ALL: Day and Night Cycles

[Dion]

A couple of posts about pacing in the Beyond the Gates thread got me thinking about day and night cycles in the soaps, with one of the most famous examples being the several weeks long day/nights that used to happen on Passions.

So what are your thoughts?

Do you like long days? Or should a day/night cycle be kept short i.e to one or two episodes?

I myself tend to think they should be kept short unless the plot requires it - i.e for an event.

Should a new day always begin in a new episode? Or are you fine with a new day starting in the middle of the episode like the Australian soaps?

I think having a new day starting in the middle of an episode tends to work better when the show is mostly consistent in keeping the length of it's days to one or two episodes.

Should the "days" always feel continuous? Or should there be skips where a new day is perhaps a few days later rather than "the next day?"

I think having some skips helps avoid the sometimes funny situation of having holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas only a couple of days apart in "show time".

What are some examples of really long days? Or really short ones?

I've heard for example that the 1981 masquerade ball on OLTL with Olympia went on for a month for example, or the 24 style sweeps months that GH was doing in the late 2000s.

Discuss.

[lucaslesann23]

I remember on YR when Mal Young first started. Every episode was a brand new day. So, any cliffhangers from the previous episode would be skipped over.

[Dion]

Yeah that is a very British way of doing things

[Liberty City]

I loved it, and it made the show not-to-miss for me. It's the last time I enjoyed the soap, too.

[lucaslesann23]

Ok. I sure do miss 

*checks notes*

Summer trying to F her uncle.

Im glad you enjoyed him LC, I just ugh didn't.

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Edited November 17, 2024 by lucaslesann23

[Liberty City]

Never said I liked everything that was done... but it was sure a not-to-miss show for me. Once Morina/Griffith came in and dismantled things, I tuned out. Only came back when Susan Walters returned, and quickly left again.

[BoldRestless]

I don't care. It should vary based on storyline needs.

[DRW50]

I don't think it matters, although JER having days go on for weeks never made sense to me.

When I was a kid, I always liked how early '90s ATWT would show a transition from night to day during an episode with stock footage of a sun over a cityscape. Watching it again through Youtube has been a source of comfort. 

Edited November 17, 2024 by DRW50

[Paul Raven]

I prefer when things are switched up depending on the storytelling. I don't mind if one day stretches over several episodes if there is stuff going on. Conversely if one episode deals with day and then we move on, fine also.

One thing soaps hardly do is show weekends, when everyone actually has the time to be at home, visiting restaurants, other character homes etc.

Also OK if we get the sense that a few days might have passed since the previous episode.

As for changes mid episode-if the show is depicting late at night and after an ad break it's earlyish the next day, that's fine also.

When a day drags on because of sets/costuming budget issues then it's tedious. Y&R has characters visiting venues often twice in a day for no good reason. The scenes could have taken place the next day.

[Planet Soap]

Wow! I never paid attention to the weekends thing!

[Dion]

And here's me thinking none of the US soaps ever did that, cheers for that anecdote

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Good point

 

Yeah, I guess this might be the main reason for an extended day when the plot actually doesn't necessarily call for one.

[j swift]

To me, the classic reset was on Y&R in the 1980s when the Abbott's would gather in the morning for Mamie's baked goods and recap the recent events.  Or, when AW's Iris would lounge in her caftan over breakfast while talking to either Mac or Brian about the happenings in Bay City.  I enjoyed that delineation between episodes as it brought a slice of life into the story (and, I imagine, allowed the opportunity for product placement).

On the other hand, I never notice the time of day until it seems out of place for two scenes to co-occur.  Historically, there was a period when ATWT was very bad at this.  I recall Lilly leaving for the office, while Lucinda was having lunch.  It just took me out of the episode. 

Currently, I often mention my favorite game “What time is it in Salem?” whenever I watch DAYS.  You'll typically see people coming home from work, while others are in bed.  Or Kayla at the hospital while it seems like it is the middle of the night.  Or, it is pitch dark, but people are playing with their young children who should be in bed.  Or a wedding starts during a work day for other characters.  It just never makes sense.  And, there are weird time jumps both within episodes, where characters magically bounce between settings, as well as between episodes, when you never seem to know how much time has passed.

[Michael]

The other thing JER did that drove me nuts was that a night would go on for so long that someone would go to bed, and later that same night, they'd be out for a fancy dinner.

[titan1978]

IIRC Claire Labine did a hybrid version of this at GH. Unless you were in the middle of a cliffhanger or a major story turn like BJ’s accident, for the most part each day was mostly a new day. Even BJ’s accident/heart transplant was several episodes surrounding the events, then a new day several actual days later as kind of an emotional reset. I often felt that it seemed like Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were each their own day on her GH, usually picked up in the morning or early part of the day.

Edited November 17, 2024 by titan1978

[Aback]

This has been a weird obsession of mine since I started watching soaps. I like when days drag out - albeit not ridiculously - and new days should begin with new episodes.
 

I find it to be a mistake when a day starts in the middle of an episode or even worse when each episode is a new day.

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The benefit of the soap medium is that it lets you focus on every beat of the story (if the writer is talented). You shouldn’t “skip the beats” for novelty sake like prime time does.