May Day! May Day! Days promo is on fire!

If you listened to the podcast last Sunday, then you know that my pick for most anticipated soap for May Sweeps is Days of Our Lives. The promo is on fire! I am so glad NBC (for whatever reason) started to invest in DOOL again! The scene with Victor and all of his ex-wives? Classic! Can't wait. ~LA

The Stereotypes of Soaps Are Dying, Has Run Its Course!

We Love Soaps posted an article this morning from Cincinnatitoday.com, which interviews P&G global marketing officer Mark Pritchard. Mr. Pritchard offers his opinion on why “daytime dramas have run their course.” I find it funny that in the same article, it discusses how instrumental P&G is working to help bring back the dynamics of watching television together as a family. Mr. Pritchard states that “People tell us that they want more shows to watch together as a family, or appealing to all family members." Well, Mr. Pritchard, let me tell you a little bit about my family. My grandmother started out as an avid soap opera watcher, she would listen to Guiding Light on the radio, and later, when it made the transition to television, she followed. When she had her children, they became avid soap watchers. I would be told countless stories on how they would all would sit around the small black and white television, and watch the soaps right along with my grandmother. My uncles included. My mother went onto to college, and when she would come home, she would sit around, and discuss soaps with my grandmother. Flash-forward to when I was born, I followed in my family’s tradition, and became addicted to soaps (that and the reason I was told to either shutup or take a nap when my grandmother’s stories were on). Once a week, my grandmother, my mother, and I, would all get on a three way telephone call and discuss the latest on soaps.

So you see Mr. Pritchard, I disagree, daytime dramas haven’t run their course, it’s all about adapting, and reinventing yourself(this means those who are in charge of these dying soaps) to the audiences. I’m sure my grandmother was hesitant in making the change to watch Guiding Light on television, but she did it. Why? Because she believed, and loved her soaps. She would follow the Bauers, and the Hughes anywhere. When my mother went into the workforce, she was hesitant that a VCR would not record her soaps, but she taped them anyway? Why? Because she remembered the good times she had watching the soaps with my grandmother. Today, I DVR, watch soaps online, and try to watch the soaps at their scheduled broadcast time, Why? Because I remember how we would all come together as a family, and discuss our soaps.

Mr. Pritchard, you are wrong. Daytime dramas haven’t run its course. Tell that to Martha Byrne, Michael O’Leary, and Crystal Chappell, beloved soap opera veterans who love, and support this genre so much, that they are reinventing the wheel so to speak, by taking the successful formula of old school soap story telling to the web. Coincidentally, they were all former employees of Proctor and Gamble, the company in which Mr. Pritchard works for.

I hate when these once a year articles come out, where we get these quotes by the people in charge, who offer their “wisdom”, in one sentence that always speak doom and gloom to the soap genre. When we interviewed Martha Byrne, I learned more about how to market, creative ways to reach your audience, and what executives think in terms of marketing to the audiences, in that one hour, than I have learned from the powers that be in my twenty plus years of watching soaps. You say Daytime dramas have run their course? Show me, don’t tell me. Show me on Twitter, where there are millions of fans tweeting in 140 characters or less, about their soaps day in and day out! Show me at a So Long Springfield event, where thousands of fans show up, and support the cast of Guiding Light. Tell me where you are losing viewers, when myself, and millions of others DVR, or tape their soaps,yet the Nielsen ratings is what you look at, and conclude that daytime is dying. I leave you with the wise words of my grandmother “ if you want it dead, than you will have to kill it yourself!” Of course she was talking about a spider at the time, but it’s so fitting for the daytime genre! :) ~Lauren

OLTL Just Got Kate Howard'ed

It's been a bad week for soaps, mainly One Life to Live. In case you haven't heard, notorious show-killer Jean Passanante has been hired as Associate Head Writer of the show. Ron Carlivati will continue as head writer but rumor has it that he'll be out when his contract is up in June. This is particularly bad news for the show, which has been going through a lot of negative changes the past few weeks. As the entire soap world knows, OLTL has seen a casting bloodbath the past month, with fan favorites Brett Claywell, Scott Evans and Scott Clifton being fired, and talented newcomer Amanda Setton quitting. What is going ON over there?

Some people have blamed Ron Carlivati for the show's sudden nose-dive in quality the past few weeks; I am going to disagree and blame it on the "higher-ups" at ABC. The ratings have been low, the budgets are getting smaller, and rumors of the show's cancellation have gotten louder and louder. What I can't understand, though, is the decision to bring on JEAN PASSANANTE, known for her sub-par work on a variety of soaps and known for being the head writer of Another World when it was cancelled. Passanante's had a long run on As The World Turns, the end result being... CANCELLATION. I'd say someone should prepare the death knell for OLTL, as this cannot be a good thing.

Listen to next week's Dayplayer Dish for our thoughts on the show's sorry state, in addition to the sinking ship that is the entire soap industry. Be sure to leave us some comments about what your thoughts on all the latest soap crises.

--Lee

Appealing Soap Stars #2 General Hospital's Megan Ward

This past Sunday we had the privilege of interviewing the fabulous Megan Ward. Our interview with Megan was nothing short of awesome. Not only did Megan provide her take on the Kate character, and the relationship with Sonny(and Coleman), but she also provided a window into what it's like working in a soap, and why things come across to viewers the ways they sometimes do. So why is Megan Ward so damn appealing? The answer is simple. Megan Ward is sophistication personified. Let’s look at her character Kate for example. When Megan embodies the role of Kate, the physical transformation begins. She wears her clothes, they do not wear her, and her hair should rule the world.

The pairing of Sonny and Kate became popular in a heart beat; many people fell in love with Skate, and endured the many plot contrivances keeping the couple apart. Then something tragic happened, the words nobody wants to see, MEGAN WARD BUMPED to recurring status. Trust me, this was devastating to us, but in the back on your mind you rationalize, you say to yourself, “Well at least she is free to pursue other projects.” While you hope that the powers to be come to their senses, and realize Kate/Megan should not be recurring.

Kate is truly a fascinating character, and it’s great to have an actress who is all about subtlety, and portraying emotions through facial expressions to get her point across, when the dialogue isn’t always there. I like when my actors show me, and don’t tell me the story. Seriously, go back and watch Megan’s early scenes. Like when Kate reacted when Carly threatened to sleep with Sonny, and told her how inadequate Kate is. There is a shadow of pain, then she comes right back with the inner knowledge that SHE has known Sonny longer than Carly, Megan totally rocks those types of scenes.

It’s a shame that TPTB fail to realize what a gem they have in Megan. Her fan base is huge, and they are behind her 100%, and like I said before, Megan Ward is a major find for General Hospital. She is just terrific; she adds so much nuance to every scene and with her impressive resume, she has only tipped the iceberg! You never know what to expect from her next. Keep an eye out for her; she will never cease to amaze you!

If you are a fan of Megan Ward, be sure to sign this petition http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/meganward/ and check out these sites: The Heart and the Hope board:
http://z4.invisionfree.com/sonnykate/index.php?
The Megan Haven board:
http://z8.invisionfree.com/themeganward/index.php?
The ColKate board:
http://z6.invisionfree.com/colkate/
Here you will find various campaigns on how to get Megan back on our screens five days of week, where she rightfully belongs.--Lauren

General Hospital's Next Superstar: Lexi Ainsworth as Kristina Davis

WOW. That's the one word I have to say after watching this week's riveting General Hospital. I take that back. WOW is the one word I have to say after watching the riveting Lexi Ainsworth SLAM DUNK a story that could have been extremely stereotypical and trite. In the shocking and uncomfortable climax in the Kristina/Keifer relationship abuse story, we watched the beautiful Ainsworth brutally beaten by Keifer (played with an unnerving accuracy by Christian Alexander) after being manhandled by an angry Ethan (the charming Nathan Parsons). Left barely conscious by her monster of a boyfriend, Ainsworth didn't hold back, allowing the audience - no, forcing the audience - to witness the tragic and heartbreaking aftermath of a beautiful young girl whose innocence was unfairly beaten to the ground. The sobs of pain, sorrow and fear Ainsworth let out went right through me.

The amazing performance continued when Ethan delivered Kristina to the hospital. Reacting like any teenager would, Ainsworth was uninhibited in Kristina's tenuous emotional state as Kristina cried and cried, letting us know that she was in pain and that she was very scared. Completely outshining her older costars (namely the scenery-chewing Maurice Bernard), Ainsworth made sure that the story was about HER pain and anguish, NOT her narcissistic father's. The scenes in which Kristina begged Sonny not to kill Ethan (it was Keifer who hit her, after all) not only rang true but showed us the shameful effect Sonny's lifestyle has had on his children.

This story is one of GH's finest in years. While some have said that the story is too focused on the men and Kristina's lies, I see the story from Kristina's perspective, all thanks to Lexi Ainsworth and her outstanding performances. Not since Becky Herbst's Emmy-winning rape story have I been this invested in a teenager on a soap. Props must also go out to Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) for smacking down on Sonny when he tried to assert his power concerning putting a hit out on Ethan. Her seething "damn you" will not soon be forgotten.

The story is not easy viewing; watching a beautiful young woman being brutalized and tormented at the hands of a sadistic man does not always make for good soap, but in this case, the performances have elevated it to something much more exciting, and much more relevant.

--Lee

The rainbow just hit the fan.

Warning: This blog entry contains major spoilers regarding a major story on One Life to Live. While Dayplayer Dish is not the first to break the story, it is advised you stop reading here if you don't want to be spoiled.

Here's what you do when you don't find the rainbow's end: write off the most groundbreaking and realistically written couple on the show. In what has got to be the most ridiculous and pathetic move made by the executives at ABC Daytime in a good long while, One Life to Live has announced that at the conclusion of the Sierra Rose saga, Oliver Fish and Kyle Lewis will be written off the show.

Devastated? Wait until you hear the reasoning: the ratings were down in November, when Dorian orchestrated a mass gay wedding. Because of the low ratings, Frank Valentini believes that Kyle and Fish never really caught on with the "mainstream audience" and need to be written off.

According to Valentini, "Kish" will get a happy ending as Fish claims Sierra Rose as his own and starts a family with Kyle. Part of me is glad that the show isn't backpedaling and making Rex the true father of the little girl, but this development reminds me of last year's baby switch resolution in which Marcie and Michael left the show after returning baby Hope to Starr and Cole. Marcie, a beautiful but overweight woman, could be considered a "minority" in the world of soaps, and once her story wrapped up she and her husband left town with little fanfare. Now in Ron Carlivati's THIRD baby saga (first with Tommy/Sam, then Chloe/Hope and now Sierra Rose), the minority couple will actually get the baby but also fade in the background so more "important" characters like self-involved Rex and Gigi can once again claim the front burner.

And let's face it - Fish and Kyle were never actually front burner characters. At the height of their story we got maybe three episodes of them a week. Clearly they couldn't have been the ONLY reason the ratings were so low in November. Are we forgetting Mitch Lawrence's umpteenth return? Jared dying a horrible and cruel death? Endless episodes of Nigel and Neville on the phone with one another? Nope, it must have been the offensive and immoral reconciliation of two college lovers who just happened to both be guys.

I'm not being unrealistic here; I know that middle America is still behind the times when it comes to gay visibility, or any visibility for that matter. But in the past, soaps were used to educate audiences on topics that were otherwise taboo or considered untouchable; let's not forget Carla Gray turning out to be the black Clara, Wanda Wolek leading a second life as a prostitute, Marty overcoming a brutal and cruel gang rape at the hands of three fraternity brothers, or even Reverend Andrew forcing Llanview to face their own homophobia by helping Billy Douglas come out of the closet and bringing the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to town.

With Kyle and Fish off the show, the producers are not only letting two talented young men go (both Brett Claywell and Scott Evans have Emmy pre-nominations) but are taking away a piece of Llanview's colorful and diverse community. Last year, we were introduced to several new minority characters, including the return of Nora Buchanan's biracial daughter Rachel. With recent confirmation of Rachel's exit, along with Kyle and Fish fading into the background, the show is sadly closing off the Llanview community to anyone whose name isn't Buchanan, Lord or Morasco.

What are your thoughts on Kyle and Fish exiting the show? Let us know in the comments section, and please keep it respectful and calm.

Since when do we really only have One Life to Live?

--Lee

If Janet Ciccone were on Twitter!

Poor As the World Turns Janet. What a rough week for her. First, she performed her daily routine of me, me, me, why, why, why, and then, she finds out that she is pregnant. I wonder if Janet were on twitter, what would some of her tweets look like? Now for all you twitter fans out there, you know you must keep all tweets under 140 characters, and you sometimes get creative with a hashtag. So without further adieu, I present Janet Ciccone’s twitter account. (Disclaimer: I’m actually a fan of Julie Pinson/Janet this is just some silly fun!)

Dusty is following me around like a little lost puppy. U would think I would get a kick out of it, since he is talking about my fav subj #ME
6 minutes ago via Uber Twitter

#Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me #Me
5 minutes ago via Uber Twitter

Liberty is sick. Me. Me. Jack. Me. Me. Carly how could you. No. Me. Baby. Liberty is sick. Me. No. Dusty. Liberty is sick. Dusty. Jack #ME
4 minutes ago via Uber Twitter

Jack really needs to make this baby with me. Who cares about Carly and if he is not in love with me. Liberty is sick. #Letsmakeababy
3 minutes ago via Uber Twitter

Liberty is sick. Carly will never win! #IWillNotLose
2 minutes ago via Uber Twitter

I’m Pregnant!!?!?!?!?! Fu…… #Who’sTheDaddy
1 minute ago via Uber Twitter