All Soap Fans: When is it time to finally let go?

[koos]

I've been watching off and on since the late '80s, but it's been mostly off since 2010. I'm not currently watching any of them.

[Soapsuds]

I let go after ATWT was canceled.  Once the P&G soaps left the air that was the end of soaps as we knew it. Then AMC and OLTL were canned and that pretty much nailed the coffin to soap operas. The ones that are left are a joke. The one that could have a chance to survive would be B&B but Bradley Bell has zero talent as HW.

[DeeeDee]

I knew Y&R was done when they forced Heather Tom out.

It's been one long downhill slide in quality since then.

[Gray Bunny]

Gurl, you know you watch all 4 every single day, and you tell us how awful they were every day 

[~bl~]

I still watch, but have I let go in comparison to the past, definitely. Now when something bad happens it doesn't upset me as it once did. If one of the shows would get cancelled I'd be upset for those who lost their jobs, but not devastated to no longer watch the story. (The only shows I'd be upset over losing aren't US shows except for reruns of "The Doctors", but a show that is decades old doesn't count when it comes to this topic.)

Usually I have the programs on in the background while I do other things online, so it isn't the same. The end of AMC/OLTL sealed it, along with what a mess the other shows are. If things improve, great, but I don't expect it. 

[mikelyons]

I stopped watch ALL MY CHILDREN when they raped Bianca. Her rape was unnecessary, vile, and a complete destruction of the show. I forgot which head writer and EP is responsible for that story, but I turned off ALL MY CHILDREN, which I watch every day since November 1990, and never turned it on again.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE was never my favorite, but I enjoyed it until Jill Farren Phelps got her hands on the show. Remember Dorothy & Mel? Blech. I turned off the marvelous GENERAL HOSPITAL when you know who and he who shan't be named changed the focus on the mob. 

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS has been one of my favorite shows on TV for as long as I can remember. It was like sipping fine wine; you enjoyed every last drop. I turned it off for good when Kevin ran around in the chipmunk head, but I kept hoping the show would recover. The death of Cassie was the first date knell for Y&R. It wasn't helped by the tenure of LML (she had people standing around talking about recycling for f***ksake) or when Maria Arena Bell ran the show into the ground and Jill Farren Phelps gutted the Chancellor Mansion (which my friend at one of the CBS soaps told me was the straw that broke the camels back with regard to her firing). Anyway, killing Colleen, Brad, Casey, and John Abbot in rapid succession was too much for the show to bear. Then Sharon went crazy, which I never understood. I mean, Sharon lost her best friend off a CGI cliff, while the love of her life cheated on her with Phyllis and had his child... She's not crazy; she's traumatized! But I digress... 

I've never been a fan of DAYS or B&B. Well, early B&B is great, but Brad can't wrap his head around a story or character, which is evident on the screen and painful to watch every single day.

It would take a miracle for me to ever watch one of the American soaps again. There's zero nuance, no emotional pay-off, sloppy & cheap production values, and terrible writing. Things just happen and then they're over as soon as they began. I loved watching Hayley struggle with alcoholism on AMC and Katherine's decade long struggle with it on Y&R. Loved it. Now Brooke & Katie are insta-holics on B&B. *sigh*

I only watch EMMERDALE from the UK, which is a brilliant tale of life in an English village with plenty of smart writing, crisp production values, great actors, and engaging plots to go around.

The only people to blame for the downfall of the great American soap opera (one of only three American art forms: the musical and jazz being the others) are the lazy, incompetent writers, producers, directors, executives, and network executives who held the form in contempt and let it die a slow, agonizing, still not realized, death. However, I do believe the shows can be saved. Case in point: Watch Maria Arena Bell's first episode of Y&R after LML's reign of nothingness. The camera work was back. The lights were turned down. The first closeup was on bunch of flowers in the Newman Ranch. The writing was top-notch. That happened from one episode to another. If it can happen once, it can happen again.

[Cyberologist]

I stopped watching GH almost 4 years ago when I no longer enjoyed the show..that's when it became a chore to watch I finally hit the exit door...and don't miss it.  I realized it would never be what I hoped it would.  I got tired of Elizabeth getting crappy writing being written the fall guy in JaSam hell.  I never got one thing I wanted from the writing.

[Soapsuds]

My favorite red head!  I don't see Y&R anymore…I just popped in on Friday for a few mins and thought it was awful. I don't watch Days and GH everyday. The only one I see regularly is B&B but I might lower my count on it too.

[Gray Bunny]

It's all good! I would be heartbroken if all of Guiding Light from the 80's and 90's were pulled off YouTube. I'm currently enjoying GL circa 1996 (yes, the infamous "terrible" year that I find myself highly enjoying). Which ever kind souls managed to keep every single episode on VHS and upload them are definitely appreciated! 

 

Meanwhile, NBC is working to pull all their DAYS from YouTube and a wonderful poster by the name of JohnMarlena, who had uploaded everything from Maison Blance through Marlena/John/Kristen/Susan circa '97, had all their footage removed and account suspended. I'm so glad I kept a lot of the clips, but not all. 

[ajsp35801]

I remember having hours and hours worth of soaps to watch in 2005 when I first got my DVR. I'd come home and that'd be the only thing I did watch. They list slowly dwindled as soaps got cancelled. And those that were left pushed me away. Either I became more conscious or the show became more obvious with their heavy handed preference for certain characters and refusal to wtite for others but I just couldn't stomach it. I dropped Bold cause of it and walked away from Y&R for that same reason. These days, i am more enmeshed in the online communities of the genre more so than drawn to the actual shows themselves. So when I read that something interesting is happening, it makes me tune back in. Then I realize it's the same bullshit as before and stop watching again. And thusly goes the cycle of abuse between myself and soap operas.