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Tom Casiello's Latest Blog Entry; *UPDATED* 5/28/08
Topic Started: May 17 2008, 11:04 PM (3,054 Views)
PhoenixRising05
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http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...logID=395535867


I thought this was well done. I agree with him in that we all want so badly for soaps to be what they were that even when we do get good stuff, we are always waiting for the other show to drop. I think he made some great observations here and found myself agreeing with alot of it, especially since I always try to remain positive about soaps, regardless of how many times they fuck up. Everyone is different and entitled to however they choose to feel but I agree with Tom in that it's been so long since any soap has been consistently great that it's even hard to recognize greatness anymore.

The comments below also raise some good points. So many wants soaps to be like the 80's, 90's, etc and that is part of the problem as soaps try to recreate the past but it always ends up being nothing but a poor substitute. Nothing is ever as good the second time and that is the problem with daytime drama as so many characters have been through so much it's hard keeping them fresh. The soaps need to just create new golden ages for themselves with a modern twist instead of trying to recreate the past and the fans that want reincarnations of past glory eras need to realize that isn't what is best for the genre.
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Mason


Why is this man not employed on a soap right now? I mean really?
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King
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Mason
May 17 2008, 11:26 PM
Why is this man not employed on a soap right now? I mean really?

Because he talked to us during the strike. :angry:

I hope he ends up in primetime soon.
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PhoenixRising05
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I agree. Any soap or show would be lucky to have him.

If he is still unemployed because he talked to us during the strike, that is stupid. The man started a trend. Just look at all the other writer's blogs now. He was nice enough to share his thoughts and connect with fans and should not be shunned because of it.
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King
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That was just my speculation. I have no idea! LOL.
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Red Mist
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Tom is a nice guy and a good writer. He is not responsible for any clunkers on DAYS. The clunkers were Hogan Sheffer's doing, he was HW. Tom wrote a lovely love scene I still watch on youtube from time to time.

And I just must add, I for the life of me can not figure out why someone would bother Tom with ugliness on his blog...ridiculous.
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maconrich
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Tom is :wub:!

I know I'm doing exactly what he's saying with Days and Higley. I see positives but can't help but wonder when it will change. Because it always seems to. I'm seriously enjoying the ride (parts of the show I'm liking) but that nagging doubt just doesn't want to go away...

Thanks for the link Phoenix!!
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Steve Frame
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I agree with a lot of what he says, and as I said in another post Tom Casiello is one of the first script writers that I have become a fan of in a long time.

With that said, I still see moments of greatness in today's shows but the sad fact is that they are moments.

I highly loved Higley's moments on OLTL esp. the Kevin/Kelly breakup scene and the Todd execution.

I highly loved Kreizman's 70th anniversary show, his reintro of Bill, anything he writers for Billy and Lizzie together, Tammy & Jonathan's deaths, the Gus/Harley breakup scene.

All of the hacks on today's shows have moments. Hell GH sometimes has months that are great.

But the sad fact is that they are moments. In the long scheme of things is that soaps are not consistent anymore. And that is what is aggravating and that is what I cannot excuse them for. And that is what I cannot stay in an overall positive mode about them.

The sad fact is that when you know they can do better which is seen by the moments, the weeks, or the month of greatness - it is hard to give them the benefit of the doubt when they just don't try.

That is why I can no longer give them a slide on things. If they would just try their best which you know they aren't doing, you could but when they don't you can't. I used to feel guilty about that but I no longer do.

As far as wanting the shows to be like they once were, I know some think I do but I really don't. I compare them to the soaps of old only in the sense of not wanting them to be like them in stories etc., but to be like them in balance and what a soap should be like.

Soaps today seem to be more concentrated on teh superficial - they want the actors and actresses that look the best; they want the best sets; innovative camera work, etc.

There is so much emphasis placed on this today and soaps were never that way. That is not what soaps are supposed to be about.

I want the soaps today to be about core families again, balanced between the ages, no one dominating story, more than one story going on, respect for history, - all that can be done and the shows not have to repeat stories and be just like they were in the 80's or the 90's.

And yes I do still recognize when things are good. It's just that they are so few and far between that it is just hard to care anymore.
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PhoenixRising05
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^Your right, Steve. Most of the time that is all a show gives us now..."moments." I have seen some shows in the last few years give us more then that for awhile but, as you said, it's inconsistent.

I think what Tom is saying and what I, personally, do involves just accepting the fact that we may never reach the high standard of drama we use to have. I'm not saying soaps never will but the odds are not in favor of it. I guess what I'm trying to say is I've lowered my standards. I don't blame anyone else that doesn't do that. They shouldn't have to. I'm just saying I have, personally. It sounds like Tom has too and he's just watching to be entertained without dissecting or thinking about how a show could be better and so on.

I used to only do this for Days and Passions but now I do for all shows, primetime and daytime. To be honest, they all have gone downhill in some way, shape, or form. TV, in general, has. It's just hard for me to quit watching and I guess I'm past the point of complaining. I think I did enough of that before I began posting on message boards like this a few years ago. Maybe that's why I'm always positive or optimistic. Maybe I'm just so desensitized at this point I just continue to watch and I find things more entertaining because I'm not expecting much. It seems Tom may have got to this point too. I know when Higley returned to Days, I dropped my expectations alot so maybe that is helping me.

As I said, I don't blame anyone that doesn't do this nor do I think anyone should. I can understand where people are coming from when they say they have a hard time watching many soaps right now or find them boring. I understand everyone is different. I think my feelings stem alot from the fact that I don't see ratings getting any better regardless of any regime changes or creative renaissances for soaps. I mean, even primetime ratings are down. I just think things are so different now that it won't make a difference. The audience finds other ways to watch TV (online, etc) and most of the audience doesn't even count in the ratings. Plus, people are just too busy so I've resigned myself to the situation that I may as well enjoy my soaps as long as I have them, even if they aren't giving me what I think is the best they can give me. Same goes for any primetime shows I love that are in danger. I guess i just feel like better to have them in some way then none at all and I think I'm just past the criticism point because I feel like it does nothing in the end. Even if TPTB listen, it won't do anything for the numbers so I may as well just enjoy and share that joy the show brings me with others and not waste my energy on explaining how something could be better or how bad something is.

This is just my feeling though and I think Tom was tapping into this sentiment a bit as well.
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Mason


IMO, fans should not only expect better, but we deserve better. Where do they think the ad revenue that's keeping them in business is coming from? Well, actually, I don't know what they're thinking anymore, but my point is that it comes from the fans. We have every right to expect them to please us. It's not our job to keep their incomes secure. It is their job to keep us entertained.
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Steve Frame
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I don't know maybe it is because I am older now and I know that the time we have on earth is short or something but I have just learned that time is a very precious commodity and there are way too many ways to be entertained to lower my standards just because someone is too lazy to do their jobs anymore.

I don't blame anyone who lowers their standards or enjoys what they enjoy but sorry what many are doing is what the executives and hacks want fans to do - lower their standards and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Like I said I appreciate Tom but if that is what he is getting at I don't agree at all. Why resign ourselves to the conclusion that soaps are never going to be great again and just accept what they give us. Hell no. That is lazy to me.

I agree with Mason - we don't just expect better we deserve better. There is nothing that I have done in my life that I have gotten credit for half way doing it right. None of my clients are going to say well Steve is never going to be as good as he once was so I'll just accept his mediocre work. Hell no they won't. Guess what they will find them another graphic designer who can do the work right.

Irna Phillips and many of the greats would never accept shoddy work and cancelled shows when they outlived their purposes. If the writers and producers are just too lazy to do better all the time then they don't deserve their jobs. They need to be fired, their shows cancelled and something else put into it's place.

Maybe I am more cynical than I used to be, or I'm just an old fart but that is the way I feel now. I am tired of having to give the shows the benefit of the doubt. I am tired of having to drop my level of intelligence to watch them. I am tired of having to stretch my imagination to forgive them for the stupid stuff they try to make me believe all the time.

There are way too many options out there to entertain me these days for me to drop my standards so that these idiots can keep their jobs when they can do better but refuse to. If they couldn't do any better I could understand and give them the benefit of the doubt but the "MOMENTS" tell me they can do better. They just refuse too or are too lazy too.
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PhoenixRising05
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Mason and Steve, I agree we deserve better. I'm not arguing that at all. It's just an individual thing, I guess. We all feel differently about it. I don't feel like I am lowering my intelligence to watch anything that I watch. I do lower my standards but I don't think that means I have to lower my intelligence.

I guess I'm just incapable of giving up any of my shows, no matter what. I'm just at the point where I want to be entertained and will take them any way I can get them because I know some day they won't be here and I really don't have any other ways to entertain me. Sure, I see movies, listen to music, etc but the soaps and primetime shows I watch are my escape from all the worries and stresses of real life so I just can't let them go that easily, no matter how lazy TPTB become. Plus, I don't have enough time outside of work and other responsibilities to take up any hobbies or whatever so watching what I watch fits in. I work it into my schedule and it gives me hours of escapism and that is all I want at this point in my life.

I guess we all have limits to what satisfies us. Some want more and rightfully so and some are willing to settle or just try to enjoy what they are given. Not everyone should and I would not expect that. I'm just saying that I and others do and I don't think it's a bad thing. I don't think it's falling into a trap set by TPTB because I still push for change. I'm writing letters and such all the time because IMO I don't feel not watching does anything because most of us don't count in the ratings anyway.

Like I said, it's up to the individual but I don't it's wrong to go either way with it.
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cubsgirl
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Mason
May 18 2008, 03:09 AM
IMO, fans should not only expect better, but we deserve better. Where do they think the ad revenue that's keeping them in business is coming from? Well, actually, I don't know what they're thinking anymore, but my point is that it comes from the fans. We have every right to expect them to please us. It's not our job to keep their incomes secure. It is their job to keep us entertained.

I agree with you. I am not just going to watch a show out of habit. I want to be entertained while I watch. I heard good things about OLTL. I tried it out and it entertains me each day and that keeps me watching. I have tried at times to get back into Days, but there is nothing there that makes me go that I can't wait to see the next episode. If I am not entertained, then I am not going to watch.

I love Tom because he is also a fan like all of us. He admits that there were mistakes while he was at Days. Sure some are HS's fault but others are TPTB. I see nothing wrong with writers like Tom breaking down that invisible wall. Many of us watch shows and we think we know what they were thinking. It would be interesting after the fact to see where the writer was going with it. I don't want writers to judge what they are doing based what people say online. But I think it would be interesting to know what they are thinking after the fact.
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Alligato
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I was not a fan of TC's while he worked at Days and thought that 2007 was an awful year in the DOOL history.
However, TC's comment:

"Is it possible we won't know when it happens that it's actually happening, because we're too busy finding things wrong to notice? And when we do acknowledge something is right, we'll always follow it up with "But I'm sure they'll screw that up too"?"

is right on the money.
Things get screwed up on shows (new writers vs. old, bad storylines, stories not working as planned, etc) and in order to fix them, sometimes we have to think outside the box. But if it works and it gets us to move on, some fans just can't help but to harp on the negative of the past, and won't let it go.

Soaps are a constant genre and they do have bad times, but I have found that even the best intentions to redirect have been met with cynicism and negativity, and not even a chance.
I think that soap fans are probably the most difficult fans to have because there is always a comparison to the "good old days" or a certain former writer, and there is no way to enjoy what is coming up if you are always thinking about the past.

Just my two cents.
I just get so tired of all the bitching! Isn't anyone happy with any soap?
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Mason


I don't think fans are really asking for that much. I mean, is it too much to expect that the people who are getting paid to entertain us actually do entertain us? Because I don't think so.
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Mason


Alligato
May 18 2008, 10:12 PM
Isn't anyone happy with any soap?

One Life to Live! :)
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King
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Yeah, I'm pretty happy with my soap lineup right now too.

I haven't been watching GH long enough to judge really.

And DAYS, I am loving.
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Jonatha


Tom's latest blog:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...logID=396367713
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Jonatha


Tom blogs about Hogan going to Y&R.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...logID=397449891

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Steve Frame
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I'm like the other person that posted on here somewhere. Why would Tom want to go back to Y&R when he said he never got the show when he was there before. What is going to change now unless he does feel that with Hogan there the show will change direction.

If Tom takes the job there I will be very disappointed in him when he said he didn't understand the show and didn't get it.
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