A few thoughts on the Soap Opera..................

WOW!  I can't believe it's been so long since I have blogged!  I figured I'd star off the new year with a new one and hopefully I will stay on track and get one up at least every couple of weeks.  I think I will use this blog as a "catch up" one on the soaps and soap movement because so much has been going on lately with the soap opera genre that I feel I need to get it all out!  
As you all know two more soaps have been cancelled...OLTL and AMC...and it looks like GH may be gone in the future.  It's really hard to believe that such a powerful genre as the daytime soap is in the shape that it is in right now, but it is and we as soap fans are feeling the blow.  I lost my favorite ATWT as well as GL that I had watched since I was a litle girl, so TRUST me, I know what it feels like to lose a soap.  It's almost like losing a part of your family!  I know people that don't watch the soaps don't "GET IT" but those of you that do know exactly what I mean.  I've had so many different emotions during this time and it's hard to understand why this is happening but it is, so now what?!
OLTL and AMC were given a little hope when Prospect Park announced they were going to move them online.  The deal fell through and it doesn't look like it will ever happen with Prospect Park.  So the fans of those shows suffered a double blow by losing their beloved soaps twice!  It's very understandable that soap fans are angry.  I'm angry too.  Angry and sad.  What are we, as soap fans, going to do?  Is the genre going to be dead soon or is there hope for our soaps and the soap genre?!?!
There are MANY different soap movements going on as we speak.  I'm involved in quite a few of them. I am the administrator for the Facebook page DAYTIME FANS UNITE and our "task" is to build the page to 100K LIKES so TPTB can see that soaps and soap fans still matter.  The page is going quite well and we have almost 10K LIKES in a short amount of time!  There are other movements going on...coupons, SWANS, boycotts, campaigns, protests, I could go on and on.  I, for one would LOVE to see the soap opera genre continue, whether it be on TV OR online.  I would be happy with either.  I will continue to support this genre no matter what.  BUT I do have to give my opinion on a few things.  Hey, isn't that what a blog is for?!  
I have never been a big fan of boycotting, protesting, and constantly badgering someone to try and get what you want.  In my opinion, and like I said in MY opinion, I think POSITIVE energy works way better than negative energy.  There have been SOOOOOO many arguments and fights for the last year or so that I wonder to myself sometimes if the people doing all that really care about the soaps at all or if all they care about is getting the recognition?!  I'm not saying that what everyone is doing is wrong.  I'm just saying that alot of it is not for me.  I think the best way to show that the soap genre is still important is to ALL work together, not try to "one up" each other.  I sit back and watch the various Facebook groups and pages as well as Twitter and sometimes I can't believe my eyes!  I thought we all want the same thing...our soaps to continue on wherever it may be!   I get so sick of reading "I said that first", "I told you that was going to happen", " That idea is stupid", "Disney and ABC suck", BLAH BLAH BLAH.  It's getting so old.  We need to quit acting like a bunch of crazy soap fans like we have always been called and work together as ADULTS.  We have to accept that it is what it is.  As a soap fan I'm having a hard enough time dealing with my soaps going off the air, let alone having to watch all this petty stuff going on!  ABC/DIsney, P&G, and whoever else want out of the soap opera business.  I really don't think they will ever change their minds and bring the soaps back on TV.  The only thing I'm hoping for is that the rights to these great shows are sold and someone decides to produce them again. Look what happened with the P&G soaps!  Never in a million years did I ever think they would release some of the rights to their soaps but they did!  As a HUGE fan of ATWT I'm ecstatic that thanks to SOAP CLASSICS we are getting our soap on DVDs as well as online streaming of classic episodes starting soon!  GL is coming soon as well!  I hear there is more to come too.  This is a huge positive step for the soap genre.  We as fans NEED to support the people that ARE trying to help this genre.  Whether you watched the P&G soaps or not it's important that ALL soap fans show their support.  As I've said MANY times, it's not about saving ONE soap it's about saving the WHOLE genre.  We need to continue to show there is a demand for the soap opera.  Support the soaps that are still on the air!  That's what I did.  I was a straight P&G girl but once they started getting cancelled I began to watch them all.  I think it's also important to support the web soaps.  In my opinion, again I say in MY opinion I believe the web is the future for our soaps.  There are some fantastic web soaps out there so take the time to check them out.  You may be surprised at some of the faces that you see on them.  Quite a few from your favorite soaps.
I think it's time for me to come down off my soapbox.  As I have stated before, this is only MY opinion.  You can agree or disagree.  That's what a blog is for.  I guess the point of this blog is that we need to have hope. I, for one, believe that someone out there will one day save this dying genre somehow.  I will support the people working very hard behind the scenes as well as the people trying to continue to keep the soaps alive on TV as well as on the web.  It may not happen overnight, but I'm going to stay positive and continue my fight in a positive way.  I will ALWAYS have hope for the soap opera.  We all should....................
 
Here is the link to the DAYTIME FANS UNITE facebook page.  PLEASE "LIKE" it
https://www.facebook.com/DAYTIMEFANSUNITE