'Nightline' digs into soaps and finds: They've still got a pulse (yes!)

The sad thing is that the entertainment industry just does not seem to appreciate how valuable the daytime drama is. Besides the fact that the networks are asking the soaps to get their content to keep up with the youth market and yet the networks dont in terms of how that demo accesses content…all that aside…the finest actors come from and can be found on the daytime dramas. All the NYC based prime shows and film know that soap actors are their go-to people for supporting roles. There would be no Meg Ryan or Alec Baldwin or Kevin Bacon without the soaps. Prime time dramas are modeled after daytime dramas except they are once a week. And the saddest part is that right when Guiding Light is coming back into its own with Olivia, Natalia, Reva, Jeffrey, Dinah, Shayne, Bill, Lizzie, Phillip, Beth and all the rest of them…CBS pulls the rug out from under. GL has the fans but for some reason no one knows we are here…we are not being counted. But I am not going anywhere! GL rules!

For generations soaps have been getting families together and forging traditions. It saddens & amazes me now, that the only thing that seems to matter in the industry is money. The advent of reality shows and more talk shows, while they may be somewhat cheaper, they do not have the depth or the history and could never, ever make the kind of lasting impressions that a soap makes. These show are in your homes 5 days a week at least 300 days a year. These shows are your families, your escape, you history and so much more! The cancellation of Guiding Light comes as such a slap in the face to the viewers. I guess 1.5 to 2 million viewers is inconsequential! This show is rich in history and has now come into it’s own with SPECTACULAR writing and even more stellar acting. The Otalia story, Bill, Lizzie, Dinah and the whole show is doing a wonderful job of restoring the genre. I hope other take into consideration that this is tradition! Please consider the fans, where GL is we WILL follow!

I’ve been watching guiding light since 1978, I was 11 years old. It’s a family tradition, which I began with my grandmother. She was there at the beginning of the show. My four year daughter doesn’t watch the show, she’s too young, but she runs from wherever she is to dance with me when the song at the beginning of the show comes on. “Only Love Can Save The World!!” she sings. I’ll be sad if the tradition ends with me, cause my daughter is definitely a girl who will like GL. These characters are like old friends. Come up with a better way to determine ratings. The system we have has to be inaccurate. When I was in the hospital watching GL – nurses would linger in my room to see scenes.

Totally understand peoples’ complaints. Everyone has their favorite show/storyline to be irritated about.
I stopped watching General Hospital in 2000. Jonathan Jackson and Rebecca Herbst were my favorite tv teen love story. Jackson left the show, they recast. The producers ruined it by casting a beefcake for Lucky, getting actors who didn’t have any emotional range, none of the ‘soul’ Jackson put into the role and who didn’t have a tenth of the chemistry with Herbst. Then the writers proceeded to further ruin the character by giving Lucky none of the charm or witt of the original char. The whole course of Lucky/Liz after Jackson left was completely out of sync with what they’d built up from 97-99. I was so irritated, I stopped watching. Haven’t gone back since.
If soaps are looking to make a resurgance, maybe they should look to getting better writers and producers, to write characters more consistently, and to actually follow through with storylines.