tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post1193919750711244552..comments2023-11-02T09:08:08.645-04:00Comments on We Love Soaps: COUNTDOWN: 25 Biggest Blunders In Daytime Soap Opera History (25-21)Kevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13659344675956886092noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-75784321517740044662017-07-03T11:56:39.749-04:002017-07-03T11:56:39.749-04:00Focus groups! The main name that comes to mind wh...Focus groups! The main name that comes to mind who absolutely loved those was Jill Farren Phelps and Brian Fronz! Listening to a suit instead of us the fans speaks volumes why the genre has went down the drain the last 25 yrs. Because of focus groups they ruined storylines and potential pairings when they were on fire. I hate them. It's the worst measurable to see what fans think is best for their shows. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15971023192523030646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-1136135596908579862011-09-09T10:02:52.471-04:002011-09-09T10:02:52.471-04:00WOW. This is awesome! Loving it, Damon.
@Mark I c...WOW. This is awesome! Loving it, Damon.<br /><br />@Mark I completely understand your frustration about fresh writing. I wrote a manuscript in EIGHTH GRADE for a soap opera - just for fun - in 1992. I wrote it on my typewriter, cut out pictures of the actors I "cast", and put it all together in a scrapbook. Apparently, since the dawn of the net, I found out that a lot of people have done this for fun, but I was 13 and just loved soaps and writing. <br /><br />"Modern Love" featured stories that I have seen on daytime throughout the 1990s - so much so I would have sworn that my creation was plagiarized. Obviously that's not the case, but I wonder what could have been if the net existed then and I got my ideas out there. Just saying!!<br /><br />@ATWT fans 1000% agreed with all posts! Thanks for the P&G love and the acknowledgment of the obvious crap that we were forced to swallow.Tiana aka Krstismomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-33415798459759875052011-09-09T08:17:11.190-04:002011-09-09T08:17:11.190-04:00By the way i love this list. i have been sitting ...By the way i love this list. i have been sitting here agreeing with each one and ranting my reasons why :) good job damon, can't wait to see what else you guys came up withJamilla Geterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06478639679727896843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-69303251513595402762011-09-09T08:15:36.375-04:002011-09-09T08:15:36.375-04:00Tom you touched on my point spot on, not that this...Tom you touched on my point spot on, not that this is surprising. I totally agree with number 25 Damon, and it is a mistake that soaps seem to make over and over again. It's like they sit around the writing table thinking hmmm what can we do to spice things up. oh I know lets kill off a kid today, we haven't done it lately. <br /><br />Now granted sometimes it works, Maxie and BJ in the nineties was a heartbreaking story. BJ suffering from the car crash and Maxie getting her heart I could BUY that, it worked and to this day Maxie always remembers that she has BJ's heart. On the flipside i am still not certain why Georgie had to die. OR Emily, or Jake or Zack on days of our lives. I won't even get into how i think the miscarriage is overdone.<br /><br />And while we're on the same tip killing characters only to decided five months down the line that they were wrong and need the character back so they have to figure out a way to bring a character who died from some disease (B&B's Taylor for example) and make it conceivable that they didn't die after all. it's especially fun when the character isn't known for abandoning their family...so they have to explain that too. I won't even go into ATWT...i agree with greg and the other poster thereJamilla Geterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06478639679727896843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-33146186175010898252011-09-07T11:49:03.219-04:002011-09-07T11:49:03.219-04:00BRILLIANT award winning journalism! all my best!BRILLIANT award winning journalism! all my best!outviewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11463619373631606176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-27905679714128716622011-09-07T01:29:06.604-04:002011-09-07T01:29:06.604-04:00What? I love Aubrey, Cutter, Rama and Vimal on OLT...What? I love Aubrey, Cutter, Rama and Vimal on OLTL! They're great! Has daytime ever had South Asian characters that were this three dimensional? Of course, it is disappointing that they Rama and Vimal don't get any love scenes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-6763509283432298512011-09-07T00:59:20.759-04:002011-09-07T00:59:20.759-04:00I disagree with #23. Expansion to an hour was inev...I disagree with #23. Expansion to an hour was inevitable, and gave the opportunity for the development of previously minor characters. Yes, it has led to the introduction of pointless characters (Aubrey, Cutter, Rama and Vimal on OLTL are perfect examples of this.<br /><br />On the other side, the hour format provided the opportunity for Luke and Noah to exist. We all fought furiously and endlessly for more airtime and greater storyline development for Luke and Noah. I firmly believe that they never would have existed if ATWT had remained a half hour soap. Luke may have been there as a minor character, or maybe as a straight character in place of Casey. (A half hour soap would not have developed both characters). Luke would not have become the groundbreaking gay character he became if he had to fight for the 22 minutes of airtime available in a half hour soap.Lacon(Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04048711608574209559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-30593394214954857432011-09-07T00:21:35.577-04:002011-09-07T00:21:35.577-04:00#25 really hits home for me. Soaps are infamous fo...#25 really hits home for me. Soaps are infamous for killing children, often for shock value and a short term storyline. Then, a few years or months later, when they need a young character, a sudden mystery child from a prior relationship shows up. I'm loving the Stefano/Chad story, but it is beyond absurd that Chad is Stefano's 37th previously unknown bastard child. If it isn't an illegitimate child it's a random niece or nephew, the child of someone we never heard of before. "I know I've never once mentioned Uncle Gustav before, put here is his daughter Esmeralda, who's moving in with me and will become my sole heir."<br /><br />Overall soaps are shortsighted and foolish in dealing with death. An actor wants to leave, or or is fired, so the character dies senselessly. Soon the producers/writers realize their mistake. They recast the character and bring them back from the dead, with a new face. The recast fails, the original actor is rehired, and the character has their old face back.<br /><br />Soon another legacy character is killed, and they wonder why I can't get emotionally connected to yet another senseless death. I can't cry because I know they will be back. I can't be tricked again.<br /><br />It is interesting that they seem to hurt the show by permanently killing the children, and also hurt the show by 'temporarily' killing the adults. either way, the viewers lose.Lacon(Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/04048711608574209559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-49062796217845714662011-09-06T22:42:43.844-04:002011-09-06T22:42:43.844-04:00I completely agree with Anonymous's views on t...I completely agree with <i>Anonymous's</i> views on the 7 biggest blunders of <i>ATWT</i>! It's pissing me off all over again!Greeneb2https://www.blogger.com/profile/16466719799496320519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-63955005161671518932011-09-06T22:26:28.843-04:002011-09-06T22:26:28.843-04:00Robb, obviously time has dulled my senses. lol... ...Robb, obviously time has dulled my senses. lol... it was one of those stories where I e-mailed CBS. And this is something I almost rarely do.Steve Uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03020605176146375900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-65350085260721475042011-09-06T21:39:30.891-04:002011-09-06T21:39:30.891-04:00You could probably come up with 25 blunders just f...You could probably come up with 25 blunders just for "As The World Turns, including:<br /><br />1. Not giving Nancy Hughes (Helen Wagner, an original cast member!) a proper funeral and send off. Even Janet's father's death got more coverage than Nancy's. Shame!!<br /><br />2. They had at least 3 months to wrap up the storylines, but we were subjected to Chuckles the clown, Blackie, Iris and others two of those 3 months when Oakdale regulars should have been front and center. Also, the writing/continuity was really bad the last three months. The ending was, for the most part, crappy.<br /><br />3. A few characters did get happy endings, but too many did not (Luke, for example) and some did not appear at all (where was Emma?). And although they celebrated Eileen Fulton's 50th anniversary, she was hardly more than a piece of furniture at the end. SHAME! And Susan Stewart made a very brief appearance in the last episode and I don't think she was on air for the last several weeks/maybe even months. I was thankful they brought back Frannie (Julianne Moore) and Dr. John Dixon (the fabulous Larry Bryggman) and Will/Gwen, but it would be nice to have seen Penny or Don, or so many old favorites or have Lisa fall in love with a nice gentleman.<br /><br />4. How about Bob and Kim's 25th anniversary with their son, Chris, who was born a year after they were married but is now in his late 30s? That was bizarre, as was the storyline that their marriage wasn't legal due to the clergyman not having proper credentials(when that same preacher married others in town back in the day...does that mean other Oakdalers are not married? Even though they've probably divorced in the meantime?).<br /><br />5. Killing Brad and then immediately pairing Katie up with Chris before the end. I wasn't a Brad fan, but the Katie/Chris pairing made no sense and they had little chemistry (they had no time to conjure up any). It would've made more sense if Simon came back again for her.<br /><br />6. Killing Reid (one of the best characters they introduced in years) and making it longer than Nancy Snyder's death. Breaking Luke Snyder's heart. 'Nuff said.<br /><br />7. Character assassinations of Vienna, Lucinda and others. <br /><br />I'm getting riled up again (it's almost the 1 year anniversary of the show's demise), so I'll leave it at this although there are more things I can cite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-85610137299036349892011-09-06T21:39:09.947-04:002011-09-06T21:39:09.947-04:00The biggest blunder for me was when Santa Barbara ...The biggest blunder for me was when Santa Barbara came on,and it was fine.TIIC decided to change the people running it.The Dobsons.They locked them out. They had the best actors and when they had the big C fall on half of the couple I loved watching. Harley Kozak. That was it for me. They had me I changed GH and GL to watch it,boom they changed. They killed off so many actors I would like somebody next thing you know they were dead. Guess you can't please everybody all the time. <br />Also they need to stop killing off chracters then when people complain,they bring them back.SB hasn't been on for years but fans still remember it,and go on line to watch what is left.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-59832021735549597592011-09-06T21:37:09.640-04:002011-09-06T21:37:09.640-04:00The biggest blunder for me was when Santa Barbara ...The biggest blunder for me was when Santa Barbara came on,and it was fine.TIIC decided to change the people running it.The Dobsons.They loced them out. They had the best actors and when they had the big C fall on half of the couple I loved watching. Harley Kozak. That was it for me. They had me I changed GH and GL to watch it,boom they changed. They killed off so many actors I would like somebody next thing you know they were dead. Guess you can't please everybody all the time. <br />Also they need to stop killing off chracters then when people complain,they bring them back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-90053440303858618982011-09-06T18:42:35.594-04:002011-09-06T18:42:35.594-04:00DOOL letting go of Louise Sorel 'vivian'. ...DOOL letting go of Louise Sorel 'vivian'. the first time they let her go was a mistake and it took 20 years to get her back. she is/was one of the most interesting people on that show. yet, they let her go again in 2011. BIG MISTAKE. i will no longer watch DOOL because of this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-73083637313624594962011-09-06T18:07:21.445-04:002011-09-06T18:07:21.445-04:00In terms of Edge, I thought it was ONE particular ...In terms of Edge, I thought it was ONE particular actor (a major leading man) who didn't agree to the residuals and, thus, the deal to air Edge on late night fell through.Robb C. Sewellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06765190425973782744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-53345524098269121992011-09-06T18:00:43.663-04:002011-09-06T18:00:43.663-04:00Steve, Weston was not fired so quickly after Ben R...Steve, Weston was not fired so quickly after Ben Reade was killed off. Ben committed suicide in the summer of 2003 and Weston remained with Guiding Light into mid-2004. A couple months after she butchered Ben's character, she went onto butcher numerous characters in the MaryAnn Carruthers storyline.Robb C. Sewellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06765190425973782744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-1629525851784087912011-09-06T17:27:49.615-04:002011-09-06T17:27:49.615-04:00Along the lines of Ellen Weston, she also wrote th...Along the lines of Ellen Weston, she also wrote the infamous "Ben Reade is a serial killer" story. Although the story heavily featured Marina, played at the time by Aubrey Dollar (a wonderful actress who has gone on to theater and occasional prime time and movie appearances), it was a terrible rewrite of history. Molested as a child? <br /><br />This was not the Ben I remember, the innocent young boy who hung out with Bill and Michelle as 12 and 13-year olds in the early 1990s. The very day the Ben story ended and Ben was killed off, I immediately e-mailed CBS and said in so many words "You have to get rid of this writer. She is a cancer to your serial and an embarrassment to the daytime community."<br /><br />I wasn't the only one to think that, obviously, as she was fired not even two weeks later.Steve Uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03020605176146375900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-79536380413195189042011-09-06T17:08:49.051-04:002011-09-06T17:08:49.051-04:00Hiring Ellen Weston as Head writer at Guiding Ligh...Hiring Ellen Weston as Head writer at Guiding Light. She re-wrote the history for FIVE legacy characters, and the storyline wasn't even good to begin with. When she came in it was the beginning of the end of Guiding Light.Stephanienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-72608273411070497572011-09-06T14:50:36.351-04:002011-09-06T14:50:36.351-04:00Love the info , alot I had forgoyyen about , but I...Love the info , alot I had forgoyyen about , but I moannel soaps ! I am still missing ATWT. I used to couldn't wait for it to come on an hated when it got to the weekend an I had to wait all weekend to watch again ! Good job here with the Blunders !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-71283825315882721062011-09-06T13:59:54.629-04:002011-09-06T13:59:54.629-04:00Every soap except those run by the Bell family (# ...Every soap except those run by the Bell family (# 1 and 2 in the ratings) play the game of revolving writers all the time ... they recycle stories, get rid of characters loyal fans have invested YEARS in watching ( like NOLA on GL) .. then bring in new families that we're instantly supposed to care about. it does not work. soaps need writers from outside the industry who do not recycle old storylines. I wrote a soap in college, tried to get into a writers' development program at P& G, but they had dropped it. Our soap did the GL "Marion Crane" storyline 10 years earlier... and I was a college student writing it at the time! Timing has never been on my side, but they need fresh, out of the box writers who give characters depth, motivation, and integrity to who they are as individuals...that motivates every action they do, how they interact with others, etc. Douglas Marland was a gem at this technique.... I have yet to find anyone else who even comes close except for Lorraine Broderick at AMC now and the Dobsons during their tenure at GL.Mark Schreierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18102197761887842272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-38626973019940896492011-09-06T13:26:34.974-04:002011-09-06T13:26:34.974-04:00Great column, can't wait to read the full list...Great column, can't wait to read the full list. <br /><br />Not sure if it's one of the Biggest Blunders, but something that bugged me with ABC's soaps was the attempt to homoginize them and give them all the same style of opening credits. Each show is unique and should be treated as such. But when you begin treating them all as one big interchangable soap opera, then you lose any respect for the soaps as individual programs with their own audiences and tones of voice. It's not surpsing that ABC is the network that axed two of its soaps on the same day and has the third on life support.Timnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-40375800571854156402011-09-06T13:01:39.799-04:002011-09-06T13:01:39.799-04:00I'm not sure I have a blunder, but I certainly...I'm not sure I have a blunder, but I certainly agree w/# 22. I'm in the process of receiving my MBA and am taking a stats course. One of the first things my professor said was that a survey doesn't necessarily measure accuracy, but certainly a degree of what is wrong. Why? Because there is no way to question all types of people within a population...only those willing to participate. And if all they listened to was 12 women from the Bronx...well I can see why soaps are on their death beds and the fact that they continue to this, just bothers me. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on TPTB!!!<br />And this younger people crap...Hey my mom and dad are just as relevant as my nieces and nephews. Hell they're more interesting. Again, the SHAME!<br />...oh and one last thing...I don't want to see NO MORE DEAD PEOPLE!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-87600316327276448562011-09-06T11:09:18.723-04:002011-09-06T11:09:18.723-04:00Recasting Allison Rice Taylor with Susan Baton on ...Recasting Allison Rice Taylor with Susan Baton on ATWT. And the whole forced relationship with Connor and Mark. Both contributed to ruining her character so badly they had to just get rid of her.<br /><br />Having Sam and Kirk disappear and NEVER addressing again, even when the show was going off the air.<br /><br />You can make a stable boy become a business executive over night and soap fans with buy it. You can even age a 12 year old to a 20 year old and make them a chief of staff at a hospital and we'll roll with it. But when you stop telling us if they are working in business or as stable boys or horse breeders and we're just forced to guess, then you're going to make us mad.<br /><br />Likewise, if Lily moves her whole family into her mother-in-laws farmhouse for about three years but there is never a storyline to tell us why they are living there, and then just as randomly they are back at her (scaled down) mansion, you're going to make soap fans mad! I get that you have to cut sets and cut budgets, but the beauty of soaps is you can just write it into the show! Faith started smoking and burned the house down, so we all moved in with Emma. Done. Easy.<br /><br />And where was Emma for the last decade? She wasn't tending to her chickens or her houseguests! Just tell me she's MOVED to be near Iva and MJ, tell me a teen MJ has a drug problem and Emma was gonna scare him straight! I'd rather see a teen MJ being scared straight by Emma on my screen, but I know they wouldn't do that, so I'll settle for a reasonable explanation, because I know Emma didn't go on 20 church retreats a year! And that excuse made me say, I guess Emma has her own drug problem and her whole family doesn't even realize it! She's in Milltown scoring a fix.<br /><br />And who in God's name owns Worldwide??? Is it Lucinda? Craig? Paul? Dusty? Why do they all share an office???<br /><br />When the writers forget or don't care what's going on, that's when the genre is really washed up and played out.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17362389904158494068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-15202551400957575172011-09-06T11:02:40.625-04:002011-09-06T11:02:40.625-04:00Damon, this is something that needed to be written...Damon, this is something that needed to be written -- and you're off to a great start. #22 and #21 especially resonate for me. <br /><br />I look forward to future installments.Patrick Mulcaheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00210556369687190259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585163331194032530.post-84545860098375377162011-09-06T10:21:10.485-04:002011-09-06T10:21:10.485-04:00I think one of the biggest mistakes all the networ...I think one of the biggest mistakes all the networks made was the round robin hiring and firing of a writing staff. There was a time when the revolving door of writers made it impossible to keep track of stories and shows cause they would shift mid-storyline.TorontoHabsfannoreply@blogger.com