http://www.jeffprobst.com/2011/03/02/why-daytime-soap-operas-are-over- 3/

In a rare commentary on his website, the "Survivor" host writes: "The reason nobody is watching the few remaining day-time Soap Opera's is because there is a much better, modernized soap opera playing out 24 hours a day, seven days a week on television, internet, mobile phones, terrestrial radio, satellite radio and magazines. It's called CELEBRITY."

I don't know what makes him such an expert :rolleyes:

The link isn't working

Seeing that Mr. Probst is such an authority on the genre of soaps... :rolleyes:

Equating trashy, uninventive, tiresome reality television with soaps is like equating a night at the opera or ballet with a night of drunken cow tipping. In other words... no comparison, Mr. Probst!!!

With soaps the actors have to get into character and work hard on memorizing lines and making the character believable. But with reality shows, they just put any idiot they can find in front of the camera and let them do their thing.

I read somewhere that the biggest factor contributing to the demise of Soap Operas was the O. J. Simpson Trial, which all the Networks covered, pre-empting the daytime schedules. As the Trial dragged on, those who normally watched the Soap Operas moved on to watch or do other things, and once the Trial was over they never returned to watch them. Their ratings never returned to pre-trial levels.

On the funny side, some of those daytime serials, such as The Guiding Light ran for over 50 years. I'd like to see what a DVD Box Set of that ENTIRE series would look like! :lol:

My opinion on the demise of Soap Operas comes from the fact that more women and people in general are working and are not home in the early afternoons. The audience that did watch these shows are now quickly dying off.

I think also, that there is much better true to life dramas and series out there on cable that people are not interested in soaps anymore. They were always low quality, with basically low quality actors whose strength was basically looks or being on the show forever.

I doubt that the networks kept any of the soaps on tape, or at least not until recently. There was really no need since they were not going to be played again.

They were always low quality, with basically low quality actors whose strength was basically looks or being on the show forever.

I doubt that the networks kept any of the soaps on tape, or at least not until recently. There was really no need since they were not going to be played again.

I highly disagree about them always being low quality, and I certainly disagree about the actors. Some of the younger ones may be cast based on looks alone, but it's such a stereotype that soap actors cannot act. I'm sure many of them could out act several actors in primetime. They are the hardest working actors in the business, and the majority of them excel at what they do.

As for them not being on tape--soaps love, and always have loved, showing flashbacks from past decades, so it seems to me that the tapes have been saved.

I think that soaps are becoming irrelevant to their own material. I've been watching the recent run of General Hospital in the afternoon on days when I'm home (There's nothing else on!!!) and the show is barely about the hospital anymore, it's all about Port Charles and the mob wars. The hospital is just the place people go when the gangsters take out a hit on someone.

I highly disagree about them always being low quality, and I certainly disagree about the actors. Some of the younger ones may be cast based on looks alone, but it's such a stereotype that soap actors cannot act. I'm sure many of them could out act several actors in primetime. They are the hardest working actors in the business, and the majority of them excel at what they do.

As for them not being on tape--soaps love, and always have loved, showing flashbacks from past decades, so it seems to me that the tapes have been saved.



I totally agree.

I highly disagree about them always being low quality, and I certainly disagree about the actors. Some of the younger ones may be cast based on looks alone, but it's such a stereotype that soap actors cannot act. I'm sure many of them could out act several actors in primetime. They are the hardest working actors in the business, and the majority of them excel at what they do.

As for them not being on tape--soaps love, and always have loved, showing flashbacks from past decades, so it seems to me that the tapes have been saved.
The networks and production companies generally didn't save the tapes until the late 70s. There are lots of episodes that were saved before then, and some shows were completely saved (Y&R, Days, Dark Shadows, Ryan's Hope), but basically 95-99% of soap episodes from the 50s, 60s, and 70s are gone forever.

My brother has, for the last few years, joked if soaps are still on.

Im surprised he would say that. I mean thanks to his show Survivor, every Joe Blow in America has a reality show. Thanks Jeff for that!! I mean seeing Richard Hatch nude and having people eat mice guts or sheeps feet or whatever the hell they eat on that show, started this reality craze.

Anyway, I think soaps dont get a fair share because the writers cant write. I cant tell you how many people complain especially about the writing. I also think soaps never get a shot anywhere. I mean look at Guiding Light and As the World Turns. They've been on forever and there canceled. They never show old soap operas or plug there soaps during primetime. The only time you see soap opera stars in primetime is the Daytime Awards. It seems like soap operas are an island to themselves.

Hopefully one day we can say that Reality TV is dead.

Guiding Light[/I] ran for over 50 years. I'd like to see what a DVD Box Set of that ENTIRE series would look like! :lol:
Actually, Guiding Light ran for over 70 years, so that would be some huge DVD box set!

Hopefully one day we can say that Reality TV is dead.




RIGHT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe to that soaps are just becoming to costly. To pay the cast & crew and maintain the sets. Currently there are 6 soaps left with ABC having the most All My Children, One Life To Live, & General Hospital. I here that they are hoping to get out of the soap business by next year. & Y&R & B&B are renewed through 2012. Days of our lives was renewed by NBC through 2013 with an option of renewing through 2014 only time will tell!

For all the naysaying about reality shows, someone has to be watching the stupid things, or else they wouldn't be making them.

Stop watching=no more reality shows.

My opinion on the demise of Soap Operas comes from the fact that more women and people in general are working and are not home in the early afternoons. The audience that did watch these shows are now quickly dying off.

I think also, that there is much better true to life dramas and series out there on cable that people are not interested in soaps anymore. They were always low quality, with basically low quality actors whose strength was basically looks or being on the show forever.

I doubt that the networks kept any of the soaps on tape, or at least not until recently. There was really no need since they were not going to be played again.
Theres a flipside to that theory.
I never watched any daytime serial in my life until Soap Net came along. I happened to get hooked on Days of our Lives, about 8 years ago, and have watched it religiously, ever since. So I don't think people not being at home during the day is a factor, with Soapnet, dvr's and shows available on Youtube. I wonder if the upcoming demise of Soapnet, will be the demise of the soap opera.

"The reason nobody is watching the few remaining day-time Soap Opera's is because there is a much better, modernized soap opera playing out 24 hours a day, seven days a week on television, internet, mobile phones, terrestrial radio, satellite radio, and magazines. It's called CELEBRITY."

You know, I think Probst is on Motrin. There will be no real soap operas in the future, it'll go extinct like the Western TV series in the mid-1970s. There haven't been any animated soap operas because all of them are live-action.

Every Sitcoms Online member is sick of hearing about Reality Shows being the new Soap Opera, and some Sitcoms Online members hate reality shows outright. If I had a new modernised soap opera of my own, it would be called "House of James", every Wednesday from 6 to 11 P.M.

The final nail may not be in the genre as long as 4 daytime dramas are still on the air, as AMC is set to air its final episode in September and OLTL's will be in January.

You know, I think Probst is on Motrin. There will be no real soap operas in the future, it'll go extinct like the Western TV series in the mid-1970s. There haven't been any animated soap operas because all of them are live-action.

Every Sitcoms Online member is sick of hearing about Reality Shows being the new Soap Opera, and some Sitcoms Online members hate reality shows outright. If I had a new modernised soap opera of my own, it would be called "House of James", every Wednesday from 6 to 11 P.M.

DAMN RIGHT!!! Preach on!!! I'd like to see Probst on his own show Survivor eating mouse testicles and wipe his ass with leaves and branches and stuff. I mean if he thinks stuff like that on Survivor is going to overtake Soap Operas and have Reality TV overcome Soap Operas, hes nuts. I mean these reality show stars, wait thats there 15 minutes that are just about up!!!