Prospect Park files Ch 11 Bankriptcy Protection

[sheilaforever]

Not that it makes it any less shabby:

Do we know if the actors/crew were not paid for their work or is this money owed for the "second season" which never came into existence and PP probably missed the deadline to terminate the contracts within their contract cicles?

[John]

Originally I believe PP planned to film 17 weeks of both shows but contract roles were guranteed 14 weeks of payment. Both shows shot 8 weeks. So there is still money left on their contract

[DRW50]

I had a lot of other problems with how Ron and Frank handled OLTL in their first year at GH (one of my biggest was the whole "Viki is shunning John McBain because she, Natalie, and everyone else are so mean/being manipulated by Clint/blah blah blah"), but I agree with most of what you said otherwise.

[Khan]

Agree. As well, I would agree, marceline, that anyone who watched these experiments closely in order to determine whether soaps as a whole were adaptable probably decided in the end that they weren't. However, if I could identify those individuals, sit them down and really talk to them, I would advise them strongly not to write off the future of the American soap opera just b/c these (and other) experiments happened to fail.

IMO, the Great Peapack Experiment was doomed, b/c Ellen Wheeler in particular was ill-equipped to run any version of GUIDING LIGHT -- or any soap for that matter -- let alone one that was supposed to blaze new trails in terms of series production. All one had to do was watch a week or two's worth of episodes from before Peapack to see that the show, as it was being written and produced, was simply not ready to try something so radical. Similarly, PASSIONS might have had its cult followers, but the truth is, it arrived on DirecTV's doorstop a virtual definition of "damaged goods": an already-cancelled show that suffered from perennially low ratings and lack of respect from the industry, the media and viewers alike. Unless TPTB had been willing to make serious changes in the writing and acting -- in other words, had they been willing to cut out the b.s. and produce a legitimately compelling drama that could lure larger audiences -- the DirecTV revival never stood a chance.

(I'm not "going there" w/ AMC and OLTL on PP. I think my feelings on those revivals were, and are, apparent to most everyone. But let me say this: even if I had enjoyed what I'd watched, I still would voice my belief that the two shows might have been even better had PP not rushed them into production.)

(Okay. So I went there.)

Is the (endangered) art-form known as soap opera truly adaptable to these new viewing platforms? Maybe, maybe not. But unless and until someone in charge actually tries to evolve the genre with a true, strong, quality series, I don't believe anyone can answer that question definitively.

[JONNYSBRO]

Yet they weren't paid. How would u feel in this situation u work countless hours of time for ZERO money. Marceline go work for free and let me see what ur reaction would be. It's disgusting.

[Khan]

Same. Then again, I'm speaking from the viewpoint of someone who never saw much value in those characters (among a host of others).

[John]

PP did pay some salary to the actors for the weeks worked but not that their full contract which is what Robin has said. So with Ch 11 hopefully they can restructure and pay their debts

[amybrickwallace]

Agreed, and it seems like the whole "brain trust" at PP is pretty shady and sneaky. I couldn't work for people who lie to me. Are those contracts the cast/crew have still binding if they are not being paid or can they just walk?

[DRW50]

Wheeler had gotten GL's ratings up and staved off cancellation before, although whether she produced quality material is up for debate.

I think if she'd had another year or so to work out the format (as I think GL's last year wasn't that bad - certainly better than ATWT's or OLTL's), then the show might have lasted longer, but honestly I don't think anyone could have saved it by that point, because P&G was just done.

[John]

Contracts have expired however Actors like Strasser have stated PP still has pay up for the weeks that werent filmed but were contracted for in their gurantees

I believe the original 1 year deals stated that Both soaps would film 17 weeks but actors under contract were guranteed 14 weeks of pay. They were paid a weekly salary. 7-8 weeks were produced, so PP in my estimation owes contract actors 6-7 weeks of pay still.

[cassadine1991]

It's pretty disappointing about P&G

[amybrickwallace]

Good to know. Thanks!!

[marceline]

What the !@#$%^&*] are you talking about?! I said that I want them to get paid. What in my comment made you think that you had to come at me like this?

[cassadine1991]

Consider the person who is replying to you

[chicklitsandfantasies]

I don't know how many viewers DTV was expecting but it was the highest rated program on their 101 channel. It just seemed like bait and switch to me. That's not to excuse the many problems Passions had as a show but DTV was never invested in it beyond subscribers.