OMG!  I am so glad that you waited to voice your opinion.  Well said!

BINGO.  Good job.

this show is a piece of crap and DESERVES the low ratings it always gets!

 Brilliant, Jamey!

The critical acclaim didn't do anything to help OLTL.  The people who were going to watch, were watching, the people that weren't, obviously weren't going to listen to the agenda driven "OLTL is the best soap you aren't watching" spiel. Watch a soap for one couple or character doesn't work, and your comments are an example why, becuase once that one thing is gone, so is the love for the show. Critical acclaim isn't going to pay the bills and IF there were some people who tuned in due to the buzz, they quickly tuned out, I would guess becuase they didn't like what they were seeing. So OLTL is no longer a good soap if they end the Kish story?  Ironically, Kish was not what I found offensive in the gay storyline, I actually think a story of a cop "coming out" could be very compelling, but it was messed up by the gay wedding/Dorian fiasco and other characters who were on my screen ONLY because they were gay. The message I got from characters like Dorian and Nick and Dorian's campaign manager was that it is ok if you lie and do things underhanded, as long as it is for the "right" cause, which is the gay cause.  The problems in this storyline are the same problems in the other storylines.  Too much emphasis on characters the audeince isn't invested in, like the Evans', Nick, Dorian's campaign manager, etc. These characters all had way too much airtime while fan faves linger with nothing to do and I include Kish in this category.  I care about a well written story, and sorry, Ron just isn't capable of that.  All of his stories are campy, OTT and heavy handed and Kish is no different. As unpopular as it might be to say, soaps might not be the right venue for a Kish type story.  It isn't why people tune into soaps.  I think Frank made a bold decision in axing Kish.  I don't know if I would have made that decision, but I applaude him for trying to save his show.  It has become clear to me in the past few days that those who have loved OLTL for the past 6 months or so only loved it for one reason. 

One final comment...while I do think that the overkill of this story did have some affect on the ratings, there are way bigger problems then them, and at the top of that list would be Rex and Gigi, so if Frank isn't going to at least greatly reduce their airtime, then this move to try and help the show is a moot point. 

OK, bash away.

Nelson, can you give us the scoop on the Soapgeist what is going on with OLTL dumb decision to get rid of  the best actors and keep the crappy ones that fans hate?  We all want to know.

PS, brillant post, Jamey.  I with you.  Except for Gina and Florencia and the vets, I won't be watching the show.  It sucks bad.

 Jamey, thank you for linking to dontputkishinthecloset . blogspot . com.  I tweeted it to you this morning, so I'm glad you found it! 

Cannot agree more with your article.  It's sickens me that ABCDumba**es decided to cave in to WTF ever "mainstream audiences" wanted and took all the diversity out of their most diverse soap opera.  And to think that OLTL might get a GLAAD award after this complete doublef***!  

I can't watch this show anymore unless I know Kyle and Oliver will be on.  And I've watched on and off for YEARS now. I came back primarily because I got sucked into Kyle and Oliver's romance play out on YouTube (and Cris and Layla)    There is something so dirty and skeevy about this situation, and I can't really stomach OLTL, especially after mid-April.  Which is probably why I'm so damn angry about it!  But thank you for voicing what I'm feeling about K/O and losing the Evans family.

Wonderful Jamey

Well Said!  I think this is a horrible decision for OLTL to make and after 17 years of watching it I will be saying good-bye to it once Fish and Kyle leave.  The show is nothing but a shell of it's former self.  None of the characters who have been here for years even look regignizable! The stories lack...story!  I'd rather see a puppet play some of the roles because they would do better then some of the actors.  Fish and Kyle were the best part of the show in a few years.  So bye OLTL and bye ABC! 

The problem I have with this firing and many others is that tiic are blaming kish for the ratings woes and we all know that that is not the cause of falling ratings:  Rigi, Stacy, John, mitch cartoon villain.  This is the one nail in OLTL's coffin.

Hallelujah and right on!! 

   If I, a 44 yr old, married mom of 2, 30+  yr viewer is their "mainstream" viewer...then I am deeply ashamed that they made myself and other viewers like me their scapegoat for this heinous decision

Kitty, I agree with your post.  I am disappointed that OLTL decided to pull the plug on Kish.  Overall, I enjoyed their story, although I think they went a bit OTT with Dorian pretending to be gay to win the election, but one storyline does not a show make.  I tuned in right before Kish began and watched with interest for a while.  But I quickly grew tired of the Todd pimping show guest-starring Rex, Gigi and Stacy.  The Mitch Lawrence stuff didn't help.  To put the blame on Kish for the show's low ratings is not fair by any means, but Nov. sweeps was the Kish story and it wasn't a ratings boom.  So clearly not everyone was in such awe over Kish as the soap press was.  Still there's many characters I would've cut before Kish, Sky and Rachel.  I wish Scott, Brett, Daphne, and Scott C. the very best.

I feel dumb for telling all of my friends to watch OLTL.

I agree with Jamey Giddens.

To add to that, I am trouble by the character Rachel being written off as well.

It seems Fish brought the show mainstream publicity, so the logic is lost on me. I would say though, I thought all the praise lavish on OLTL particularly by the DC crew was unwarranted.

I think it in 2009 it was Damm good not the best, GH and most certainly YR is my favorites.

I do believe though that AMC is making vast improvements and at the moment better than OLTL and utilizes the African american chartacters better than any other soap at the moment.

The Hubbards have a storyline, it may not be the best but they have one, and they are family focused which i like. The weakest link is the Randi character

kitty, I understand your frustration with the idea that one person or couple does not a show make. However, I do take issue with your claiming that we are done with a soap because Kish is done. The issue is that they are also getting rid of Rachel, Schuyler, and Kim and pushing ridiculous stories and bad acting over these great stories and wonderful actors.

Now I happen to agree that Daytime is primarily for stay at home moms and grandmas that have conservative values, and therefore the idea of a gay couple and a progressive black family isn't what they have been watching for the last 30 years. So getting rid of those types of people and stories, while not being politically correct, may be economically efficient.

Think back to a year ago, and you will remember that the only black character was Layla, and Stacy wasn't so prevalent yet, and Kyle and Fish hadn't run into each other yet, and DC was still saying this was the best show people weren't watching, so I take offense on behalf of the site and its dedicated bloggers, for calling their "spiel" agenda driven.

Thanks for your opinions, and my intention is not to bash, but to discuss.

Thank you so much for this article and the link to the "Don't Put Kish the the Closet" campaign.  Wonderfully said.

I have been watching One Life for years but never found the pull to a story as I did with Kyle and Fish.  What a beautiful story just discarded for no real reason.

I don't know who this mainstream America is, but you can't tell me this critically acclaimed couple was the reason for low ratings.  I think the amount of disappointment we are seeing all over the web speaks to that. 

I hope our voices combine to show them what a truly big mistake they made here.

Well said Jamey!! I have stuck by OLTL in all my 36 years on earth, been there for some of the best storylines (Karen Wolick on the stand, Megan's death, Marty's Gang rape, Dorian and Vicki) and some of the most stupidest storylines (Eterna, Clint going back to 1888, the Santi's) but this is just a pure slap in the face to the legacy of OLTL! Angus Nixon should be "Hotter than Hell" right now for what TPTB is doing to her soap! I cherish this soap, OLTL has a special place in my heart because me & my mother (who passed in 97) watched it faithfully. It was the one show that we both got excited about every M-F ! Now, I still watch OLTL, but I FF thru alot of it! The Kish storyline was the only true storyline that I believe Agnes Nixon would go to bat for right now!

Jamey, I wish you or Luke could have an interview with Agnes about how she feels about the Kish storyline being axed. This soap is a child to her. I think she should have a say-so on storylines. I don't know if Frons is forcing FV to do this, but I feel bad for all the actors/actresses who have been let go recently. OLTL is looking so bad right now, and it's a shame. I don't know if I can stomach anymore of the story killing that is going on. I'm starting to lose faith in OLTL, it's just not the same anymore. 

Scooter, I am talking about the comments I have read that say "when Kish go, I go" as well as what Jamey said in his post about having to re-think supporting OLTL if they blame one couple for the ratings.  I do believe that some are done with OLTL just because of Kish and as they haven't been on a lot now, how much are those people really watching??

I was not a Kim fan, but I know many people were, but she chose to leave (and cannot blame her).  Schuylar was nothing but a Rex and Gigi obstacle and had an expiration date the second he stole the drugs for Stacy.  As for Rachel, while her storyline sucked, and I found her boring, I do think she would have been given another chance.  My point is, no one seems up in arms about the show until the Kish firings.

As for as my calling their "spiel" agenda driven, the fact that many who were giving OLTL kudos are now calling for their heads over this one move, I feel calling it agenda driven is valid.

I care about well written characters I can root for played by actors who can hold my attention.  That is not what the Evans' were.  What should matter is how interesting a character is, not what color their skin is.  The Evans were boring and Shaun and Destiny couldn't act their way out of a paper bag. 

OLTL tried new things....they didn't work.  I thought ABC gave up on saving OLTL, but Frank clearly realizes his show is dying and is trying to save it, but it seems like some want it to die just because they aren't getting what they want.

Again, I do think Ron went too far with this story.  Instead of concentrating just on Kish, he got too preachy about gay marrige.  That isn't why I watch soaps. 

I'm done with OLTL ! Crazy Mitch, 8th grade Jessica and the daily Marasco & Balsom nighmare are to blame NOT Kish !  OLTL will be canceled soon, Frons should just pull the plug now.

My only agenda is good soap opera.

Jamey, awesome POINT, Kitty awesome COUNTERPOINT!

Frons should be FIRED!!!!!! Effective IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!

What s/ls does OLTL have to tell now?  We not going to see Viki in the front burner battling it out with Dorian, we going to have Sole 2.0, John McBore, Natalie being a wimpy willow, messica being a mess, Todd be made to look like a hero when we know he is a rapist, newbies that no one cares about so what to look forward to OLTL?  Nothing for on to watch now.

And Kish wasn't being shoved downed our throats like some other characters have been for the past year. either.

STANDING O!!!!! I'm not a fan of any campaign that has viewers tuning out however in this case it is much more than your favorite couple being separated in favor of another pairing. It's much more than a bad decision to kill someone off. This is actually offensive to an entire group of people and wake up ABC it's 2010, if a gay couple is still not considered to hit home with your mainstream audience, you obviously have no clue who is watching your shows.

Great post Jamey. All one can learn from this is not get invested in gay stories on American soaps, b/c they have all been mismanage in some way. As dissapointed as I am w/this decision it is not going to make me stop watching b/c Kish is not the end all be all and the "bad stories" are the ones I am enjoying. Not to look down on the ppl who said they are done b/c you have every right, but for me I am invested in more than the ppl who are leaving even though they are great.

The problem here is the mindset that daytime is for "stay at home moms and grandmas". They need to evolve and grow. The audience that used to watch these shows are getting older and they are not getting the new younger audience. Those "stay at home moms and grandmas" are not what the networks want. A soap could have a 5.0 rating in viewers over 50 and that would not save the show from being swiftly axed because they did not have enough 12-30 year old viewers.
  I think that the axing of Kish and Rachel is a disaster for a multitude of reasons. The first being is that everytime a soap tries to go out of the box they squash it and go back to the same old ideas of the past. What they need to realize it that there are no "gay" storylines. There are storylines that reflect life and storylines that are more outlandish. Being gay or being black is not a storyline it is a facet in someones life.   I find it insulting when soaps say they can't write for gays or blacks (or asians or any other culture that is not represented). They just need to write from the heart or write the stories that they would write for any other character. Kish could do the same things that Bo, Nora, Vicki, Todd etc. do. I don't see what is so difficult about this concept seeing as many of these showrunners and writers are gay themselves. I am also tired of hearing that the prudes can't stand seeing two people of the same sex kiss or have sex on soaps. I mean it is not like you are seeing the steamy love scenes of the 80's. It is mostly kisses and afterglow. GET OVER IT! If you can watch someone cheat, get married 10 times, switch paternity results, murder and get away with it, sleep with their family members (even if you don't know that you are related) etc. you can deal with watching people of the same sex show affection!
  

Kish weren't to blame for the ratings. The horrible writing is! Let's get some good SLs for a change. And some better actors.

 Brett Claywell's last day on OLTL is mine watching OLTL - 
 I am done with ABC Daytime...

 Frons is not going to stop until he kills this show...period.

Awesome article. Thanks Jamey... It's everything I've been feeling and frankly from what I see a lot of people are thinking.