Difference between soaps and Primetime dramas

[EricMontreal22]

Good point bl--and I think that's what soaps do at their best. Yo can show someone struggling with alcoholism over a yea--not over one or two episodes.

[gtru1981]

Network TV has become like daytime TV, both are stable and boring. Reason why network TV is struggling, it's the same crap over and over.

Now Cable TV is were to be. They are way more daring and can tell better story lines. They can swear and show more graphic stuff on TV. The walking dead would have been such a snooze fest like Revolution is. You wouldn't be able to see Andrea grabbing Shane's junk on the walking dead on daytime TV. Also cable TV has shorter seasons and it makes people want to watch. We have seen what TWD ha done when they come back, they shatter records.

I think the biggest problem with Daytime, is that they keep telling the same story lines from 40 years ago. How many times can Erica Kane get married or how many children can Stephano have out of no where? My friend hasn't watched Days in over 10 years an asked me recently, is Marlena still on and is Stephano still causing trouble and I said yes. She was like ok there's my recap, it's the same crap over ad over.

[jfung79]

They're not telling the same storylines. They were not telling the story of Marlena's gay grandson and his lover, co-parenting with a homophobic cousin who was raped in prison, in a sensitive, artful storyline in May Sweeps five, ten, twenty years ago.

To say that some characters are still there means nothing has changed, is to deny that in real life, families change in composition and character but remain to a certain extent constant as well. The longevity of characters is part of the appeal and greatness of soaps, not a weakness.

DAYS in particular has changed a great deal in its tone, becoming very character-driven and topical, so to use DAYS as an example really surprises me.

[doolfan]

I agree DAYS has become very topical & character driven & I like that. In months past comments about DAYS were all over the map but here lately on this bored the comments have been mostly positive. Plus I agree the character longetivity is what is appealing. We grow to care for & love these characters and that's what makes soaps interesting because we watch these characters lives play out everyday for years like in real life. I also like how DAYS scenes are slower & longer. GH starts out with random 5 second scenes that don't show anything. I like how DAYS has longer scenes that actually show what the days episode is going to be about and I like how their scenes don't jump around. DAYS has been wonderful lately. I've been watching every episode & I expect its ratings to increase in the coming weeks. Btw I also agree about the Will story. This is something new to DAYS & daytime.

[jo.frank88]

I think there are many many differences between daytime and primetime soaps.. many of which have already been mentioned. To me the biggest difference is the timeframe..Daytime soaps are "worlds without end." They are giving you the impression that they are going on forever. Plot from 40 years ago can come into play today...(This often causes viewers to feel more connected to daytime characters becuase we have "grown up with them" or have had them be a part of our lives for so long). Whereas, primetime soaps have many of the same elements of continuing story.. it is not meant to last forever. It knows it will have an end point in mind. We will not be following these people for generations and generations 40 years from now. To me, that's the biggest different. It's the mindset.