~By Liz…
Y&R, I’ve got some baggage I need you to help me unload.
No pressure though. Really.
My name’s Liz, and I am a long time soap opera viewer (i.e. a viewer with a lot of baggage). I started watching soaps as a 9 year old kid who had to wait for the babysitter’s show to be over before we could head to the park. Fortunately or unfortunately, that was in the ‘golden era’ of soap operas as I see it, the 80’s, and a high standard was set. The babysitter soon had me hooked on Days of our Lives’ Bo and Hope and then a couple of years later, Steve and Kayla; but I did love the entire show. After Days aired in the afternoon, I would sometimes watch Another World and Santa Barbara too.
On any soap I stumbled across, romance, adventure, suspense and family drama was intensely emotional, perfectly balanced, rich with complexity and FUN to watch. The characters were relatable, wildly charismatic, and instantly made you care for them, root for them. Daytime TV families became part of our “extended families” as viewers; these were shows that appealed to multiple generations. There were over the top characters and plots but they only served as mere “side stories” to balance out the drama and the richness of the central storylines. Today’s soaps on the other hand, serve up a lot of those side dishes, minus the meat, minus the rich flavor.
After years of being fed a lot of tasteless garnish, I got to the point where I stopped caring about daytime dramas in general. The medium I once loved just lost so much heart and soul… it became one huge cliche after another. The devil came to Salem and I thought that was an apropo representation of whatever possessed the writers and producers to ruin the daytime television I once loved. Despite producers’ and networks’ claims to the contrary, I honestly came to believe they just don’t care what the viewers think and say, as long they get their key demographic and are able to draw in advertising dollars. The networks and producers ignore us and then blame the drop in daytime viewership on things like OJ Simpson, a variety of shows to watch on cable and increased competition- never pointing the finger where it belongs: the lack of quality programming. I am not saying there weren’t other factors , but I think the change in daytime storytelling takes most of the blame for alienating long time viewers (in particular the focus on vapid, flat, teen-centered melodrama, campy/unrealistic plotlines, never ending cliche triangles, sci-fi B-movie style special effects nonsense). It’s been said that the ultimate expression of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result each time. Daytime seems unwilling to change the trite and lazy storytelling, and yet expects the viewers to continue caring? The reason we don’t watch in the long haul is simple: there’s nothing that grabs hold of our hearts and attention. I don’t expect to see any writing or any show resembling the 80’s era; I doubt anyone expects that. I just want soaps to put a priority on quality rather than shock value. It’s not asking for a lot.
For years and years (after quitting Days) I watched soaps just to see my favorite actors (Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans) on whatever soaps they were on (respectively and together); Stephen and Mary Beth made tuning in to any show worthwhile, because they always injected heart and humanity into their characters whenever it was possible and gave us SO many breathtaking performances. I learned not to invest too much in the shows as a whole however, as I would inevitably get frustrated as viewers were seemingly ‘punished’ for expecting things as simple as motivation, momentum and continuity. [The only exception I saw was the way Mary Beth’s Sierra was written at As The World Turns. That unfortunately was a (mostly) recurring character, so we didn’t see enough of her].
Here I am in 2010 and Stephen Nichols has joined an incredible cast of actors, playing the role of Tucker McCall on daytime’s #1 soap, The Young and the Restless. I am trying to have some faith. It does seem so different from the soaps that scared me away from caring about daytime TV. I am excited to see Stephen and I know he will make this role memorable, as he always does. But it’s hard to get too invested in the show as a whole. As I’ve said…I’ve got some baggage. I know I’m not alone. There are a few million of us viewers who have tuned out over the past decade or two.
My fears and impressions so far as a new viewer….
Some days I tune in and try to watch the whole show and am riveted to the screen by scenes such as Adam’s downfall and the whole town of Genoa City confronting him. Other days I am bored to tears by talk of stocks and acquisitions that I couldn’t care less about (until or unless these talks are tied into some relationship issue/story).
Y&R is rich in history, and many of the characters have been on the show for quite some time and have significant ties to the core families in Genoa City. The show has a large cast as well. This makes me nervous. Will Tucker be given the opportunity to become a key figure among the many other, longtime characters? Will the writers find time to have fun figuring out who Tucker is and deliver the rich story he merits (as Katherine’s son, played by a daytime icon like Stephen)? Then there’s the airtime: Stephen’s been on an average of two days a week on most weeks. This concerns me as well. On one hand, I appreciate that the Y&R writers understand that they have to develop his story slowly, carefully. Too many daytime shows throw new characters at you…and it’s too much, too fast. I think audiences resent that on the whole.
On the other hand, sometimes I feel like they build up Tucker’s story, and then lose momentum by not continuing the scenes (at least a little bit) into the next day. I wish we knew more about his past than we do at the moment. All we really seem to know is that he still hates Katherine for abandoning him. Why is that? Has he had a difficult life? Is Y&R going to get to that at some point soon? Or are we to assume that he just hates Katherine for leaving him and to believe it’s simple as that? I think exploring that backstory would add so much to the current story. I know I should just sit back and relax and enjoy the ride….and I am trying to have faith that Y&R writers have a plan for Tucker, trying to believe that they are stucturing his story a certain way on purpose. So many shows don’t do that.
What’s giving me faith: most of the characters on this show have gray areas; they are complex characters who resemble human beings…not completely good, not completely bad. The bad guys have heart and complexity, the good guys have their weaknesses. I have to believe that’s what lies ahead for Tucker; a complex past and a rich future. The women are quirky, complex, strong, resilient, assertive and vulnerable, too. Already Stephen’s chemistry with Jeanne Cooper as mother and son is just more than you could dream up; it’s perfection and I am loving their dynamic and their scenes together. I see so much potential for the role of Tucker as a whole…I hope his story really takes off soon.
Who knows, maybe if and when that happens, I may just be able to unload the baggage and enjoy watching daytime TV again?
What are your thoughts? I would love to hear them! Are you a long time Y&R or daytime viewer- what’s your perspective? Tucker fans, do you share my concerns or do you have other concerns… Or do you think it’s all good so far?
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