What is going to happen to our soaps?

Lately, with all the complaining and ruckuss about RH and TSJ, and OLTL, and the loss of ATWT, I've been thinking more and more about the demise of soaps, as we know and love them. There are a few articles out there about this syndrome, namely The Death of Soaps (2007), The Future of Daytime Soaps (2008), in which OLTL is not even mentioned, 2009 Cancellation of ATWT Speaks to Soap Opera Future (2009) in which OLTL is named as the next casualty, and Is There Still a Future for Soap Operas? (2009), and I am sure this issue is not far from the heads of TPTB of the remaining shows. Something is happening, and it's happening relatively fast.

Of course, television marketing specialists and people such as this are contemplating, conjecturing and studying the ratings. I can answer it simply. Two things are at play. The first is the lack of character-driven, well-written stories with powerful acting at the hull. I don't care WHAT story they were shoving down our throats throughout my life as a soap viewer, we accepted it because it was written to work - it wasn't too superhero, because Tristan Rogers could carry it; we endured foolishness because Erika Slezak made everything seem real; we suspended disbelief because Roger Howarth made us love a demented nut; we accepted some terrible truths because Tony Geary and Genie Francis made it seem ok. CHARACTER-DRIVEN.

I don't remember saying, "I have to watch tomorrow because I want to see who has the Aztec Treasure." It was, "I have to watch tomorrow to see what happens to Frisco and Felicia" or "I can't wait to see Anna and Duke get married." Not the events, the people, created by the actors who really carry soaps, along with the writing, which has to be fantastic and more exciting than real life, but not too-far-gone. (I can't even think of what is too far gone, however, when you have an actress like Erika Slezak or Susan Lucci. Telling bear to leave because you're Erica Kane, or going back in time to the Old West come to mind.) Any way you look at it, It's a combination of great stories and even greater actors and actresses that YOU DON'T REPLACE on a whim. It's almost as if writers cannot be creative, so they latch on to the past for an easy sell.

The second issue I believe is the popularity of the internet. Why watch soaps when you can watch and be part of real life drama on Facebook? I am a FB user, and spend most of my FB time on games or posting to family members. But the trends online reflect this "real time" sort of excitement, where the players in the dramas are people you know. If the soaps don't have people you have come to know and love over time, then why bother when you can just watch the drama of real people you know???

Soaps should stop pandering to younger viewers. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET THEM. First, they have SCHOOL and WORK during soap hours, and when they get home, they are on the internet, using Oovoo, Facebook, My Space, You Tube and Formspring. They are not worried about Todd Manning. And who is? US. US the "older folks?" I cannot believe I am even saying it, but I'd say the people who really care about Soaps being preserved and about Todd Manning are not teens. And the trends are for kids to get more and more away from television and more and more into internet-based activities in free time. I can say this speaking from experience - I've seen the trend myself over the last few years in working with hundreds of teenagers as a teacher. Most kids don't even know what One Life to Live is. And, if TPTB keep going in the direction they have, no kids ever will know what it is, because it will be gone. The writers and producers need to respect the past of soaps, and get into the stories we love with our characters, to keep us happy, and not work so hard on getting new blood. My son got into OLTL because I was a long-time viewer and I wanted to watch again to see the return of Susan Haskell. Ok, he started to get into the Starr and Cole story, but he really got into John McBain and David Vickers' stories more. But BOTH OF US lost interest within a year and have given it up. There's no meat, the acting among the "featured players" is subpar, and the stories are just flat.

Soap creators, please try and realize that you are pissing us off. Every time you rewrite history, we're annoyed, not impressed, because you have some stupid reason or poor actor there to carry your story out. And STOP recasting our favorites, that really makes us angry and shows a lack of creativity and invention on your part. When your cast is made up of more than 50% new characters, or you relegate veterans to day-player status, you are NOT MAKING US HAPPY. You are making us aggravated. We don't turn on the shows to see new 20 year olds every week, we're sitting, watching, to be loyal to Viki, to Erika, to whomever we've grown to love over the years soaps have been part of our lives. Let's just say, if you all want soaps to become a thing of the past, you're certainly headed there.