Beyond the Gates: Premiere Date, Time Slot Set by CBS

[skiman12082004]

Here in San Diego GH and Y&R go head to head at 1pm. B&B is on at 12:30pm and BTG will air at 2pm.

Currently, I'm watching all four soaps but when BTG starts I don't think I'll be able to watch all five. The decision now is which one(s) to drop.

[ReddFoxx]

In Los Angeles General Hospital is on at 2 pm so it will be up against Beyond The Gates, but I don't think it will necessarily be a competition because at this point a new soap is going to help the others just by boosting the genre. Those actors from the other shows showing enthusiasm know that the publicity of "soap operas are still alive" is good for the genre as a whole. When you're in a genre that has declined you can't afford to compete because competition isn't really a factor like it was 30-40 years ago.

[Liberty City]

I am not going to be watching GH live; my attention is purely on BTG now.

[Vee]

Nothing about the show looks cheap to me. The lighting is pretty strong at times, but that may be a thing of early production/untreated shots. I have no issue with the sets.

The fact is that no soap is perfect out of the gate and there are always hiccups, changes and adjustments. Historically they've usually needed a year or two (or five) to bed in and find an audience. BTG may or may not get a huge amount of grace time, but I am sure CBS/P&G and Val Jean are aware of the historical trends. And sure, GH will be tough competition simply due to brand loyalty. But you don't make this kind of investment to roll it up in 6-12 months (particularly with the added prestige/pressure of the NAACP, which puts a certain obligation on the network) unless it's some kind of staggering failure. That's not at the front of my mind.

Edited 2 hours ago by Vee

[Paul Raven]

Yes, surely all parties involved would be realistic about the show needing to settle in, what sort of numbers/demos they need in broadcast and streaming and what sort of profit margin they can operate at.

I guess improving on The Talk would be the first goal.

 

[Chris B]

With a soap it's a marathon not a sprint. As Vee said, it takes time for a soap to find it's footing and one of the good things about the soap format is that they'll have time to fix things as they go. It's not a Days situation where they're going to debut with 6-8 months in the can with little chance to fix it. They have time to address things that aren't working and fix them.

Another thing, I'm sure they have other surprises in store for us to keep the conversation going overtime. Not only storylines, but pretty much every soap has brought on a key character after the show debuts. We have no idea what hidden weapons they have in store to maintain and build interest once the show is on the air.

[BoldRestless]

Here's to the next Katherine Chancellor or Sally Spectra!

[Chris B]

Those are excellent examples! I've seen the first few years of B&B and it wasn't bad, but boy did Sally give them a huge jolt of energy. With Y&R, I'd love to one day see their early years, but I find it pretty interesting that neither Katherine nor Lorie were there at the beginning and both ended up being such important characters during that era of the show. I'd love to be able to watch it to see how the show was prior to their arrivals.

[Vee]

I didn't know Lorie wasn't there at the beginning.

When did Katherine arrive? I thought it was the first year or shortly after.