As I write this I am drinking an Austrian wine called The Gruner and watching One Life to Live. Next year at this time I may not be able to do this. It will just be me and my wine. No David Vickers, no Dorian Lord, No Llanview. While these names may mean nothing to you for the past decade these characters and places have been a part of my life (to read more about this go here). All My Children, which I started watching with my mom when I was 11, and One Life to Live which I started watching in college, where canceled in April after being on the air for over 40 years each. Nearly 1200 jobs will be lost when these two programs go of the air. This makes me sad not only for my personal loss of my favorite shows or for the actors that are losing their jobs; but what makes me sad is what the cancelation of soaps says about the state of entertainment in our society.
Scripted programming is on the way out. Every year there are more and more reality shows. Anyone can have a show. Clip coupons, boom you’ve got a show. Have a sex tape, boom show. Got more embryos in your belly than you can afford, boom another show. Look at your TV listings quality scripted entertainment is dying a slow death. Networks have realized that reality is cheap and a quick sell. It is the fast food of entertainment. It does nothing good for you. You don’t have to think about it you just watch. I’m not saying that soaps or any scripted program requires high level thought functions but there is a plot and characters actions usually have ramifications beyond a bitch slap, a bar fight or having to actually pay for your groceries.
By now you may be thinking but I don’t watch reality TV I watch Grey’s Anatomy or Brother’s and Sister’s or Desperate Housewives. I hate to tell you but they are soaps. All serialized drama is a soap wrapped up in a pretty prime time package. Want proof? On Grey’s Anatomy Meredith drowns but miraculously survives with no problems or Izzie keeps seeing her dead fiancé, doesn’t that sound soapy to you? Or what about the missing sibling that turns up at the end of every season of Brothers and Sisters? If that’s not straight out of soap then I don’t know what is. Even shows that have long been canceled like The OC or Dawson’s Creek, clearly soaps. When Ryan collapses in front of Marissa’s body and let’s out the most clichéd cry, that is so soap. Desperate Housewives doesn’t even deny its soapiness, Tuc Watkins of One Life to Live has been playing Bob Hunter on Desperate Housewives since 2007 and Eva Longoria got her start on soaps.
Many primetime actors have gotten their start on soaps. Josh Duhamel of Transformers fame first won my heart when he played Leo Dupres on All My Children, Eva La Rue of CSI Miami started as Maria Santos on All My Children, Nathan Fillon of Castle and the lesser known Serenity, portrayed Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live.
The fact is soap is everywhere. Even the latest vampire craze has soap roots. Dark Shadows which premiered in 1966 was a soap about vampires and was a huge cult hit. The show is being made into a movie starring Johnny Depp.
Without Erica Kane reality TV would never have The “real” Housewives of who the hell cares because the bitch character would have never been on TV. Erica Kane was the first man stealing, bitch slapping, much married vixen on TV.
But I digress. There is a campaign to save the soaps. You may have heard about it in the Wall Street Journal, The Globe or CNN. It is not a small fringe movement. The goal is simply to get a Soap Opera channel. In order to do this soap enthusiasts are trying to collect coupons in support of getting a channel. We need 500,000 and the reason I’m wining is because I need you. Please go to www.sudz.tv where the coupon can be found and mail it in or if you don’t want to mail it in please message me or facebook me with your name, cable provider, city, state and zip and I will mail it for you. I would greatly appreciate this. So I’m asking that you do it for me or for anyone you know who has watched “their stories”, or do it for “your stories”.
That is all. End Rant I now return to diaper explosions, crying fits and all other baby related drama. J
Wow – so well said. My show was As The World Turns – 50 years worth – that's half a century. I saw Meg Ryan, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, Steven Webber, Martin Sheen, Jason Biggs, Dana Delaney, Courtney Cox, Ming Na and so many more get their start on ATWT. That's pretty impressive, don't you think? Coupons, for sure. Already have 30, and will be getting so many more. BTW, I bought Susan Lucci's book because I've become an AMC and OLTL fan. And I love them.