I wouldn't be doing my duty as an unemployed person if I didn't provide a "state of the soaps" type of address to my dozen of readers. Although it's obviously not terribly elite, watching daytime TV is a key component to being out of work. And, in fact, many days trying to find something useful to watch on TV in the daytime hours can be more trying than any job. Truthfully, I don't watch much TV during the day - just Days of our Lives [or DOOL as we fans like to call it] and sometimes repeats of Beverly Hills 90210, which many people also consider to be a soap. I've been watching DOOL since 1997, when I moved to Toronto and lived in residence with people who talked it up and finally sold me on it after telling me the tale of Marlena being possessed by the devil. That seemed like gold, baby, gold! to me. Since moving out of residence in 2000 I've rarely missed an episode, unless I was on holiday. And while I frequently hate the show, the characters have become like family members one doesn't really like...I just feel obligated to spend time with them.
Lately, DOOL has been sucking even more than usual. Their current writer is just awful on so many levels and while I certainly don't expect anything too, too grand out of a soap...they could @ least try to have something compelling going on. The truth is, in my experience, soaps just aren't very soapy. There's no big hair, no excessive outfits and crazy parties, no aliens [okay, not anymore], no possessions and they even got rid of the dude with the eyepatch. What there currently is: lame business storylines, one case of explosive amnesia [literally], a baby switch [of course] and someone's psychic premonitions are destroying their marriage [okay, suddenly it's sounding really soapy]. But mostly, it's just so darn sexist. And, okay - I know, I know...it's a soap - I should really choose my battles elsewhere and such...but I want to know why...
Soaps are meant to be pure fantasy, right? So why do the fine folks who make soaps seem to believe that we women want men who will grab us roughly, who will insist that we spend time with them [when we have other things to do] and not let us out of their sight until we run off with them, who will tell us who we can/can't be friends with, who will manipulate us in a professional setting through the use of emotional blackmail, etc., etc., etc. It never ends. And it's damn sure not sexy. For some reason today DOOL was pushing all my buttons. Each scene contained flagrantly sexist behaviour/attitudes: 1. a formerly awesome villainess who kicked ass @ business was cowed by her domineering fiancee into agreeing to cut all ties with her only friend in town; 2. two women snipe @ each other and insult each other using fat jokes/slut jokes [okay, I might have laughed @ one of them]; 3. numerous references to a woman "having it all" when they are married, with a kid and staying @ home; 4. a woman being physically forced to spend time with her supposed soulmate [he repeatedly grabs her, kisses her against her will] who badgers her for her [admittedly dopey] spiritual beliefs - she is so weak and fragile minded as a woman - only he knows what's best for her. The thing is - DOOL's head writer is a woman, the show is targeted towards women...why do they hate women so much? If it's fantasy, why can't there be competing female CEOs? Or men who love to stay home with the kids and cook? Or even bad girls who kick ass and take names? It's so frustrating. And I'm fully aware as a dedicated viewer I'm part of the problem. Apparently soaps are going the way of the dodo though, so I might not have long to bitch about this.
On a purely superficial note - pretty much everyone's hair on DOOL looks like utter and complete ass. EJ and Nicole used to be this hot, hot, hot couple...but now they look so terrible. Words can't describe his hair, but his new veneers are Hilary Duff-ing all over the place...and her hair looks like it was coloured by 13-year old me with Sun-In. And, due to budget constraints I think every character shares a communal mobile phone. It's a big, clunky flip phone. The CEOs don't use BlackBerry type devices. Even crackheads on the subway have BlackBerries these days. How expensive can a faux BlackBerry be [or maybe the actors might have one?]? Oh soaps...where has your glamour gone?
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I don't think I've ever watched a complete episode of a daytime soap opera!
ReplyDeleteI know...they are pretty terrible. I've managed to face down many other TV addictions and shameful pop culture guilty pleasures. The fact that I don't even get much pleasure out of watching really says something...I have no idea why I still watch. Like I said, the characters are like family...family that I don't really like, but *have* to like because they are family. Also, it gives me something else to watch during the day that's not CNN.
ReplyDeleteLOL--I still love watching all the old 90210's from Seasons 1-4 (before it became overly dramatic). I agree with you about Days's....it's terrible. When I work from home I watch it then ask myself why I just wasted my time. These days I enjoy watching Guiding Light and The Young and The Restless. Both have awesome storylines!
ReplyDeleteI've been catching up on some 90210s that I haven't seen [although I watched it in the original run - maybe I don't remember all the finer plot points so they seem new to me - with my aging brain and all].
ReplyDeleteI'm glad someone else can commiserate over how terrible DOOL has gotten in the last year [not that it was anything fantastic before that, mind]. I won't give up though. I'm not really a soaps person so it's not worthwhile to start another one...it gives me hope that DOOL might get better - maybe they can snag a good writer from one of the others!