I watched OLTL, I mean "GH", on Monday and find the fascination with a skantily-clad Roger Howarth infinitely amusing. You should be very complimented, Dude, these broads love you to pieces. Although I found the scenes silly and a bit dull as seeing a bare-chested Howarth isn't enough to keep me interested, I saw a lot of fans up in arms. I shook my head, watching some have kanipshins while others, like myself, saw them as being plot point, titillation, and typical of what this genre has become. Although it can be argued that they were meant to objectify a man- which I am completely in favor of, BTW- I found them to be playing bullshit games with the audience and fanbases.
It's one of the problems we encounter in this genre and one that is taken to an extreme by Carlivati, or as he's affectionately known to me as "Nimnuts". Enraging fans and trying to make them panic is NOT a good thing. It doesn't keep them engaged. It makes them hate you, some turn off the set, and it's NOT part of the old adage "make them wait". It's a cheap tactic instead of coming up with complex stories that aren't about angst. In other words, try to find a compelling a story as opposed to teasing and torturing fanbases. That doesn't build loyalty. It builds resentment and makes people not only blast you but turn off their sets. It's one of the many things going wrong here.
I hear that Nimnuts will destroy the couple known as "Jasam" to rebuild them. I'm not a long term GH fan and I don't particularly care for either character or actor, but I think this is a massive mistake. I've lurked around to see their fanbase. This won't go well, to put it mildly. Again, Buddy, this ain't OLTL fans. They won't sit for this shit. They'll bolt. As I've said before, maybe you all don't care about GH fans. But shouldn't you try to keep as many people as you can right now?
Here's some proof from GH fans at DD. This poster has figured it all out and says:
Don't love these writers...but, gotta admit they're very cunning.. They will achieve the following with this Jasam s/l IMO,..
1. Break down Jasam to the core and re-build them with a more balanced relationship
2. Put Kelly and Michael together in scenes for that fanbase
3. Put Steve and Becky together in scenes for that fanbase
4. Give Sam back some of what she buried when she became Jason's shadow
5. Build toward a Jasam reunion
6. Have Jasam welcome their child into their life with a re-newed understanding of what "for better or worse" means.
I
don't think for one second that Sam is free of any blame in this
breakup. However, IMO...the writers are clearly showing Jason as the
one who left Sam alone in this rape situation and subsequent pregnancy
by his inability to at least support Sam.
McBain and Liz will
"appear" to be a threat to them in regards to "cheating" in the real
sense of the word...but, honestly..I don't think the writers will go
there. He'll dangle, he'll tease, he'll show misread looks, touches,
etc. by both Jason and Sam for the other to witness.
So they're getting it. But the important point is the response that
follows and is much more prevalent as I've seen the ratings reflect:
You're probably right. But in the meantime, TV's are turning off.
And:
Exactly. I hope more and more TV's will get turned off every week too.
Is this the impact you're looking for? I don't think so. People are actively engaged...but not in the way you want. They want you out of a job and are willing to sacrifice what they want to get it. It's not about love of the show. It's about hating you for what you've done to it.
This is not your old fanbase, Buddy. We were about loving this damn show beyond the regime that runs it. We were about loving the characters and actors who portray them and sitting through the crap as it's the endgame we look to. You've taught the majority of OLTL fans how this works. We ignore the torture or complain or threaten, but we don't tune out in general. We stick through the crap and call you names but we're like puppies, we'll follow. GH fans are not, IMO. They're pitbulls who will bite you if you fuck with them and then run. Haven't you figured that out yet?
Now look at how most TNB fans reacted to Todd's pathetic display I suppose some may call "flirting". It was either seen as out of character and therefore ignored or a tactic for further use by TPTB. I have seen almost no one who is interested in the pairing taking it seriously. I saw much annoyance but not being threatened. In fact, I saw many of them just happy that Howarth's abs were exposed. That's not good, Ronnie. They don't give a crap about what you write and find your work irrelevant. They just liked the scenery.
Should that be a goal? Should it just be that all that matters is the actor? I have seen, and written, that the saving grace of many shows recently is the interpretation of the material, in other words, the actors. The writing is maligned, ignored, or seen as "passable". In fact, it seems some script writers are getting more praise than the head writers. But not many.
The problem here is a lack of creativity. The intent seems to be tease people, make them unhappy, and then eventually get praise when they get what they want. That's not quality story-telling. It's a cheap tactic that's more fitting for a dime novel, not a long term, serialized drama. We want complex tales about love and intrigue and not constant fuckery with fanbases. That's transparent crap that makes us discuss what you're doing as a writer more than what is happening on the show.
Look, half the fun of soap operas is the sense of community and the idea of figuring out what will happen next. This was a form made for women by women. We love to chat and ponder and speculate. It's much of the fun and the internet has brought that to a whole new level. We can reach out to so many all over and build a community built on this practice. But we should be talking about events on the show, not the manipulations of TPTB. It should be conversations about "what so and so will do next", not "why are those asswipes screwing around with us". There's nothing wrong with titillating an audience for a moment, but there should be more to the scene than someone's rockin' bod.
The issue here is we're seeing behind the curtain that we'd prefer to remain closed. It's as if you're the Wizard, Ronnie, and we'd like to not know you're not invincible and all-powerful. We'd like to not call you "Nimnuts", no matter how much it makes me giggle. We'd like to respect the work you've done so much we don't even talk about you but the material. But we can't. The material is weak and we're too savvy to buy into it.
You have an engaged audience here but they're engaged in what they want, not what they're seeing. Flaming fanbase fires is dangerous as it often backfires. You all didn't have this issue as much on OLTL as it was fanbase-filled, but loyalty to the show itself would override that. This situation is different. You destroy what they want on GH, even on "GH", and they'll retaliate. Your numbers are up marginally but that's probably reflecting that you're getting as many OLTL fans as you're losing in GH fans. Is that the goal here? Don't you want to expand the field? That was my assumption but maybe not.
Word on the street is that Valentini may be considering getting Carlivati a co-headwriter. I think this is a great idea. He can't cut it, it seems. All the stories on "GH" are rehashes of what he did on OLTL. It worked there to some extent as it was fresher- not fresh by any means- but because we, as fans, were different. If the fans can go point by point in comparing stories, it's not good. I've seen many GH fans asking OLTL fans how their stories went so they can see how the ones on GH will go. And it's turning out to be true. That's bad. We should be on the edge of our seats, not knowing, being engaged with the material.
But we should also be engaged with the material in terms of conversation. And we're not. We're talking about you. We're talking about the intent of the staff. And we're talking about Howarth's chest. Congratulations. You objectified Todd but didn't whore him out. Yet. But you also did the impossible for me. You made him boring. Call me demanding, but I thought Todd was more than well-developed abdominal muscles. To me, his looks are the least appealing thing about him. But, hey, what do I know?
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