We only have one life to live. I've always wanted to say that! : )
But seriously, I have been extremely distressed over the news that One Life to Live and All My Children have been canceled. I know that these long running shows still have A LOT of fans. I know that they are also gaining new fans because I am a relatively new fan. I became hooked on OLTL six years ago when I was in the hospital for a month with a very bad case of pneumonia. I grew up watching CBS soaps and was delighted to see Hillary B. Smith, Nora, again after so many years. The show really helped me through a difficult time. However, by the time I went back to work, I was fascinated with several other characters and considered the show good enough to make time for in my busy daily schedule. I began recording it every day and have been a loyal viewer ever since. It's great to be able to record something to watch when there is nothing good in Prime Time - and OLTL has been much better than a lot of Prime Time shows at many points during the last six years!
Drama has a way of touching peoples lives and soap operas in general do this better than any other form of drama because of the fact that they are there every day with no long summer breaks like nighttime shows. These characters are like good friends that stay with you. To this day, I have cherished memories of growing up watching the soaps with my mother, grandmother, aunt, and sister.
I remember very vividly one summer As the World Turns had a masked ball. For what seemed like weeks, everyone wore formal attire and the ladies carried a very elaborate mask on a stick that matched their ball gowns. I remember sketching similar costumes for weeks afterward. It was one of many story lines on that show that really captured my imagination.
The thing that has me the most worried about this soap situation is that I believe the main reason for cancellation is not lack of popularity but cost to produce. The Powers-that-Be at the networks are turning to reality/talk shows because they cost much less to make.
But I say: you get what you pay for!
Reality/talk shows have their place, but I just can't see a daytime line-up consisting of only that kind of program. It would not be something that I would be interested in watching even if I was home, and I certainly wouldn't bother to record those programs.
I understand that AMC will be replaced with a cooking show. I mean, really, there is a whole network devoted only to cooking shows! If, on occasion, I wanted to watch a cooking show, why wouldn't I just turn over to the Food Network???? That's what hurts so much, the fact that there really isn't any rhyme or reason that I can see in this decision - just a blind grab at saving money.
Since there are hundreds of cable channels out there that are devoted to just about every interest one could have, I think that there must be a home out there for the soap operas that Networks no longer want. I'd like to ask ABC/Disney please, please sell them to another network so that the fans can continue to enjoy this unique art form that does not deserve to just die off in shame.
The timing of this decision makes even less sense to me with the recent conclusion of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah was a rare talk show that will be very hard to replace. But why not just try out a new talk show in her old time slot? Would not that be the logical move - since we are used to a talk show at that time and would have no hard feelings about giving a newcomer a try?
But with the careless decision to end two much loved soaps, in the same season that we also lose Oprah, well, I would just like to say that I now have absolutely no reason - or desire - to ever watch ABC Daytime again!
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