State of Veteran Actors on Soap Operas
State of Veteran Actors on Soap Operas
Over recent years there has been a sad trend of losing long established and beloved characters on our favorite soaps. Whether they are being backburned, put on recurring, vanish, or killed off. These veteran actors/characters are being replaced by new characters that are given so much airtime, they almost invade the viewer’s space.
We are not given a chance to get to know them. Then they are gone as quickly as they come. Replaced by a clone like copy of the previous character.
Soaps are a generational, often we watch what our mothers and in some cases fathers watched. There are characters we grew up with, there are characters we grew to love, and then there are characters we love to hate.
There are some soaps that within six months, the cast is almost unrecognizable. Yet two of highest rated soaps, you can tune into years later, and see the same characters, along with new characters. For instance Kay on “Young and the Restless,” and Marlena on “Days of our Lives.”
I tuned into General Hospital one day, and didn’t recognize anyone. Where was Bobbie, Monica, Alan, Edward? The Quartmains were replaced by mobsters being glorified as the "good guys." The one strong female character, is viewed as a shrew, while the other female characters, are belitted by the men in their lives.
The Soap Opera I have been watching is One Life to Live. Granted not many of my friends watch it, they watch Y&R or Days, which still showcase vet characters in viable story lines. Yet I stay faithful to OLTL. The reason I started watching was the character of Nora Buchanan. True she was an older character, not your conventional character. This is one of the reasons I like OLTL they have real characters that the viewer can relate to. We all know people like Vicki, Bo, Nora, Marcie, Natalie, etc.
What I first noticed about her was she had a hot younger doctor madly in love with her. Now that’s romance! Of course my view of that changed when in true soap opera fashion they turned him into a psycho. Now I believe her true soulmate is Bo.
I liked her interaction with all the Lanview characters, especially Lindsay (another character you love to hate, who sadly has been put on recurring status.) Most of all I love her interactions with Bo, another nontypical soap character.
There are rumors going around that we may lose this character, and for some reason this has been the one move that has made me want to stand up and yell no more. We as viewers need to take a stand about this disturbing trend of losing our older characters. What has been so great about soaps is their rich history, and vast array of different characters, there is something for everyone, not just for an isolated set of demographics.
Characters of all ages are valuable to storylines. I just wish soap executives would realize what others already know. Older Characters can create good storylines and increase ratings. Look at “Desperate Housewives” this award winning show consist of characters over forty! The creator Marc Cherry knows the value of older characters, for he also created another award winning TV show about older characters, “The Golden Girls.”
I hope this is just a crazy internet rumor, and Nora will have a long and happy “One Life to Live”, with strong storylines, that I know her portrayer Hillary B. Smith is well qualified to handle.
*Added note* 1/11/2006
HBS has signed a year contract, and the viewer is promised a meaty Nora story line. The verdict is still out as to whether I believe that or not!
Over recent years there has been a sad trend of losing long established and beloved characters on our favorite soaps. Whether they are being backburned, put on recurring, vanish, or killed off. These veteran actors/characters are being replaced by new characters that are given so much airtime, they almost invade the viewer’s space.
We are not given a chance to get to know them. Then they are gone as quickly as they come. Replaced by a clone like copy of the previous character.
Soaps are a generational, often we watch what our mothers and in some cases fathers watched. There are characters we grew up with, there are characters we grew to love, and then there are characters we love to hate.
There are some soaps that within six months, the cast is almost unrecognizable. Yet two of highest rated soaps, you can tune into years later, and see the same characters, along with new characters. For instance Kay on “Young and the Restless,” and Marlena on “Days of our Lives.”
I tuned into General Hospital one day, and didn’t recognize anyone. Where was Bobbie, Monica, Alan, Edward? The Quartmains were replaced by mobsters being glorified as the "good guys." The one strong female character, is viewed as a shrew, while the other female characters, are belitted by the men in their lives.
The Soap Opera I have been watching is One Life to Live. Granted not many of my friends watch it, they watch Y&R or Days, which still showcase vet characters in viable story lines. Yet I stay faithful to OLTL. The reason I started watching was the character of Nora Buchanan. True she was an older character, not your conventional character. This is one of the reasons I like OLTL they have real characters that the viewer can relate to. We all know people like Vicki, Bo, Nora, Marcie, Natalie, etc.
What I first noticed about her was she had a hot younger doctor madly in love with her. Now that’s romance! Of course my view of that changed when in true soap opera fashion they turned him into a psycho. Now I believe her true soulmate is Bo.
I liked her interaction with all the Lanview characters, especially Lindsay (another character you love to hate, who sadly has been put on recurring status.) Most of all I love her interactions with Bo, another nontypical soap character.
There are rumors going around that we may lose this character, and for some reason this has been the one move that has made me want to stand up and yell no more. We as viewers need to take a stand about this disturbing trend of losing our older characters. What has been so great about soaps is their rich history, and vast array of different characters, there is something for everyone, not just for an isolated set of demographics.
Characters of all ages are valuable to storylines. I just wish soap executives would realize what others already know. Older Characters can create good storylines and increase ratings. Look at “Desperate Housewives” this award winning show consist of characters over forty! The creator Marc Cherry knows the value of older characters, for he also created another award winning TV show about older characters, “The Golden Girls.”
I hope this is just a crazy internet rumor, and Nora will have a long and happy “One Life to Live”, with strong storylines, that I know her portrayer Hillary B. Smith is well qualified to handle.
*Added note* 1/11/2006
HBS has signed a year contract, and the viewer is promised a meaty Nora story line. The verdict is still out as to whether I believe that or not!
posted by Karen @ 5:41 PM
1 Comments:
At 1:43 PM,
Anonymous said…
Amen! Whatever happened to all that "love in the afternoon"? If I want to watch mobsters, I could watch the Sopranos!
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