Some of my readers have asked a few questions on Crystal Chappell’s big announcement through blog comments, emails, and tweets on Twitter. I addressed how I felt mostly through Twitter, but I realize not everyone uses Twitter or follows me for that matter. Others have asked questions about my Otalia posts, and some have asked me if I would follow Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia’s careers once Guiding Light concludes this September. I decided to address all of these questions in this blog post, but I have also decided to discuss the state of soap operas as well. I feel like I can’t discuss the Crystal Chappell announcement and my Otalia posts without also discussing how I feel about soap operas. I think once you finish reading this post, you will have a clear indication on my thoughts.

Thoughts on Crystal Chappell’s Announcement

Around midnight on June 12, 2009, I discovered the news that Crystal Chappell was returning to Days of Our Lives as Dr. Carly Manning. Crystal Chappell currently plays Olivia Spencer on Guiding Light and is one-half of the super couple known as Otalia. I started seeing a flood of tweets on Twitter about the news, but I waited to read a story confirming the news. Once I had confirmation, the crushing pain I felt was absolutely startling and very unexpected. As I said on Twitter, it felt like something had pierced my heart once the news hit me.

At first, I felt denial and disbelief that this was happening. For weeks, I have been fighting to keep Otalia and Guiding Light alive. I knew that time was ticking on the clock towards September 18, which is the final airdate for the show on CBS. I knew that Guiding Light had not found a new home, but it didn’t stop me from trying my best to save it. Once I got past the denial and disbelief, sadness enveloped me because I knew that Otalia was as good as over.

As many of you are aware, Otalia is the story line that brought me back to Guiding Light for the first time since the early 90s. The storytelling and beautiful acting for Otalia restored my faith in the soap opera format. Over the past decade, I have become very jaded about soap operas; however, Otalia and Guiding Light was a shining beacon of light in the darkness known as daytime programming. The show is downright superior to any other soap opera on TV, and that is something I thought I’d never admit after I quit Guiding Light in 1993 and returned to it in 2009. While I watch and enjoy other story lines on Guiding Light, the Otalia story line is a huge reason why I watch the show.

Otalia was able to make me an emotionally invested fan like no other story line has ever done. I’ve loved many soap opera story lines over the years, but nothing has touched me like Otalia managed to do. The perfect storm of amazing writing, Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer), and Jessica Leccia (Natalia Rivera) was the most unexpected yet pleasant experience I’ve ever witnessed as a soap fan. When I started watching the Otalia story in January 2009, I never imagined how much I would grow to love it. My attachment, love, and affection for this story line snuck up on me, and I never saw my investment level for this story coming. After the stunningly beautiful Otalia love confession mid April 2009, I knew I was in deep. It was the reason why I took to my laptop and wrote my very first Otalia post on April 20, 2009. It was also the reason why I continued to write about Otalia every week.

Good story is one thing, but Otalia is superb storytelling. In all of my years, I have never seen anything that has affected me the way the Otalia story line has done. I have shows and story lines I love, but nothing has captured and captivated me the way Otalia did. Since I am jaded about TV shows (and movies) in general, when I see something amazing, I want others to know about it. It is why I constantly talk about Otalia on Twitter and with my friends and associates. It’s why I lose sleep Friday nights and go through my torturous process to write about Otalia every week. It’s why I call Guiding Light every day (several times a day) to express my love for the show and Otalia. It’s why I take the time to write appreciation letters to Guiding Light every week. Yes, I am emotionally invested and just downright appreciative to experience the beauty that is Otalia. That’s why I felt such sadness when I learned that Crystal Chappell was leaving after Guiding Light concludes on CBS.

I have to say that Crystal Chappell signing with Days of Our Lives was not really surprising to me when I first heard the news. I felt like she was saying goodbye in some of her tweets on Twitter and on her one of her blog posts. I also knew that as the clock ticked towards September with no TV deal in place, other shows would start to pick up talent from Guiding Light. However, I wanted to believe that Guiding Light would find a new home or that Otalia would spin off as a web series. As a fan, I felt there was a 50% chance of saving Guiding Light and Otalia. I just wanted to believe that “love could save the world” so I could continue to experience the beautiful experience that is Otalia. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

On June 12, 2009, I mourned the loss of Crystal Chappell from Guiding Light with other Otalia fans on Twitter most of the night. Like I stated previously, it was jarring how sad I felt that Crystal Chappell was leaving. I really didn’t expect to feel that kind of emotional response. Yes, I was happy for her because I do understand she has to work. I was just incredibly saddened that Otalia was ending.

Thoughts on My Otalia Posts

As I allowed the news to sink in, I remember feeling that I wanted to stop writing the Otalia posts for good. I had no idea how I could continue to write about Otalia knowing that it was definitely ending, regardless if Guiding Light finds a new home or not. Again, I always knew the end of Guiding Light was a very strong possibility, but I wanted to believe. I really did. While the emotions whirled in my head, I really felt like there was no way I could write about Otalia any further. My mental game and focus was off…way off. I could feel it. I felt like my world had spun off from the Milky Way into another galaxy. I wasn’t sure it was possible for me to view Otalia on my screen the same way. For a moment, I felt bad about getting other people deeply invested in Otalia with my weekly posts. I knew that my posts had pulled others in just as deeply. After receiving some tweets concerning my Otalia posts on June 12, I had a real understanding just how my words touched others.

As the night of June 12 wore on, I transitioned from sadness to the numb stage. At this point, I knew that I could never allow myself to get so emotionally invested in a story line again. I was having a particularly bad week of moodiness and depression the week of June 8 anyway. The news that Crystal Chappell was signing with Days of Our Lives kept me in that moody, depressed state of mind because of the unexpected sadness of the news. I just tried to stop feeling anything else at that point. Considering the week I was having, I knew it was going to be a struggle writing the Otalia post for the week of June 8. After realizing that Otalia was over, I felt like I didn’t know how I would manage to get my head together and analyze footage for the Otalia post. Part of me was resigned to not writing it and telling everyone that I couldn’t write about Otalia anymore. Seriously, I knew this news was going to block me mentally from being effective in writing about Otalia. Then something happened.

Oddly enough, I moved through the numb stage rather quickly. Once I slept after the news broke about Crystal Chappell, I woke up at the acceptance stage. I really didn’t expect to get to that place as fast as I did. I think part of it was knowing that this was always a strong possibility, and I just accepted the reality that I tried to keep hidden after CBS cancelled Guiding Light. So I just got to a point where I said to myself, “It’s happened. Otalia is over in September, so just enjoy what’s left.” I got past it and tried to move on. I knew many of my Twitter friends who were Otalia fans weren’t at the level of acceptance yet, but I tried to show everyone that I was forging ahead as planned. I decided that at the very least, I could try to find it within myself to write about Otalia that night. The week of June 8 for Otalia was a beautiful week, and I wanted to try and write about it. I still felt it would be difficult, which is why I started analyzing Otalia footage a lot earlier than planned.

Sometimes writing the Otalia posts are easy, and sometimes writing the posts are hard. My Twitter followers who follow my writing adventures throughout the night are aware of what I go through to write these Otalia posts. However, I have to confess that my Otalia writing session for June 12-June 14 was the most difficult time I’ve ever had writing about my favorite duo. When I first started analyzing footage, I looked at Crystal Chappell, and all I could think about was that she was leaving, that she would not be Olivia Spencer anymore. When I looked at Jessica Leccia, all I could think about was that she would be without Crystal Chappell assuming Guiding Light finds a new home. I tried to get those thoughts out of my head, but it was very difficult to do so. As a result, I spent more time re-watching the Otalia scenes for the week of June 8 more than I’ve ever watched footage in preparing for an Otalia post. I had moments where I felt like this wasn’t going to work for me. I just couldn’t analyze anything without letting the reality that Otalia was over affect me when I re-watched their scenes. I thought I was going to be in some real trouble that night; however, I kept trying and finally stopped thinking about the end of Otalia. I started writing the post on June 12 and didn’t finish until about 2:30 a.m. on June 14. Granted there was a lot to discuss with four days of Otalia scenes, but I also had to contend with my initial struggles when reviewing the footage. Still, I could feel that I was crafting something really good and something special. I am always a better writer when I’m a bit depressed, and my Otalia post for June 14 was no exception. Yes, it was more torturous than any other Otalia post I’ve written to date, but it is also one of my favorite posts to date. I knew after I finished writing it and posting it to my site that I had to continue writing about Otalia to the very end. It is still a story line worth writing about. Additionally, I felt like if I could write an Otalia post that was as difficult as the June 14 one, then I could continue to write about them. Knowing that, I am here to say that my Otalia posts shall continue until Guiding Light ends it.

Since my June 14 Otalia post, writing about them has become easier, yet it’s still difficult for me. There are many reasons for that, but it mainly concerns the fact that I know this beautiful ride will end September 18. I am a bit saddened by that, and I am still mourning the loss.

Thoughts on the State of Soap Operas

My maternal grandmother raised my brothers and me on soap operas, and I know this genre like the back of my hand. I was a CBS soap watcher because that’s what my maternal grandmother watched, but I branched out into other soaps during my teenage years. As a result, I have watched several soaps over the years:

• The Young & the Restless
• Capitol
• The Bold & the Beautiful
• As the World Turns
• Guiding Light
• Generations
• One Life to Live
• Days of Our Lives
• Passions
• Port Charles
• All My Children

There was a time when I spent approximately 3-4 hours of my day watching soaps. For the soaps I had no time for during weekdays, I spent my Saturdays watching the recorded episodes in a daylong soap opera fest. I was just that invested in soap operas because the writing and the story lines were so good. I was a committed fan because soaps were exceptional in the 80s and early 90s. However, things started going downhill by the late 90s. I noticed that the soap opera genre entered a recession after 2000, which has become a great depression for the past nine years. My soap opera viewing decreased over the years, and as of today, I only watch two soap operas: The Young & the Restless and Guiding Light. When the urge hits me, I tune into Days of Our Lives to watch Safe (Sami & Rafe), but I only watch their scenes. I fast-forward through everything else when I watch the show online; the Safe story line is the only thing I like on Days of Our Lives. Unfortunately, I have a problem when I watch other soaps now. Nothing compares to Guiding Light in regards to the quality of the storytelling.

For me, Guiding Light is so superior to other soap operas because it is the one soap that’s doing soap opera right in every way. I’ll grant that The Young & the Restless is really good, and they are writing stories using the classic soap opera format but not like Guiding Light. Since May 2009, my love for Guiding Light has grown so much that I am actually behind on The Young & the Restless and Safe scenes on Days of Our Lives. It’s just hard to transition from the art that is Guiding Light (especially Otalia) to…everything else. Now that I know that the light truly is growing dimmer for Guiding Light and the end of Otalia is upon me, I realized something. I cannot watch soap operas anymore…at least not with the current writing on other shows.

Yes, I am watching The Young & the Restless, and I really do enjoy the show. However, I’m not that attached to it. Seriously, I could stop watching today. I’m already behind anyway and haven’t seen back episodes in a couple of weeks. I don’t miss it the way I would if this were Guiding Light, which is must see, every day TV for me. Yes, I have said I shall follow Crystal Chappell to Days of Our Lives, and I will follow Jessica Leccia wherever she ends up. I will support these two wonderful actresses because of the beautiful experience they have given me as Otalia. However, I’m going to be real honest. Unless I see some out of the ballpark, grand slam writing, I will only watch their scenes and nothing else. When I tuned into Days of Our Lives for the first time since the mid 90s, I saw just how far that show has fallen. It’s not the worst soap on daytime, but there is nothing interesting on it aside from the Safe story line. I want to believe the writers will do right by Crystal Chappell when she arrives. I really do, but I have my doubts. Why do I have doubt? It’s real simple; daytime is in shambles.

Outside of Guiding Light and The Young & the Restless, the soap opera genre is in terrible shape. In fact, it is dying. I have been watching this slow, excruciating death for nearly a decade, but the past few years have been extremely hard as a soap fan. There was a time when I would defend soaps whenever a friend or associate would ask me, “How can you watch that garbage?” Now, I can’t bother to defend some of the stuff I have seen on soap operas the past few years. And you know what? I don’t defend it because a lot of the stuff going on in soap operas is downright awful. The constant story line recycling, rewriting of history, and destruction of characters is such a huge turn off for me. It bothered me enough that I quit As the World Turns, The Bold & the Beautiful, and All My Children within the past three years. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I started having too many “What the frak?” moments watching these soaps in particular. However, I’m also aware that “What the frak?” moments are occurring on the soaps I’m not watching. The writing, storytelling, and the things characters do were just illogical. I felt like I was being treated like I’m stupid with ridiculous storylines and that I don’t understand how characters should act. As a soap fan, there are things that I need and want if I will continue with this genre.

Needful Things #1

I need new story lines that build from past events or recent events. There can be gold in mining through a character’s history and finding ways to introduce new story based on historical events. Looking back to the past to develop the future is not a bad thing, especially for characters that have been around for a decade or longer. My youngest brother and I were able to develop story lines for The Bold & the Beautiful (just for fun) on characters’ back history that can be told 6 months-1 year. If we can do it, head writers and executive producers can do it, too.

Needful Things #2

I need the classic soap opera storytelling that was successful, enjoyable, and engaging in the 80s and 90s. I truly believe that a return to the glory days of soap operas will bring lost soap opera fans back home, which would boost the ratings. Those old fans are still out there, and a good story told through classic soap opera format will bring them back. Guiding Light’s use of the classic soap opera storytelling and pacing with the Otalia story line brought me back to their show.

Soap operas are generally not going to attract new soap fans unless old fans bring them in. To me, soap operas are passed down through the generations, like a family heirloom. For example, soap operas were passed down to my brothers and me from our maternal grandmother and our mother to a lesser degree. Otherwise, we would have never watched them. “If you build it, they will come.” When I say “they,” I mean old soap fans that in turn will pass down soaps to newer generations…if it’s good.

Needful Things #3

I need carefully told, engaging story lines that have direction and are thought out (logically) by head writers. There are times when I feel like I’m watching story lines that were thrown together without any direction of where it will end. I watch as story lines changes mid-stream more often than not, and it looks like the head writers are writing things on the fly. As someone who writes, I know head writers might not always know the ending, but at least plot the story far enough to come up with an end game. To put it simply, if you’re planning a road trip from Florida to California, have a GPS navigator and map in hand. If you don’t know what California city you want to visit yet, you’ll have enough time to figure it out on the road before you reach the state line.

The breakneck pacing of story lines many soaps adopted just doesn’t work for me, and I am puzzled by the need for speed. Why do you need to tell a story line in two months or less? There is nothing wrong with stretching a story line out 6 months-1 year (or longer). Unless you have a cancellation warning glaring in your face, there is plenty of time to tell a long-term story; there are five episodes per week. I can be a patient soap fan if I’m watching great writing and acting (i.e. the Otalia story line), and I know I’m not alone in saying I can be patient.

Needful Things #4

I need the writing for soap operas to climb out of the toilet. The writing on the majority of soaps is mostly uninspiring, and I feel like there is more recycling occurring rather than actual writing. The dialog can be illogical because characters say something totally opposite of what they expressed weeks, months, or a year ago. As a writer, the illogical writing and character behavior bothers me a great deal. However, I know illogical writing and character behavior also bother long time soap fans that are non-writers. It unsettles me (and other fans I’ve spoken with) to watch soaps and feel like the writers don’t know the characters better than I do; they should.

What a Soap Fan Wants #1

I want more diversity in soap operas. When I say diversity, I’m not just talking about adding more Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, Native Americans, etc. to the cast. That needs to happen, but that’s not enough. I’m referring to adding lesbian, gay, and bi-sexual characters as well. For instance, The Bold & the Beautiful is a show about (or use to be about) high fashion, yet there isn’t a single gay/lesbian character on the show.

In terms of diversity, I would also like to see families that represent common, every day people. Not everyone lives in a mansion and can dress up in fur coats and jewels. Soaps should show people who are poor, middle class, and upper class. I know soaps do have different class variations (barely), but they mainly focus on middle class to upper class characters. I like to see a family who struggles when they are poor and rise up (over time). I would  like to see a family who might be poor and stay poor, yet they are happy because they have all the riches in the world – love. Additionally, I would also like to see an upper class family lose everything they have and sink down to the bottom into poverty. This is reality. Show it to me.

What a Soap Fan Wants #2

I want head writers to sit down with the actors and give them a general outline of story lines. I’m aware that some shows have had head writers who never interact with the actors, and there are some head writers who do talk to the actors about story lines. Regardless, I am tired of watching actors convey a character one way and then convey it a different way because they weren’t given direction on how the story plays out. A perfect example of this is the Sick story line (Rick & Steffy) on The Bold & the Beautiful. I felt like Kyle Lowder (Rick Forrester) had no direction in his story line with Steffy when I watched him (before I quit the show). As a result, he played the character in a yo-yo like manner, which isn’t his fault.

If the head writers sit down with the actors, they could also come up with potential story lines. An actor who has portrayed a character for a long time might have some good ideas about using history to develop new story lines.

What a Soap Fan Wants #3

I want better actors on soaps. The acting on soap operas ranges from “Oh my God, this is magnificent!” to “Get him or her off my screen cause I can’t frakin stand it!” The days where soaps had good actors (or even performers that can act) from top to bottom no longer exists. Many soap opera actors were theater-trained actors, which is why the acting was so good in the “old days.” Now, soap operas have become pre-school for green actors; believe me, it shows. That said, I don’t mind watching inexperienced actors (who can act) grow and develop, but I’ve seen some performers on soaps who look like they’ve never acted a day in their life. Word of advice: there is nothing wrong with doing theater for a few years before trying out for a role on TV. Trust me, theater experience is a huge plus (i.e. Bryce Dallas Howard in The Village, which was her first film ever).

What a Soap Fan Wants #4

I want soaps to not ignore older characters, and I want head writers to develop story lines for these characters. As children, my brothers and I loved watching the older characters. Some of my personal favorites as a child included:

• Katherine Chancellor, Jill Abbott, Nikki & Victor Newman, and John Abbott (The Young & the Restless)
• Stephanie Forrester and Sally Spectra (The Bold & the Beautiful)
• Bob & Kim Hughes, Susan Stewart, John Dixon, Lucinda Walsh, and Lisa Grimaldi, (As the World Turns)
• Alexandra Spaulding (mainly the Beverlee McKinsey portrayal of the character), Ed & Maureen Bauer, Roger Thorpe, and Lillian Raines (Guiding Light)

Many soaps inexplicably think that younger soap fans don’t want to see story lines for older characters. In discussing this issue with my brothers, we agreed that we enjoyed watching story lines for older characters when we were kids far more than story lines for teenage/young adult characters. I can attest that when I was home during the summers from school, I was a bit frustrated with teen story lines. I didn’t care for those characters; I wanted to watch the older characters. Why? It was because the older characters were more interesting and had more going on than typical teenage issues. As a child, I’d rather watch Alexandra Spaulding vs. Blake Thorpe or Katherine Chancellor vs. Jill Abbott fights any day of the week than a teen story line. Soap opera executives and head writers: trust me when I say that young people gravitate towards the older characters. Write for them!

Over the past several months, I got what I wanted and needed in Guiding Light and The Young & the Restless. Those shows made me happy as a soap opera fan; however, some of the soaps I have tuned into recently aren’t even close in terms of quality. Quality, among other things, is a huge factor why many soap fans have stopped watching daytime. I’m sure many daytime programming executives ask where the soap fans have gone. It’s real simple. They have gone to primetime shows where they get better daytime drama than the majority of soap operas. I am one of those fans who seek primetime shows for daytime, soap opera-like drama.

As a soap fan, I am tired and weary. I cannot invest myself in a genre that doesn’t want to save itself. I honestly have better things to do with my time than waste time suffering through unwatchable material. Unless Guiding Light is picked up, I will be down to one soap opera that I watch in its entirety – The Young & the Restless. I am already a “scene watcher” for Safe on Days of Our Lives, and I will be a “scene watcher” for Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia’s characters (assuming Leccia remains on soaps). It’s sad that I’ve gotten to this point. I was once a champion of the soap opera genre, and I faithfully watched all of my beloved soaps without missing an episode (if I could help it). I couldn’t wait to get home from school or after work to watch “my stories” for hours each day. At this point, the only show that makes me run home in anticipation is the Guiding Light.  I’m not on that level for The Young & the Restless, even though I really enjoy it.

There are many things wrong with the soap opera genre. Like Daytime Confidential expresses through their podcasts, I  just don’t understand this industry. How can people hire executives/head writers that wreck one show and bring them on board to damage another show? It makes no sense to me. Like Daytime Confidential, I agree that the only logical conclusion is that the networks want to quit the soap opera genre. Driving soaps out of business for cheaper programming is the only explanation that makes sense. Cheaper programming isn’t always quality programming.

To the soap opera industry, I would like to depart these final words. If you really do care about saving your shows, be radical. Take risks. Listen and take heed to some of the suggestions I’ve written in this blog post. Hire writers outside of the soap opera industry rather than hiring the same people over and over again. They could bring a fresh perspective to soaps. Hire soap fans who are writers to write your shows as head writers. Soap fans care about this genre, and they are passionate about the shows they love. If they were writing the shows, they would give their all because they care on a deeper level than you cannot imagine. I also want to give the soap opera industry this other piece of advice; executives, be executives and stay out of the creative and writing process. Just write the checks. If you’ve never written anything in your life, you don’t need to “guide” head writers in the development of story lines. I’m a writer who knows very little about directing, so I wouldn’t tell a director how to direct a scene.

Sadly, I know I’m being totally naive in my requests, but in a perfect world, these things could repair the soap industry. I know no one will listen to a lone blogger who’s only been a soap fan since I was toddler. However, it would be nice if someone, anyone heard my cries.

Save the soaps. Don’t let them die. Bring me back to your shows. Show me that you care. Write good stories. Make me come back. Give me a reason to remain a soap fan. Do I continue playing for the team, or do I retire my jersey and reflect on memories? What I’m simply saying is this: give a good cot damn!

That’s all.

Tags: crystal chappell, entertainment, guiding light, jessica leccia, otalia, soap operas, tv

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 8:08 pm and is filed under Commentary, Life, Play. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.