ABC's daytime dramas need support now!

[dwmckim]

Many of you know that one of my other major areas of fandom is One Life to Live and that i've been a major supporter of keeping the rapidly dying daytime drama genre on the air ( http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=44778 ). The below article is a more concrete confirmation of things i've heard elsewhere from pretty trustworthy sources. Unlike the other networks, ABC fully owns all three of its soaps - and exactly half (3 out of 6) of the remaining daytime dramas are on ABC. If any of them goes, that's pretty much a death knell for the entire industry. Even if you're not a soap fan, if you care about the state of reality shows completely replacing all other types of programming or wish to see one of the few modern examples of long-running serial storytelling continuing, please join me in contacting ABC in support of its daytime dramas.

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"SPECIAL REPORT:ABC to Make "Major Decisions" About Daytime Lineup in Coming Weeks"

By Jamey Giddens on February 22, 2011 @daytimeconfidential

Don't shoot the blogger. Remember all those talk shows ABC started developing last year? There were the two from ABC Media Productions (one a Will & Grace-esque talker with Tori Spelling and Jeff Lewis, the other a cooking show with Danny Boome) and one,a "male View" from Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie. I'm hearing, in the coming weeks, ABC will be deciding if one or more of these projects will land on The Mouse House's daytime lineup come fall of 2011.

"They have to make a decision by the end of the First Quarter of 2011 in order to get one or more of the shows on the air by fall," says a source. "Affiliates are getting antsy with Oprah leaving the airwaves*with no clear cut successor. The decisions ABC will be making will have ripple effects throughout the ABC Daytime lineup and yes,*the soaps will be affected."

As to what exactly all this means for ABC Daytime's three soap operas, that isn't so easy to decipher.

"It's no secret the soaps aren't as profitable as they once were," says*one industry insider, "and two of the ABC soaps have been over budget in recent years."

In the fall of 2009, ABC Daytime decided to uproot All My Children*and move them to Los Angeles in a cost-cutting effort, however sources tell me the 41-year-old sudser has continued to run over budget since relocating in January of 2010.

"Julie [Hanan Caruthers, All My Children's executive producer] just can't seem to bring it in under budget," says a source.
*
Reportedly, whereas most of the soaps left on the air have gone to a production*model of getting scenes in one take, AMC allegedly*still does several takes for each scene and boasts other financial risk factors that concern the powers that be. Meanwhile, ABC's most popular soap opera, General Hospital has also run into budget woes of late.

GH,*which premiered in 1963,*reportedly saw its budget slashed significantly recently, resulting in the firing of actress Rebecca Herbst, a move that has since been rescinded. However, sources say more cast cuts are forth coming.
"General Hospital isn't in any immediate danger," says a setsider. "It has the strongest brand by far."

That leaves All My Children and One Life to Live*- the latter being the*only ABC soap to reportedly come in under budget consistently -*for ABC to determine the futures of, and while*reps have maintained the shows produced by ABC Media Productions won't necessarily end up on the ABC channel, numerous sources have confirmed to me that the programs were in fact specifically developed for The Mouse House's daypart.
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Some additional notes of my own...the cuts made to GH's budget referenced in the article was reportedly 50%

OLTL's suffered cancellation rumors for the last few years but all the latest buzz i've been hearing is that AMC is currently in the most trouble. GH is the least endangered as it almost always draws higher ratings than the other two (though OLTL was ABC's top rated soap in the most recent weekly ratings report), but all three have different "pros" and "cons" in regards to their relative safety and once one goes, the other two are in bad shape.

Of course i'd be remiss if i didn't bring up that such things have a ripple effect on other non-reality shows regardless of genre - whether they be other scripted daytime shows like Sesame Street or the chances of seeing Muppets return to a regular tv series (where an ABC-owned network would be the most likely venue for obvious reasons)

Speaking personally as an OLTL fan, after some rather sloppy writing from spring 09-Oct 10, the show's made a huge turnaround and is in very strong shape overall. When it's at its best, the show rivals the rest of the dial as well as primetime programming as the best on television and would hate to see the plug pulled before its time has truly come. I've pledged to do anything i can to rally support and not be like fans of other cancelled soaps who waited too long to have an effect hence my post here. Please join me in contacting the powers that be at ABC at a crucial time when they need to hear from us.

Robert Iger. President of Disney
(ABC Parent Company)
robert.a.iger@disney.com

Anne Sweeney, President of Disney-ABC
anne.x.sweeney@abc.com

Brian Frons, ABC Daytime President
Brian.Frons@abc.com

ABC Comment Line: 323-671-4583
ABC Daytime Feedback Line: 212-456-7777

ABC Daytime
77 West 66th St
NY NY 10023

 

[dwmckim]

Just to add a lighthearted epilogue to the more serious topic, below is a list i posted to some fan forums a while back in regards to Favorite Memories/Why I'm A Fan. When you spend an hour a day with a show five days a week most every week of the year, it's hard not to get hooked and sometimes even see the cast as members of your extended family (esp when like me, you've been disowned by part of your real family!). These shows are true American Institutions and these personal favorites of mine from my two decades of fandom are a fun example of the fun and smiles it's brought to me over the years:

- Tina in the lighthouse. Ursula Blackwell was just such a deliciously
fun villain - one moment she'd seem like the sweetest lady having you
over to chat over tea and then would become completely unhinged. That in
itself made the whole story so memorable but the single moment that will
always make it a personal fave was the scene with Tina being forced to
sweep up Patrick London's ashes. As if the idea of sweeping up ANYTHING
wasn't enough for spoiled Tina, having to deal with her enemy's ashes
was another. Seeing Andrea Evans' disgust at the whole ordeal eventually
sweeping everything under the carpet and then realizing she had to have
something in the urn, replacing them with fireplace ashes lives out as
one the funniest scenes ever on OLTL. I can never so much as think of it
without cracking up.

- David marrying Bo and Nora. The laughs just kept coming - you'd be
laughing at one thing and before you could stop, something else way too
funny would happen or be said that just got you rolling even more.

- Live week. Not only a crazy insane undertaking but also done
extraordinarily well all over. Kassie DaPaiva needs to have a special
place reserved for her in the soap hall of fame for that performance
alone!

- Babes Behind Bars - the most classic of the show's short-lived special
July 4th episodes.

- Robin Strasser returning as Dorian. Elaine Princi's Dorian was my
first exposure to the character and while i loved her and Dorian was
already among my fave characters, seeing Robin Strasser return to the
role was an amazing experience - just the sheer energy and force of
nature she was...seeing how amazing she was instead of just hearing
about it!

- "Nora." "Lindsay". Any time those two cross paths and greet each other
in that manner was always golden!

- Lindsay in St. Ann's. Especially when she was at the pottery wheel
making a sculpture she called Troy which was as phallic a piece that the
show could manage to get past censors.

- Megan on Fraternity Row/Daisy Awards. I loved Megan and Jessica Tuck
and she was always at her best when she was in soap actress mode.

- Dorian & Joey. Yes, it was one of Dorian's most vicious schemes -
especially when she was faking a truce with Viki and making it seem like
the two could actually become just shy of friends all the while just
waiting for the right moment to spring the worst possible shock on Viki.
And having it all backfire when Dorian and Joey both ended up caring
very deeple about each other.

- Alex Olanov. When i first started watching and knew next to nothing
about most of the characters, here was this blond woman just sparkling
with electricity in every scene she was in and to this day always
brightens up the screen when she makes a brief return.

- Bo and Nora - not only a supercouple but a very real one. They pigged
out on junk food, enjoyed dancing...they weren't some
prince/princess-like fairy tale, but were as true life as you got.

- Asian Blair. I dearly love Kassie DePaiva and she's among my favorites
but even though she's made Blair her own and is always a fave, there was
such a delight in original recipe Blair that was so much fun. This
dragon lady type that was both campy and vulnerable. And of course the classic
scene from one of Asa's fake funerals when
Kassie's Blair has a flashback memory of Mia Korf's Blair and comes out
of it checking herself in the mirror with a confused look on her face.

- Fish/Kyle. Both wonderful characters by themselves and together. One
of the show's biggest mistakes dropping them.

- Roxy Roxy Roxy! Whether she's making you laugh or cry, she always
gives it her zany all.

- 1993-1995. Must-see tv. Between Marty's rape story, Viki's splintering
personalities, Banner/Son wars, Billy Douglas, Luna Moody,
Tina/Cord/Cain/Angela Holiday, Bo/Nora, Dorian/Joey, Lord of the Banner,
Cassie/Andrew, Addie Cramer, Todd Manning's rise, etc etc you just
couldn't wait for each day's episode because you knew it would be a
solid hour of the most incredible television, writing, directing, and
performances.

- So-bad-it-was-good Jennifer Morris as Jen Rappaport. She was so awful
that it became campy fun to watch her because she was that bad. Soap
fans could actually hold drinking games for whenever she would say
"weddin-GUH". And then eventually after some much-needed time on the
backburner, she finally improved enough to where by the time she was
killed off, you were actually sad to see her go.

- Marcie singing the Star Spangled Banner.

- The sheer magic in years of consistent outstanding performances by the legends that are Erika Slezak, Robin Strasser, Hilary B. Smith, Catherine Hickland, Kassie DePaiva and Susan Haskell.

..and last but not least...

- Any scene with the doorbell or phone ringing at Dorian's and Dorian
yelling "CarLOTta! CarLOOOTta! Oh, where IS that maid?" And then one random
day, out of the blue when Dorian yells for Carlotts, there she actually
IS onscreen making her debut!

 

[CensoredAlso]

It does break my heart to see how vulnerable these Soap Operas have become; they've always had such a powerful following on network TV. They're some of the oldest programs still running.

Perhaps it was inevitable, I mean the popular characters have gotten older, left the show (or kicked off) and the replacements just haven't measured up. Everything does eventually come to an end. I hope the companies eventually take the hint and start putting these shows on DVD sets. I know there's a gigantic amount of episodes, but even a "Best of" would be appreciated by fans I think.

 

[Drtooth]

TV becoming "obsolete" or not, the death of an entire genre due to such greed and incompetence is the height of despicable. I'm no soap fan by any stretch, but the same thing is happening with kid's programming. Unless you get cable, you're out of luck. Of course, in that case, they wave that cause du jour "Childhood obeisty" in everyone's face... but adult programming has no excuse.

Now, I know Oprah's going to leave some huge holes in the business when she leaves (she was becoming pretty annoying the last decade, you have to admit), and they're going to struggle to find a replacement. But think of this...

Wayne Brady had a show that was unsuccessful for 2 years, leading to Tony Danza getting a less successful talk show... same with Bonnie Hunt. All lasted 2 years and no more. Megan Mellally had a show that was so unsuccessful, it didn't last a full season (which is why Today has 2 extra hours of NOTHING with Kathy Lee... seriously, you could air an SNL parody in its place and you couldn't tell the difference).

These new talk shows just don't do all that well. I remember when Rosie left her show and Caroline Reah got one, it was canned in less than a year... we only got it at 4 in the morning, meaning she lost control of her career (Rugrats internet meme reference... actually, it was at 2 AM). Ellen got very lucky. Her show has been on for years.

As for a Male View... didn't we already have that with Danny Bonaducci and someone? And wasn't it a flop (I know Pepe was on one that was interrupted by a certain stupidhead). CBS's pathetic View wannabe can't be that successful... Sarah Gilbert should'a stayed as a cast member of Big Bang... look what it did for Blossom's career.

It's one thing that the networks are trying to kill a genre due to dropping advertising funds (DUDE! We all know Coca-Cola and Triscuits exist! get over yourselves), but to put tepid, unwatchable garbage in it's place is an insult. I'm surprised they didn't take a cue from Children's programming and replace it with get rich quick scheme infomercials yet.