If they have the actors contracts with GH invalidated do you really think any of them will consider doing the PP soaps? Why would they? If the lawsuit called for that it would be ensuring all three lose their jobs for good. They were able to successfully close a deal with Roger Howarth and he was the most important one. The show doesn't need Starr and John, they want them and both roles are easy to recast. I do think some of PP's actions were to try to strong arm these actors into doing their shows and that wasn't the right way to do it. Offer them a huge chunk of money if you have to, or move on.

Right they may not get the actors back. But if they can prove their contracts as the L3 were done in bad faith that gives more credence to PP claims that ABC was trying to saboatge them

I don't think the contracts were done in bad faith because nobody expected these shows to continue. Also, you need to keep in mind that Kristen Alderson was never going to do OLTL whether it was launched in 2012 or this year. When the shows couldn't come to terms with sharing the characters and ABC didn't want to give them back, they should've just recast. They had Todd, just recast John (re-writing scripts severely hurt Natalie's story) and you could keep Starr off screen since she wasn't vital to the launch. As they said, they only wanted Kristen Alderson for a week anyway.

Who's to say they would've had love interests on BOTH soaps that's a total misconception.. They could've had Todd be friends with Blair, same with Natalie and McBain, they could've done the co-parenting thing

Yeah. Piss off two of the biggest fanbases the show has right off the bat. Brilliant strategy.

I think it's definitely for the best that any crossover plans were squashed regardless who gets credit/blame. In hindsight I almost wish OLTL had jumped three years like AMC did five. They could have shown Todd and Blair together. Discovering Victor was alive should have made more impact story wise. Introduced the tattoo story and exited Todd and Victor together. OLTL spent way too much time trying to resolve storylines that happened on GH instead of propelling their own stories. They fumbled awkwardly through that explanation and it would have kicked things off better IMO to just ignore GH.

Edited September 7, 201312 yr by rhinohide

I don't understand the affinity for crossovers. Even when they are well done they are clunky. Anything other than one or two scenes becomes a pointless miasma. They're hardly some magical audience-building tool and in the end somebody gets short-changed.

Exactly those crossovers did not a damn thing for GH and part of the reason why is because GH and OLTL are just two completely different shows.

Edited September 7, 201312 yr by frequentsoapfan

Exactly those crossovers did not a damn thing for GH and part of the reason why is because GH and OLTL are just two completely different shows.

That's something I think keeps getting glossed over. Crossovers work a lot better when both shows are truly part of the same universe. That tends to only happen with spinoffs. Dr. Who/Torchwood, various Star Trek properties, the old Norman Lear comedies, David E. Kelly crossover shows, the Whedonverse, the CSI franchise and even then they can be problematic.

These shows aren't really like that. No matter how much people try to paint them as "sister" shows just because they once shared a network, they have their own tone and creative direction. Especially with GH in the mix because that show can't even lay claim to the vestigial Agnes Nixon DNA that OLTL and AMC have. One of the best things I think PP did was bring back a noticeable tonal difference between AMC and OLTL. Crossovers would just muck that up. Look at the difference between the teen scenes on each show. Dani went from OD-ing at Shelter to boning a man twice her age that she met on the internet and Jack is basically being molested by his teacher. One AMC, Miranda is mooning after her best friend and asking Jane for a summer job while AJ is fighting with his dad and making out with his girlfriend. It's like the difference between Downton Abbey and Scandal.

Edited September 7, 201312 yr by marceline

I do agree with whomever suggested that PP hire a PR firm. This 'fly by the seat of your pants' way of doing things works for You Tube or tech companies that have audiences that are more attuned to rapid changes and are not only used to frequent adjustments but demand them.

The soap audience skews older (judging by all the griping about the soaps initially going online) and tend to panic by frequent and abrupt changes. This, coupled with scars and doubts from past experiences from soap cancellations on network TV and it's not a good combination.

PP needs outside functionaries that can help them understand this and communicate better with the audience that they have.

Look at the difference between the teen scenes on each show. Dani went from OD-ing at Shelter to boning a man twice her age that she met on the internet and Jack is basically being molested by his teacher. One AMC, Miranda is mooning after her best friend and asking Jane for a summer job while AJ is fighting with his dad and making out with his girlfriend. It's like the difference between Downton Abbey and Scandal.

well to be fair Dani and her friends are not teens. They represent the college aged 20s crowd and OLTL is lacking in an actual teen scene bc Jack alone doesnt make for one. Such a difference from how things were on ABC as AMC was lacking and OLTL was all about embracing that set

And just one other correction, Dani didnt meet Arturo on the internent. The internet story was with Matthew and his gf Michelle. Dani met this guy bc he was her dead friend's bf and they started bonding after she died.

Edited September 7, 201312 yr by Cheap21

Sara Bibel has twitter, you can complain about her blog commentary in that manner if you so chose. If PP doesn't want to deal with soap press, why can't they talk to TVLine, they are seen as a mainstream website and people who work there actually know a bit about soap operas.

I want them to make a statement of some sort especially regarding when AMC will be back. And the only other statement I'd like isn't for me, but for those people who work(ed) at OLTL. They should be informed either way as to what is going on officially so they can make arrangements when it comes to their careers.

As a veteran of that war, I'm torn. As much as I'm happy for my "side," success for both shows would make it more likely that PP would resurrect another soap or even launch a new one and I would really like to see that.

I agree. If this is a victory, it's a truly hollow one. *I* stand by that OLTL this comeback had so much good in it that I want it back--and I still, perhaps foolishly, hold on to the fact that it will.

They're cheap, shiny gimmicks that some audience members like and other find grating. They're basically a fanfic writing prompt taken to extreme: "Imagine that Kalinda from The Good Wife meets Emily from Revenge on the beach." As for Superman vs. Batman, we're getting that movie because the Justice League movie fell through. The fact that they cast Daredevil fail Ben Affleck should tell you that they're banking on the trainwreck/curiosity factor. That's fine for summer blockbusters with an unlimited SFX budget. It's not such a good strategy for a genre that's supposed to be about storytelling.

One of the few things ABC did right was the "What if" series. That gave everyone a chance to have a little crossover fun without burdening anyone with colliding canons. (Of course then they put Jesse and Angie in a scene with Starr [!@#$%^&*] Manning which was unforgivable but I digress...)

Crossovers are "fun" as long as they don't impact story. Keep them self contained and they remain the fluffy distractions they are meant to be. Once you start writing to the gimmick, everyone is screwed. Have we learned nothing from the nuclear mess of OLTL/GH?

I swear it's like Sarah Bibel and Nelson Branco are the same person. They're both so entitled and self serving. Bibel's histrionics are a perfect example of the soap press and many fans want to have it both ways. One minute they're whining about how the mainstream media treats soaps badly ("Soaps should be at Comicon!!" "Why don't we see more promotion?" "These actors should be on talk shows!") then when PP has the temerity to give an interview to the Los Angeles Times, Bibel and the rest of the Lollipop Guild bitch that they are being shut out even as she excretes this overheated, provincial tantrum where displays in crystal clear terms why no one from PP should even bother trying to talk to her or any other of these "bloggers with an agenda."

The mainstream media is looking at this in the larger context of the move from traditional viewing to online. They're interested in the business experiment and they don't give a damn about whether Tomas is Alcazar. The soap press pissed away their credibility years ago by choosing access over reporting. They can't bitch now when a new company doesn't take them seriously.

Exactly. I admit--I love crossovers between the Nixon soaps--it's how I got hooked on Loving (one of the few flawless cross-overs I can think of.) I like thinking of them as a shared universe. That said, if they have them, keep them non-story. When Tad's talk show would go to Llanview, etc--that stuff works. The babyswitch was a well done story but it didn't really help either show. Others, like Rae's search for her mom and daughter simply made no sense.

Sara Bibel has twitter, you can complain about her blog commentary in that manner if you so chose. If PP doesn't want to deal with soap press, why can't they talk to TVLine, they are seen as a mainstream website and people who work there actually know a bit about soap operas.

I want them to make a statement of some sort especially regarding when AMC will be back. And the only other statement I'd like isn't for me, but for those people who work(ed) at OLTL. They should be informed either way as to what is going on officially so they can make arrangements when it comes to their careers.

Whatever statement PP makes it will be lose lose and they will still get [!@#$%^&*] on. How bout they just work to get the shows back

That's something I think keeps getting glossed over. Crossovers work a lot better when both shows are truly part of the same universe. That tends to only happen with spinoffs. Dr. Who/Torchwood, various Star Trek properties, the old Norman Lear comedies, David E. Kelly crossover shows, the Whedonverse, the CSI franchise and even then they can be problematic.

These show aren't really like that. No matter how much people try to paint them as "sister" shows just because they once shared a network, they have their own tone and creative direction. Especially with GH in the mix because that show can't even lay claim to the vestigial Agnes Nixon DNA that OLTL and AMC have. One of the best things I think PP did was bring back a noticeable tonal difference between AMC and OLTL. Crossovers would just muck that up. Look at the difference between the teen scenes on each show. Dani went from OD-ing at Shelter to boning a man twice her age that she met on the internet and Jack is basically being molested by his teacher. One AMC, Miranda is mooning after her best friend and asking Jane for a summer job while AJ is fighting with his dad and making out with his girlfriend. It's like the difference between Downton Abbey and Scandal.

Thank you! I was starting to think I was the only one that didnt consider GH a sister show to either AMC nor OLTL despite them having shared the same network at one point. GH does not have the same tone as OLTL.

Others, like Rae's search for her mom and daughter simply made no sense.

Ugh. That whole Myrtle/Rae/Skye thing was the pits and only served to turn Rae and Skye into jokes. I don't care about Rae but it still makes my teeth itch to think about how they bent up Skye's character like an unspooled paper clip just to serve some pointless obsession with moving these actors and characters from show to show.

Sara Bibel has twitter, you can complain about her blog commentary in that manner if you so chose. If PP doesn't want to deal with soap press, why can't they talk to TVLine, they are seen as a mainstream website and people who work there actually know a bit about soap operas.

I want them to make a statement of some sort especially regarding when AMC will be back. And the only other statement I'd like isn't for me, but for those people who work(ed) at OLTL. They should be informed either way as to what is going on officially so they can make arrangements when it comes to their careers.

I agree. I don't expect that a PP statement re OLTL would be anything enlightening or useful or even well written. But as a business practice, I think they should just throw something out there, more so that the actors have something to stand behind than for the fans.

I agree. If this is a victory, it's a truly hollow one. *I* stand by that OLTL this comeback had so much good in it that I want it back--and I still, perhaps foolishly, hold on to the fact that it will.

I never really saw it as one show versus another (certainly not from discussion here- everyone has preferences but seems to be genuinely pulling for the Nixon soaps with I guess a few exceptions) so its weird that it seemed to end up that way at least for now. I do hope that AMC isn't hurt by OLTL fans tuning out- not necessarily boycotters but the people who just mainly watched OLTL and ran AMC on their computers as well to support PP.

My feelings on OLTL returning change on a dime. I range from thinking its totally over to thinking an hour later that this is a bizarro lawsuit strategy and PP hasn't really decided anything at all.

Ugh. That whole Myrtle/Rae/Skye thing was the pits and only served to turn Rae and Skye into jokes. I don't care about Rae but it still makes my teeth itch to think about how they bent up Skye's character like an unspooled paper clip just to serve some pointless obsession with moving these actors and characters from show to show.

As I've said before, that will forever remain one of my least favorite things ABCDaytime ever did. ABC fans didn't really care about Rae or Linda Dano. And you couldn't escape it because it infiltrated every show. I came to accept Skye as part of the extended Q clan and even enjoy it but there was NO reason for it.

Edited September 7, 201312 yr by greens_dupres

These shows aren't really like that. No matter how much people try to paint them as "sister" shows just because they once shared a network, they have their own tone and creative direction. Especially with GH in the mix because that show can't even lay claim to the vestigial Agnes Nixon DNA that OLTL and AMC have. One of the best things I think PP did was bring back a noticeable tonal difference between AMC and OLTL. Crossovers would just muck that up. Look at the difference between the teen scenes on each show. Dani went from OD-ing at Shelter to boning a man twice her age that she met on the internet and Jack is basically being molested by his teacher. One AMC, Miranda is mooning after her best friend and asking Jane for a summer job while AJ is fighting with his dad and making out with his girlfriend. It's like the difference between Downton Abbey and Scandal.

I think the tonal difference was very important - but at the same time, a lot of people out there took the difference to mean OLTL was now horribly misogynistic and twisted (as opposed to, you know, the Fords). When in reality the Dani and Arturo storyline (she didn't meet him on the Internet) was not that removed from Karen Wolek or the young Tina and Marco Dane.

I think they are sister shows, but they're very different siblings in many ways. And I don't think it's one show versus another anymore. I think they both had a lot to be proud of, and I think OLTL got back to some basics it hadn't had in many years while also pushing some boundaries (sometimes not enough for me). I've always loved them both.

Edited September 7, 201312 yr by Vee