By Marlena De Lacroix
What’s a soap critic to do? There are only six soaps. I have a long memory and remember the very early 90s, when Bill Bell originated the homeless storyline with Stephanie, which way proceeded the current one. Ken Corday is an enemy of free speech; he sought to destroy the critical arm of Soap Opera Weekly years ago. But alas. The great and ultra creative Jim Reilly is dead and cursed now by Ken and followers. All that is long ago and distant — to some and those who were not in the daytime world long ago in the first place.
The root of criticism in daytime is executive change. You call for an executive change when you see a bad soap, a soap that is marked by cronyism, a soap that doesn’t move, or centers too long on one character or is marked by favoritism or sexism or inside politics. Yet, all the current headwriters and producers at daytime, as if in a time warp, seem locked into place. We have Ken, enemy of the First Amendment at Days of Our Lives. Fronsie eternal at ABC. All the Bells and the bravura Rauch at Y&R, Jill and Bob at General Hospital. They all seem to be [Read more...]
Days is way too juvenile even to contemplate. Young and Restless is very competent soap opera. But someone help! We’re left with the ABC Daytime line up. Admiring my dog Nigel sleeping on the couch seems to look like better entertainment after a while.
For another view of the Daytime Emmys, read the post following this one by Marlena’s longtime friend and colleague Ed Martin. A veteran TV industry journalist and analyst, Ed is a columnist for JackMyers.com.
