Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, Daytime

Given the topic I last blogged about and the lack of activity here in the week since, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd all been picturing me in a padded room somewhere, rocking gently back and forth as I mumbled the words to Kish's song, My Confession, over and over again.

Or perhaps you'd envisioned a suicide leap from a bridge, with my final words being a shouted curse upon the idiots who are running ABC Daytime.

The truth is much less dramatic: I've just been very busy. I wanted to write last Saturday, in particular, when I read the very ironic news that One Life to Live had just won a GLAAD Award mere days after announcing that they were writing off their gay characters for, essentially, being too gay.

I definitely wanted to write when someone had the nerve to spread rumors- which I feel were obviously meant as damage control for the network- that the guys had been let go for 'performance issues' and their personal behavior! This was in direct contrast with what had been said at the time the news broke and with the fact that both men have been pre-nominated for Daytime Emmys for said performances!

Brett Claywell responded to the rumors, saying:

"Scott and I treated each scene and each moment with the dedication and respect it deserved, and poured our hearts into those roles. Any stories to the contrary, especially this one, are malicious and offensive. Every scene that was filmed is a testament to that work ethic."

Scott Evans had something to say as well, via his Twitter account:

"Such a bummer what all of this is turning into. I will continue to respect the decision but will remain unhappy with the tactics."

What a shame that such an incredible, groundbreaking, and very beautiful story had to be marred in this way because the idiots in charge at ABC daytime let their homophobia show and then frantically tried to backtrack when the bad publicity started rolling in!

Brett and Scott are both incredible actors and they did such amazing work on One Life to Live. I have no doubt that we'll be seeing great things from both of them in the future, whereas daytime soaps are clearly doomed.

They're being controlled by these idiots who choose to ignore the future (such as viewers who like LGBT stories, who tend to be younger and could become long term viewers) to calm the fears of those who are quickly becoming the past (such as the older viewers who scream about 'immoral' characters- but just the gay ones, not the rapists and killers and hetero adulterers- on their daytime soaps and who, let's be honest, will be dying out within the next few decades anyway).

As for me, I'll stick with Kish until the end (and I'll write up their remaining episodes, including those that I've missed in the past week), but then I'm done with One Life to Live, and likely with network soaps in general, though I will probably follow Nuke (I'm very behind on them, sorry!) until As the World stops Turning in September, and I will always watch Days of Our Lives to some extent, since it's the soap I grew up with.

It's becoming clear, though, that the future of soaps isn't going to be on daytime TV. Even when talented actors and writers are telling great stories (which is very rare to begin with these days), the idiots in charge shit all over it. They've killed any chance the medium has of surviving in its present form.