For some time now, characters in daytime dramas have been taking time from their normal activities, like having amnesia, to engage in animated discussions about the sponsors’ products. The ABC soap actors spent February talking about how Campbell’s soup and other assorted products are good for your heart. (And tasty, too!)
Lynn Leahey, the editorial director of Soap Opera Digest, pointed to an episode of AS THE WORLD TURNS in which Margo needed to get her hair fixed before a date with her husband (don’t ask) and reached for a bottle of Nice ’n Easy Root Touch-Up. “I feel like I took off 10 years in 10 minutes!” she exclaimed.
Daytime dramas are swimming in choppy waters these days. Ratings are down. Shows are getting canceled. “They’re struggling to find a business model that works,” said Leahey, in a remark I have heard a time or two lately in other contexts.
So, the viewers acquiesce. In fact, for all the complaining about car bailouts and greedy bankers, people have become extremely tolerant of irritating behavior on the part of struggling corporations. Lines we never even bothered to think of as lines are being crossed.
Deep Soap: Heart Of The Matter
Sara A. Bibel blogs: "I’m not sure why Campbell’s picked ABC soaps to spread its message. There are certainly plenty of older, at risk, women who watch. It’s undoubtedly much cheaper to get ABC daytime on board then it would be to pay for a Campbell’s themed episode of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. I think there’s also an assumption that us unsophisticated daytime viewers will believe that canned food with less salt, rather than actual fruits and vegetables, are the ticket to good health."
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: ATWT's Jeffrey Meek (Craig)Jeffrey Meek will star as Mack the Knife, Feb. 28-March 29, in the San Diego REP production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's groundbreaking musical, "The Threepenny Opera."
Meek played Craig on ATWT for several months but was suddenly replaced by the original Craig in 2007 who lasted less than a year in his return to the soap.
VIDEO: Y&R's Morrow going to the outletsJosh Morrow from CBS’s THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS is coming to Miromar Outlets. Meet him on Saturday, March 21 from 12 to 2 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and then again on Sunday, March 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"The Man Who Came Back" part of film festival in May
The Bayou Playhouse in Lockport is giving performance-art fans a chance in May to view a showcase of works by acclaimed filmmakers Glen Pitre and Michelle Benoit at a month-long film festival. Included in the showcase is Eric Braeden's "The Man Who Came Back" on May 31.
Jim Lehrer love FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS"The writing and acting on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is superb. These are seriously drawn stories about high school football in small-town Texas and the dilemmas these kids have. It's very gripping. Of course, I'm from Texas, so that's part of it."
Is Joe McCoy Making His Son Into the Next Todd Marinovich?
Slate's Meghan O'Rourke ponders the question: "Is FNL setting him up to be a future Todd Marinovich? Marinovich, as football fans will remember, was a vaunted quarterback who was micromanaged by his dad from birth. Like Joe McCoy, Marv Marinovich scheduled his son's every minute and meal."
The-N becoming TeenNick
In an effort to strengthen the already venerable kids and family-oriented Nickelodeon brand, Nick will rename its toddler-targeted Noggin network as Nick Jr. and its teen-tinged The N service (US home of DEGRASSI) as TeenNick later this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment