A lot of soap fans--glad to have their shows back in any form--seem to be superwilling to take without complaint what's handed to them online by the company Prospect Park (which, worried about profit, recently cut the episodes-per-week of ONE LIFE TO LIVE and ALL MY CHILDREN from four to two).
Here's a list of reasons (based on the episodes I've seen) that ONE LIFE TO LIVE is suffering artistically (and, yes, I'm aware that a head writer has been jettisoned since the episodes began prediction) in comparison to its long-running-on-ABC predecessor:
1. Not knocking the Snoop Lion-produced theme song, but the opening-credits sequence is an unfortunate nod to the dancing-cast openers of THE COSBY SHOW.
2. OLTL tends to think that, in its new basic-cable-friendly form (meaning more sexual innuendo, young cast members in underwear, occasional deployment of PG-to-PG-13 language), the younger cast (plus the bedrock Bo-and-Nora older couple) are interested in few other things than what Erica Jong once called the "zipless f---." And, when in need of variation, there's a few scenes in a nightclub playing tame electronica and with other cast members (including Shenaz Treasury--who left THE MINDY PROJECT, where she played a human being--for this, plus J-Woww from JERSEY SHORE) playing tight-outfitted bar staff.
3. A hallmark of the late-period ABC OLTL was a willingness to cast plus-sized female actors (most notably Kathy Brier, who played Marcie) as viable characters/love interests. Not happening on Prospect Park's version of the show. In fact, one character named Destiny (who had a baby with the Matthew Buchanan character) was recast from plus-sized to slim-and-conventionally-gorgeous.
4. One more knock on the young characters: they seem to be little more than selfish louts--particularly the Matthew character (also recast from the ABC series), who doesn't give much of a damn that he's had a child out of wedlock and has little interest in helping in the child's raising.
The new OLTL isn't a complete shambles. When the storylines center on reliable scene-stealing actors such as Tuc Watkins (David), Robin Strasser (Dorian), Roger Howarth (Todd) and Trevor St. John (Victor), the show most resembles its previous incarnation, albeit in a diminished way.
Showing posts with label American Broadcasting Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Broadcasting Company. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Friday, January 13, 2012
Re end of ONE LIFE TO LIVE: Disney/ABC has only one more soap to cancel.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Another legacy of the George Butch Jr. administration: Michaelangelo statue gets its genitalia covered by Disney/ABC.
There are a few legacies remaining in America from the George Butch Jr. (aka George W. Bush) administration (not counting the Obama administration still going to "the dark side" to fight terrorism--or as John Wayne said in THE GREEN BERETS, "Out here, due process is a bullet.").
Buy a physical CD, and you'll see an FBI anti-piracy warning logo. Watch a TV show on broadcast networks or basic cable, and you'll see lips engaged in profane wordspeak being blurred out so impressionable minds will not become scarred by guessing what words are being said as they hear the bleeping on the soundtrack.
And, now, from Twitter, there's this post from David Rambo (reposted by actor/Christopher Guest regular Michael McKean):
"ABC just blurred the genitals on Michaelangelo's David on 20/20. At 10pm. A statue. 500 years old."
Buy a physical CD, and you'll see an FBI anti-piracy warning logo. Watch a TV show on broadcast networks or basic cable, and you'll see lips engaged in profane wordspeak being blurred out so impressionable minds will not become scarred by guessing what words are being said as they hear the bleeping on the soundtrack.
And, now, from Twitter, there's this post from David Rambo (reposted by actor/Christopher Guest regular Michael McKean):
"ABC just blurred the genitals on Michaelangelo's David on 20/20. At 10pm. A statue. 500 years old."
Monday, August 29, 2011
The DANCING WITH THE STARS cast I'd rather see for fall 2011.
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/08/new_dancing_with_the_stars_cas.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Not sure if its the economy or a low opinion of the viewing audience, but, once again, the DANCING WITH THE STARS cast is rather underwhelming (Nancy Grace? Kristin Cavillari? David Arquette?).
Here are my choices:
a. Alec Baldwin
b. Warren Beatty
c. James Franco
d. Samuel L. Jackson
e. George Lopez
f. Megan Fox
g. Valerie Bertinelli
h. Sherri Shepherd (think of the cross-promos with THE VIEW)
i. Carla Hall (ditto for cross-promos with THE CHEW)
j. Helen Mirren
Not sure if its the economy or a low opinion of the viewing audience, but, once again, the DANCING WITH THE STARS cast is rather underwhelming (Nancy Grace? Kristin Cavillari? David Arquette?).
Here are my choices:
a. Alec Baldwin
b. Warren Beatty
c. James Franco
d. Samuel L. Jackson
e. George Lopez
f. Megan Fox
g. Valerie Bertinelli
h. Sherri Shepherd (think of the cross-promos with THE VIEW)
i. Carla Hall (ditto for cross-promos with THE CHEW)
j. Helen Mirren
Friday, April 15, 2011
More regarding ABC soap cancellations--the fix was in and public kept in the dark.
http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/abc-daytime-chief-on-why-amc-oltl-were-axed-general-hospital-katie-couric/
And here's a key passage from the article:
The demise of the two venerable soaps was actually a year in the making, Frons tells me. "A year ago, we started to look at our projections where the ratings for the soaps would go," he said. When those projections came in pretty discouraging, the network began to aggressively develop replacement shows, 15 of them. Four of the 15 were picked up to pilot: The Chew, The Revolution and two others, a talk show and a dating show. Originally, the idea was to cancel only one daytime drama, Frons said. But "the way the ratings developed and the pilots turned out, the ratings developed negatively and pilots developed positively, so we decided to make a bigger shift."
And here's a key passage from the article:
The demise of the two venerable soaps was actually a year in the making, Frons tells me. "A year ago, we started to look at our projections where the ratings for the soaps would go," he said. When those projections came in pretty discouraging, the network began to aggressively develop replacement shows, 15 of them. Four of the 15 were picked up to pilot: The Chew, The Revolution and two others, a talk show and a dating show. Originally, the idea was to cancel only one daytime drama, Frons said. But "the way the ratings developed and the pilots turned out, the ratings developed negatively and pilots developed positively, so we decided to make a bigger shift."
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Soap operas aka daytime dramas--and then there were four.
http://abc.go.com/site/abcdaytimenews
http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/04/14/abc-cancels-all-my-children-one-life-to-live/?flv=1
http://daytimeconfidential.zap2it.com/2011/04/15/the-decline-of-the-american-soap-opera
And a flip, we're-above-this post from THE ONION'S AV CLUB:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/abc-cancels-all-my-children-and-one-life-to-live,54616/
Plus this sort-of-loud-and-symbolic-gesture from Hoover, the vacuum cleaner manufacturers:
http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/hoover-pulls-abc-advertising-in-protest-over-cancelations-of-soaps-amc-oltl/
My opinions:
1. ABC Daytime's Brian Frons is certainly playing the "managing for margins" game that Jeff Zucker did at NBC last season when pulling 10 o'clock series for the disastrous-but-cheap JAY LENO SHOW. Since THE CHEW (rhymes with THE VIEW) and THE REVOLUTION will be less expensive than either AMC or OLTL, it's safe to guess that Frons won't stress out from fall 2011 to late-summer 2012 if the ratings for both series are lower than what they're replacing.
2. I feel sorry for the NYC-based actors who counted on NYC-taped soaps for all or at least part of their annual income. Certainly the cancellation of OLTL (the last NYC soap standing) is the end of an era.
3. It may be easy to mock and smirk at daytime soaps--particularly about their tendencies to be rather broad and unsubtle in characterizations and scripting. But I've watched them on and off through my lifetime (SANTA BARBARA was a particular favorite). And it's sad to see them gradually become extinct (expecting the usual cliche about how pre-emptions for the O.J. Simpson trial coverage started the inevitable-slide-downwards).
http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/04/14/abc-cancels-all-my-children-one-life-to-live/?flv=1
http://daytimeconfidential.zap2it.com/2011/04/15/the-decline-of-the-american-soap-opera
And a flip, we're-above-this post from THE ONION'S AV CLUB:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/abc-cancels-all-my-children-and-one-life-to-live,54616/
Plus this sort-of-loud-and-symbolic-gesture from Hoover, the vacuum cleaner manufacturers:
http://www.deadline.com/2011/04/hoover-pulls-abc-advertising-in-protest-over-cancelations-of-soaps-amc-oltl/
My opinions:
1. ABC Daytime's Brian Frons is certainly playing the "managing for margins" game that Jeff Zucker did at NBC last season when pulling 10 o'clock series for the disastrous-but-cheap JAY LENO SHOW. Since THE CHEW (rhymes with THE VIEW) and THE REVOLUTION will be less expensive than either AMC or OLTL, it's safe to guess that Frons won't stress out from fall 2011 to late-summer 2012 if the ratings for both series are lower than what they're replacing.
2. I feel sorry for the NYC-based actors who counted on NYC-taped soaps for all or at least part of their annual income. Certainly the cancellation of OLTL (the last NYC soap standing) is the end of an era.
3. It may be easy to mock and smirk at daytime soaps--particularly about their tendencies to be rather broad and unsubtle in characterizations and scripting. But I've watched them on and off through my lifetime (SANTA BARBARA was a particular favorite). And it's sad to see them gradually become extinct (expecting the usual cliche about how pre-emptions for the O.J. Simpson trial coverage started the inevitable-slide-downwards).
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