Prospect Park Vs. ABC Disney: CASE DISMISSED

[Vee]

I thought the shows were excellent. It was the management that failed the productions.

 

I think mounting a show on streaming like those two is the future for soaps, if it chooses to have one. If it was up to me they'd be resurrected on Netflix with as close to the previous teams as you could get. But it isn't up to me, so for now at least I think best to leave them alone. They were beautiful little shows that preserved the future of the genre in amber.

[YRBB]

They really were a glimpse of what a return to glory could look like for the US soaps, despite their occasional faults.

 

The aforementioned Cassandra kidnapping story is easily one of my favorites.

[DRW50]

For me OLTL was a show that could easily survive and change, as it did over the years many times. It never had a core identity (outside of the double life theme, and Viki). I realize Erika is likely retired now but I can imagine if they actually pay her and if the material is there she might return. 

 

Of any past soaps I think OLTL, Edge of Night, and (dodging brickbats) Guiding Light are the ones that could have survived best in a new format or platform. I think AW could have as well, in some way.

 

And yeah I'm fully aware it's not likely to happen. 

 

I'm glad that at least the whole, "It's for the best, as time moves on!!!" Sylph-esque stuff is no longer around because that stuff (I don't even remember who used to say it, maybe it wasn't them) got on my last nerve. I've noticed it is pretty much gone now that people know what replaced soaps was con artists wearing rictus grins. 

[KMan101]

AW could have, but it was cancelled far too soon for that to ever be a possibility. GL, IMO, should have once they started the Peapack dreck. I think they could have thrived. I miss GL a ton. More than I thought I would.

 

I agree that OLTL seems perfect for online. And same for Edge of Night.

[EricMontreal22]

I completely agree.  I think the mistake with the Cassandra sex-trafficing storyline was that it was too much, too soon.  I felt that the triangle it created with Angie and David and Jesse was very smart--and would have loved to see that play out.

[KMan101]

 

Same. It was too much too soon, as much a I like the storyline and appreciated what they were trying to do.

 

Loved the potential of Angie/David/Jesse.

 

Sigh.

And wanted to say, glad to see you posting again @EricMontreal22

[Soapsuds]

I second that. It is nice to see you posting again.

[Vee]

I think the Cassandra storyline was fine, honestly. It led to the abortion material which had probably the best episodes of American soap opera that year. I don't think it was too much, so much as the entire overall, edgier package of the two shows - but more importantly, their slipshod management by Prospect Park and their limited availability - that was problematic. And that would not have been problematic if they'd been more available and had sturdier funding and upper management.

It was also a little ahead of its time, in terms of longterm investment. I think you could put those shows on Netflix today and people wouldn't blink at the language or content, because people now are ultimately more concerned with access and availability. Fuller House is back for a second season on Netflix at the end of the week, for God's sake. If it could do it those shows could.

 

I would bring back AMC because I think Agnes would want it to go on, with the right people, and because I think AMC 2.0 was the best daytime soap of the 2010s thus far - just excellent. And I obviously think you could bring OLTL back any time, anywhere, because I think its core identity is really a more urban-centric multiculturalism, about pushing the envelope, outcasts, changing times. I'm not sure how much Erika wouldn't be into it - last I checked she seemed a bit out of sorts about being 'retired,' as you get the sense she is someone who likes to be up with the dawn and working on something. But I would plan for a minimal presence for most of the older vets. I know Bob Woods is retired, but I'm sure he'd be willing to make appearances.

It's moot for me though, honestly. Do I think about it? Sure, I keep a file on a streaming OLTL on my hard drive to pull out if and when I score big on something else and potentially have influence to burn. I laid out plans for GL once too, as a pipe dream. And in the PP shows I think there was such class and taste, but also such modernity. You could stand them up to a ton of the lighter fare on streaming marketed towards families, teens, etc. - everything has a market, and soaps sort of blend the differing demographics. But while I think those shows went off with plenty of life left to them, I really don't want them back unless there is the same kind of fresh creative blood and genuine commitment to quality and longevity that I saw with the Prospect Park revivals. And I don't think that's coming any time soon, so better to let them rest, at least for now. I think the PP soaps stand as a monument to the future of soap opera programming on streaming (Netflix, Amazon, etc.) if someone is willing to invest. Maybe that's why I still haven't changed my signature graphic, which I really need to do...

[cassadine1991]

After seeing OITB, Degrassi and Full House reboots along with other shows on Netflix and Amazon and how binge watching is so popular now. Seeing both soaps on Netflix would be so awesome. 20-40 episodes each season, I think would be reasonable. If only Prospect Park weren't so ill prepared.

[All My Shadows]

Netflix's Degrassi series was the final selling point for me that AMC/OLTL would have worked on that platform. I HIGHLY contest the idea that they failed simply because their soaps and "ew, gross, it's soaps!" Like you said, it was all about access and availability. Hulu's original programming gets very little attention, and no indeed were too many people willing to buy them from iTunes. Even when OWN picked them up, they were never shown outside of daytime (which we all know is one of my biggest pet peeves). Then the wonky, ever-changing schedule, that unnecessary talk show thing that ended the week, etc.

The biggest issue, I guess, is that they were too adamant on "keeping" some conventions that, ultimately, couldn't be kept if the shows were to be successful. There was no need to release an episode at a time. People binge watch the weekday TV soaps, so trying to force us to keep up with a show online each day was a mess. They could've produced their 40 episodes a year, released them in two 20-episode chunks each year, and left it at that. A far cry from 250 hours of programming each year, but that's what downsizing is all about. Plus, your older cast can still enjoy retirement for most of the year, and your younger cast can do other things, with everyone touching base each year to put some good work in for two shows that they enjoy working on.

Then, advertise the shows as the sisters they are. Play up the angles, make them appealing to people who never watched soaps before but are Netflix/Amazon/whatever nuts who will watch anything that pops up and looks somewhat interesting. Make OLTL that dark, urban soap that focuses on many different people and culture, make AMC that fancy soap that focuses on multiple generations of interconnected families. The promo they did for the shows was good, but hitting the right audience, it could've been better.

[Vee]

Yeah, Hulu's original programming is only just now beginning to come into its own; they have that show The Path and some others, and a new one I worked on a bit is premiering soon. AMC and OLTL were a little too early.

 

I do think there is something to be said for a staggered daily or weekly release for soaps, as I think Netflix is supposed to be experimenting with that release schedule with some new shows - maybe Chelsea Handler's talk show as well? But all in all, yes, I think arc-based releases (40-60 30-minute eps at a time) would be best for the shows and for rotating the ensemble.

I do think one thing PP did well was reintroduce AMC and OLTL as the sister shows that were tonally different, as you say. OLTL was darker and urban, AMC was more family, Americana and lighter tones. It even showed in their photo shoots. That could be highlighted even more.

[dragonflies]

Varni comments about the future of AMC/OLTL on GH

 

http://soapcities.com/2017/01/could-amc-and-oltl-be-alive-in-port-charles/

[YRBB]

That's terrifying. It most certainly won't be handled in the right way. More characters to be ruined. Horrific.

[DRW50]

 

It's boilerplate. I doubt anything will happen. But with Ron gone, I don't believe any of them would be ruined any more than they already were in the last years of those shows. OLTL in particular.

[YRBB]

 

I agree that it's unlikely to happen (unless it's, I don't know, the worst characters from either show, then I'm sure they'll be interested). But Valentini's still around and it can always get worse. If anything, soaps have been consistent about that!