Goodbye Soap Operas

Well, it's really happening. They are taking off my soaps. And I will admit that I am just devastated by it. I feel as if I am truly losing so many best friends all at one time.

A lot of people say that they don't understand why anyone would care so much, and it is hard to explain. Through out my life, I've been a college student, a career woman, a stay at home Mom, and finally, I work from home. There were times that I was a high powered corporate woman, and yet any time that I could, I would arrange my schedule to make sure I could rush home in the middle of the day to see if Tina really was going to marry Max - she didn't. She ended up saying Cord's name, so Max wouldn't go through with it. It was scintillatingly, thrillingly, awfully fun. I felt horrible for Tina, yet SO glad it wasn't me. And I knew that while she did have feelings for Max, Cord was really the love of her life.

And here is where I have my biggest confession to make. I didn't always necessarily identify with the good girls, the heroine of the shows. There was a big part of me that identified with the Bad Girls. Yes - I said it. I admit it. Some of us ARE just drawn that way. When Jessica Rabbit said that line, I felt like someone finally understood me.

I was never the classically pretty blonde girl, (that I Always wanted to be) I never even thought I was pretty at all. But there was something about me that women didn't like and men did. To this day, I'm not really sure what it is. And even at my ripe old age, it still happens. There are times I literally get stalked around the grocery store. Sometimes it's a bit freaky. And there are times I'll meet a woman that just instantly doesn't like me. So, I understand the bad girls of soaps. It's so interesting to see how they deal with some of the things I've just described. When you are That type of girl, it can cause trouble. You find yourself walking a fine line, and at least Trying to stay out of trouble. But sometimes trouble just seems to find you - or follow you. I had a boyfriend when I was in my early twenties, that used to get jealous of me because he said I smile at people too much, and that was going to get me into trouble some day. He said I was too friendly. Well, I'm a Texan...we are all friendly.

I also love Vicky, the ultimate good girl on the show. Who would't root for her? I could list each character on the show and tell you all about them. But at this point, either you know them or you don't.

And then there is the out and out Bad people on the show. And boy can the writer's get creative with those characters. As a writer myself, I've always loved to watch that. And it's just fascinating how they sometimes show some vulnerability in those flawed people. The first one that comes to mind is Todd Manning. He is the epitome of a bad guy that is deeply vulnerable. He tries to stay on the good side, but more often than not, he- just-can't-help-himself! And we love it!

The thing about our soaps (and we do feel a weird kind of owner-ship, or kin-ship) is that for that one hour of the day, we can forget our own troubles and see how other people try to deal with theirs. We see that even rich people have pretty normal problems. Men do. Women do. Teenagers do. It's life and we all have to deal with it. Soaps make us laugh, cry, and tune in tomorrow to see whats going to happen next.

I'll admit that in the last several years, I worked and watched soaps at the same time. I can be fully engrossed in something on the computer, but the music would alert me to something big going on. And then, thank God, I got Tivo so if I missed something important, I could just rewind and catch up.

Daytime soaps are not that different from prime time shows that people dare not call soaps - but they really are. Even Dexter, the show about a vulnerable serial killer, is like a soap. The on going lives of character that you come to care about.

It just seems unreal to me that they are really taking OLTL off the air. If I saw the person ultimately responsible for it, today I would probably walk right up to them and give them a good old soap kind of slap across the face. Twice. My feelings are hurt. I am really hurt by losing all these "friends." And a later point, I would at least give them a piece of my mind.

I remember at the tender age of about five, siting on my Grandmothers lap, watching General Hospital. She loved her shows too. Of course they were not quite so scandalous back then, but I guess they were for their time. I just didn't understand the undertones back then.

General Hospital will be the last one standing on ABC. And when they do cancel that one, I will boycott ABC. I have to. It's principal. And yes, even us almost bad girls have principals.<<sly grin>>

All the Best,

KT

**UPDATE**

OMG! They did it again. In my novels, I pride myself in being able to surprise people with twists and turns in the plots. ABC did it again. It turns out that some of the best characters and plots from OLTL are going to carry on over at General Hospital. YAY!!!
I'm not sure exactly who, how or when, but I'm thrilled.<<DOING MY HAPPY DANCE!!!>>