lucci being on for a week or two would have probably given us a bit of a bump for a bit, but I'm pretty convinced that the number of viewers wouldn't have drastically changed even if more "fan favorites" were on our not, despite osme of the bitching and moaning online. Contrarywise, however, I do think maybe more ex fans would igve it a chance if it had come back for a "second season" and they felt secureit was sticking around a while longer...

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Exactly, and I would add that these shows no longer have any hypothetical "long-term". At least not with PP. This law suit has burned all bridges between PP and ABC, they will never do business together again. I presume that's one of a few reasons why PP is suing for the rights to the shows as well. I'm sure they'd be happy with just the money though.

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