If you didn't like AMC/OLTL on ABC, then why the outrage over the cancellations?

[All My Shadows]

Oh for the love of God, not this again.

It's actually extremely simple. I was upset at the cancellations because cancelling them was touted as the best/only option for them. No major attempts to rejuvenate the shows took place, despite what that random ABC employee wrote in that insulting internet message, and ABC gave up on their own product without thinking critically about ways to help them regain relevance. ABC had that power. No matter who the EP was or HW was or ANY OTHER PERSON was, ABC had the power to put in charge people who could inject something new and lively into both shows, but they played the same old tired, uninformed cards over and over again until they gave up and cancelled them.

Then PP came along and did the things that ABC could have and should have done (with a bigger budget and more publicity, mind you).

[DRW50]

Not to be rude, but I feel like I answered this in 2012 and in 2013.

[All My Shadows]

You did, Carl. We all did. Time and time again.

[Khan]

Look, I didn't like what little I saw of the PP reboots, but I must be some kind of natural born fool to want these shows back on ABC after everything they did (and did not do) to get them cancelled the FIRST time around. And that's all I have to say about that.

[rhinohide]

Don't be sorry. It's an emotional reaction, therefore logic need not apply. And it's not necessary that you understand it and no one has to justify it to you.

[John]

DITTO!!!!

[Max]

I feel that ABC gave up on OLTL and left it for dead, but the network seemed plenty invested in AMC. That's why the show was moved to LA and made HD compatible. In terms of storyline quality, the right improvements weren't made, but that's not because Frons & company didn't care. Rather, they just had the wrong ideas (and deluded themselves into thinking otherwise).

PP did a good job writing for the AMC veterans, but I feel that PP also made some bad calls with AMC such as jumping five years into the future and introducing too many new, youthful cast members. So I don't concur with the popular opinion that PP treated the shows the way ABC should have. (PP treated OLTL better than it treated AMC, but OLTL still suffered from erratic scheduling and a poor budget.)

I understand that the discussion of these cancellations is a sore spot, especially coming from me.

A lot has been said about these cancellations, but I never previously understood why somebody would be upset at ABC for cancelling them while at the same time believing that the PP versions were so superior. After reading these responses, I think I now realize why people wanted these soaps on ABC (back in 2011, before they saw the PP reboots), but now don't want ABC anywhere near these soaps.

This makes a lot of sense, Rhinohide. Reactions to soap cancellations differ among people, so I can't expect everyone to follow my thinking that "if the show's good, you should be upset at the cancellation, but if it sucks, you should be relieved." (As in my case, I enjoyed AW at the time, so I was livid over its cancellation, but felt the exact opposite about GL because I thought it was terrible.)

[John]

PP did AMC & OLTL for 80,000-100,000 an eppy. Thats more than half what ABC was spending. The shows IMO looked awesome.

The issue I feel PP had is that they didnt have enough capital to run both shows (They were given 25 Mil) and they should have started smaller and then added more when successful

I do believe PP wanted this a success and tried all they could, however, they should have been honest about this all the time to their casts and crews. I feel if they had this latest suspenion may have been better recieved by some of the cast & crew then it was.

Better communication was NEEDED

[rhinohide]

I can accept that you are incapable of understanding this position. No matter how many times it's been explained to you in detail. Perhaps the time has come for you to accept your limitations as well.

[Max]

I'll be the first to admit that I have plenty of limitations.

Prior to this thread, I just don't recall reading a sufficient explanation for what appears to be a contradiction (being angry at ABC for the cancellations yet not wanting these shows to come back to ABC). If somebody previously did explain this contradiction to me, then I neither recall it nor understood it prior to today. I wouldn't have created this thread otherwise, even though there is at least one person who feels differently.

[All My Shadows]

Every last one of these things is debatable. If you choose to take your own "feelings" about these things as gospel, then you'll never really understand our reactions towards the entire sequence of events. I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure there are others who will agree. Moving AMC to LA and going HD wasn't a serious attempt to make the show more accessible and/or relevant. ABC did not make restoring the soaps, their very own productions, a priority. The time-jump wasn't a major problem, and the younger characters, especially the two young leads, weren't a problem.

[Max]

AMS, I am sorry if I gave the impression that my feelings about these things are gospel. I mentioned my feelings because they shaped my prior inability to understand the question posed by this thread's title. I am guessing that the way I think is far different than most others here.

While the move to LA (and going to HD) ended up doing nothing for AMC, the fact that ABC chose to do this showed major interest on the network's part. ABC wouldn't have thrown so much money away if the original plan was to just cancel AMC in 2011. (And the fact that OLTL got none of this treatment is what led me to conclude that it was doomed.)

[Vee]

AMC was moved to LA because it was overbudget and they thought getting it out of NYC, where everything had already begun costing more for production, would cut their costs. There's no other reasoning behind that. That's a fact.

ABC originally wanted to cancel OLTL first - aesthetically, Brian Frons preferred GH and AMC - but AMC continued to be a drag on finances despite the move. Because OLTL was still under budget, this failed strategy left them with egg on their face. Thus, they opted to cancel both rather than change course, because overall ABC believed the day of the soap was done and that cheap variety programming was the future. Frons begged clemency for Bob Guza's GH and got it.

That's all there is to it.

Also, your personal opinions about the shows on PP and their quality are completely irrelevant to the questions you're asking us about ABC and the soaps as they existed in their last 10-15 years on the network. Either you want to ask us questions or you want to tell us why we're wrong by presenting your thesis - pick one.

[beebs]

Okay. I was never the biggest ABC soap person, and didn't invest much in AMC or OLTL much on ABC, or indeed via PP, but it seems obvious to me why people feel this way.

1) ABC spent years tearing these shows to pieces, only to turn around, shrug, and go "Welp! We tried everything and you still won't watch! Too bad!" Shockingly, fans of the show would be displeased with their favourite shows returning to such a venue.

2) PP, for all its flaws, put on a product that was widely considered superior and truer to both shows' original purpose and creative centre than anything ABC had put forward since Clinton's first term. People don't tend to be as attached to behind-the-scenes events as they are to what is on their screens.

End of. It's really that simple (to me).

ETA: I realize I'm probably regurgitating what others have said, but hopefully this is a more concise breakdown to your question that maybe is a little more clear. Your personal feelings about the reboot aside, a good number of people feel the above way about it, and I personally can understand why they do feel that way.

[Gray Bunny]

On April 14th, it'll be 3 years since the cancellation announcement. Let it go.