April 14th, 2011 will always be Black Thursday for soap fans who turned on their computers to discover that ABC had canceled their favorite shows, ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Despite organized protests and letter-writing campaigns, the network, unfazed, announced their replacement shows and went merrily on about their business.
It seemed as though no one associated with running the entertainment industry was remotely interested in providing this kind of entertainment anymore - even if they had to shoot the genre dead in order for it to die. Despite what felt like network dictated edicts to kill off characters and fill the shows up with actors that couldn't act and guns and violence (whatever happened to "Love in the Afternoon"?), the fans stayed. Mostly. But the numbers did tumble. When you decide to tell the exact opposite story that the fans want, why would you expect them to stay? But then, when you want to kill a show, why would you do what the fans want?
Oprah's network, Bravo and other options were floated as saviors of the serials - but ultimately it was cable show producer Prospect Park that rushed in to save the day. The plan was to buy both shows and get them online in January 2012. Fans were thriled and some of the ABC hate faded slightly.
Until this week when the deal, which had been battling unions and guild contracts for the past five months, fell through. The shows are officially dead.
ALL MY CHILDREN fans will never find out who the last person was that David revived nor will we know who was shot (if anyone) in the final seconds of the last episode. Personally I kind of liked the fact that a show with a rich history in murder mysterys should end with one and there's something kind of beautiful that the last person David saved could be anyone (although I'm not convinced that writer Lorraine Broderick knew the identity. If I ever meet her again - I was introduced to her last February at a Valentine's Day party - it's the first thing out of my mouth.. which, you know, probably will ensure that the third time she sees me coming, she'll run the other way! LOL)
As far as ONE LIFE TO LIVE, the show finished taping it's final episodes a week ago and there are some rumors that some actors shot multiple endings to their final scenes, suggesting that the higher ups had an inkling that the deal would fall through and wanted to give themselves some options of how to edit it, just in case. That's the rumor anyway. We'll see.
When Prospect Park was set to continue the show online, they mandated that the show refrain from giving certain characters happy ever afters in order to give them something to pick up with online. Now that the last scene has been shot, now that the deal has fallen through, soap fans are freaking out that our beloved show will end on cliffhangers that will never be resolved. I suppose it's possible that the network could get everyone back together in the next couple weeks for some reshoots but it's unlikely. At this point, we who have been watching this show for decades can only hope that the One Life to Live team gave the editors something to work with that will give us all a satisfying ending.. because it's the only ending we're going to get. There'll be no more lives to live.
Over the next six weeks, the show will reportedly follow the cancelation of the soap within the soap, "Fraternity Row". It was a major storyline in the early 90s and apparently the show will use it as a vehicle to mirror fans' protests and make commentary on what's happened to ONE LIFE TO LIVE. I don't know that I expect a full head on rip on ABC, although it's clear that the network has abandoned it (good luck finding a promo for the show anywhere on the schedule) they still own it so it's unlkely that we'll see anything too caustic, but it'll be amusing to see how far they can go.
In the end, I am grateful that, unlike many shows in prime time that have their own fans and end abruptly without any kind of resolution, these shows have been able to craft some sort of closure. I was never quite convinced that the online jump was going to take place, which is one reason I didn't make a big fuss about it when it was announced. I didn't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I could tell that this was too big a cast, too big a venture, too many hours to produce for a production company used to creating 12 episodes a year of the three or four shows they now produce.
But I'm going to push that thought aside because it doesn't really help to dwell on whatever plans ABC or Prospect Park had and mishandled. What matters now is the end is near and that like with any thing that has captured one's attention for a long time, you want to savor it. Like, when you're reading a book that you just love and you start to dread how few pages are left. While your excitement is racing and you want to devour it as quickly as possible, you simultaneously want to slow down and take each word in and roll it around your mouth to make it last as long as possible. That feeling is delicious.
So for the next six weeks, I'm going to slow down on my ONE LIFE TO LIVE viewings - no more fast forwarding through Ford and Jessica (Lord, give me strength) or Jack (but please no more calling your dad "Scarface") but just honoring every moment and enjoying this last hurrah with old friends.
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