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TIME Special Report: Can the Internet Save Soap Operas?

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

This morning TIME.com posted an item on All My Children and One Life to Live rebounding from extinction thanks to Prospect Park’s efforts, the undying passion and support from soap fans, and the emergence of the Internet to watch new forms of programming, new shows, and how soaps led the way from radio to television, and now are doing much the same with the television genre art form into an online format.

Noted columnist, Carolyn Hinsey was interviewed for the piece and weighed-in on just how the new AMC and OLTL will sit with the fans stating, “How can you not be positive? If you could bring someone back from the dead and they might be a little sick for a while, wouldn’t you still rather have them back? And then they’ll get better and better, and hopefully they’ll be totally healthy and you’ll get to go hang out with them again.”

Hinsey also discussed the new online model of soaps:  “There’s an audience out there looking for a different way to consume soaps. In some ways, this could be going back to the early days of radio, when you had 15-minute installments.  And even compared to five years ago, the Internet is very accessible to soap fans, who already populate and contribute to a wide array of message boards and forums.”

Soap activist, Y.B. better known as “Screw The Chew” also took part in The TIME feature revealed as fans; “We’re definitely going to watch online. Even if it’s not exactly the way we wanted it, we’re still going to support it and watch. We proved to everyone else that we wanted them back and they came back. It does feel good to prove them wrong.”

So soapers, what do you think of Hinsey’s and Y.B.’s comments?  Do you agree? Are you prepared for OLTL and AMC to have some initial growing pains as you have seen many times with new head writer and executive producer changes and regime changes on your current favorite network soaps?  Let us know your thoughts!

 

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I will certainly watch. I hope that AMC will not be just aimed at the very young viewer. But other than that I will certainly watch. I was really loving the way OLTL was the last year or so (for the most part- no one loves all story lines) so I’m looking more forward to it’s return. I hope everyone can watch for free-. I think having to pay would hurt viewership to some extent. I had never thought of the growing pains- good point. I would like to know how to access the Time article.

We will be able to watch our soaps for free on Hulu. I read this in another article and Michael Fairman said it was free to watch!

You can’t expect everything to be perfect at the start, but with the stellar cast members coming back to AMC and OLTL, I expect great acting and high drama!

I hope they succeed online, and i hope networks and cable channels suffer for not giving us what we want instead of all those boring talk shows and those even worse so called reality nonsense like Jersey Shore and those insipid Kardashians. I also hope if Prospect Park decides to offer more programing other than soaps, they will steer clear of talk and reality shows. I miss the 1960s when tv was free, there was only three networks, and you had a wide range of entertaining shows to choose from. Now i have to pay an outrageous fee to watch, and now with over 100 channels i can barely find anything worth watching.

Isnt that the truth! All those channels and we still watch the main network three.
I’m so hoping they come back to t.v. at some point. Sorry for all the older folks who cant/wont watch on the internet. I dont really care for watching on the computer, but will have to I guess

Folks,

You can watch Hulu on your TV – I bought a Sony Media Streaming Player set top box on Amazon for $50 some time ago. You connect it to your internet connection and to your TV. With a registered account, it gets linked up and that’s how you can watch Hulu without a computer and on your TV full size. I bought the Sony box because I like to watch Amazon.com movies on my TV. You can buy different brands of these streaming players/set top boxes, but be sure to check and see if the box will connect with the service you want – which in this case, is Hulu.

I agree. I still have my Hulu plus subscription and I’m ready.

I read on this site that OLTL & AMC would be free to watch. Am I wrong or right
on this!!!! Because I just went on hulu to see for myself. It said unlimited instant
streaming only $7.99/month And to try one week for free…Again I read on this site that our beloved soaps would be free to watch on line . Michael himself said
they would be free to view… Are they going to be free to watch once and for all.I don’t want to pay to watch our soaps which we watched for free for many
years………………

Those are truly valid points you make, Jim. I too remember when there were only a handful of channels to choose from but the overall quality of TV was so much better. Now we have a ton of channels and most of it is Realilty crap. If I want Reality I’ll look out my window – if I want quality acting I would watch AMC – although every actor can’t be another Robert DeNiro or Meryll Streep they still had some very good people on that show. I sincerely hope that this new inception of the show holds true to those standards.

We do think alike. If i want reality ill look out the window too or step outside. I need my escape from the real world especially with all the horrible things i hear in the news everyday and if I cant find it on regular television, ill be more than happy to go on line instead.

im still watching OLTL reruns on soapnet. wish soapnet sticks around now soaps are making a comeback.

there will probably be some growing pains BUT like the old saying goes “it will get better with age” – i am so looking forward to the reboot of oltl as well as amc!

So happy they are coming back – I will be there to support them and will be patient until all the kinks are worked out. Hate the fact ABC screwed this up to begin with and will miss Michael Easton on OLTL unless he does both shows. ABC just keeps screwing us fans over. Good Luck Prospect Park!

cant wait will watch,so good to have them back

Am happy the soaps are back. Should have happened a year ago, tho. Lots of bad blood out and about now. Seriously hope they succeed, but at this point, not holding my breath. Crystal Chappell has done alot to pave the way for this avenue so maybe right will prevail over the rat.

I agree with both Carolyn and Y.B. While some might not agree with all of the details in how they are being brought back, or that all of the cast members might not be returning to play the characters we have grown to love them in, the bottom line is “AMC and OLTL ARE COMING BACK”, and that is a wonderful start!!!!! I believe something is better than nothing, and I love what Carolyn said about it being like someone coming back from the dead, and still being a little sick at first, but improving with each passing day, until they are fine again – that is a perfect analogy, and I trust they will both be perfectly fine again, after a bit of time to iron things out. How can we be upset or complain, when we thought they were done and gone forever, yet now they are returning. I believe we are so very lucky. Most importantly, very talented actors and actresses will now have work again. I look forward to the resurrections. Long live AMC, OLTL and GH, and all of the remaining soaps, keeping this genre we all love alive and well !!!!!

I have watched the soaps for over 40 years and when they went off I felt like I lost some of my family………..so for the older audience it will like seeing old friends and visiting family. I have noticed that they are hiring a lot of young people to attract the younger people. Sounds like a wonderful idea to me. We soap fans are loyal. I just want my Tad Martin back.

I’m so excited about the internet soaps! But I always look at the glass “half full” and IMO, the broadcast soaps are saving themselves! The writing and acting are much better and more attention is being paid to the vets and core families (Ok, Y & R has a way to go, but I see improvements).

It’s really a great time to be a soap fan, although we must stick with our shows and vow not to watch any replacement show.

Whatever they can do will surpass vampires resurrected on GH, and too many bratty teens on Y&R. 🙂

I will definitely support them, especially OLTL. As said previously, many times… I can’t wait!

the whole vampire thing and Lucy shrieking is a mess. They need to wrap this up pronto!

LOL… glad to see someone agrees with me. I know PC had a lot of fans, but I like my soaps grounded a little more in reality. 🙂 I understand GH had some weird stories in the past, but that was before I started watching.

I can handle some of GH’s mind boggling stuff and I could even handle the Exorcist storyline on DAYS (since that can kinda happen. lol…) But vampires?? Nah… it’s gotta go. Glad you agree!

Amen you are so right about that..

Absolutely.!!! ABC underestimated the passion Soap fans have for their stories. I personally cannot wait for the re-launch, esp. of OLTL. After being a loyal viewer since the day OLTL debuted, I was sick when it went off the air. I will be watching!!!

I will be watching also!

I think I can safely say that as soap fans we had hoped that ABC would come to their senses and admit they made a the biggest mistake in broadcast history since Felicity cut her hair. 😉 Or since the WB and UPN merged to create CW.

Why can’t TV people just admit they made a mistake and fix it? Bring soaps back in some form? Why can’t they do what the viewers want? After all it is us viewers that keep them in business. They are supposed to to broadcast “in the public interest”, not their own self interest.

I find myself watching more and more TV on the internet. Moving AMC and OLTL to the net sounds great, and I hope it will be great. Almost anything is better than nothing at all. But soap fans have high expectations. We rarely agreed what we liked when the network was running the show, so we may be disappointed at what a much smaller company can do.

However, like yet another a long lost Buchanan heir, we all should welcome this brave new TV world. And I hope Prospect Park takes full advantage of it (and listens to us fans), but it won’t be long before we are arguing who Blair or Tea or Natalie should be with and who is the “real” Todd.

I’m looking forward to it.

I can’t wait for the day, Chris when the problem of the day is “who is with who” and not if they are going to bring a show back!

Internet may indeed save soaps. But it will always be a downgrade from when they were on TV. When the soaps transitioned from radio to television, it was a move forward. But the transition from television to internet is a move backward. Not everyone has access to internet. And many people who enjoy going to the internet to surf pages do not necessarily enjoy watching TV shows on the internet.

Shows airing on television allow you to watch it in the comfort of your coach or your bed. An internet show can only be watched from a chair (unless you managed to connect your computer through your TV set).

So yes, the internet can save soap operas from going the way of dinosaurs. But it will always be a step backward unlike when they transitioned from radio to TV in the 1950s.

I did some research with my family members who are in the I.T. industry, and just went out and bought a laptop that will make sure I see the best possible clarity, etc., from having to watch online. Also you can use a Wii, or a Playstation to connect to HULU, and then watch from TV. or if you have the proper cables and access, plus the laptop/computer into the TV — ENJOY!

Good to know Stephanie!

Thanks for lettihg me know that Stephanie. We have a Wii but I didn’t know that. I’m sure my son can figure it out for me:))

I disagree that it is a step backwards. Internet viewing allows you to time shift without use of a dvr or pvr. Once the shows are posted, you can watch them as you like. The next big wave in tv isn’t 3d, but rather “smart-tvs” which mean they hook up to the internet and have a built in web browser. Any device you buy today has a HDMI output jack to connect to a hd tv, or it own screen or display to view, so please, how is all this a “step backwards”

Hell, you can even view the program riding the bus on a smartphone !!! Show me one tv that could do that from the past !

I completely expect there to be some glitches and growing pains. I am comfortable watching, knowing these kinks will be worked out.

I think Carolyn said it perfectly.

I will be giving OLTL my full support from Canada.

To Mr. Fairman Please delete this if you need to. But as it stands right now, for Canadians, purchasing the show from itunes it the only “legal way” to get the soaps…. but if you use Firefox as a web browser, they have a plug-in that works like a proxy, so Canadians can access Hulu.com

I get where Y. B. and Ms. Hinsey are coming from, and I know it’s all about not losing hope, where “All My Children” and “One Life To Live” are concerned. However, if their household rating do go up,(eventually, they will) then, those soaps may transition into the cable network, just to prove those naysayers wrong.:)

What I meant to post was, if those soaps’ household RATINGS do go up, and eventually they will, then, they may transition into a cable network, to prove those naysayers wrong.:)

Yes Yes Yes Will be watching no matter what happens. It will take time to work out all the bugs. Have not turned on ABC since end of AMC. I will also watch OLTL which I didn’t before. Screw The Chew YA.

very true.

oh heck yes….so happy…show them anywhere and any way and I will watch…

Yes, I’ll be among those watching AMC and OLTL when they start online! Just the fact that they are being revived in any form is a major victory for all soap fans. They might not be perfect to start with, but they will improve. We just need to practice a little patience! Long live our stories!

Maybe if I was alive in the 50’s I would be complaining about my stories going to that new picture box thing- television, wishing they were still on the radio. I agree the future of broadcasting seems to be heading to the web- where consumers, not networks dictate what we watch and when we want to watch it. But for now I still like to watch my stories on the old boob tube–

Absolutely I will be watching ABC underestimated us

“When are they starting” ? Can’t wait !!! I have always always felt they should not have gone to hour long shows.. I felt that may have been the reason for the demise of all those other soaps.. B & B is doing well and they have been 1/2 hour shows since it started.. Y @ R is just a great soap, 1/2 hr. or an hour.. I have missed OLTL and AMC so much, I hope we won’t be disapointed again, by false hopes like last year………………….Thanks for listening : )

it not going to be on Cable network,,it i have to pay to Watching online i will not play for it i keep Watching GH and B&B Thanks

It is so simple..
If your PC has a HDMI jack you simply put one end of the HDMI cord into your PC the other other end of the cord you Plug into your TV HDMI jack.

On your PC go HuLU then to AMC and OLTL and walla!! you will be watching them for FREE on your TV..

HuLu has a pay and FREE, I watch my soaps on HuLU FREE..

I thought watching the soaps on line were free. I thought you just go to Hulu & watch OLTL & AMC for free. On this site I can’t rememeber the story which Michael said you can watch AMC & OLTL for free. I didn’t think you had to go threw what you are talking about. I will be watching them on my computer . Again Michael Freeman said they would be free to view. I am getting mixed messages onn this…

Confusing???

Glad you can see it free.. hope I can too or I wont be able to watch OLTL and that would be horrible.. love my OLTL

What a wonderful article. I am thrilled and excited with the return of our beloved shows. I cannot wait to see all my friends in Llanview again and my new friends in Pine Valley. I’ve always been a OLTL view but plan to watch both shows now. I will do all in my power to support the Internet network because we, the audience, wants ENTERTAINMENT (not information Mr. B. F.).

I am so proud to be one of those devoted fans that never gave up! We are getting our shows back.

I just want OLTL back!!! I miss it a lot and can’t wait to see it!

I agree to a large extent however there is a caveat for me: I will watch as long as Prospect Park doesn’t hurt the existing ABC soap, GH, that kept Llanview alive for the past year or the actors who have successfully crossed over. I have been a fan of all ABC soaps for 35+ years and had every intention of watching until PP made it so Michael Easton, Roger Haywarth and Kristen Alderson couldn’t report to work at GH. In my opinion, the actors have a right to chose where they want to work as much as PP has the right to the characters. If the actors want to stay with GH as other roles, it is terrible for PP to take away their livelihoods and force them not to work. So many are blaming ABC and trust me, ABC did make a.mistake cancelling these shows to begin with, but Michael, Roger and Kristen’s current plight is all on PP.

I want no part of it. AMC has been dead for years. They killed it and it should have stayed dead. I have no interest in watching , and I mean no offense when I say this, a bunch of bimbo and macho kids strutting all over the place pretending they have ties to something I watched with my mom in the 70’s. They ruined the only couple I liked and I I have no interest nor will I be watching AMC in any form offered.

Goes to show time moves on…
Nobody is the same as they were in the 70’s – in looks and life lol
since the 70’s many have died, moved to different parts of the world, changed careers, married and divorced, brought up children and lived through some hard life changing times, no doubt..
and if they look back to their lives in the 70’s and their lives now, there would 100’s of changes..and the soaps of the 70”s have moved on too.. 🙂
I am excited to see the newer on-line soaps.. I am sure there is change to keep up with the lifestyles of 21st century 🙂 exciting ..

You. Misinterpreted what I said. I know people died or moved on. I meant that those people and stories made us care , held our attention, and made AMC special..gave it heart. The last 5 years or so, AMC lost that heart. Execs that made certain actors their pets and made it all about them , even when the fans hated those characters, and they forgot that AMC was an ensamble . I want to watch Adam Chandler not Ryan Lavery. I want Erica to grow up and to stop believing she is a 21 year old ingenue and deal with life as she ages along with the rest of us. I don’t want Zendall forced down my throat, 5 days a week for 40 minutes each day. In the 70’s and 80’s AMC cared about the entire show and their fans. That has not been the case for years and PP execs have no clue about this show. They care about the young people only and I would not be surprised to see the FEW vets they hired being phased out over the next year while it becomes all about the new and young. That may be ok for some but it is not for me. I won’t be wasting a moment of my time.the real AMC is dead. They should have let it rest in peace. JMO.

i cannot wait till one life to live comes back on the internet. i hope that it becomes a hit online. all my children i am worried because they have not signed many veteran actors. please sign michael knight and susan lucci. i know susan lucci is very busy with other projects. i hope the rumour is true that cady mcclain will sign with all my children. sign david canary as adam that will make a huge difference with the show. also please bring back julia barr as brooke english. she is a wonderful actress. if all my children does not sign susan lucci the soap will not last. one life to live signed alot of its core actors. bravo one life to live and good luck on the internet. hopefully it will become a big hit online

well i am glad that fans will get their shows back …. but at the cost of GH fans loosing cast/characters that have crossed over. They kept a few characters alive and they have transitioned very well into the GH family and its unfair that we will now loose those Characters because of “rights”…. I do not see how they can really “share” John, Star or Todd. They have their own story lines on GH now. It is not like they can have Star and Michael stay together and have her go back to Llanview….. same with John and Todd really how are they going to go back and forth from Port Charles to Llanview and have storylines and relationships with both sets of characters. I do get that fans of OLTL of course want their show back, but I do think its unfair that GH kept these cast members/characters going for the last year and now can not use them…. They can keep the actors but not the people they play is just unfair. I love having Todd on GH and if we could pick ONE Character to stay it would be Todd… I love him and Carly together.

LOL …
Todd will be with Carly on GH and with Blair on OL ..
And Starr will be with Michael on GH and whomever on OL..
John will be with Sam on GH and with Natalie on OL ..

nope not gonna work, not at all lol..

Lol exactly … Like I said its great for the fans of OLTL but sucks for us GH fans that have grown to like these characters…. Heck I even like John with Sam… How about we give Blair, Star , John, back and we keep Todd lol we can even throw in crazy Heather Webber your guys way she can get some good story lines started for the show to kick in lol

If you can watch the shows anytime online it will be great for people to watch on their lap tops, smart phones or ipads. I used to eat lunch at my desk and watch the soaps ( with headphones ) on abc.com during my lunch break. It’s also good for people who commute on train/bus.

You can also get a TV that streams internet.

Eventually TV and internet will combine in some kind of format. It’s just a matter of time. As it is I watch more free movies & shows on HULU & YOUTUBE than regular TV.

I will be watching : )

I am sincerely looking forward to both AMC and OLTL returning but I live in Canada and do not know if Apple Itunes in Canada will allow Prospect Park to on its airwaves….Would love to hear!

I will watch, although,I do not really like watching tv in my computer, I hope they do not make too young and too crazy. I miss OLTL

I certainly hope the internet will be able to revive the soaps but I honestly feel
that many people that do not have the internet or computer knowledge will be left out.

I continue to tolerate B&B in the faint hope that it will improve, OLTL and AMC can’t be any worse!

All My Children

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos to Kick Off Season 36 of ‘Live’ with New Show Opening

The new season of morning talk shows begins this week, and one of them, Live with Kelly and Mark, is starting things off with a new show open starring the hosts and married couple, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, formerly of All My Children fame.

Make sure to circle Tuesday September 5th, when Kelly and Mark begin their first official season together as co-hosts of the long-running show now in its 36th season.  As many know, Consuelos joined the show back in April of this year, after Ryan Seacrest made the decision to depart the series and move back to Los Angeles full-time, since the talker is shot in New York City.

In the concept of the new opening, the husband and wife duo are seen brushing their teeth in their apartment, then going through a couple of outfit changes/looks, before they settle on what they wearing as they are driven to their New York City studio where ‘Live’ emanates from, and arrive in its corridors.

Photo: Disney/ABC

In addition, this season will have a new trivia game segment called Stump Mark.  In it, Mark will try his darnedest to keep the coveted Live mug away from trivia callers trying to stump him with their two statements — one true, one false.

Scheduled guests for the week: Derek Hough, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Etheridge, Josh Gad, Shinedown, Phillip Phillips, Nikki and Brie Bella and more.

Take a look at the opening title sequence for Live with Kelly and Mark below, and then let us know what you thought of it in the comment section, and let us know if you are looking forward to the new season of the talk show.

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All My Children

Kelly Ripa Teases New Season of ‘Live’ with Husband Mark Consuelos: “Our Show Is Best When It’s Going Off the Rails”

Since Mark Consuelos joined his real-life wife, Kelly Ripa on the morning talk show Live with Kelly and Mark, the ratings have never been better.  In fact, according to the Nielsen ratings, the former All My Children stars came in second behind The View for the 2022-2023 television season in total viewers averaging 2.293 million.

Now with the new season upon us come September, Ripa spoke with the Purist about what fans can expect now that Mark is coming into his own as her co-host.

Kelly shared, “We’re going to provide the same sort of humor and irreverence that people have come to know and love. Mark has taken the trivia game, where Ryan (Seacrest) and I would just give away coffee mugs to the audience, and decided that he’s not going to do that any more. There are no participation trophies in life, he says. If they want to win a mug, they’re going to have to stump me. I don’t really follow the ratings, but from what I’ve been told that since Mark has taken over, people stay with the show all the way through because they want to see whether or not Mark gets stumped.”

Photo: JPI

When asked what favorite segment on Live is her current favorite, Ripa expressed, “I love talking to the trivia callers. Our show is best when it’s going off the rails, when our audience gets to see the slip-ups. It is not this highly polished, Hollywood thing. It is two people meeting, having coffee, having just read the paper. We never cover actual news, we cover absurd news. When you factor in a person calling from their cellphone in the parking lot of a grocery store, what have you, it is rife with the ability to derail very quickly, and I think that’s what I love the best. I also love our viewer feedback at the very end of the show, where we take our viewers.”

So, are you looking forward to more Live with Kelly and Mark? Enjoying the duo on-screen together on the morning talker? What are your favorite staple segments from the show? Comment below.

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All My Children

Pamela Blair, ‘A Chorus Line’, ‘Loving’ and Daytime Emmy Nominee, Dead at 73

The Broadway community is mourning the passing of one of their most beloved members, who also appeared on several daytime soap operas throughout her career.  Pamela Blair, the original Val in A Chorus Line, died at her home in Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday following a lengthy illness. Blair was 73-years-old.

Throughout her career, the singer/dancer/actress continued to showcase her exceptional talents in shows such as: Promises, Promises, Wild and Wonderful, Sugar and Seesaw. She also gained major kudos from the musical theatre community for her portrayal of Amber in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. 

Pamela also had notable roles on soap operas taped in New York City. First, Blair played Elizabeth Shank Ryan on Ryan’s Hope in 1980. She followed that with her most-known daytime role as Loving’s Rita Mae Bristow, a part she played from 1983-1985.

Photo: ABC

Later in 1985, 1986 and in 1992, Blair made brief appearances in two roles on All My Children, Maida Andrews and Mrs. Goodman.  It was the role of Maida Andrews that landed Blair a Daytime Emmy nomination in the newly named Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series back in 1987, only losing that year to John Wesley Shipp for his role of Martin Ellis on Santa Barbara.  Blair’s last soap role was in 1994 as Another World’s Bonnie Broderick.

Throughout her enduring career, she appeared in numerous television and motion pictures including: Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Law & Order and the motion pictures version of Annie.

Let us know if you ever had the opportunity to see Blair as Val in ‘A Chorus Line’, or if you remember her daytime roles on Ryan’s Hope, Loving, All My Children or Another World via the comment section.

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