| ||||||||||||||||
- Community:
- Home |
- Join |
- Login |
- Update Blog |
- My Profile |
- Videos & Pictures |
- Find People
Dan @ soapcentral.com 
[ Dan Slideshow | Browse Tags ]
In the Bubble with Dan J Kroll: Can we get real for a moment?
Can we get real for a moment?
Something struck me the other day as I was reading messages over on the soapcentral.com message boards. Whereas fans might once have been forgiving of storylines that were highly improbable, that does not seem to be the case anymore. What do I mean? Let me give you a few examples.
Ask anyone what they know about Days of our Lives and - short of the show's renowned opening - they will not doubt mention Marlena's possession by the devil. I'm sure we've all seen The Exorcist, but I don't know how many of us have actually seen someone who was actually possessed by Satan. I've seen more than a few people who've been possessed by something over on some message boards, but that's a totally different issue. I don't think anyone really questioned the storyline because it wasn't something that had never been done before. The Exorcist scared the sand out of many people's hourglasses and the DAYS possession storyline remains one of the show's most popular plots of all time.
For much of its run, Port Charles was overshadowed by its big sister soap, General Hospital. Under the writing leadership of Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown, Port Charles went the way of the supernatural soap Dark Shadows and introduced vampires to its storylines. Are vampires real? Don't, um, count on it. Bad puns aside, Port Charles' vampires, and angels, and ghosts (Oh my!) were done in a way that made the storylines believable. Yes, the show was canceled due to low ratings, but that doesn't mean that the show wasn't good.
Passions is another show that used supernatural storylines during its nine-year run. Unlike Port Charles, Passions never took itself too seriously. There were dolls that came to life, 300-year-old witches, orangutans that moonlighted as nurses, and those just a few of the residents of Harmony. Did anyone who watches Passions actually find the show's plots plausible? Probably not, but I think that was the point. The show's head writer, James E. Reilly, obviously had a flair for the imaginative. Reilly also penned the possession plot on DAYS.
Then there is the flip-side of the coin.
Ten years ago this month, a clone named Dolly was on the loose in Springfield. Guiding Light's Reva Shayne was cloned by a man who used to love her. Then, through the miracles of not-yet-invented science (at least I hope it hasn't been invented!), that clone was given a special rapid-aging serum that allowed the infant clone to become the same age as Reva. The clone kidnapped Reva and, as the storyline tanked with viewers, Dolly sadly decided to take her own life by ingesting a large amount of the aging formula. Interestingly enough, this storyline was devised by the same writing team that developed the Port Charles vampires.
More recently, Emmy-winning writer Megan McTavish devised a storyline that defied medical technology and, in the process, infuriated soap fans. The storyline revolved around the undoing of the first abortion in daytime television. The All My Children storyline featured a fetus being removed from Erica Kane's uterus and then implanted into another woman. Realists were upset because the medical procedure isn't possible. Others felt that the storyline was a slap in the face to a woman's right to have an abortion. Still more just thought the storyline was dumb.
In an era when so much of what we see on television is reality-based, have we lost our ability to tolerate things that are not grounded in reality? Even respected new organizations have been known on occasion to make up their own news stories. Do we want to be entertained or do we want realism? Is there a middle ground to placate everyone? That's something for you to think about while I go watch them hand out an Emmy to television shows that vote people off of islands while they singing karaoke in outfits they've designed for themselves out of leftover food scraps gathered during a race around the world.
Something struck me the other day as I was reading messages over on the soapcentral.com message boards. Whereas fans might once have been forgiving of storylines that were highly improbable, that does not seem to be the case anymore. What do I mean? Let me give you a few examples.
Ask anyone what they know about Days of our Lives and - short of the show's renowned opening - they will not doubt mention Marlena's possession by the devil. I'm sure we've all seen The Exorcist, but I don't know how many of us have actually seen someone who was actually possessed by Satan. I've seen more than a few people who've been possessed by something over on some message boards, but that's a totally different issue. I don't think anyone really questioned the storyline because it wasn't something that had never been done before. The Exorcist scared the sand out of many people's hourglasses and the DAYS possession storyline remains one of the show's most popular plots of all time.
For much of its run, Port Charles was overshadowed by its big sister soap, General Hospital. Under the writing leadership of Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown, Port Charles went the way of the supernatural soap Dark Shadows and introduced vampires to its storylines. Are vampires real? Don't, um, count on it. Bad puns aside, Port Charles' vampires, and angels, and ghosts (Oh my!) were done in a way that made the storylines believable. Yes, the show was canceled due to low ratings, but that doesn't mean that the show wasn't good.
Passions is another show that used supernatural storylines during its nine-year run. Unlike Port Charles, Passions never took itself too seriously. There were dolls that came to life, 300-year-old witches, orangutans that moonlighted as nurses, and those just a few of the residents of Harmony. Did anyone who watches Passions actually find the show's plots plausible? Probably not, but I think that was the point. The show's head writer, James E. Reilly, obviously had a flair for the imaginative. Reilly also penned the possession plot on DAYS.
Then there is the flip-side of the coin.
Ten years ago this month, a clone named Dolly was on the loose in Springfield. Guiding Light's Reva Shayne was cloned by a man who used to love her. Then, through the miracles of not-yet-invented science (at least I hope it hasn't been invented!), that clone was given a special rapid-aging serum that allowed the infant clone to become the same age as Reva. The clone kidnapped Reva and, as the storyline tanked with viewers, Dolly sadly decided to take her own life by ingesting a large amount of the aging formula. Interestingly enough, this storyline was devised by the same writing team that developed the Port Charles vampires.
More recently, Emmy-winning writer Megan McTavish devised a storyline that defied medical technology and, in the process, infuriated soap fans. The storyline revolved around the undoing of the first abortion in daytime television. The All My Children storyline featured a fetus being removed from Erica Kane's uterus and then implanted into another woman. Realists were upset because the medical procedure isn't possible. Others felt that the storyline was a slap in the face to a woman's right to have an abortion. Still more just thought the storyline was dumb.
In an era when so much of what we see on television is reality-based, have we lost our ability to tolerate things that are not grounded in reality? Even respected new organizations have been known on occasion to make up their own news stories. Do we want to be entertained or do we want realism? Is there a middle ground to placate everyone? That's something for you to think about while I go watch them hand out an Emmy to television shows that vote people off of islands while they singing karaoke in outfits they've designed for themselves out of leftover food scraps gathered during a race around the world.
In the Bubble with Dan J Kroll: Sometimes the writers just can't win
I can't tell you the number of times I've received an email or phone call from a soap fan disgruntled with the direction of his or her favorite soap. "They pay the writers for this? I could write a better story than that for free," seems to be a frequent grumbling. I've always thought that it might be a good idea for each soap to have a longtime viewer on staff as a consultant. Let's face it; no one knows the shows better than the fans. Writers come and go, but the fans are loyal from start to finish. They can tell you what color blouse a character was wearing in 1982 when supposedly dead husband was revealed to be very-much alive in a faraway European country.
Right now, the networks have focus groups, groups of viewers that are asked how they feel about characters, couplings, and stories. The results of these "studies" often impact who and what you see on-screen. Who is in these focus groups? I have no idea. They are as mysterious to me as the Nielsen families that generated the ratings for everything on television. In this political season, I am sure that everyone has come to know that everyone has a poll, an opinion, and something to say. That doesn't make it right.
There's a delicate balance to maintain when developing story, especially now that ratings are at record low levels. Make that dangerously low levels. The writers seem afraid to shake things up too much, for fear that whatever fanbase is left watching the show will defect. You can't please all of the people all of the time, but sometimes the writers end up not pleasing any of the people.
A good example is the current "Nuke" love story on As the World Turns, which generated the most feedback of any storyline in my mailbox this week. As a quick aside, if you are going to use the power of the Internet to generate a mail-in fan campaign, please be sure that you post the right address for people to use. Nearly 75% of the mail sent about "Nuke" came from an invalid link that was given out on various Internet sites. Anyway, back to the column. If you don't watch ATWT, here's a quick briefing to let you know what I am talking about. Nuke is a combination of the names Luke and Noah. Yes, the characters are two men. With that explanation, you can probably imagine why some As the World Turns viewers are unhappy. Many fans who have written to me "do not want to see two men kissing" on television - daytime, primetime, or otherwise. The problem on the other side of the fence is that the couple seldom does more than hold hands in the darkest recesses of their homes. A full year ago, I wrote a commentary column about the very first kiss between Noah and Luke. It took the better part of the next twelve months before the couple had their second kiss. Meanwhile, two underage kids have been in and out of bed. Fans that had originally applauded the Nuke tale were now furious that the show was "caving to the conservative viewers who have threatened to boycott Procter & Gamble products." Procter & Gamble owns the production company that produces As the World Turns and Guiding Light.
Now fans opposed to a same-sex couple and fans who don't want to see the story are both tuning out. Sometimes you just can't win. But hey, I think I know someone that could write a much better storyline for half the price…
Right now, the networks have focus groups, groups of viewers that are asked how they feel about characters, couplings, and stories. The results of these "studies" often impact who and what you see on-screen. Who is in these focus groups? I have no idea. They are as mysterious to me as the Nielsen families that generated the ratings for everything on television. In this political season, I am sure that everyone has come to know that everyone has a poll, an opinion, and something to say. That doesn't make it right.
There's a delicate balance to maintain when developing story, especially now that ratings are at record low levels. Make that dangerously low levels. The writers seem afraid to shake things up too much, for fear that whatever fanbase is left watching the show will defect. You can't please all of the people all of the time, but sometimes the writers end up not pleasing any of the people.
A good example is the current "Nuke" love story on As the World Turns, which generated the most feedback of any storyline in my mailbox this week. As a quick aside, if you are going to use the power of the Internet to generate a mail-in fan campaign, please be sure that you post the right address for people to use. Nearly 75% of the mail sent about "Nuke" came from an invalid link that was given out on various Internet sites. Anyway, back to the column. If you don't watch ATWT, here's a quick briefing to let you know what I am talking about. Nuke is a combination of the names Luke and Noah. Yes, the characters are two men. With that explanation, you can probably imagine why some As the World Turns viewers are unhappy. Many fans who have written to me "do not want to see two men kissing" on television - daytime, primetime, or otherwise. The problem on the other side of the fence is that the couple seldom does more than hold hands in the darkest recesses of their homes. A full year ago, I wrote a commentary column about the very first kiss between Noah and Luke. It took the better part of the next twelve months before the couple had their second kiss. Meanwhile, two underage kids have been in and out of bed. Fans that had originally applauded the Nuke tale were now furious that the show was "caving to the conservative viewers who have threatened to boycott Procter & Gamble products." Procter & Gamble owns the production company that produces As the World Turns and Guiding Light.
Now fans opposed to a same-sex couple and fans who don't want to see the story are both tuning out. Sometimes you just can't win. But hey, I think I know someone that could write a much better storyline for half the price…
In the Bubble with Dan: Daytime Emmy Nominations (Outstanding Lead Actress)
Here is the third installment of my look at this year's Daytime Emmy nominations. This segment focuses on the Outstanding Lead Actress field.
My apologies for the less than normal lighting. I worked on this installment a really long time -- probably longer than I should have.
In the Bubble with Dan: Daytime Emmy Nominations (Outstanding Lead Actor)
Here is the second installment of my look at this year's Daytime Emmy nominations. This segment focuses on the Outstanding Lead Actor field.
My apologies for the less than normal lighting. I worked on this installment a really long time -- probably longer than I should have.
In the Bubble with Dan: Daytime Emmy Nominations (Outstanding Drama Series)
Well soap fans, I am back with another installment of my video blog "In the Bubble." I figured that the Daytime Emmys provided the perfect chance to really get the video feature moving with full steam.
There will be several installments in this series, each focusing on a different section of the Emmy ballot. I hope that you enjoy them.
Installment 3: Lead Actress (click here)
Showing 1 - 5. [ Next ]
and soapcentral.com
| Terms of Service
| Privacy Policy
