All My Children AMC: The Prospect Park Era (old production thread)

[marceline]

Yeah, that's the reason I said "in ages." GH was definitely a pop culture icon in the 80s.

Soaps have always had their moments breaking through into the mainstream. L&L's wedding, OLTL's primetime episode, SuLu's Emmy race, the Y&R updates by Clarence that used to be syndicated on the radio, etc… but those days are long gone. I know some people believe GH current success is a sign that ABC should regret canceling AMC/OLTL but The Chew and The Talk are also doing well so there's just as much evidence that canceling ATWT and AMC was a good business move. AMC and OLTL did well on Hulu and OWN but the soap press doesn't want to talk about that just like they virtually ignore B&B's success so there's evidence that soaps are viable but it doesn't serve the cult of personality that's risen up around Cartini so we just pretend it doesn't exist.

[ChitHappens]

I agree. Also, The Chew was once blamed for GH poor ratings for being a poor lead in. Why isn't the show getting credit for being a good lead in now. Three million viewers? I love the way that's easily ignored.

[DramatistDreamer]

For this reason, I'm not expecting either AMC nor OLTL to ever make their way back to broadcast TV.

For the foreseeable future, I can see networks sticking to their 1-1 1/2 soaps mixed with talk and/or game shows as the preferential model. They maintain their cost ratio and with the gradual uptick in viewers at the Chew, ABC is probably encouraged that they're on the right track to success with their daytime lineup for now.

Even when Katie gets cancelled, I don't see them replacing it with another show that can bust the budget, I see them going to another show that can equal or be lower than the cost of The Chew. Part of the reason why Katie has flopped is the cost vs. the fact that Katie rates very low on the favorability meter.

The idea of Robin Roberts has been floated around recently and with no soap to directly replace (just another talk show) hence no backlash to overcome, I could see Roberts considering it. And Roberts is considerably more popular than Couric.

Soaps will always be a TV staple in some shape or fashion but right now, I don't see the daytime soap having a secure place in the daytime TV lineup. Not for the next several years anyway. Not with the trend in TV viewing.

Also, traditional daytime drama viewers may not like Internet and web viewing but I definitely seeing this mode of viewing become a viable alternative and the technology supporting this (as well as demographics) is heading in this direction.

[cassadine1991]

Especially since the "traditional" way has gotten so stale and kind of tainted in the past decade

[SFK]

Actually, I think it would be wise for future daytime soap-like serial endeavors to set their sights far and away from the big networks. We don't need them to be on network TV to enjoy them or to prove some point about how viable they truly are and what a mistake it was to cancel them. We're all familiar with the schitzo whims of these networks interfering and neglecting their soaps all at the same time. The greatest thing these networks have to offer is $$$. And as we've seen with PP, you can't sustain a soap without money. Unless you can.

If anything soap-like is going to fly in the near future, it's going to need a whiz of an EP who can wow 'em with what s/he is able to produce on a micro budget, teamed with a highly skilled HW capable of hit cable series levels of writing. These people need to be clever. Know what you're doing, have some tried and true pros on your team, but hire a bunch of crew and cast fresh from college/grad school. Carefully consider your union options.

[SFK]

Set the show in juvvie or somewhere where wardrobe and set needs are minimal and where you may even be able to get some government funding if your HW can finesse educational stories from a show that is so hip we don't notice.

[Vee]

The thing is, I think the creative teams at these two shows were doing what you describe. They were failed by higher management.

[allmc2008]

Happy Birthday Agnes Nixon!!

[Pine Charles]

Thank You, my dear. It was a fun day... my kids even took me to Red Robin.

[allmc2008]

LOL!!!!!

[Max]

+1

While I disagree that PP's only problem was funding, you are totally correct that ABC did almost nothing to help AMC and OLTL. Given that ABC still owns the shows, one would think that it would want them to succeed. (Otherwise, it would have made more sense for ABC to have sold AMC and OLTL.) I cannot blame fans for coming to the conclusion that ABC wanted the PP venture to fail (even though that made zero financial sense for ABC) so that the network could be vindicated in its decision to cancel the soaps.

I also have no expectation of AMC/OLTL ever re-airing on ABC Daytime, because I do not see how the network can get back the one hour of syndication given up for Katie. (And even if they could get it back, bringing back two dead soaps is not an appealing proposition because such a venture is fraught with problems.) I am sorry if my previous post gave the opposite impression.

As I stated earlier, I don't expect ABC to put the Nixon soaps back on its schedule. Nor do I expect any such relaunch on ABC (if it actually occurs) to be a success. But I do want to make it clear that I think the chances for a successful revival are zero if AMC/OLTL aren't placed back on ABC Daytime.

Given all of ABC's flaws, I don't blame fans for wanting AMC and OLTL as far away from ABC as possible. (Although, even if they were back on ABC, I doubt that Cartini would have control of all three network soaps, as DRW fears.) It is just a necessary evil that you need the budget (and along with it, the interference) of a network in order to guarantee production of soap operas on a regular schedule. With PP or some other smaller company, the biggest problem of all is that fans will have the rug pulled out from under them: being told, for example, that "x" shows will air this season but getting "y" shows instead.

The internet will be the way people watch television shows in the future, but I highly doubt any traditional soap opera (aside from B&B, because it fares so well internationally) will be making the move. The problem is that a large portion of soap viewers are over 40 (many are over 50), and many don't like to watch on the internet. At least in America, traditional soaps are not terribly popular with teens and twenty-somethings, which poses a major problem for the long-term survival of Y&R, DOOL, and GH. Furthermore, the unfortunate truth is that the term "soap opera" now has a stigma attached to it; newer soaps now refer to themselves as "serials," "dramas," etc. (but the older soaps that air during the day simply cannot escape the soap opera label). Thus, there will one day be many dramas/serials/soap operas/whatever you want to call them available for viewing on the internet, but (aside from B& they won't be the daytime soaps that we watch(ed).

[allmc2008]

[cassadine1991]

Terri Ivens.interviews Michael E. Knight

[John]

2. Michael Logan ‏@TVGMLogan5h

   SWELL @DaytimeEmmys NEWS! My spies tell me there are LOTS of submissions from @TOLN @allmychildren @onelifetolive THIS GONNA B A CONTEST!

[DramatistDreamer]

Agnes Nixon should also get some special acknowledgement for being willing to take a chance and step out into the unknown. The cast and crew deserve to be recognized, regardless of PP falling short.