Soaps You Could Never Get Into (It's Not You, It's Me)

[Wendy]

I loved Santa Barbara, at least I did until the declining Kim Zimmer era and it was on life support by then. All the criticisms of the cast turnovers and such are true, but... *shrug*

 

That being said, I also loved All My Children, especially Greg/Jenny (I was 11 when they got married and Jenny died on that damned jetski, don't judge! LOL!) and Cliff/Nina, Rounds 1 and 2, anyway. My mom watched from literally Day One, and that's how I started.

 

My brother's ex-girlfriend got me into Days and Santa Barbara later. The latter soaps were big when I was in college. And the style differences of the NBC/ABC soaps were stark, but a good story is a good story and it draws you in.

 

All that said, I kept up with the CBS lineup via SOD so my Gram would have someone to talk about her shows, but I found the CBS lineup stodgy and staid when I actually tried watching, especially As The World Turns and Guiding Light. I know they are beloved and are some of the oldest of the genre, but...meh. And Y&R was just dark and dull. B&B...no way could I ever take it seriously, not when the likes of Ronn Moss was the leading man/the one the ladies fought over. I mean...why?!

 

I wonder if I emitted vibes that killed GL, since its final episode was ironically on my birthday. (By then, my Gram had passed, so I didn't have to feel too guilty! I kid. Sort of.)

[soapfan770]

 

LOL I remember my mom saying AMC was her favorite soap to watch until her favorite character was killed off in jet ski explosion. I remember her occasionally tuning to see what was going on in the early 90’s but she never followed it, out VCR was always set for the CBS soaps. 

[FrenchBug82]

I have literally loved every English-language soaps I have watched so maybe I am too much a fan. LOL There are storylines I do not connect with (science-fiction is a no for me) but there has never been a soap that has instinctively repulsed me. Even Passions where there was a lot of science-fiction but the soap beats were still fun, even when poorly acted.
French soaps (I am originally French) on the other hand make me very uncomfortable. The production values are below cheap.

[amybrickwallace]

 

Agreed. I could never get into Buffy, Angel, etc. for the same reason.

[MichaelGL]

Growing up during the 90s I could never get into Another World. I could easily get into soaps like DAYS, GL, even ATWT for they had families such as the Hortons, Bauer’s, and Hughes to keep it grounded, as well as other family units. AW was a different animal, it seemed to lack a set of core families with the exception of the Corys (the Hudson’s I was not fond of).  I came to learn later on about the existence of the Matthew’s, but growing up AW simply seemed it was more based upon friendships rather than families. 
 

Y&R was another show, but appeared to be more about business than anything else; and it appeared to be slow moving storytelling wise. 
 

Suffice to say, over time and as my tastes matured, I came to actually like the above listed soaps after having watched videos from each of their golden periods. 

[Khan]

THE DOCTORS is another soap I just couldn't (or can't) get into.  The Rita Lakin/Rick Edelstein era seemed pretty good (although, I think I caught only the tail end of it on RetroTV).  However, the Pollocks' era in particular grated my nerves.  Everyone had to be dumbed down in order for any story to work; and oh my God, those *endless* flashbacks that were obviously used to pad out episodes.

 

Even the Douglas Marland era wound up disappointing me (and as a Marland fan, I hate admitting that, too).  Instead of wrapping up the show's interminable plots and starting his own, he spent most of his time there keeping them going to the point of insanity (mine, not theirs).  By the time his work had concluded, I was just done.

Edited March 13, 2021 by Khan

[amybrickwallace]

 

Their strength was in creating some memorable characters played by terrific actors (John, Hank, Lauri, Toni, Alan, Margo, Ann, the reintroduction of Penny, to name a few) - but long range story planning was not one of their strengths. It's a shame, given the talent they had to work with. I could not agree with you more about the flashbacks. They were indeed endless and the effects they used on them looked like bad acid trips.

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[victoria foxton]

 

Like @amybrickwallace said the Pollock's biggest strength was creating interesting memorable characters. The Pollock's would drag out the hell out their stories. But when the stories would finally climax. You had some good soapy drama for a week's worth of episodes. Then it would go back to the same pattern. 

 

 Totally agree with you. Marland inherited two great stories. Which look like DePriest was going to wrap up before she got fired. Paul framing Matt for Joan's death. Ann knowing where a missing  Carolee was. Which he dragged the hell out off. Matt finally finding out Paul framed him was so lackluster. Hated Marland's run. It's a good thing he learned from his many mistakes. 

Edited March 13, 2021 by victoria foxton

[Soaplovers]

 

Marland inherited stories that were designed to be faster paced...and slowed them down to the point of boredom.

 

He wasn't a good fit on the show.

 

General hospital..I could never get into either 

[amybrickwallace]

 

No, he wasn't. Even he would admit that later. Besides, I think he was better with the hour-long format anyway. He had room to stretch his stories out and could write in more characters.

[Planet Soap]

 

Thats definitely how I feel about Y&R.

 

When couples break up on Y&R it doesn't feel as impactful. It just feels like they'll be on to the next marriage in 2 seconds. When Sonny and Brenda broke up or Todd and Blair has a falling out if felt powerful. (I suppose because GH and OLTL  went the supercouple route).

 

Definitely agreed about All My Children in the 90s. There was ethnic and class diversity which made for a mix of more realistic characters. OLTL definitely had that youthful urban appeal with characters like Antonio, Natalie, RJ, Kerry.... that made Llanview seem like a place where you can hang out, compared to Genoa City.

Edited March 23, 2021 by ironlion

[SOAPONAROPE]

Santa Barbara. 

[AlexGrimaldi]

Another World . 

Talented cast, but writing seemed so conventional and the production values and atmosphere so outdated. 

Maybe it was different in its Golden Era in the 70s, but after that time...

[Liberty City]

One Life to Live is the one soap I could never get into.

I tried to watch it, several times, and it just could not hold my interest.

Admittedly, in watching older clips online, it doe seem more interesting then, but, definitely not my cup of tea.

 

I began watching Sunset Beach online in 2019, and when episodes disappeared I went to Santa Barbara.

When I saw that Beach had returned, in going back, I was in awe at how off it actually was.

 

I'm shocked. Hollyoaks, to me, is incredible. For a half-hour soap they really put production and value into their stories, as well as the overall canvas.

[John]

I never got into LOVING til the LOVING MURDERS. I also Enjoyed The CITY. Could never really get into Sunset Beach or Passions