50th Anniversary

50th Anniversary

Monday, April 29, 2013

The New Look of Daytime Drama

Today was an exciting day for soap opera fans! Prospect Park made history with their online launch of two favorite daytime soaps that had been cancelled.

I watched both shows which are each 30 minutes long. Fans will remember that both these shows were 1 hour when they aired on ABC.

The convenience of watching them on my laptop was great. I couldn't get my former OLTL fan to watch with me but it wouldn't have been awful to share the laptop screen.

All My Children had many new faces as since it last aired it has moved 5 years into the future. Not a lot was explained about where the show left off. If you remember, the climax of the last episode was JR shooting into the crowd that gathered for Brooke and Adam's engagement party. Well it is 5 years later and Brooke and Adam are still together but not yet married. References were made to what happened 5 years ago but no real details were divulged.

Bianca's daughter Miranda is now a teenager and she and JR's son are good friends. Pete Cortlandt (son of Opal and Palmer) is now a successful businessman and his mother is desperate for him to revive his father's business.

Jesse and Angie (one of my favorite couples) is living happily ever after but with scars from what happened 5 years ago. Lucy has moved away (the baby that wasn't really their baby) and Jesse surprises Angie with a visit from his daughter Cassandra.

Dixie is back but no Tad (as of yet) and Kara was seen checking up on a mysterious patient. David Hayward was released from prison and is headed back home to cause trouble I am sure.

No Erica Kane on this re-launch and time will tell if fans miss her.

On One Life to Life there were plenty of new faces as well and re-casts of characters like Matthew Buchanan and Destiny Evans. Old favorites like Dorian, Vicki, Clint, Blair and Todd are back.

Capricorn, which was Blair's nightclub has been re-vamped into a hot new club that seems to attract a much younger, hipper crowd.

Natalie and John's son is not an infant anymore and Natalie seems determined to move forward with her life.

Cutter is now working for Blair as her new club's promoter.

Thanks to Vicki, Dorian has been exposed in a scandal which she is convinced Vicki has created.

David is back and still self-absorbed with a new reality show.

Tea is having a hard time getting over the loss of her infant son and doesn't seem to notice that her daughter Dani has a serious drug/alcohol problem.

Matthew is still at odds with his parents and when they discover a baggie of Oxycontin, they argue with him.

Destiny and Matthew are parents but not together.

Blair and Tea are surprised at her club's grand opening by the return of Todd. Before they can get into it, Dani passes out and 911 is called for the troubled young girl.

A mysterious man with a strange tattoo is seen being followed and he finally kills the person stalking him. The hooded man arrives at the new club and it is revealed that it is Victor!

The look of both of these shows is great. The sets are unlike any of the current shows that air on daytime. I watch the CBS soaps also and have seen bits and pieces of Days on Soap Net. The look of these online shops is really hip, fresh and exciting.

The first episodes of both of these shows do show promise. AMC had many flashbacks which was good in a way because it helped to refresh my memory. Kara's remembering being with David (wow- was that almost too hot for daytime or what?) made me remember her history with the bad guy doctor.

Both shows seem to have a heavy emphasis on drawing in younger viewers but are balancing the push for youth with familiar fan favorites. The new look is exciting (oops I said that already) and as the word gets out I am sure fans who miss their shows will check them out.

The convenience of being able to watch whenever you want is even better than I thought. Personally I dvr General Hospital and the Young & the Restless and occasionally catch them on SoapNet if they were interrupted due to local news events. With Hulu I can watch these shows whenever, whereever and I think that is a huge plus.

30 minutes goes fast and yes, I wanted more! I didn't realize how much I missed the folks in Llanview or Pine Valley.

Thanks Prospect Park! It was a smart albeit huge financial undertaking but I predict that it will pay off. What do you think?


Sonny's Birthday

Felix and Sabrina got worn out by a very inquisitive Emma.

Britt's plan to trap Patrick worked and after putting Patrick on the spot she didn't have the abortion.

AJ continued to taunt Carly even though he wanted something from her.

Olivia talked Sonny into going to the Metro Court for his birthday.

Sonny broke up a disagreement between AJ and Carly and wound up punching AJ who later had a panic attack.

Johnny told Connie about Morgan's gambling troubles and asked him to please tell his parents.

Raif kissed Molly who was stunned by his actions.

TJ asked Shawn to borrow money for a limo for the prom to impress Molly.

Molly told Raif they can only be friends.

Sam and Alexis discussed raising teenagers.

Raif came home disappointed.

TJ questioned Molly about Raif knowing something was wrong.

Coming: Britt continues to use the baby to try and come between Sabrina and Patrick.

Connie tells Sonny about his son's troubles.

AJ's condition threatens his business.

Lulu fights to stay hidden as Dante continues to search for his wife.

Ellie gets closer to the truth.