As Sara Bibel so aptly put it....

I'm just going to stop you right there.

applcin, everything you used to describe daytime soaps describes The Have and Have Nots. As Sara Bibel so aptly put it, they're dressed like they shop at Dress Barn in 1987 and EVERYTHING about the show is dated and very daytime soap. It's entertaining, but it's a knock off of a Bill Bell soap 30 years ago. It is not fresh or hip in any way. I think it did prove that OWN should focus on soaps, hence my suggesting OLTL and AMC in primetime and since both are actually good, I could see both shows eventually doing as well as The Have and Have Nots. You show regular promos with Debbi Morgan pouring her heart out and people will watch.

Have u seen THAHN?

The dialiuge on that show would never be said on Daytime.

TP takes risks in his story I actually has me hooked

It's an awful show.

applcin, everything you used to describe daytime soaps describes The Have and Have Nots. As Sara Bibel so aptly put it, they're dressed like they shop at Dress Barn in 1987 and EVERYTHING about the show is dated and very daytime soap. It's entertaining, but it's a knock off of a Bill Bell soap 30 years ago. It is not fresh or hip in any way. I think it did prove that OWN should focus on soaps, hence my suggesting OLTL and AMC in primetime and since both are actually good, I could see both shows eventually doing as well as The Have and Have Nots. You show regular promos with Debbi Morgan pouring her heart out and people will watch.

100%

For whatever differences there might be between HAHN and AMC/OLTL, it's pretty safe to say that if HAHN aired in daytime, and daytime only, with little to no promotion, its ratings wouldn't be that much better than what the PP soaps are getting. That's just a fact of life when you're talking about the daytime television ghetto. If AMC/OLTL were packaged as hour-long episodes (kinda like the Monday double eps online) before and after HAHN on Tuesdays, i think they would have benefited greatly. It's a simple truth. Audiences are bigger at night.

Have u seen THAHN?

The dialiuge on that show would never be said on Daytime.

TP takes risks in his story I actually has me hooked

The content is more daring, but the way it is executed is like a public access daytime soap from the early 80s. I do love it for the camp appeal, but it is an abomination. I view it more as a comedy than a soap.

The best things about it are Tika Sumpter and Crystal Fox. I wish Tika had had a fraction of that kind of material on OLTL. The show itself is dreadful, but those two are doing work.

Maybe it's not the soap/serialized format that's the problem. THAHN is brand new, hip, fresh, people can start watching it from the beginning (plus it's Tyler Perry's brand and he obviously carries some clout, appeal, whatever you want to call it). AMC & OLTL carry a lot of history with them, which can be a double-edged sword:

1) It's harder to get people to watch something that's been on a long time that they never or seldom watched before (version 1.0 or 2.0 makes little or no difference to such people, they perceive it all to be the same).

2) Daytime soaps still have a stigma to some people, even more so I would think, knowing they were cancelled off network tv.

3) Daytime soaps also carry certain stereotypes or conceptions in people's minds (overacting, bad acting, repetitive stories, "far out" stories that get parodied, etc.) that the soaps themselves, sad to say, often live up to (or down to).

Regarding the fact that viewers are hesitant to tune it I do think breaking into a soap is an art in its own right. Remember the NYT article/review when the shows first started and the guy claimed you have to read entire 80 page or so character back stories to understand the show?? Well, in all fairness that is the mindset. A lot of people I know won't watch because they think they have to do that. They don't understand that you watch for a week or two and get a feel for the characters. Patience is also involved. That said, most people watched when they were young or with there parents so they didn't have to "Break In". The first episode of any soap was the episode of AMC when trevor was found in the freezer. I love that episode. Before that I laughed and knocked soaps with the best of them. That has since changed. I did not watch again until the reunion of Jesse/Angie when they met at the train station and that is when I decided to do a little research and start watching full time in the summer. I became a loyal/die-hard during the tornadoes. Before then I really had know idea what was gong on!! I was not that consistent until then which is part of the reason why it took that long to become die hard but still my point is that I became engaged during 2 very important game changing episodes. So if you want the audience to get hooked give them a reason. Anniversaries are great and should be used as an introduction to a show but also showcase the show as well by bringing back fan favorites so old viewers will be interested. AMC's 25th is a perfect examples.

Funny how people even in the 70s were talking about having the soaps being on primetime. At 3:00 they discuss pretty good ideas that PP/OWN should consider. I think every Friday they should do a 1-2 hour cut of the weeks episodes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el9lgTXz_Q0

When I used words like "new" and "fresh", I wasn't speaking so much of content as I was of the show's age and people's perceptions. You'd be hard pressed to find anything truly fresh or original nowadays. Affairs, nasty characters, cheaters, etc. is nothing unique to THAHN. The only difference is that nobody's seen it in this context before, with these characters, in this town, etc. Plus, I do think people generally like coming into a brand new show, watching stories unfold in current time, knowing everybody else is at the same point in the story as you are. It's easier than starting to watch a show with decades of history that relates to what's happening now (like when David throws Jesse's past lies in his face or Dimitri talks to Brooke about their friendship from years ago)...people have to sort of "catch up" or "catch onto" that.

I agree that PP needs the right sort of promos to lure in new eyeballs. The Debbi Morgan idea is great, plus she is arguably the most recognizable actor from the current AMC, someone who has been seen on various tv shows and films for decades. (They may not know her name but they know that face!) Honestly, if I was PP (and maybe I'm being really presumptuous here), I would put away my personal aversion to stunt casting or cameos for the immediate future, find out which non-soap actors or entertainers made a popular appearance in the past or someone who has broad appeal and recognition (not teenybopper boy bands those of us over 25 and who don't have kids have never heard of) and beg them to work for cheap to put in an appearance. For instance, not necessarily Carol Burnett per se but someone broadly recognized (being a proclaimed fan of the show doesn't hurt) that would make a non-AMC watcher say, oh, I like that actor or entertainer, I may have to check this show out. I know, it goes against the show making it on its own merits but they've tried it already with the singers they've had on--I just think it maybe should be done with folks who have broader fame.

Somehow, some way, the old lady needs to catch the eye of new people as if she were a hot young chick. I can't believe I'm actually saying that but desperate times call for desperate measures!

Edited September 6, 201312 yr by applcin

The content is more daring, but the way it is executed is like a public access daytime soap from the early 80s. I do love it for the camp appeal, but it is an abomination. I view it more as a comedy than a soap.

Bahahahah

Honestly, if I was PP (and maybe I'm being really presumptuous here), I would put away my personal aversion to stunt casting or cameos for the immediate future, find out which non-soap actors or entertainers made a popular appearance in the past or someone who has broad appeal and recognition (not teenybopper boy bands those of us over 25 and who don't have kids have never heard of) and beg them to work for cheap to put in an appearance. For instance, not necessarily Carol Burnett per se but someone broadly recognized (being a proclaimed fan of the show doesn't hurt) that would make a non-AMC watcher say, oh, I like that actor or entertainer, I may have to check this show out. I know, it goes against the show making it on its own merits but they've tried it already with the singers they've had on--I just think it maybe should be done with folks who have broader fame.

I don't see where PP has any aversion atall to stunt casting. OLTL did tons of it: Corbin Bleu on contract, JWOWW on recurring, Snoop Lion did a week/month of appearances, there was that Jesse/Dusky chick (I didn't know who she was but I'm old) and that white guy with the cornrows (he was famous, right? Again, I'm old.). AMC had Hot Chelle Rae and Jason Derulo as musical guests. Short of casting Betty White as Ghost Grandma Kate or having Neil Patrick Harris wandering through PV hospital as Doogie Houser Hayward, how much more stunt casty can they get?

Edited September 6, 201312 yr by marceline

No one really knows who Jesse Malakouti was. What matters is she disappeared from OLTL after the first several weeks. Thank God.

As for Riff Raff, he was terrible and fantastic. From what I can understand he is some sort of...pimp?...real life pimp? or something? Who James Franco based his character in Spring Breakers off of. In retaliation, Riff Raff was keen on his OLTL character being named "Jamie Franko". He was only on for one day but every moment was glory. I could've watched that guy torment the characters for months. Like old school Matthew Cowles.

I don't see where PP has any aversion atall to stunt casting. OLTL did tons of it: Corbin Bleu on contract, JWOWW on recurring, Snoop Lion did a week/month of appearances, there was that Jesse/Dusky chick (I didn't know who she was but I'm old) and that white guy with the cornrows (he was famous, right? Again, I'm old.). AMC had Hot Chelle Rae and Jason Derulo as musical guests. Short of casting Betty White as Ghost Grandma Kate or having Neil Patrick Harris wandering through PV hospital as Doogie Houser Hayward, how much more stunt casty can they get?

I knew I phrased that badly. I meant my own aversion to it, not PP's.

No one really knows who Jesse Malakouti was. What matters is she disappeared from OLTL after the first several weeks. Thank God.

As for Riff Raff, he was terrible and fantastic. From what I can understand he is some sort of...pimp?...real life pimp? or something? Who James Franco based his character in Spring Breakers off of. In retaliation, Riff Raff was keen on his OLTL character being named "Jamie Franko". He was only on for one day but every moment was glory. I could've watched that guy torment the characters for months. Like old school Matthew Cowles.

I was horrifed when I first saw Riff Raff and just kind of stunned that that was really happening on OLTL but I rewatched that ep a few times because I loved the I Got You Babe montage and found myself laughing hysterically and enjoying immensely. Its probably one of my fave eps of the reboot. I actually think keeping him around recurring could have helped give Cutter and maybe eventually Nat and Rama more to do than they had. Dusky on the other hand I was thrilled to see evaporate into think air. Though I did find myself singing White Girl Wasted for weeks.

From:

http://www.tvmediainsights.com/highlights/30340/amc-oltl-own-week-of-september-3-2013/

ALL MY CHILDREN

Tue Sep 3 1:00PM 230,000 total viewers, 74,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Wed Sep 4 1:00PM 266,000 total viewers, 56,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Thu Sep 5 1:00PM 219,000 total viewers, 65,000 viewers in Adults 18-49

AVG:

238,000

ONE LIFE TO LIVE

Tue Sep 3 1:30PM 175,000 total viewers, 53,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Wed Sep 4 1:30PM 206,000 total viewers, 51,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Thu Sep 5 1:30PM 174,000 total viewers, 62,000 viewers in Adults 18-49

AVG:

185,000

Last Week's Report:

http://www.tvmediainsights.com/highlights/30025/amc-oltl-own-week-of-august-26-2013/

ALL MY CHILDREN

Mon Aug 26 1:00PM 186,000 total viewers, 93,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Tue Aug 27 1:00PM 182,000 total viewers, 77,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Wed Aug 28 1:00PM 205,000 total viewers, 63,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Thu Aug 29 1:00PM 196,000 total viewers, 73,000 viewers in Adults 18-49

AVG (T-Th):

194,000

ONE LIFE TO LIVE

Mon Aug 26 1:30PM 130,000 total viewers, 72,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Tue Aug 27 1:30PM 157,000 total viewers, 75,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Wed Aug 28 1:30PM 185,000 total viewers, 68,000 viewers in Adults 18-49
Thu Aug 29 1:30PM 123,000 total viewers, 38,000 viewers in Adults 18-49

AVG (T-Th):

155,000

So Basically, AMC is up 44,000 Viewers and OLTL is up 30,000 people if you count only the Tuesdays-Thursday episodes because last week Monday didn't have an episode.

Edited September 10, 201312 yr by allmc2008