Saving Soaps: Old Soap Intros.

T.V. was my babysitter growing up. And that wasn't a bad thing because there were good quality shows for children back then. Did I watch any of those types of shows? Nope. I watched soap operas! I used to have a soap for every hour and even tape them so I could watch them when I got home. I can actually trace pivotal moments in my life by what happened on various soaps. My hardest cry ever was when Jessica died on One Life to Live. I cried for (I kid you not) two full hours. And I honestly feel like when I watch soaps, I escape into this alternate world where the people are real. Even now, my mom and I will have actual discussions about The Young and The Restless and discuss the story lines and characters as if they were real. Or we will go out, but have to get back by 4 because "Y&R is on and it's getting good. Victor knows where Adam is".

Soaps have long been an integral part of my life. Sadly, I don't really watch them as much as I should (save for Y&R) because..well..they haven't really been all that good. What makes things sadder is that any thing that was actually good has been canceled and are now a part of my distant path (GL, AW, Passions). As I watch the landscape of daytime soaps being replaced with trashy talk shows, I wonder what it is that is not connecting viewers with the program?

Sure, there is the case that women work and don't have time. But there are a great number of viewers that are at home like SAHM's, mat leave women, women home sick, unemployed, seniors etc. So why are they not watching anymore?

This week I am going to explore what is happening and what we can do to save our soaps.

The biggest theme that I will have is that soaps today have lost their connection with the past. In the rush to be modern and current, they have strayed so far from what it is that we LOVED about soaps. We loved soaps when they were connected with the past; when family connections mattered. When the world around us buzzed on fast and furiously around us, we could trust that our soaps would be there with the familiar. Anytime you mess with the familiar to cater to the fickle, you alienate those that actually care.

The first sign I noticed when soaps were moving away from their roots was when they started messing with Intros. Intros are the hook. They are the song you hear when you are in another room that is so familiar, you stop what you are doing to watch. Say what you will, but there is something to be said for the simple intro with the classic music.

Here is an example. Let's look at All My Children. For decades, the intro was this great musical intro with a simple sound. The view was of a family album. You could imagine that a grandma was sitting there looking at pics of her family and that for the next hour, you the viewer would be welcomed into their little world to view their family. Have a look.



Stunning isn't it. Doesn't the music evoke some sort of passion? Now let's flash forward to the latest intro (which is one of dozens of changes they have made since they dropped the above, which goes to show they just can't find the right tone to lure a viewer in).



This epileptic graphic vomit of an intro has pictures falling interspersed with what I assume to be the auditions for America's Next Top Model. WTH? Like what is that? It's in your face, not inviting, non-familiar. There is nothing that makes this intro stand out from the other flashy shows in the same time slot.

I think that those that make soaps should take a long hard look at their Intros and try to figure out what message they are conveying. Warm and inviting goes a long way.