The Soaps...The Characters...The Actors...................

As you all know I am a HUGE fan of "The Soaps".  I have watched them since I was a little girl.  I have always followed the CBS soaps Guiding Light, The Young And The Restless, The Bold And The Beautiful, and of course my all time favorite As The World Turns.  Within the last few years I have tried to watch ALL the soaps showing my support because it seems that the genre is slowly beginning to fade out.  But why?  Why is such a powerful genre as the soap opera dying a slow death?  Are the fans just not watching anymore?  Is the writing of the shows that bad that we don't want to watch?  Or is it because we aren't seeing the familiar faces of the actors on our TV screens that we came to love over the years?  I think all of these factors and more have contributed to the dying of the soap genre, but I would like to concentrate this blog on the actors that we once LOVED to see daily not being seen at all anymore.
 
We all grow to love certain "characters" on our soaps.  Reva Shayne, Erica Kane, Lucinda Walsh, Lily Walsh/Rose D'Angelo (of course you knew I would throw in Martha's two characters!), Luke and Laura, Marlena Evans, and Victoria Lord just to name a few.  And we can't forget the villians Roger Thorpe, James Stenbeck, Sheila Carter.  I could go on and on.  But is it the characters that we love or the ACTORS that portray them?  Were we upset to see some of the characters go off our TV screens or the fact that we won't be seeing our favorite actors anymore?  Would we love these characters as much if we didn't love the actors who portray them?  I think alot of the soaps lose viewers not necessarily because of poor storylines or people not having the time to watch anymore, but because the fans are not seeing the actors that they love anymore!  Why did everyone tune in to the last few months of GL and ATWT, and now to All My Children and One Life To Live?  People are tuning in because some of their all time favorite actors are returning to their TV screens!  I was so excited to see Lisa Brown back on GL at the end, not her character.  I was excited to see Larry Bryggman back on ATWT, not his character.  The same goes for all the actors they are bringing back to AMC and OLTL.  
 
I think that if the soaps that are currently still on the air want to continue to be on the air they need to consider bringing some of the actors that the fans love on their shows as well as keeping the great actors that they currently have on their shows!  Look what YR did by bringing one of the all time fan favorites Genie Francis to the show.  I didn't care what character she was playing!  All I cared about was seeing Genie again. I can also use YR as an example of what NOT to do to keep the fans happy...Melody Thomas Scott.  "Nikki Newman" has been a core character on YR for over 25 years!  But I have to admit it's not the character but Melody that I enjoy.  I would follow her wherever she went.  So come on YR, bring her back!  OK I'm off my soapbox...for now HAHA.
 
I know that to get great actors there is a huge price that may need to be paid.  But I bet that if alot of these actors were approached about being on a soap again, or just acting again, they would consider doing it for maybe less than what "The Powers That Be" may think.  If they can waste money on quite a few actors that no one has heard of or wants to see why not take that money and put it towards bringing on an actor that we would love to see again?  Yes I will use Martha Byrne as an example.  Martha Byrne is one of the biggest names in daytime!  Why is she not working on a soap?  I know she is ready and willing to return!  Why doesn't one of these current soaps take advantage of getting a two time Emmy winner on their show?  I think Martha would make an excellent Kristen Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.  She's beautiful, strong and smart, just what that show needs!  If I was Brad Bell I would jump at the chance to grab someone like Martha.  Now that's what I call "winning".
 
Martha isnt the only one.  There are plenty of our favorite great actors from daytime that would love the chance to act again on a soap.  I just don't get why the soaps that remain don't take advantage of all the talented daytime legends that are out there.  I think they would see their ratings soar and maybe the soap genre wouldn't be in jeopardy.  But hey, who am I?  I'm just a fan and a new blogger who has been watching this genre for over 30 years.  What could I possibly know about what the viewers and fans want to see?!  
 
Keep watching and supporting the soaps.  They need all the support they can get right now.  Be sure to let TPTB know who you want to see on your favorite shows.  Write, call, email, and tweet them!  Let them know that there are still a ton of soap fans out there and we want our soaps to stay!  You never know what may happen...................................