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The Revolution's Dr. Jennifer Ashton,"Nothing is ever going to replace OLTL, but this isn't really meant to replace it. It's kind of apples & oranges!"

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

Dr. Jennifer Ashton tried to some PR  for ABC’s new daytime series,The Revolution, but only further infuriated soap fans who are upset that the new lifestyle/makeover show is taking the place of One Life to Live, starting on January 16th.  Previously a medical contributor for CBS News, the New Jersey-based physician will report on health issues as one of the five series regulars.  Ashton spoke to Zap2it.com about how she understands the soap fans plight!  Here are some of her comments!

Ashton: “I think we’re very aware that a lot of those people will not have an open mind in terms of considering ‘The Revolution’ or ‘The Chew’ as shows they might be interested in watching.

“I would say the same thing to them as I say to my patients in my office … understand that there are multiple options available to you. It’s a free country, and you don’t have to do anything, but I think our show offers so much that some people might actually be surprised.”

“Nothing is ever going to replace what ‘One Life to Live’ and ‘All My Children’ meant to people over decades, but this isn’t really meant to replace that. It’s kind of apples and oranges.”

“I feel empathy and sympathy for them for the fact that something they were so attached to is no longer going to be there. I think we’re very aware that a lot of those people will not have an open mind in terms of considering ‘The Revolution’ or ‘The Chew’ as shows they might be interested in watching.

What do you think of Dr. Jenn’s comments?  Let us know!

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If it is not meant to replace it than it should not be put in OLTL’s time slot then should it? I hope this show fails! They cancelled Extreme Makeover I just read today but that guy Ty Pennington gets to be yet on another show.. the very show that is replacing OLTL but yet the cast, writers and rest the OLTL group gets their walking papers unbelievable!

excuse me, lets all get fat off the stupid chew then lose it on the revolt…. stupid shows that I will never watch…..PS I know how to cook and lose weight and I am not fat….

Both shows stink & none of the hosts are likeable! Failures! Just like ABC & the people who run it!

Open or closed mind you have nothing new to bring to the game. Just another self help boring reality show. Before I sit and waste 2 hrs of my time I will find other options, shopping , movies( not Disney). Spew and not so revolution will never be on in my household.

apple n oranges???? when ur show turns to rotten applesauce n pale unsweet oranges due to lousy ratings youll understand!!!!! Go find a cable network for ur agneda lord knows we are overdosed in dr oz the drs biggest loser on n on n on!! we want SOAPS NOT DOPES!!!!!!!

Idiot.

Well, that’s a bit patronizing. It would have been better for her to say nothing at all, in my opinion.

Just for the record, I dislike talk and reality shows in general. I can barely watch episodes in which people I like are guests.

Boy for a Dr. she really made some dumb comments. I was not going to watch it anyway and for her to make a comment about not replacing One Life To Live is so crazy/if not replacing it then tell ABC to keep it on

I can not and will not support any abc/disney programming or any other form of entertainment provided by this company after ONE LIFE TO LIVE goes off the air on January 13th. That network can go away completely for all I care. By the way, is anyone else ticked off that soap net is airing the goo marathon? The goo and the devolution and the silly executives who robbed us of our beloved shows can go to you know where.

I was sick when I saw The Chew on Soapnet too! We can’t escape this garbage! They’re forcing it on us because nobody wants it!

Apples and oranges? More like apples and dog dodo.

Somebody please tell Dr. Dipshit that her cloying psychobabble is both pompous and insulting. The Revolution will air at the same time One Life to Live is now, and One life to Live will be gone. Ergo, The Revolution is replacing One Life to Live. She can shove her semantic apples and oranges right up her ass.

Amen, brother! Bring back effing OLTL!

You are so right, Doctor, I have no interest in watching your program that is offering absolutely nothing new to the daytime lineup. It’s a makeover show…..I don’t care how you slice it up. It’s a show about making someone over. How inventive is that?! Let’s see you could watch HGTV, The Doctors, What Not To Wear and any fitness infomercial…..and that would be the Revolution. And since you’re so aware of things….be aware of this….your show will be in the toilet very shortly and unlike the millions of fans that are extremely upset over AMC & OLTL, no one will give a Damn when your show is cancelled.

Agree, every word.

What Dr. Ashton’s opinion on the fans of OLTL/AMC feel or think means nothing to me. These shows that will/are replacing the soaps are just another way for ABC to make the bigger bucks…and they have no qualms over stepping on the viewers that don’t bring in those bucks. Who really wants another how to/self improvement show? I don’t…I know what I need to do to make my life better…or not. What I need is an hour or two a day to leave my reality behind…that is what these soaps provide. They provide a place to go where people don’t worry about doing the dishes (they don’t eat at home); don’t worry about changing a poopie diaper (a nanny does it in the child’s room); or worrying about where they will live (because there is a lonesome dude/dudette out there that has a lot of money who needs someone to boost their selfworth)! Nobody poots, belches, brushes their teeth, or needs to wear deodorant! That’s what these shows give us…even if for only an hour or two each day…

Go screw yourself “Doctor”. Hope you enjoy talking to yourself. FAIL.

Go screw yourself “Doctor”. Hope you enjoy talking to yourself. EPIC FAIL.

Agree.

Notice how the bitch referred to us as “those people”. If she referred to an ethnic group as “those people” she would be fired. Hope the bitch hangs herself with her stethoscope.

Does the Dr really think by patronizing potential viewers we will actually WATCH her show? She must think we’re all a bunch of idiots. Well guess what? I’ve already stopped watching everything abc/disney except OLTL and GH, and after her comments DEFINITELY would not watch her show! Wow.

Im pist off at all her her coments dr ashton can go suck an egg she must have got her dagree out of the gumball machanie glad im not her patient she would make me sick crazy even i will not be watching that dum ass show

I agree with every comment made and then some. The producers of these type of shows must think we are an easy mark. The network is flooding the airwaves with just plain junk. They are the idiots who don’t have to think about their audience at all or don’t want to. So when they don’t get the ratings they think they will, what next and what possibly is left from their small brains? They are living up to Newton Minnows original comment early on in TV, ” TV is a wasteland”. …..

After “One Life to Live” ends, I will no longer be watching anything on ABC, that includes local news. I have a Nielsen box installed in my home, so I would much rather have NBC benefit.

yes we should all boycott abc except for GH and Castle

I agree. I’ve stopped watching Goodmorning America when i’m getting ready for work. Instead, I watch the Today show. As for local news, our other west palm affiliates are just as good if not better than the abc affiliate. Plus, I hate watching those Chew promos. Makes me sick!

GH: Not So Fast!

Posted by ghhshirley on Friday, December 16, 2011

Rumorville: Carolyn Hinsey, longtime soap opera editor/columnist and author, had the following to say on her facebook page:

“WARNING: Anyone who posts here that another soap is being cancelled will be blocked. Trust me: Frank [Valentini] and Ron [Carvilati] are not uprooting their lives to move to LA without a long term promise and the time they need to fix General Hospital. I know a LOT more than you do. So save it, losers.”

They are so full of it! They uprooted the whole cast of AMC & made them move to LA with false promises then cancelled it! By next sept, GH will be off because they already promised the timeslot to Katie Couric! II

well, she must be drinking the same koolaide abc has been dishing out for quite awhile now… sorry lady, carolyn hinsey.. GH will be cancelled.. call your local station.. there is nothing on the books for GH past april of 2012.. katie will begin her debomination of the 3 oclock time slot in sept… hmmm.. where will GH be? Open your eyes … same song and dance… different title! calling your people losers is very degrading… take a long look in the mirror.. Loser. go ahead.. block me… LOL but do your homework before you name call.

Lilly, WOW, we are talking soaps here. Not war & peace. Calm down.

“Multiple options available to you?” “It’s a free country?” Where are my options to watch soap operas going to be? Rebroadcasts of BBC soaps? Telenovelas? (Not available in my market without paying extra bucks and I don’t speak Spanish anyway.) The options to The Chew and The Revolution are already out there – just do a little channel surfing. Whole networks of food related and makeover shows. But soaps are rapidly becoming the one option almost impossible to find. Sorry, but my NOT watching is nothing to do with being closed minded – it has to do with the fact that I’ve NEVER watched this type of show anywhere else either and have no interest in watching it in place of the only hour of the day that I turn on the tube.

Is she serious?

It’s this simble: I will not watch “never watch the Chew or Revolution or any new show that ABC puts on in AMC, OLTL and or GH hour!!! We the fans had no say so but we can have the final word “turn ABC off “with out the fans ABC has nothing and we’ll be worst off then before!!! And to run the Chew on SoapNet is the final nail in the coffin!!!

I could care what she or any of the people at The Revolution say or think.

But she’s right when she’s says that comparing One Life to Live and The Revolution is like comparing apples and oranges.

I don’t really understand why everybody here is getting pissed at her. She hasn’t bashed OLTL like Batali and Gordon did with AMC when the Chew was about to start. She’s promoting her new show starting in 3 weeks .I don’t see anything wrong with that. I know I will reject The Revolution just as I have for The Chew. But I don’t see how Dr Ashton’s comments offend anyone here.

People, our issues are with ABC and Propsect Park. Who cares what comes out of the mouth of Dr Ashton.

She doesn’t even enter my radar except as a blip I shall soon forget. She made a patronizing comment. Oh, well. I don’t watch talk or reality shows anyway.

“I would say the same thing to them as I say to my patients in my office … understand that there are multiple options available to you. It’s a free country, and you don’t have to do anything,

This is the comment that irks me. Because the OPTION to watch OLTL is not there. If things had worked out with PP than maybe her comment would have some validity.

Won’t watch this same as I will never watch the chew. Because I do have OPTIONS…like seeing the same type of show on many different channels if that’s what interests me. My option to see OLTL is limited to old clips via youtube. Gosh, somehow that does quiet equate, does it?

When will people learn to just keep their mouths shut? Ok, let me break it down for you Doctor…..The reason why the fans are so pissed over the cancellation of OLTL is because it was unjustified. The show has been doing good in the ratings, they were always under budget, they had a strong stable cast and a strong writing staff to go along with their show. That is why the cancellation of OLTL has come as such a big shock. Don’t get me wrong, fans were upset about AMC being cancelled, myself included….but when you weigh the pros and cons, AMC had a lot more to fix than OLTL. OLTL has been out performing all the other soaps on ABC, and yet it got the axe….and to top it all off, TPTB hire Frank & Ron to head up GH…which makes the fans really scratch their heads…. They’re good enough to head up GH, but not OLTL? makes no sense.

In the end, it comes down to ABC deciding to cancel OLTL so they can produce a much cheaper program, and line their pockets with more money. Gone are the days were putting out good quality program is important. It’s all about making rich people more richer. However, I think ABC is in for a big surprise…..I believe that OLTL has been helping The Chew out in the ratings department, because people are tuning in to watch OLTL, so the stupid Chew gets those lead-in ratings….but once OLTL goes off the air, I have a feeling that millions of soap fans will be turning to another channel. And no matter how much ABC saves on production, I don’t think it’s going to help them in the long run. I, myself have never watched one single minute of The Chew & I can assure you that I will follow suit, when The Revolution comes on. In the grand scheme of things, The Revolution belongs on a network like OWN…since that network is all about self-help crap. What I wonder is, what will ABC replace The Chew & The Revolution with once these shows tank?

DR jennifer is right the new shows will never replace our soaps and i do have an open mind i do not want to see a show about health or make overs or excersise i do watch shows about these issues they are on different cahannels i also read about health issues or things that the revalution will be talking about i have nothing against thease types of shows or the people that are on them our soaps give me and a lot of people so much enjoyment the soaps also talk about issues that i know i faced in my life and to see how someone on the soaps deal with a drinking issue or a death even a sickness a child issue gives me hope and i do not feel alone also helps me some times with a salution to maybe something i have been going threw it is not for just the drama of the soaps i neeed to rest so i turn on the soaps and for a while i can relax and be in a differant place and enjoy the people that are on the soaps they are family and i do not care what opra or frons abc/disney the soaps are not at the end so please give us fans what we want and that is our soaps

DR jennifer you are right we do have options the chew and the revalution is not what people want to watch put thease shows on a differant channel i am so tierd of abc/disney frons sweeney and any one trying to tell me what i should watch tv is changing and abc/disney not for the better or put the soaps on a sosp channel we fans are not asking for to much we want our soaps

All day long now are shows to change who you are, what happen to being happy the way God made you. Daytime soaps were around for time to escape into a fantasy world, to relax from all the craziness in the world, and along the way get an education on aids, child abuse, bullying, rape, world events, etc. If ABC an all the PTB want to talk money…how about all the soap events and charities ? I recall that every SSW in Florida they would have to close the park because it reached the limit for people to get in. Now you talk money. I doubt the Chew or any new show they put on will get the following or bring in the big bucks like Soapfans. We are loyal and will continue to fight to get AMC and OLTL back on tv, cable, or internet.

Those people? Well, that’s very condescending. January 13th will be the last day I watch any show on ABC. You see, I have options, lots of them, and I will not be loyal to a network that has not been loyal to the millions of fans who watch OLTL.

I agree with everything you said alley.abc will be off my tv as well. and that woman ,she should have kept her comments to herself.and to abc for killing oltl for another reality show, I still cant believe it ,Ive watched oltl for 43 years Its the best soap Ive ever watched ,and there have been several,Its going to be a sad day for me when the lights go off in landview pa.and when that chew thing goes on soapnet.change your channels,does abc hate the soap fans that much? who at abc thinks we want to see the show that killed amc?on a soap channel , at least for now it is,what an insult is that ?

What the hell are we gonna do on Monday, January 17 at 1 p.m Central time without the wonderful theme music blaring-it excites me just to hear the opening music-I love every single second of that show. I watch at work & record at work in case I get “interrupted” to do some work-also record on a dvr at home & a dvd at home-cover all my bases. This show is so important to me. Cannot imagine 2012 & beyond without it. January 13, 2012, will definitely be BLACK FRIDAY for me. And to think-Soapnet is running the Chew this weekend! Makes me gag. The Chew is NOT a soap & does not deserve to take up space on Soapnet. ABC hates soaps so much, why would they put their precious Chew on such a channel. I hate ABC, The Chew, The Revolution, The View, The Talk-every single one of them.

Roxy will wake up on a soap opera tomorrow,wish I could join her and fight to save oltl.4 weeks ,Thats all we have left on abc,and thats all abc has left with me except for gh.I hope many more feel the same as I do,disgust at what is happening to daytime tv,for 50 years Ive watched the soaps,Ive raised my kids ,cooked alot of meals decorated my house,I could go on ,I am a stay at home mom,and grandma.and the soaps are my getaway ,now they want to tell me how to cook decorate raise my kids ,what crap,shut up abc keep the view the chew the revolution and katie ,will kill gh couric,she couldnt do the news.how is she going to replace gh?she cant.everyone should go to facebook / daytime fans unite hit the like link and be counted as a soap fan ,we only have 4 weeks and it will go fast.

She’s right. It’s is two different things. But we didn’t ask for it, so don’t try to bullshit and condescend to us. If Revolution is apples, we want our oranges. Best of luck, honey. We wont be watching.

Listen dr. Jen … I do have an open mind, but for someone to state that the viewers of OLTL and AMC do not have an open mind is insulting. Perhaps you are the one who does not have an open mind. Were you a soap watcher? Did you have an open mind and watch the soaps? Probably not. When you actually sit down and take the time to watch OLTL to see the quality show it is, perhaps you could offer your opinion to the matter. Otherwise, be quiet. OLTL fans are not interested in what you have to say if you do not have an open mind.

In order for ESPN to afford the rights to its sports coverage and for DISNEY to afford Marvel comics , Disney has to go supercheap somewhere else..So ABC has to take it for the team….

If I want therapy I will go to a docto, not watch one on TV. Not watching the revulsion lady no matter how you try to spin it.
Bye bye ABC.

she’s right. I not going watch the revolution or the chew.

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Robin Strasser Meets Kristen Alderson’s Baby Kiera in a One Life to Live Reunion

For years, Robin Strasser (ex-Dorian) and Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) have been the best of friends and the best of co-stars. On One Life to Live, Kristen was only six-years-old when she began her journey as Todd and Blair’s daughter and met the iconic Strasser.

Now in 2024, Kristen is a new mom to her baby girl, Kiera. Strasser, who lives in New York, along with her best friend, John, traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just a few days ago to visit the Alderson family and spend the day with Kiera.

Taking to her Instagram a very happy Kristen shared, “Look at who came to visit today! Robin & her bestie John! Robin and I got all misty eyed when she met Kiera today!”

Photo: JPI

In a very touching part of her post, Alderson expressed, “Robin is such a special person in my life, it means so much to me that we’re as close as we are. She’s just the best❤️ A great day of laughs & a great brunch spread😍”

Robin added, “I’ve been smiling since I met her. I’m a big softie for babies, but what a doll Kiera is!” The Daytime Emmy-winning star, also shared, “I’m so grateful for my ongoing friendship with Kris and Kathy. Amazing women and loyal friends!”

What do you think about Kristen and Robin’s enduring friendship and recalling their time on One Life to Live? Comment below.

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Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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