What Do You Think a New Head Writing Team Means for ‘General Hospital'?

Source: ABC Television

"General Hospital" fans have got to love rollercoaster rides!  Of course most soap operas are daily rides on the amusement park rollercoaster but the ride “General Hospital” fans get is nothing less than front car material when it comes to behind-the-scenes drama!  From lawsuits to parting shots the ride is seldom less than E-ticket worthy.

The latest curve is a new head writing team to replace “General Hospital” and former “One Life to Live” head writer Ron Carlivati.  “General Hospital” will begin a new chapter in storytelling beginning in August when the new team takes over. 

What do you think this mean for “General Hospital”?

Why do you love soaps?

Remaining network daytime soap operas

If you are a soap opera fan you have likely had at least one conversation with someone who passionately thought soap operas were a complete waste of everyone’s time.  In fact, I would go so far as to say most people who do not watch soap operas or have them in their blood would think Soapers are crazy or worse.

It is always fun educating non-Soapers on the many merits, and sometimes life-altering benefits of soap operas.  Most do not realize, for example, that soap operas play an important role in such things as short-term memory rehabilitation; companionship for the ill, disabled, shut-ins, bedridden, and recently widowed; language skills tutors for stroke victims and second language students; and bringing socially-charged topics into discussion through storytelling.

I love soap operas for all those reasons and more.  They provide a place where you watch a story unfold that provides entertainment and comfort in a familiar setting across decades through good times and difficult ones.

Why do you love soap operas?

#soapopera #soap #soaps #soapoperas #soaper #soapers #soapoperafan #merits #benefits #SoapAssignments 

Would Michael E. Knight make a good addition to General Hospital

Recently there has been a rumor circulating around the Internet that Michael E. Knight AKA All My Children's (AMC) Tad the Cad Martin is being considered for a role on General Hospital (GH).  Although there has been no word from GH or Disney/ABC the rumor continues to have its flames fanned.

The rumor has ignited Michael E. Knight fans and AMC fans to speculate whether he might be considered for an existing GH role, new role, or as Tad Martin of Pine Valley coming to Port Charles (the Tad Martin character is currently part of the Prospect Park bankruptcy case and would likely not be available for use).  While Soapers speculate whether the rumor is true or whether Michael E. Knight would be a good fit for GH he has not weighed in publicly whether he would be interested or not.  One thing is clear, his fans are and if they weren't already watching GH, they would be with him on board.

After how poorly Michael E. Knight was treated by Disney/ABC previously it is unknown whether he would be interested in working for the same company again.  His fans hope that one way or another he joins some show so they can enjoy his work once again.  Hey!  Maybe he's holding out for his own show! ;-)  Wouldn't that be awesome!!!

Would you like to see Michael E. Knight join the General Hospital cast?  Who would you like to see him play?

Will fans ever see All My Children and One Life To Live again?

All My Children (AMC) and One Life To Live (OLTL) fans have suffered losing their beloved shows not once but twice after decades of dedicated viewing.  First, the network canceled the shows.  Then, the production company that acquired their rights re-canceled them when they halted production.

Now, the production company that leased the rights to the shows is in bankruptcy.  In addition, their is a multi-million dollar lawsuit in the courts between the show owners (Disney/ABC) and the license holders (Prospect Park) regarding one of the shows.  The result has been a long, drawn out legal battle that may continue for years while rights to the two shows remains in limbo.

In the meantime, AMC and OLTL fans continue to miss their shows and remain vigilant in letting everyone know they want and would support their return.  When the shows restarted online, they turned out to be very different flavors of Pine Valley and Llanview than fans were used to, even with some familiar settings and characters.  If someday the shows are released from the current legal quagmire they are in the actors from the original shows will have aged and many have moved on leaving little likelihood the shows would ever again look and feel like the beloved originals.

Right now chances of seeing these shows again seems very slim.  But die-hard fans of AMC and OLTL will never give up hope.

Do you think we will ever see AMC and OLTL again?

Where did you spend weekday afternoons?

Back in the days before VCRs, DVRs, and on-demand viewing TV Guide was the weekly television bible and daytime afternoons were booked with soap operas.  Viewers were forced to make choices like Days of Our Lives or All My Children, Another World or One Life to Live.  Most soap fans watched one channel lineup throughout the afternoon and were loyal to all the soaps in that lineup.

With the onset of VCRs and DVRs, it opened up a whole new world for soapers to be able to watch whatever stories they wanted even when they aired against each other.

Before recording devices were available I started out with Days of Our Lives and Another World.  In the late 1970s I switched over to All My Children.  When I was home I would be in Pine Valley, Llanview, and Port Charles between the hours of twelve and three.  All My Children was my favorite show and when it was over I would often leave the television on and catch One Life to Live and General Hospital.  As much as I disliked missing episodes when I was at work or away from home, the beauty of soap operas is how easy it was to pick storylines back up after being away from them.

Where did you spend weekday afternoons?

What Do You Think of Oprah Airing AMC and OLTL Episodes on OWN?

Oprah has certainly changed her tune from the two-minute YouTube video she made two years ago titled, "Why Oprah Can't Save the Soap Operas," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc23W861mKI).  The video began a backlash Oprah and OWN were ill-prepared.  In a major turnaround, Oprah released a thirty-second video this week titled, "Oprah's Summer Fling with All My Children and One Life to Live on OWN," (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY9e8OYifMs&feature=youtu.be).  In the newest video, Oprah tells the world that she heard soap fans and is going to be airing a limited (40-episode) "fling" this Summer of the newly produced, back-from-the-dead, All My Children and One Life to Live.  

In the video she announces the return with all the gusto of a true soap fan.  But her announcement and gusto leave some soap fans elated and some bitter.  It also leaves open-ended questions about the future of the shows after the "fling" is over.

The forty episodes will be the first forty relaunched episodes produced by The Online Network (TOLN) (http://theonlinenetwork.com) and aired on Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/all-my-children) (http://www.hulu.com/one-life-to-live) and iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/all-my-children/id621724634) (https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/one-life-to-live/id621724081).  The big question on everyone's mind is, what happens after the "fling," is over?  Do viewers just get left hanging without OWN or network access to the continuing content?  ... or do the two shows become part of OWN or another network's regular programming lineup at that point?  Only time and TOLN will tell.

Response in the soap fan community, although generally positive, has been somewhat mixed.  Some have accused Oprah of jumping on the bandwagon after everyone else's hard work to bring the shows back.  Well of course she is - she is a businesswoman.  

For many soap fans it was very disappointing to watch the condescending manner with which Oprah handled the pleas of fans two years ago.  It lead to my writing a CNN iReport, "Oprah Has Her Own," (http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-594848).

However, time has passed and apparently Oprah has seen the light and the financial benefit of testing the soap opera waters of airing All My Children and One Life to Live on a limited basis.  It is a great deal less costly for OWN to license the forty episodes from The Online Network (TOLN) than to produce them.  It is also less costly and risky to air a limited amount of episodes and test the waters versus entering into a long-term commitment with the shows to air in a regularly schedule time slot at this time.

For All My Children, One Life to Live, and soap fans, this can be nothing but good news.  It is an opportunity for the shows to gain widespread viewership on a cable network channel, provide the opportunity for viewers who are not online to get to see and sample the shows (if they get OWN  through their cable service provide and tier of service), provide added revenue for both shows that can be reinvested for future production, and be a measurement of the feasibility of the shows being profitable on a cable network.

The bottom line is if a fan of the shows gets OWN and watches the shows this summer on the OWN channel it can only help strengthen chances that the shows will continue production and fans will be able to continue visiting Pine Valley and Llanview online and hopefully on a network for a long time to come.  The greatest strength of every soap fan is their viewership.

What do you think?

What Did You Think of the First Week of the AMC and OLTL Relaunches?

We Did It!

I am over the moon with joy to see our beloved shows, families, and towns back with us four days a week! I also really enjoyed the recap where it is a chance to see other All My Children (AMC) and One Life to Live (OLTL) related content. Would I like to see the shows for an hour versus half an hour? Of course – if you are a fan you can never get enough of the shows, but I am very happily enjoying the half hour a day we have of them! Are they the same shows that left ABC? No, but they could have just as easily not returned at all or returned completely unrecognizable so I am thrilled for my combined hour a day I get to visit Pine Valley and Llanview.  How about you?

All My Children

Hulu – All My Children - http://www.hulu.com/all-my-children

iTunes – Search TV Shows for All My Children

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/AllMyChildren

Twitter - http://twitter.com/allmychildren

Instagram -http://instagram.com/allmychildren

You can write to AMC actors at:

c/o All My Children

P.O. Box 110236

Stamford, CT 06911

One Life to Live

Hulu – One Life to Live - http://www.hulu.com/one-life-to-live

iTunes – Search TV Shows for One Life to Live

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/OneLifeToLive

Twitter - http://twitter.com/onelifetolive

Instagram - http://instagram.com/onelifetolive

You can write to OLTL actors at:

One Life To Live

P.O. Box 110237

Stamford, CT 06911

Hulu

Hulu - http://www.hulu.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hulu?fref=ts

Twitter - @soapsonhulu

The Online Network

http://www.theonlinenetwork.com/

Twitter - @TOLN

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/tolnsoaps