Should Classic Soaps Be Rebooted???

[Joseph]

With A Dallas Reboot Behind, The Current Dynasty Reboot to have a 5th Season and Rumours that All My Children could have a Reboot called "Pine Valley" stays the question, Should the Classic Soaps be Rebooted??? I was Wondering about that after watching some of the early episodes of the New Dynasty and I really liked Nicollette Sheridan as Alexis she made a great lecture of The Character at it's worst and Wondered "Hey I think she really could pull out Angela Channing!" So I wanted to discuss this kind of possibility with other soap fans

[Joseph]

Is it a taboo no one wants to discuss?????

[Soapsuds]

A Knots Landing reboot would work right now.

[Joseph]

I know right, a few of the original cast to set it off and please a few storylines for them of course plus a bunch of new characters moving to Knots

[Soapsuds]

Well they have the younger cast also that could be brought back.  Pat Peterson, Tonya Crowe, Bryan Austin Greene and Mama Abby.

[Joseph]

Talking about abby if they remade the story do you think Nicollette could pull Abby off? I laughed at the thought as she would finally be Like Abby 

[Soapsuds]

I'd rather see her return as Page. I'd love to see a much alive Laura return too.

[Chris B]

I wouldn't mind a Knots Landing reboot starring Nicollette Sheridan, but the quality you know would be subpar. I think the premise of Knots is easily adaptable and would be successful. Falcon Crest is also dying for a darker reboot or remake. As for daytime soaps, I think the P&G soaps could be on Lifetime or Hallmark doing movies centered on certain characters and they'd have success with that. Or limited series. I'm not sure at this point I'd bring them back full time.

[Joseph]

Yeah me too I loved them in their original roles anyway I think Nicollette is a bit old to play Abby if they restarted the story 

[Marissa Gallant]

I would love to see some of them rebooted or continued. However, when I see the horrible job the "they" are doing with the shows left on the air, I lean towards, "No. Just let me keep my good memories and YouTube videos."

[DramatistDreamer]

There is a two-fold issue, problem, more like, to the reboot of a classic soap and I am going to specifically talk about classic daytime serial dramas, as I believe they are structured very differently than a  classic primetime serial drama.

One problem has to do with expectations. Long time fans often want things to be exactly the way they were when they loved these daytime soaps the most and some of that won't be possible. In some regards, one has to adopt a contemporary sensibility. Some of the things that fans loved in the 80s (rapists turned romantic leading men, for example) is an awful idea, especially in the wake of #MeToo (although, if we're truly being honest, it was always a terribly toxic idea). I wouldn't want to revive such a character on any reboot but I know that if there were an immensely popular character on a show (e.g. Todd Manning/OLTL) fans would be clamoring for him. In my view, the only way to bring such a character back would be as a pariah, haunted by his past misdeeds. The fans wouldn't like it but without that there is no chance to capture the new fans that such a reboot would certainly need in order to be worthy of maintaining production--no producers want to lose money).

FWIW, I think soap fans are much more open-minded, in terms of changes to their favorite classic soaps today than they were with the TOLN/PP soaps when they streamed about 7 years ago.

The other issue is reluctance, bordering on belligerence of the holders of these classic properties to treat them with the respect due to classic television (on this board, we've already discussed some of the reasons why they've had this attitude). That includes lack of regard and lack of care of their classic episodes, which are being housed in God knows what conditions!

I agree that, one of the best ways that producers of classic soaps, like P&G could get a read on whether a reboot could work would be to reissue or stream episodes of their classic soaps, which is why I am so dismayed by the piss-poor state of many of the episodes and clips on YouTube as well as the infighting between uploader account holders on that platform. These uploaders should put aside egos, greed, envy, selfishness and whatever other deadly sins they may have, in service of the community and build a video library of the best quality episodes and clips, like what fans of Y&R and B&B have already been doing. If you add up all the streams, clicks on the various P&G dramas-relates YouTube channels, the number of views could likely add up to some serious numbers but having a scatter shot assortment of channels with double-digit views won't convince any would-be producers to take a chance on rebooting a classic daytime soap opera. 

As much as I criticize The Bold And The Beautiful for their upload schedule for their classic episodes in YouTube, at least they are putting up episodes, which means they, on some level, recognize the show's value. It's also likely that their spies

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know about the "vault" and recognize the interest that has already been there in classic B&B episodes and decided to finally try to capitalize on that interest for their own benefit. The clicks, the views and the subscriptions to their YouTube channel leads to $$$ and possibly, more sponsors. It is a low-risk, relatively low-cost investment with the possibility of a sizeable reward.

It might be more challenging for P&G soaps since there are no P&G soap currently still on air, but fans, particularly collectors would be wise to get together and collectively build their own "vault" and see whether it inspires the interest of a P&G or another SoapClassics type entity to revive some soaps, whether a reboot or a reissue of their classic titles. 

 

[vetsoapfan]

The wishful and hopeful side of my heart says that yes, our beloved soaps should be rebooted and returned to us.

The realistic, cynical side says no, because in the current climate, what we would actually get would be disastrous and disappoint and alienate fans everywhere.

Would ANYONE be able to "get it right," and reintroduce a modernized version of one of the shows that would satisfy both the fervent, dedicated fans of yore as well as new viewers? Honestly, I doubt it.

[Chris 2]

I’ll be surprised if even the proposed Pine Valley comes to fruition. The demographics simply don’t make  sense. TV is all about 18-49 year olds, at least as far as advertisers go, and you’re not going to get a younger demographic with a revivals of shows that only people 50 and over remember. The P&G soaps have been out of production and out of sight for a long time.

[DramatistDreamer]

Which is why I said they'd be better off streaming the classic episodes, like B&B is doing.

I had never seen one episode of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Dark Shadows or The Doctors until they were in second or third runs on television. Don't tell me people can latch onto a series after the fact. Just stream classic episodes and see where they land. Very little risk. Folks, including soap fans are making things too complicated and there is a distinct lack of imagination that keeps the genre mired in a vicious cycle. It's not that complicated. There's a reason why I Love Lucy still has a fan base but the original The Goldbergs is lost and forgotten to time.

It's simpler than you think it is.l but the companies will have you think it's not.

[applcin]

I think there are so many variables and questions, some of which others here (esp. DD) have mentioned, when it comes to the idea of reboots that it's hard for me to blanketly say yay or nay. It would depend largely on which soap, who's the target audience, how/where/when would they be shown, are they trying to replicate the original, continue with the "next generation" or telling new stories with new actors in old roles?

The 1991 Dark Shadows reboot was actually my first experience ever with DS, and, I suspect, of quite a few younger people like myself back then who hadn't had access to the original. Here was a reboot of a daily daytime soap turned into a weekly nighttime one. The characters and storylines were recreated, although the stories were vastly streamlined to fit the weekly model. Plus, there was also the need to adapt certain elements from the 60s to the 90s, or ditch them altogether. It had a successful start and I think of the show as a "what might have been" situation as it seemed more that outside circumstances (the Gulf War, preemptions, etc.) killed it rather than lack of interest. I believe it could have been a really good series with multiple seasons. I think another reboot could also work again today if the right elements are there to make it appealing to enough people.

I think another "niche" type soap like The Edge of Night could have a chance as well and could be written as a weekly, particularly if they maintain the theme of mystery and film-noir type storylines. At this point, it's been out of sight (save for any interested people who might want to look for it online) for so long that it could be reimagined. With the majority of the mainstream daytime soaps, though, I think they'd have to be so changed, adapted, refocused, etc., that they might only have the show name or some character names in common and not much else...which then begs questions like who are they doing it for and why not just create a new product? The PP reboots of AMC and OLTL failed so miserably, I believe, because a) they desired a demo that wasn't interested in "Grandma's story"; b) they were essentially cut off from that Grandma audience that didn't follow them online or didn't have the tech savvy to do so; and c) whether by actor/character glaring absences, storylines, less censorship and so on, these were not the same shows people had loved. The daytime soaps that are still on, and those that went before them, have that loyal audience that sees them every day, knows when to watch, record, stream, etc. But if one attempts to adapt them to a more modern schedule, put them on cable, show them with far less frequency and maybe even a year or more between seasons, they would die quick deaths, I think.

Given how long tv and film have been around, it's pretty hard nowadays to find something that isn't either a remake or a derivative of something else. There's a lot of re-purposing the old things to make them appealing to younger generations. Understandable in one way and kind of sad in another. Something that I appreciated about growing up in the 70s was that, while there were a lot less tv stations, those stations were broader in their content. On one channel you could see modern shows, classic shows (and films), documentaries, music videos (old and new)...we were exposed to a wider variety of content and history because it was there in front of us and there weren't as many options. Nowadays, you have to search harder for a particular type of show or genre amidst the morass, meaning you have to already have either some awareness of it or interest in the genre. Reboots may or may not stand alone on their merits--with people either remaining unaware or unexposed to the original-- or they may spark an interest in what came before. I think most reboots now would fall into the former situation--created mainly for a new audience who would see it as a brand new "world"--and not really for the classic viewer who wants to revisit something familiar.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2021 by applcin