Yeah, the executives of daytime television are using the current economic woes as a way to partially explain away their recently unfavorable casting and schedule changes, the pay-cuts they are enforcing with their staff, and the decreased viewership of their respective shows. However, the truth is that what ails daytime is neither new nor a result of the somewhat recent downturn in our economy.
"But, but...we've been in recession for almost a year!" you exclaim.
True. True. But, fans and critics have been lamenting on the state of their favorite shows for far longer than that. And one theme has been consistent and consistently ignored...
They don't trust us.
The executives. The writers. The powers that be. Those who have the final decision on what plays out on our screens and, to some degree, how it plays out. Gotta give those directors some of the credit, too.
Fans have been clamoring for some "back to the basic" style in our daytime soap operas for quite some time. Soap opera critics have been writing about what hast been truly missing in the genre.
"Where is the romance?" we've asked.
"There needs to be balance," we've lamented.
"Character, character, and character," we've cried.
To no avail.
Instead, we've been treated to one nonsensical story after another where shaky plots often supersede characterization. Character we're invested in are taken off screen or used in a manner that frustrates us, new characters are thrown in to fill the gap and are used so forcefully that it becomes off-putting.
They don't trust us.
Our letters, our phone calls, our email, and our blogs are just background noise in the decision room. On occasion, a token gesture is thrown out in order to keep the faithful few tuned in. No, the real catch, for them, is that elusive demographic who aren't biting because they want what we want...authenticity in their soaps. Young soap watchers become older soap watchers and our needs and wants where our shows are concerned really don't change that much.
Is it too much to ask?
Trust.
Trust fans when we say the violence on our screens is more than we want to see in daytime.
Trust us when we say "real" relationships between realistically written couples is something that appeals to us.
Trust us when we say that substance trumps style and is the only thing that will truly keep us tuning in.
Fans have been clamoring for some "back to the basic" style in our daytime soap operas for quite some time. Soap opera critics have been writing about what hast been truly missing in the genre.
"Where is the romance?" we've asked.
"There needs to be balance," we've lamented.
"Character, character, and character," we've cried.
To no avail.
Instead, we've been treated to one nonsensical story after another where shaky plots often supersede characterization. Character we're invested in are taken off screen or used in a manner that frustrates us, new characters are thrown in to fill the gap and are used so forcefully that it becomes off-putting.
They don't trust us.
Our letters, our phone calls, our email, and our blogs are just background noise in the decision room. On occasion, a token gesture is thrown out in order to keep the faithful few tuned in. No, the real catch, for them, is that elusive demographic who aren't biting because they want what we want...authenticity in their soaps. Young soap watchers become older soap watchers and our needs and wants where our shows are concerned really don't change that much.
Is it too much to ask?
Trust.
Trust fans when we say the violence on our screens is more than we want to see in daytime.
Trust us when we say "real" relationships between realistically written couples is something that appeals to us.
Trust us when we say that substance trumps style and is the only thing that will truly keep us tuning in.
1 comments:
Maybe if they trusted us they wouldn't be cutting salaries right now.
Maybe it they trusted us, sponsors would be knocking at their doors.
Maybe if they trusted us, we would be rushing home to watch.
And maybe it they trusted us we would trust them to give us a story worth watching
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