The Continuing Saga of One Network's Blunder

April 26 was another big day for "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" fans.  It was the day that there were not one, two, not even 3 protests outside ABC studios.  But almost TWENTY, including one in New York and one in Los Angeles.  Each protest had 20-50 people and lasted 2 hours.  The turn out was small but decent enough considering the time element.  Fans needed to act fast because we want our message heard loud and clear, so the protests had to be right away, which made it hard for some people to attend because of work.  However, those of us who could not attend physically were there in spirit.  In addition, each protest reached both goals.  The main goal was to prove our loyalty to the shows and commitment to this cause.  Second, they were hoping to get media attention because, hey, it's free.  Mission accomplished!

From what I've heard about the protests, they were peaceful.  After all, soap fans do know how to conduct themselves in public when trying to save their favorite shows.  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Disney/ABC employees.  Since this whole mess with the cancellation began, I have been shocked at the behavior of the Disney/ABC employees.  It has progressively gotten worse.  During the protest in New York, an employee called the cops, who quickly found out there was no need because it was a peaceful demonstration.  They must've thought the employee was looney toons or something.  In Los Angeles, a Disney/ABC employee actually shouted to the protestors "Read a book!".  Can you say "unprofessional"?  I'm sure Walt Disney, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and all the other Disney characters would be so proud of this person--NOT!  I mean really, is this the way you'd expect an employee of Disney to behave?  Doesn't exactly make them look good, does it?  Hasn't he ever heard of conducting himself professionally so it reflects well on the company he works for?  How about instead of calling Disney World The Happiest Place on Earth, they change their motto to "Come Be Yelled At By Our Rude Staff".  Or how about "Welcome to Disney World. We want your business, we'll take your money, but you don't matter to us."  Oh, and it should be noted that one of the people in the crowd the employee shouted this at actually WROTE a book.  Hey, rude guy!  Know what you are talking about before you shoot off your mouth.  Better yet, don't shoot your mouth off at all.  And FYI, some of us can do both--read and watch our favorite soaps--at the same time! 

And it only gets worse for ABC.  The children of the creators of "General Hospital" are suing ABC for money from the syndication of the show.  Karma has reared it's ugly head at last!  Took long enough.  

There are some positive things to report, though.  First, the press seems to be siding with the fans.  They are portraying us in a positive way and saying things about ABC and Brian Frons that we fans have been saying for quite a while now.  In addition, I've heard rumors that Frons' days at ABC are numbered and that NBC is considering picking up the soaps for their network.  Apparently, they understand how valuable these shows are and know that they will get a lot more viewers if they add them to their line-up.  Finally, a network with common sense!  Stay tuned everyone!

ABC Soap Fans Refuse to Be Ignored Any Longer

My friends,

It has now been 9 days since the dreaded announcement from ABC that they were cancelling "All My Children" and "One Life to Live", AKA The A-1 First Class Blunder of the Century By A Network. It even surpasses the cancellation of "FlashForward" (also by ABC), which I have also been quite outspoken about. I have had some time now to process the news of the cancellation of my beloved soaps and can now try to put my feelings into coherent thoughts.  But please forgive me if I don't succeed because the wound is still too fresh. 

When I first heard about the cancellations, my first thought was not "Oh my God!  They're cancelling my favorite soap opera!"  It was more like "Oh my God!  They're murdering my extended family!"  And that isn't an exaggeration.  That's what this cancellation feels like. Like most soap opera viewers, my favorite soap opera characters have come to feel like family to me. You get to know these characters inside and out.  At times, I felt like I knew the characters better than the writers did.  It's so bad that one day I literally found myself screaming at a character on "General Hospital" for 10 minutes straight until I realized how I sounded and thanked God that no one was around to hear me.  I was like a crazy person!  Unfortunately, people who aren't soap opera fans don't get this. 

I have stated in a previous blog post that I have been watching soaps since I was in the womb.  I used to watch soaps with my mom when I was little until she stopped watching them.  I didn't watch again until I was about 13 years old, and I have been watching ever since.  That was almost 30 years ago.  One of my favorite shows was always "One Life to Live".  I have so many memories from this show!  My first memory of the show was Brad Vernon in prison and his wife Jenny at home with their toddler, Mary.  That was the beginning of one of the most heartbreaking storylines ever written for Daytime. I can remember crying when Jenny made the hardest decision of her life, to give up Mary to her real mother, Katrina.  I watched when Joe Riley brought Clint home to meet Viki and then when Joe died.  I watched Viki's children grow up.  I can name every one of Asa's and Bo's wives.  I sat through controversial storylines and the most heartbreaking storylines you will ever see like when Bo's wives Didi and Sarah and Viki's daughter Megan (Sarah's sister) died. I watched Marty Saybrooke and Megan both grow into caring people.  I can name all of Viki's alters (My favorite is Niki) and loved the rivalry between Dorian and Viki.  I could go on and on forever.  That's how long I've been invested in this show. I've cried with the characters and at times, I have been known to scream at the TV or throw something at it if I was upset about something on the show.  I had my favorite characters (Viki, Bo, Sarah, Mimi, Chuck, Tina, Jessica, Megan, Wanda, Jenny, Karen, Larry, Dorian, David Renaldi, Ben Davidson, Sloan, Troy, Colin, Lindsay, Nash, and Charlie are just some of them).  I even got angry when I felt the writers were ruining my favorite characters because I knew them so well.  So yes, it does feel like I'm losing part of my family.

As if the cancellation wasn't enough to deal with right now, we have had to deal with two more problems.  First there are the every day people who join these groups only to post messages on the boards like "Protest something important."  Excuse me?  If you aren't with us on this, why are you even a member of the groups to save the soaps? 

Then there are the snide, rude, insensitive remarks from people who are "in the biz".  Jenny McCarthy and Oprah to be exact.  I mean really--Have you SEEN Oprah's video to her fans...some of whom she has now lost because of her statements in the video?  Since these people are in show business, you'd think they'd be more sensitive to the fact that over 600 people have now lost their jobs. Oprah is the biggest offender here of all.  She talked to us like children in her video. and she clearly doesn't know what she is talking about as far as the numbers go.  To be fair, I thought maybe I was just being overly sensitive when I saw it until I started reading comments from other people.  Even professional journalists have picked up on it.  And she could save the shows if she wanted to. It would even benefit her network, OWN to do so because it would bring in viewers AND RATINGS.  You would think someone as smart as Oprah claims to be would figure this out, but she hasn't. So instead of saying a simple "Thank you for contacting me, but I simply can't help you", she has made a complete idiot of herself, and it is plastered all over the internet for everyone to see FOREVER. And didn't she just have a show about soap operas with some of the big stars as guests?  So she's ok with using them to get ratings, but when they need her to come through for them, she refuses to even TRY to help?  Nice...

There is one other thing that has me completely baffled.  It's been reported that the reasons for the cancellations are low ratings and high production costs.  Ok..makes sense I guess--to anyone without a single brain cell still working.  But what the network fails to consider is that times have changed.  We no longer have just one way of watching the show. It used to be that you could only watch when the show was on.  This was before the days of VCRs, DVRs, and Tivo.  Heck, you can even watch on the internet now. Therefore, Nielsen ratings are no longer accurate (as if they ever were to begin with).  Therefore, they should not rely on ratings numbers.  Fans and professional journalists can understand this.  All of us (fans and journalists) have  come up with ways that these shows can be saved.  The solutions are very simple, yet ABC hasn't been able to come up with them. The question is "Why?".  Is it because they are just looking for any excuse to get rid of these shows?  The fact that they can't come up with a solution makes me wonder if they just want to cancel the shows no matter what...even if there are logical solutions to the problem.

On the up side, I find it encouraging that the sponsors have started listening to us.  Hoover, for one, has pulled it's advertising from ALL of ABC in protest of the cancellation.  A fact that ABC can't seem to understand the logic behind.  They have apparently never heard of a sponsor pulling their advertising to save a show, only to sink it.  I find this fact laughable because this is what protesting is...pulling something, in this case advertising, to protest a decision by the network.  DUH!  What part of that is not clear?  And I, for one, am not explaining it to them.  Other sponsors seem to be listening to us as well.  This is a very good sign. 

There have been other positive signs as well.  The Writer's Guild has asked ABC to reconsider their decision to cancel AMC and OLTL. Plus I have heard through various contacts that the fans are making a difference.  I've even heard rumors that Brian Frons' days at ABC are numbered.  The fans are making a difference just like I always knew we could.  Even if it is a small difference right now, this is progress.  I've never been so proud to be a soap fan in my life.

I Am Shocked, Saddened, and Angry!

Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog.  I had already been having an A-1, first class crappy day when I got terrible news for soap viewers.  The unthinkable has happened.  ABC has canceled "One Life to Live" and "All My Children".  My mind is still trying to process the news.  I cannot say the words I really want to say about how I feel because this is a public blog.  But I will do my best to express myself. 

It's been rumored that ABC would cancel AMC for a while now.  And there have been rumors going around the internet about OLTL being canceled even longer.  So I never thought it would really happen.  When I started hearing recent rumors of "All My Children" AND "One Life to Live" being canceled, I dismissed them as just that--rumors.  I convinced myself that it would never happen because of the rumors of OLTL going around for so long.  I never wanted to be right so much in my life!  I convinced myself it wouldn't happen.  However, I underestimated the power of human stupidity.  Specifically that of one TV executive named Brian Frons.

Brian Frons has been systematically destroying ABC daytime for years now.  He ruins everything he touches, trying to "fix" things that don't need fixing.  He has even butted into areas of the business that are none of HIS business.  Hasn't he ever heard the phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."? 

Lately, things haven't been that bad.  Frons has been surprisingly quiet, so I let my guard down.  What a mistake that was!  This latest move could be called "Cutting off your nose to spite your face" because it's the worst thing he could've done.  Canceling two very popular/loved soaps?  Seriously?  How is that logical?  I know part of his job is to bring in money, but the man is going about it the wrong way.  Yes, axing two shows and putting numerous actors and staff members out of work is one way. Oh, and did I mention that it is very cold-blooded?  But then you have an even bigger problem--Ticking off and alienating the fans--a very huge number--of both those shows.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't less viewers=less ratings for your network, which results in less money for your network?  And if the fans start boycotting the sponsors, ABC will lose more money than they are bringing in now--the exact OPPOSITE of the results they are trying to achieve. Explain to me how that is a good thing.

To make matters worse, I've heard that "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" are being replaced by talk shows and a cooking show.  According to him, viewer's tastes have changed, and this is what he says we want instead of our beloved soaps.  Oh?  Hmmm...so he's in our heads now and knows what we want?  Then riddle me this.  Why are there so many fan sites/message boards dedicated to soaps and/or soap actors and not as many dedicated to reality TV?  And how come all I've heard since rumors started of a cancellation are an outcry from angry fans?  I'll tell you why.  Because fans love their soaps more than reality TV.  We watch soap operas during the day because we want to escape reality!  But Brian Frons doesn't get that, nor does he care because all he sees is dollar signs.  He doesn't care about what the fans want.  He's obviously never listened to what we want or respected us.  And he sure doesn't understand the connection the fans and actors have with each other or how fiercely loyal soap opera fans are. What a shame that is.  It seems to me that in order to be a good TV executive, you need to know your viewers.  Obviously, Brian Frons doesn't have a clue.  I am curious to find out one thing.  What is he going to do when the new talk shows and cooking shows air, and there are no viewers watching?  What will he say then?

Now, lets forget the fans for a moment.  We've been disrespected and ignored for years.  It's wrong, but I'm used to it by now.  Lets focus on the actors.  The press was told about the cancellations BEFORE the actors and staff were, which is how the fans found out so fast.  And believe me the news was plastered all over the internet faster than anything I've ever seen!  So...let's recap, shall we? Frons has canceled TWO long-running, beloved soap operas, alienated the viewers, and disrespected the actors and staff by announcing it to the press first.  Nice work, Frons!  When is ABC going to realize that this man is poison to them and fire him before he destroys another show?  Get with it, ABC, before it's too late--if it isn't already.