All My Children Discussion Group
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Subject: I don't agree that they've changed over the years with the same result..if I'm understanding what you're saying and I'm not sure I am because you start off with the word again...and I never read your posts on this subject before...so if I'm not understanding I'm sorry...but seems to me there have been various groups of writers over the years...some better than others...I've watched AMC since 1979 but there were years..particularly in the mid 80's...where I'd stop watching for awhile because the writing got SO BAD. Then I'd tune back in and there'd be different writers and the stories were better so I'd watch again. Then the writers would change and things would go downhill...and then they'd change again and improve and so it goes. I really think that the problem right now is that the writers are having to wrap up storylines for several key departing characters...and get ready to integrate those departures into storylines for continuing characters. If the networks are not making money off of soaps anymore...then sure...they'll all be gone. Perhaps SoapNet will take over and produce original broadcasts of soaps. There is a large audience for soaps...surely no smaller than the audience for the golf channel...the food channels...the game show channels...etc. I'd hope so...but who's to say. It just seems like soaps are all over the world..AMC plays in Italy, etc...and there is a market for them...it's a special entertainment form...and I'd hope not every network would think there's no audience for it. They have networks for so many piddly things...you'd think someone would take up producing soaps. I guess they'd have to buy the rights to something like AMC...but perhaps they would do that...a tried and true soap...when done right!! SORAS
Response Posted by: SORAS
Date Posted: Thu Nov 5 21:48:26 2009
Message:
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Subject: SORAS: Over the last 20 yrs or so (the period of time when US soaps have been losing millions of viewers a year & the job descriptions for writers & EPs changed) there have been individual writers that have come & gone, w/no real differences in the downward spiral--with one or two occasional exceptions. SoapNet was supposed to be all about soaps, but the same Suits that have no respect for the genre at ABC were the ones making the decisions for their cable channel, so what could be expected?! Yes, ICAM, there IS a market for the traditional, American style soap--not just telenovellas. When the European markets opened up there was LOTS of popularity for soaps. Santa Barbara was huge in France, for example. B&B has always been huge in Italy. In a lot of these countries our daytime shows are shown in primetime because of their popularity in those markets. There is also a strong market here. But none of this changes the position of TPTB (Corp). Even at that level, individuals can come & go, but the Corp. mindset remains the same. They see the audience as having 'the collective attention span of a gnat' & 'brains of oatmeal'--giving them the excuse to dumb things down further & further. They've also said that they don't care about lapsed fans or older fans of soaps. They want those tweens & twenty-somethings (under 26 yrs old), so they can mold the consumers of the future. But they see that demo as needing things to be dumbed down further & further. I've always said that there is a huge audience for traditional soap operas out here. But I'm talking about a WHOLE audience, not just one or two, narrowly defined groups that 'need' things to be dumbed down for. I think that the WHOLE audience is intelligent & capable of appreciating more than the crap we've been seeing for so long. eom
Response Posted by: Rosebud1
Date Posted: Fri Nov 6 14:43:31 2009
Message:
eom
