It gives me no pleasure to blog about this. What are the cast and crew going to do? I don't wish unemployment on anyone, let alone this bunch. GL should never, ever have gone to all digital video and 80% location shooting. It makes for a terrible looking show, one which if you happen across you flip channels away from.
Watching other soaps today was an odd experience, as I wondered what are the chances of other soaps staying on air. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS looks like a class act and is the only show shot in High Definition. It has been top of the ratings for decades, so I think it's safe. THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is an international hit and its half hour status makes it automatically cheaper to produce, so that one's a keeper as well.
If you look at the ratings for ONE LIFE TO LIVE, it is actually the show that has lost the least amount of viewers in a decade. (I swear, I saw it in TV GUIDE when they had an article about Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn being fired from DAYS OF OUR LIVES and the resultant death of daytime panic.) They also know how to spend money wisely -- see the exciting, frequently updated credits that make you WANT to watch the show. Recently, they pulled off an entire ball on a shoestring. Plus, their storytelling is superb. There is always the impression that something is happening in Llanview that is different and unmissable. By giving each episode an individual title, you are encouraged to think of OLTL as a proper show that you sit down and watch, instead of having on as background.
Unfortunately, I think DOOL will be the next soap on the chopping block. The show is lacking in energy and buzz and the high profile firings/leavings of popular, mostly long running cast members will not help keep this program on air.
AS THE WORLD TURNS is a difficult case. While the groundbreaking, chemistry filled Nuke storyline has actually brought new viewers to soaps, the storytelling on ATWT is tired. Here is my own personal example of the effect ATWT's scripting has had. I love ATWT enough that I will fly out to New York for the fan club luncheon to meet the wonderful cast. However, the writing on the show is so lacklustre that I can not keep up with watching ATWT, week in, week out. I have episodes backed up on my DVR from February. It is not must see TV for me any longer. ATWT has to BECOME must see TV or else it will cease to exist.
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