Search for Tomorrow
There is a flip side to these aforementioned whirling dirvishes of daytime too. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Guiding Light may be blamed fairly and unfairly for a lot of reasons why it is in imminent danger of cancellation, whether it was the early months of it current production model, David Kreizman's stint as the show's sole head writer or the loss of major stars and characters. GL has improved mightily over the last few months and I urge people to check it out now. However, the most detrimental issue for Guiding Light for roughly a year and a half or more was that the show had no interia at all. It was as if Kreizman and executive producer Ellen Wheeler put the show in a position where they could wrap up production and stories at a moment's notice should the ax have fallen. So couples limped along or were broken up for no good reason, the entire population of Springfield lived at the Beacon and Alan obsessed over every baby in Springfield forever. So little actually happened in Springfield (besides Tammy's death and Reva's cancer), that fans had no real reason to stay tuned.
In the middle of this kerfluffle is Days of Our Lives, a show whose entire structure shifts according to short-term panic regarding the ratings and whenever its network contract has come up for renewal. Writing regimes, whole sets of characters, entire story lines play for months on end and are then jettisoned to “honor the wishes of the fans”...which in most cases tends to infuriate them even more. Ken Corday seems to run Days like a game of jenga, managing to keep the wobbly tower intact by piling on new pieces, but then yanking out supports that threaten to bring the whole enterprise crashing to the floor. The show's remaining fans have invested in the history, characters and supercouples of Days' past, but few seem engaged in the actual stories being told, which is far cry from the golden age of soap operas.
General Hospital is not immune, either. The series may be inconsistent on an episodic or storyline by storyline basis, but Bob Guza has kept a pretty firm vision for his mobtacular vision of Port Charles intact. Unfortunately, GH also is increasingly known for producing sweeps-a-palooza, Emmy bait stunts with dizzying bouts of painfully obvious “chemistry tests” and half-assed or dropped stories left in its bullet-ridden wake.
In times past, the reason why my mother, her friends and millions of soap fans could invest so heavily and deeply in soaps was because “the stories” were being told in full measure. Morality tales or fables, plot lines or slices of life, “the stories” mattered above all else. It wasn't just rich people acting up. It wasn't merely an escape where the problems of these fictional folk made theirs seem smaller by comparison for at least a few hours a day. It wasn't about this fan base or this squish couple or another. At the end of the day, “the stories” were about what would happen next day, next episode, next week, next month or, in the case of the Bell soaps, the next several years.
Momentum is the key here, reflected in the names of some of the earliest serials: The Clear Horizon, Bright Promise, The Brighter Day, As the World Turns, and yes, Search for Tomorrow. These titles and many others suggested that the future was always ahead, not trapped in the past. Soaps were like sharks, ever moving forward with their characters and stories.
It is no small coincidence then that the two soaps enjoying the most acclaim from fans and critics are The Young and the Restless and One Life to Live. (Not to be outdone, even General Hospital: Night Shift got it right too, under the pen of Sri Rao and production by Lisa de Cazotte.) Both Y&R and OLTL are telling “good stories rooted in character and history,” but more importantly they have established or re-established the fundamental tenets element of good soap opera. Each serial has momentum moving it forward. Stories spin out from other stories. Characters collide with each other in unexpected ways that seem, for the most part, logical and well-thought out. The A story dominates while the B story percolates and the C story revs its engines. We wait to see what will happen and who will be impacted and how they and others will react. When will the truth come out about those babies or her identity? We watch in anticipation because we know the stakes are huge for these characters and other characters in their orbit and the consequences could be profound. We want to tune in tomorrow. (continued)
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Comments
1 January 2008
4 years 4 weeks
Beautiful, compelling essay, J. Bernard. Your insight and intelligence on the genre shines through with this thesis on the generational passing down of the soaps. I, too, found myself watching Ryan's Hope, Days, Another World and Guiding Light originally due to my step-mother's love for the lives and loves of the people in those cities and towns where they were located. That led to my own exploration of what other soaps were out there and I found the particular style which engrossed me the most at Y&R, GL, DOOL and then Loving and Santa Barbara. The internet has lessened the shock and surprise of what was going to happen and I am not sure if it has been a blessing or a curse for the industry. As much as I want story lines to remain shrouded in having to watch, I find myself hunting for the leaks because I also enjoy knowing what is going to happen and then seeing how the individual show produces and plays the scenario out. Mostly, I just wanted to let you know that I can relate to so much of what you have written and analyzed to be the history of the actual watching of daytime drama. Stories should be long-term and plotted out to involve every single beat and moment. It makes things that much more organic, natural seeming and like read life, where things like falling in love does not take 2 days but 2 years or more, evil plots are thought out and planned while the unwitting participants go about their lives and mysteries, criminal trials and off the charts events take their time in unfolding. Thank you for writing this to educate the new viewers of what the soap opera was originally intended for and to remind the long time fans of why they fell in love with the genre to begin with. Happy new year 2009 and here's to a resurgence of all the soaps and a continued passing on to the next generations of fans.
12 November 2008
3 years 46 weeks
JBJ,
You are simply one of the finest commentators on the genre. I remember checking in on DC hoping "DS9Sisko" (which, by the by, is the best of the Treks) posted on certain articles, because they were always a treat. I'm thrilled that you are an official contributor to DC now.
Thank you for pointing out what OLTL and Y&R are doing right now. The shows have rejuvenated my love for the genre in the last year.
Off-topic, I was thinking about "Guiding Light." Anybody else think that the new production model would actually work if the show were cut back to a half-hour? They wouldn't have to rush so much with the editing and shooting. I mean, "The City" had a similar format 13 years earlier and it looked far superior.
14 December 2008
29 weeks 3 days
J. Bernard: Thanks for both the fond memories and for holding the mirror up to daytime today and showing how far many shows have changed from those days. I was a little older than you when I started watching soaps and started about a year earlier in '73, but I still have memories etched in my head of how stories I watched with my mom during summer vacations - like Joanne on Search for Tomorrow being blinded, or the Scott/Kathy/Jennifer story you mentioned where Morgan Fairchild's Jennifer crashed through a glass door - stayed there, to the point where even when I was back in school, I had to ask Mom what happened. When my mom went back to work in '76, we depended on newspaper summaries to keep up until vacation rolled around again for me, and that's what got me into first SFT and Y&R and then later ATWT in the late 70s/early 80s. Those stories unfolded slowly, sometimes taking years to unfold, so it's sad how we've lost that today with so many shows moving at breakneck speed. The worst part is that many of daytime's leaders today - Brad bell, Ken Corday, Chris Goutman - were active in the industry in the 80s when the likes of Bill Bell and Doug Marland and others were still writing continuing drama, so it makes you wonder what these folks see differently in today's audience that they create such fast paced fare.
23 August 2008
3 years 41 weeks
I'd give anything to be able to rewatch eps of Love of Life from the 70s and 80s. They were less than 15 min long in content due to the CBS 5 minute newscast in the slot. The two actresses who played Van and Meg, Audrey Peters and Tudi Wiggins were fantastic. And yes, Search for Tomorrow in the 70s was awesome. Marie Cheatham and Morgan Fairchild played great bitches. What I especially remember about SFT was the perfect use of music underneath the scenes to create tension in every single scene. The writing on LOL and SFT was almost always excellent. Too bad Soapnet doesn't air old soaps anymore. How many times can you actually watch reruns of friggin' One Tree Hill? Scott
1 July 2008
12 hours 48 min
excellent. Excellent. EXCELLENT! J. Bernard Jones, I have said it before, but it bears repeating... You are a TRUE talent. Thank you so very much for taking the time to write such insightful and compelling material for Daytime Confidential. It is sincerely appreciated. I hope it is not going unnoticed by the insiders of the industry - executives, writers, actors. They could definitely learn very much while also experiencing a truly enjoyable read. Again, Thank You Very Much. And I look forward to "hearing" more of your "voice" in 2009. Happy New Year!
15 October 2008
2 weeks 9 hours
Love this.
JBJ you are the man and I just love reading your posts.
14 November 2007
3 years 6 weeks
Great blog Bernard! As usual, you've given me a lot to think about.
I do think about how soaps have changed over the years, but I also think about how I've changed as a viewer. I'm so hyper-critical now. For awhile I was enjoying OLTL and tried to recapture the joy I used to feel as a soap fan back in the day. Back when I didn't Fast Forward, didn't read Spoilers, didn't hop online right after watching an episode to dissect, analyze and criticize every line of dialogue/plot point/hairstyle, etc... It worked for awhile - until the show started drowning in a sea of Camp and told a story (Tarty) that made me ashamed to be a soap fan (sorry, I know you disagree Bernard, but I'm still not "over it" lol)
Anyway, what's interesting to me is that the 3 soaps I enjoy watching the most right now are Ryan's Hope (on SoapNet), Dark Shadows (on DVD) and EastEnders (UK soap). RH and DS are decades old and while I have opinions on them, I don't belong to any forums that discuss the shows at great length. And while I post on an EE thread on TFO, we really just talk briefly about what we're enjoying. My point is that being hyper-critical of these shows would be a waste of time, so the *way* I view them is completely different than how I view current US soaps, and I think it allows me to enjoy them more.
Thanks again for another thoughtful blog Bernard!
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DaisyClover (aka SamBot #1)
19 January 2008
23 weeks 28 min
JBJ-
Yet again another great article! You always write such compelling articles. My mom also was a soap fan, being a housewife of 9 kids. When we were in school, she whould faithfully watch AMC, RH, Loving, OLTL and GH. I remember some of us running home from school and my mom and a group of neighbor ladies all huddled around the 19 inch watching Karen Woleck on the stand, revealing that she was a hooker, and then it was a soap oprea block party when Luke & Laura got married.
Yes, those were the days! Again, another great article! BRAVO!!!! This should be in Soap Oprea Digest!!
ABCJunky
***"Tick.Tick.Tick..The Hunt For Ron Carliviti Is On! REDEEM OLTL! LEAVE RON ALONE!"***
11 June 2010
3 years 1 week
Yes, the daytime serial "Search For Tomorrow" could have been subtitled "The Joanne Gardner Barron Tate Vincente Tourneur Story",for that character,certainly Mary Stuart,the actress portraying her set the tone for the show's entire 35-year run,producing over 2,000 episodes. In many ways Joanne was much like a radio soap opera heroine,remaining strong and supporting her friends while enduring terrible suffering in her life. But she had time for lighter moments with her co-stars while dealing with the usual situations that when on with her longtime friend Stu Bergman,who was first seen in December in 1951 and stayed until the end of the jobs for 15 year olds,and by the 1970's, a chance to break out in song occasionally. The combination worked for viewers for at least 30 years,as the show's top rated soap from 1952 to 1955,stayed near the top through the 1960's,and remained a serious contender until CBS-TV,in a dispute with sponsor Proctor and Gamble,canceled it 1982 after more than 31 years with the network. The series premiere on CBS-TV on September 3, 1951 and ended its astounding run on March 26,1982. Then,a week after it left CBS,the soap moved to NBC-TV on March 29,1982 and remained with the network until December 26,1986. When it was on CBS-TV during the early years,the series was seen in 15 to 20 minute installments and it remain that way until the late-1960's. On September 9,1968 the show was extended to a full half-hour.