Think of the most popular American daytime soap. Then, multiply that by a factor of 10. That's the ongoing craze known as the BBC's immortal EastEnders. Premiering in 1985, the working-class melodrama remains one of the U.K.'s highest-rated series.
Now, EastEnders is set to kick off its own web spinoff series next year. According to a Beeb press release, the online BBC Vision Multiplatform commissioned EastEnders: E20 to go live in January, 2010.
In addition to taking advantage of TV's online evolution, the web series will help to celebrated the EastEnders 25th anniversary.
Now, the question is if anyone in Hollywood can catch on to moves like these and adapt more successful U.S. shows into big name web series. Shows like 24 tried brief web dalliances, but nothing this ambitious has yet to take flight from American networks.
Guiding Light ends this Friday. I'll have a full review up after the episode airs, but I thought this would be a good time to show not how it ends but how each episode began. Here are some of the many opening credits that the show has had over the past six decades.
The show started on TV in 1952 (from radio). Here's the 1953 opening:
A couple of weeks ago at the Daytime Emmy Awards, there was a special tribute to Guiding Light, ending its 72 year run (on radio starting in 1937, TV since 1952) next Friday. Due to time, the network couldn't show the entire tribute video from the ceremony. Here it is.
I think there's too much emphasis on recent characters, but that's just an old fogey talking I guess, and there are some great classic scenes too (for a fan, this video could be an hour long and we wouldn't complain). I love that they included Charita Bauer and Chris Bernau, the original (and best) Alan Spaulding.
For nearly a week, ABC denied that there was any truth to the rumor that All My Children was moving to the West Coast. Then yesterday the network just announced the cross-country relocation. ABC Daytime released a statement explaining that this December, All My Children -- which has been produced in New York City for 39 years -- is going to Los Angeles. And One Life to Live, also a New York soap, is getting All My Children's studio. Yes, a hand-me down facility, but just don't think of it that way.
While the move for AMC and OLTL will mean better facilities and more space, what about the casts and crews? Will all the actors on AMC make the move west -- or is this a way to cost cut and drop a few players along the way? Susan Lucci is a given; she'll go west.
Hearst, who was facing the prospect of a demotion to recurring status (as opposed to a contract player), will return to B&B as Whip Jones, a character he introduced and played for a brief stint in 2002.
First there was word that a new $25,000 Pyramid could replaceGuiding Light when it ends in September. Now comes word that CBS might do an updated Let's Make A Dealinstead (or perhaps "too"). Monty Hall is even doing host auditions this week.
What would you like to see replace Guiding Light? And no, "keep Guiding Light on" is not an option.
Yup, it's that time of year again, the week when we're supposed to shut off our TVs (and computers, I assume) and go outside and get some fresh air, maybe eat a salad.
I mention this every year, and it has gotten to the point where it would be ridiculous to give the opposing viewpoints yet again (but you can read them here and here). Suffice to say, we think you should leave your TV on this week (and in September - there's a TV Turn-Off Week then, too - when the new fall season starts!). If you don't, you're going to miss some cool stuff.
Yesterday - a day usually set aside for light-hearted pranks and various other yuk-yuks - will forever be remembered now as the day that CBS got rid of Guiding Light, the longest running drama on TV (it started on radio in 1937 and TV in 1952).
It's probably the starting gun for other networks to get rid of their soap operas. It's a dying genre, either gone forever or scattered here and there on the TV landscape. It's really sad. Fans can mourn the death of a long-running network show, but a big part of pop culture is dying too. I watched the show since the late '70s/early '80s, and while I drifted away a few years ago, I've been watching it again, so it's going to be weird that it's not on anymore. I'll be recording that last episode and grabbing the inevitable collectible issue of Soap Opera Digest.
So what will CBS do now that they'll have another hour on the schedule Monday through Friday? A look at some of their options after the jump.
It looks the lighthouse may be switched off before the end of 2009. CBS is expected to determine whether or not to renew Guiding Light later this week. All things considered, I think the network is going to call it a day for the 72-year-old soap opera.
The ratings have been lagging and the way Guiding Light is situated around the country – being broadcast in different time slots instead of having a regular fixed time like the rest of the CBS soaps – it's not likely to ever challenge in the Nielsens.
Many years ago, while trying to figure out some way to convince my mom that she should watch what I wanted to watch instead of her stupid soap operas, I got hooked on soap operas. My main soap (sorry, "daytime drama") was Guiding Light (which I've started to watch again since an old favorite returned yesterday), but I also watched One LifeTo Live every single day for many years too. And then, well, I didn't. I probably couldn't tell you what the hell was happening on the show if I turned it on today, though I'm sure many of the same characters and actors are still on the show.
Except two. This has been a bad week for the Buchanan family as two of the top former actors from the passed away within just days of each other.
You would think that with higher unemployment and more people spending more time at home during business hours that networks would be throwing money at their daytime TV divisions. (insert ominous organ music that implies trouble is ahead here)
You would be wrong. Networks are starting to scale back on their daytime soaps including some stars' salaries, according to USA Today.
ABC has been doing the most axe-chopping to their daytime lineup. Long running favorites like General Hospital and One Life to Live have been ordered to make some serious cutbacks and All My Children stars Susan Lucci, Michael E. Knight and Ray MacDonnell are seeing paychecks with George Costanza-like shrinkage.
As we've told you before, this is the 60th anniversary of the Emmy Awards. The September 21 show, telecast on ABC, will not only celebrate the Best Actresses and Best Dramas of the current prime time lineup, it will also celebrate the many stars and characters and shows of 10, 20, 40, 60 years ago.
ABC has created an ad that features a lot of those stars. A lot of the stars are easy to find and it's a no-brainer that they were included (Marge and Homer, Rod Serling, Dick Van Dyke, Stewie, the South Park guys, etc), but I'm happy to also see some people I didn't think would be in such an ad: Guy Williams as Zorro, Robert Culp from I Spy, Mike Connors from Mannix, Tim Daly from Wings, Wally Cox from Mr. Peepers, among others.
For the first time in a long time, something was different about the Daytime Emmys. No, it's not that they're on in primetime; that happened years ago. What was different was the 35th Daytime Emmys opted to forgo the theater setting and seat the stars at round tables. As co-host (with All My Children's Cameron Mathison) Sherri Shepherd told the AP days before the AP, "Usually everyone is sitting in a row. This year, it'll be like a wedding. We're also going to do something so that fans will be able to get a view of what's going on at the different tables." That would be web video created by the actors at every table - table cam. Perfect for hams. The vids are at SOAPnet. For details about the show from the winners backstage, check out AOL.
So did the seating arrangements make a difference? Well, it depends. Those who were there probably had a better time because there was an open bar, just like the Golden Globes. For viewers, it still looked like the Daytime Emmys, including many familiar faces winning. After a strained attempt at comedy for the opening -- blending All My Children fictional characters with The View's real hosts -- the show commenced.
Did you know that baseball players are big-time soap opera fans? It's true. All that time they spend hanging out in the clubhouse during the day, they have the soaps playing in the background. Not all, but a lot. That said, it'll be interesting to see if the same things that sell soaps -- the drama, the relationships, the never-ending stories -- work for ESPN in selling their Fantasy Baseball League. They're calling the series of commercials "Endless Drama."
If shows that are shown only once a week and have around 22 episodes a year are affected by the strike, then the soaps, which have new shows five days a week, 52 weeks a year must be even more affected, right? Right?
For some reason, not yet. The shows haven't divulged how many scripts they have stockpiled and how long they will last, but the soaps haven't gone into reruns, "classic episodes" or other programming yet. Most soaps have anywhere from six to a dozen a writers or more, and most of those writers are on the picket line. A few writers (though not all) on four of the soaps, CBS' The Young and the Restless and ABC's All My Children, One Life To Live, and General Hospital, have crossed the picket lines and returned to work on the show because of something called "financial core," which means financial need, another example of how I don't quite understand what's going on with this strike.
Think of the most popular American daytime soap. Then, multiply that by a factor of 10. That's the ongoing craze known as the BBC's immortal EastEnders. Premiering in 1985, the working-class melodrama remains one of the U.K.'s highest-rated series.
For nearly a week, ABC denied that there was any truth to the rumor that 
First there was word that a new 
Yup, it's that time of year again, the week when we're supposed to shut off our TVs (and computers, I assume) and go outside and get some fresh air, maybe eat a salad.
Yesterday - a day usually set aside for light-hearted pranks and various other yuk-yuks - will forever be remembered now as the day that 
It looks the lighthouse may be switched off before the end of 2009. CBS is expected to determine 
Many years ago, while trying to figure out some way to convince my mom that she should watch what I wanted to watch instead of her stupid soap operas, I got hooked on soap operas. My main soap (sorry, "daytime drama") was 
You would think that with higher unemployment and more people spending more time at home during business hours that networks would be throwing money at their daytime TV divisions. (insert ominous organ music that implies trouble is ahead here) 
For the first time in a long time, something was different about the Daytime Emmys. No, it's not that they're on in primetime; that happened years ago. What was different was the 35th Daytime Emmys opted to forgo the theater setting and seat the stars at round tables. As co-host (with All My Children's Cameron Mathison) 
Did you know that baseball players are big-time soap opera fans? It's true. All that time they spend hanging out in the clubhouse during the day, they have the soaps playing in the background. Not all, but a lot. That said, it'll be interesting to see if the same things that sell soaps -- the drama, the relationships, the never-ending stories -- work for ESPN in selling their Fantasy Baseball League. They're calling the series of commercials "
If shows that are shown only once a week and have around 22 episodes a year are affected by the strike, then the soaps, which have new shows five days a week, 52 weeks a year must be even more affected, right? Right?
Six Mad Men characters who are in limbo after the finale
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The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
