Could the writer's strike be good news for Knots fans?

[montyc]

Soap Operas are about to go dark, according to industry sources, as they will run out of scripts at the end of January. I tend to suspect most will not return. CBS has been eager to ditch Guiding Light and As The World Turns and if they were not owned by a major advertiser would have done so years ago. A few of the daytime dramas might survive but it will only be the strongest. Cheap talker garbage can get a similar rating and a much younger demo and, ta da, a higher ad rate.

Soap Net may have a lot of time to fill. Could the dredge Knots from the cheapie file and give it another run? Might they knot have any other options?

[ChrisSumnerMatheson]

By now it's been confirmed that none of the soaps will go off the air. BTW, ATWT is currently in a ratings upswing, ranking #3, even beating the now fading General Hospital. All CBS soaps except GL are up in viewers from last year. And despite rumors PGP or CBS wants to kill GL and ATWT, that's far from the case. PGP has started a popular soap channel on AOL.com which airs Texas, Another World, Search For Tomorrow and Edge of Night. They also have built permenant outdoor sets for GL and ATWT (premering in January)in an effort to revamp the shows and make them more realistic. CBS even tried to buy the PGP soaps in '04, but were turned down.

Y&R begins airing scab material after Christmas Eve; B&B and ATWT have enough material to go through January; GL has enough material through February; DAYS and GH should be out of scripts by the end of December.

After these episodes are finished the scab material will begin. Co-Executive Producer Josh Griffith will take over Y&R from much hated former Knots headwriter Lynn Latham and Gary Tomlin will take over OLTL. No news on who will take over other soaps.

[PT Freakin' G]

LML is taking over OLTL? Oh no.

What exactly is "scab material"? Old episodes? I would love if classic episodes - even from the early 90s - were aired!

[ChrisSumnerMatheson]

No, due to the strike Lynn Marie Latham won't be writing, along with all the other official writers. Gary Tomlin is taking over OLTL during the strike. He was Executive Producer when OLTL won it's one and only Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. So far he's been writing scripts which have been fantastic. I think the show will be in fine hands.

BTW, a scab is a writer who crosses the picket line to writer during a strike. Each soap will have a new team of writers who will go uncredited to protect their membership with the Writer's Guild. During the previous strikes they let producers, actors, secretaries, etc. write which was a disaster in most cases. This time they're hiring writers with soap experience.

During the '88 strike, primetime tv lost something like 20% of viewers which never came back. I wonder what's going to happen this time with all the cable offerrings. The good thing for soaps is that there will be less to watch, so maybe lasped viewers will return.

[PT Freakin' G]

I see - I misread the LML part.

Thanks for the explanation on "scab." It will be very interesting to see how everything plays out.

[montyc]

By now it's been confirmed that none of the soaps will go off the air. BTW, ATWT is currently in a ratings upswing, ranking #3, even beating the now fading General Hospital. All CBS soaps except GL are up in viewers from last year. And despite rumors PGP or CBS wants to kill GL and ATWT, that's far from the case. PGP has started a popular soap channel on AOL.com which airs Texas, Another World, Search For Tomorrow and Edge of Night. They also have built permenant outdoor sets for GL and ATWT (premering in January)in an effort to revamp the shows and make them more realistic. CBS even tried to buy the PGP soaps in '04, but were turned down.

Y&R begins airing scab material after Christmas Eve; B&B and ATWT have enough material to go through January; GL has enough material through February; DAYS and GH should be out of scripts by the end of December.

After these episodes are finished the scab material will begin. Co-Executive Producer Josh Griffith will take over Y&R from much hated former Knots headwriter Lynn Latham and Gary Tomlin will take over OLTL. No news on who will take over other soaps.

I certainly hope they don't succeed with scab writers. SAG may need to step in and have the actors walk out. I certainly hope they do. There is nothing worse than working for or with scabs.

ATWT might be on a ratings upswing but the demographics are horrible: older, less educated and it skews rural which is the kiss of death for ad rates. This is in spite of the stunt plots they have been using to try and lure younger viewers back. CBS has been pondering pulling the plug on both for years and the only thing that has stopped them is that P&G is one of the largest advertisers and they don't want to tick them to pull their advertising. Guiding Light skews even older and has been in the ratings cellar for years now and has been downgraded to early day part in all but the O&O markets. Y&R and B&B skew younger but not are no longer hit the demographic sweet spot of 18-49 as strongly as they did just five years ago.

ABC, which always skewed a bit younger than the others now has an average age of 45 or so and it's soaps audience continue to age. NBC is down to one and wisely pulled the plug on it's other in favor of another hour of Today. They traded that hour with affiliates. It's proven to be less expensive to produce and equally profitable. All the other networks have taken notice.

The daytime soaps are on life support and I suspect all of them will vanish in the next few years unless they can figure out a way to recapture a younger audience. Hopefully the writers strike will put a few out of their misery sooner rather than later.

[ChrisSumnerMatheson]

I can accept scabs for soap because if soaps get pulled they'll be cancelled and they have little to gain as it is. In the past when soaps have gone off (OJ's trial for example), they lots tons of viewers which was difficult to get back. And the writers are so bad now, I look forward to seeing what the scabs can do. The only good soaps are B&B and OLTL.

Still disaster with you about the PGP soaps. Why would CBS renew their contracts this year? Why create the soap channel? Why go through the expense of building them outdoor sets and not higher rated Y&R or B&B? Why try to buy the shows a few years back? That doesn't sound like people trying to kill a soap. With total viewers the entire CBS lineup is higher rated than the majority of shows on CW for example. In the demos, ATWT is #3 with girls 12-17, #5 in 18-47 (only 100,000 away from #2-4) and for men 18+ they're #3.

You seem to want these soaps to get cancelled, but that's not the case. It's DAYS which has been freefalling in the ratings and the ABC lineup is in dire straights. GH bumped to 4 million viewers with Genie Francis' short term return, but she's too old so they didn't ask her back full time. Now they're down to 2.5 million, their lowest ever and getting lower each week. AMC and OLTL are in the same state. I'd expect major budget cuts if these soaps can't improve their ratings. OLTL is actually good, but having such a poor lead in isn't helping it.

[montyc]

CBS has watched it's line up age for years and the audience has shrunk to about half of what it was ten years ago. The most recent attempts to alter the demos are too little to late.

ABC has been in a free fall for years and Disney is likely to figure out that an all talk line up is cheaper and can generate the same revenue. All signs point in that direction.

I admit to not being a fan and wonder how anyone could watch these tedious dramas on a regular basis. They are so mind numbingly dull, slow and repetitive. They are an entertainment form from another, more simple era and it's a miracle that any remain on the air in 2007 IMO.

Scabs are the most vile creatures that deserve to be tarred and feathered. This strike is very different from the one in 1988. There wasn't the media coverage we are seeing now and the pickets were not as active or visible.

[Benny JR]

I am simply puzzled by how many people like Daytime American TV shows! It is simply amazing. Many didn't survive long over here, for example, Days Of Our Lives was ditched after like 13 episodes (!) and General Hosptial just disappeared.

[Daniel Avery]

Joining the conversation late...


CBS has watched it's line up age for years and the audience has shrunk to about half of what it was ten years ago. The most recent attempts to alter the demos are too little to late.
CBS used to be just fine with their identity as the "older-skewing network," back when Bill Bell flat-out refused to let them toy with Y&R's formula for success. Someone decided recently that the 'key' to getting soaps back in the double-digits was to imitate 1990's Days, when really they ought to be imitating 1980's Y&R, when the show was actually pulling double-digit Nielsens. And CBS isn't alone in the shrinking audience dilemma. The difference in CBS's case was that they had a higher perch from which to fall. Even when everyone in the world seemed to be glued to the shenanigans over at DOOL, Y&R stayed dominant by counter-programming that stuff, not trying to imitate it. NBC tried to get Another World to imitate DOOL (its lead-in program) and ultimately caused the show a decade-long identity crisis ending with AW's cancellation due to falling ratings--ratings that 3/4 of the soaps today would kill for.

CBS has been pondering pulling the plug on both for years and the only thing that has stopped them is that P&G is one of the largest advertisers and they don't want to tick them to pull their advertising.
I would not necessarily buy into that line of reasoning, due to (once again) the AW example. People used that line of reasoning as an argument that AW would stay on the air; the P&G exec in charge even said none of 'her' soaps would be cancelled on her watch. But AW did get cancelled, and NBC did not see P&G withdraw any ad revenue. So CBS would know deep down that P&G just wants to advertise in the highest-rated program available at that hour, no matter who produced it. When you get right down to it, P&G does not make "extra" money off owning and producing shows they advertise in. They don't offer DVD's, product-tie-ins, or anything like that--just the license fees the network pays to buy the finished product. Way back in the old days there would be product placements during programs or endorsements by the stars of the shows that made it more valuable for P&G to own the show, but none of that goes on now.
And though GL might skate on the edge at times (more so a few years ago than now), I haven't heard many people say CBS was unhappy with ATWT in totality. Yes, they might not like the show's older demos, but they are happier with 25-54 year olds than no one at all watching. I'm sure AMC would love an influx of 25-54 people return to watching, for example.


This strike is very different from the one in 1988. There wasn't the media coverage we are seeing now and the pickets were not as active or visible.
And the ghost-writers would have it much easier in 2007 because they can do their work from home (not literally "crossing a picket line") and send it electronically with a greater degree of anonymity. Then again, I only know of two or three people who were ghost-writing during the 1988 strike--most of them managed not to be 'outed'.

I actually think this might be a chance for some "new blood" in the medium. Soaps have been this horribly inbred group of shifting writers and producers for years, and this might force the production companies to audition some new talent who might make the striking episodes more enjoyable than the regular ones we were watching.

[juppiter]

I certainly hope they don't succeed with scab writers. SAG may need to step in and have the actors walk out. I certainly hope they do. There is nothing worse than working for or with scabs.

ATWT might be on a ratings upswing but the demographics are horrible: older, less educated and it skews rural which is the kiss of death for ad rates. This is in spite of the stunt plots they have been using to try and lure younger viewers back.

Not true... Look at SON. In last weeks ratings, ATWT held steady in women 18-49 and actually GAINED .1 from the same week last year. Same with Y&R and B&B. The ABC soaps are all down .3 and .4 from last year. ABC's winning women 18-49 gap has completely disappeared and CBS is actually GAINING in the category (staying the same is considered good in soaps these days. Gaining is remarkable.)

And it's kinda annoying to equate "rural" with "less educated...." I'm a city boy myself, but it's not exactly the case. There are ignorant and smart people everywhere.



CBS has been pondering pulling the plug on both for years and the only thing that has stopped them is that P&G is one of the largest advertisers and they don't want to tick them to pull their advertising.

This rumor has existed for years and there's never been any concrete evidence backing it up. It seems to me like CBS has been planning to axe ATWT and GL since about 1995. They sure move slow! The shows are changing to lower their budgets and trying to stay competitive. I'd say they've got at least 3 more years.

[juppiter]

You seem to want these soaps to get cancelled, but that's not the case. It's DAYS which has been freefalling in the ratings and the ABC lineup is in dire straights. GH bumped to 4 million viewers with Genie Francis' short term return, but she's too old so they didn't ask her back full time. Now they're down to 2.5 million, their lowest ever and getting lower each week. AMC and OLTL are in the same state. I'd expect major budget cuts if these soaps can't improve their ratings. OLTL is actually good, but having such a poor lead in isn't helping it.

JFP is so stupid. GH was getting great ratings a few years ago when Vanessa Marcil returned for a short stint. She won the emmy for her short stint. They couldn't keep her, ratings dropped back down. Then they got great ratings when Genie Francis returned for a short stint. She, too, won an emmy. They couldn't keep her, ratings dropped. You'd think they'd get the picture by now....

I'm really happy for OLTL (even though I'm an ATWT guy, always have been, always will be). After years of being ABC's red-headed step child, it's now the best soap on ABC. It's actually pretty funny. AMC is just a total disaster. I can't believe how thoroughly destroyed that soap is. I honestly don't even know if it CAN be repaired at this point.

Anyway... scabs could be good for Y&R, GL, AMC, and GH. Scabs shouldn't mess up B&B or OLTL too much. I'm worried about ATWT and DAYS though. DAYS has been fantastic since Ed Scott came aboard (and I *hate hate HATED* Hogan Sheffer on ATWT, so it's weird to say that his absence could hurt a show.)

[juppiter]

I actually think this might be a chance for some "new blood" in the medium.

Be careful what you wish for... who was the major "talent" that came out of being a scab in the 1981 strike? Leah Laiman. Who was the major "talent" that came out of being a scab in 1988? James E. Reilly (whom I actually like, but many hate.)

[ChrisSumnerMatheson]

Are you sure JER came from the '88 strike? I never read that. He was a writer for Y&R, GH and GL during the 80s. Donna Swajeski was the strike writer for Another World and did so well they fired legendary HW Harding Lemay and kept her post strike. Now she's Co-HW for GL.

[juppiter]

No I'm not positive. It's something that I read somewhere...

As for Lemay/Swajeski, she was a network person before the strike, no? If so, she was probably kept as HW after the strike so she could enforce an NBC-approved agenda on AW. Because the strike I saw on SoapNet in 04 was abysmal, while Lemay's brief stint was wonderful. Wonderful, but not bent to the will of NBC......

[TitlesByDvore]

In '88, Lemay quit (again). Swajeski got props for her writing, but the fact of the matter is, she basically coasted on Lemay's bible.

[Garrison]

Soaps are doomed anyway, even if they stay on the air they're on their last legs and will probably be phased out within the next 10 or 15 years.

[TitlesByDvore]

Soaps are kind of like china, they get passed down from generation to generation. Even if you only watched your Grandma's story growing up for example, you may "venture out" and start watching another soap because you're familar with the genre. It's very hard to attract fans to a new soap, especially young people who've never watched a soap before. I think All My Children is FINALLY catching on to SOMETHING and realizing its only hope (appeal to the older fans and lure back the former fans) by bringing back Jessie and Angie. And I'll add to that, it looks like they are (again, FINALLY) catching onto, or remembering for that matter, the power of the African American soap fan base. For black fans, All My Children was in the '80s what Young & Restless became.
Personally, I am sick and tired of being disappointed by the soaps. I hate being let down, and I pray that Darnell and Debbi have a better outcome than Linda Dano on all four ABC soaps.
I do have hope. I was watching OLTL the other day, and I caught a smile creeping across my face as I felt like I was watching the show in its late '80s/early '90s glory days. I'm hoping that some deep stuff will be further explored with Dorian and Addie. Pamela Payton-Wright is a well-respected name in theatre, and I can hardly wait to see where she's going to take Addie.
As for the strike, if another Lemay is discovered, that would be awesome... just what the industry needs: a gifted playwright, adept when it comes to the nuances of human psychology who respects his characters and his actors, unwilling to dumb down to his audience or to the "lesser" form of drama... so damn good that tiic back off and let him/her do their thing. GL and ATWT would really benefit from such writing given their new focus on "reality"... I really don't want to see that fail and be dismissed as yet another gimmick, here's their chance to bring that rich, Lemay drawing room drama back to daytime.

[Daniel Avery]

There are Lemays out there. They just won't go to daytime because they know they will not be allowed to write that sort of rich, drawing-room drama like AW popularized in the late 1970's. They would be nickel-and-dimed to death by network execs demanding younger demos and a faster pace. The execs think quick-paced, plot-heavy gimmick-ry is what draws viewers, not realizing that soaps were (and never will be) about instant gratification. The greatest satisfaction from watching soaps comes from delayed gratification, where the build-up is slow and deliberate, and the pay-offs worthy of having invested so much time. Agnes Nixon's famous quote ("Make them laugh, make them cry...make them WAIT") would not apply any more, because network execs think people will wander away if there isn't some sort of constant "bang-pow-boom" stuff going on.

So I think finding the talent isn't the main problem. It's leaving the talent alone and letting them do their thing that isn't happening.

Donna Swajeski was the strike writer for Another World and did so well they fired legendary HW Harding Lemay and kept her post strike. Now she's Co-HW for GL.
Well, kinda-sorta. She was a network exec who stepped in and did a good job, but like someone said, she was following Lemay's plot projections. He returned, but like every HW he kept getting interference from above. The execs knew their colleague (Swajeski) wanted the job, so they could very well have purposely irritated Lemay even more (I don't know this for a fact, but it looks likely). Swajeski would have appeared much more agreeable to their "suggestions", so little wonder Lemay left so quickly and Swajeski stepped right in.

Speaking of whom, I wonder if Swajeski was ever allowed to join the WGA, and if she did, is she now protesting scab writers taking over HER job?

[montyc]

I find them painfully slow and predictable. I am amazed any remain on the air on 2007.

[montyc]

CBS resisted going after demos for years and took pride in it's older demographics and was often number one in the ratings. It's when they slid to fourth in ad rates that it changed and they started chasing the same small, but lucrative pie that the rest were after.

[montyc]

Your point is well taken. GL and ATWT have looked like they are on the short list for years. I suspect a lack of a viable alternative is one reason and that they turn some sort of profit, albeit not as large as they once did.

[montyc]

'equate "rural" with "less educated..."

That's the demographic profile I speak of, not personal opinion. The more rural, older and less educated the viewer profile of a program the less desirable they are to advertisers and the lower the ad rate. Soaps have never had great demos but have dramatically aged over the past ten years. Younger viewers are not tuning in and eventually they look like they will demo out and cease to be make a decent enough profit. I see all of them getting replaced with cheaper to produce talk shows or so-called reality genre programming that might find a smaller, but more profitable, audience.