Last week, ABC-Disney made the much anticipated announcement that General Hospital would remain on their daytime lineup. The show who ended up on the chopping block to make way for Katie Couric's fall talk show? The Revolution. The ratings dud which debuted in January replacing the beloved One Life To Live will air until July. It seems Anne Sweeney kept her word and the show with the highest ratings remained on the schedule. A big congratulations to all who worked so hard to keep GH on the air. But we still have much to do if we want to ensure the show stays where it is past April 2013. We must continue to WATCH!!! Ratings are our only ally at this point. We urge everyone who is a GH fan to watch no matter what and help our soap beat Katie in the ratings once her show debuts in September. We also want fans to contact their affiliates to let them know that GH is the only ABC daytime show they watch and only advertisers during GH will be seen by viewers.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Save The Soap Genre!
Head over to www.savethesoapgenre.com and join us in our efforts to save the soap genre. This website is a one-stop place on the web where you can tell us what you're doing everyday to help with the fight. You will find several online forms designed to give us feedback on the demand for a dedicated cable soap channel, issues with DVR recording of GH and cable/satellite provider responses to the cancellation of SoapNET. You can also find a host of pre-made tweets ready for you to simply click and tweet. It's a fantastic resource for ANYONE willing to lend a hand and support the efforts to save the soap genre!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Operation "Anne Sweeney"
Caling ALL General Hospital fans - Operation "Anne Sweeney" is under way. Sweeney, head of ABC Television, made a promise to soap fans that the show with the most viewers on ABC's daytime line-up would remain on the network. GH is currently in the lead over ratings flop "The Revolution". Now is the time to hold Ms. Sweeney to her word. The following message is from RHeart Radio's Chrissy Piccolo:
♥TIME TO BE HEARD!♥
RHeart Radio has been asked to head up the 'Operation Anne Sweeney Campaign' within the soap movement. Time to hold Sweeney accountable and DEMAND she stick to her words "the show with the most eyes stays" on their Daytime line up! With General Hospital on the chopping block, it's up to us to let the Disney Board of Directors and ABC affiliates know we will out Sweeney, ABC & Disney as frauds if she doesn't follow through with her statement. Both The Chew & The Revolution are tanking in the ratings and GH is still ahead of them by almost a million viewers.
Join the fight! Send flyers to the Disney Board of Directors, ABC affiliates, Bob Iger & Anne Sweeney!
1. Print flyers: http://sudz.tv/content/sweeney-woman-her-word-campaign
2. List of Board Members: http://sudz.tv/content/board-directors-disney-inc
3. List of ABC affiliates: http://sudz.tv/local-affiliates
*Call your local affiliate and ask them:
1. Is GH on their daytime line up as of September?
2. What has ABC told them about GH?
3. Are they planning to air Katie Couric?
4. If not, what are they airing at the 3pm(est) hour?
*I need to keep track of what you do, so please email me at RHeart@sudz.tv: (pls call during the 2-3pm(est) hour)
1. City you mailed flyers from
2. Who you mailed flyers to: ie: board members, affiliates
3. How many flyers you mailed
4. The date they were mailed
Please help us attain our goal- to bombard the Disney Board of Directors, Bob Iger & Anne Sweeney BEFORE their stockholders meeting in Kansas City next month. I want board members to question Iger and Sweeney on what the plan is for their Daytime line up and realize they will face a PR nightmare if Sweeney goes back on her word and cancels GH!
Thanks guys!
Chrissy :)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
A New Day on General Hospital
On January 9th, the "Age of Cartini" began on General Hospital. What the arrival of Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati, formally in charge at the now cancelled One Life To Live, holds for our beloved GH I do not know. I see them neither as devils nor saviors. I see them as what they are - professionals with a proven track record. I am cautiously optimistic for GH's future. General Hospital has THE BEST CAST anywhere on daytime television. Period. If the head writer can take the helm of this sinking ship and tighten things up while at the same time utilizing the talents of the amazing actors that comprise the cast, GH has a chance to shine. Shine as it hasn't in over a decade.
As fans of this iconic series, we have a DUTY to protect its legacy while continuing our fight to save it from cancellation. If General Hospital is indeed cancelled on ABC as many involved in the genre believe, it is imperative that we do all we can to help the show end with a bang and make it desirable for other production companies.
In our eyes, "Luke and Laura" will NEVER die. They will NEVER be gone from our hearts. They and the many characters and story lines that have graced our screens over 4 + decades will remain part of our collective psyche.
I urge ALL soap fans, regardless of whether you watch GH or not, to the support the show now more than ever. We owe EVERY soap out there and all the cast and crews working hard to support them. It's not about playing favorites at this point, it's about saving the genre as a whole. THE BIGGER PICTURE IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT HERE. There are MANY things you can do to support all the soaps. Do your part and together we have a real chance at preserving an American institution.
As fans of this iconic series, we have a DUTY to protect its legacy while continuing our fight to save it from cancellation. If General Hospital is indeed cancelled on ABC as many involved in the genre believe, it is imperative that we do all we can to help the show end with a bang and make it desirable for other production companies.
In our eyes, "Luke and Laura" will NEVER die. They will NEVER be gone from our hearts. They and the many characters and story lines that have graced our screens over 4 + decades will remain part of our collective psyche.
I urge ALL soap fans, regardless of whether you watch GH or not, to the support the show now more than ever. We owe EVERY soap out there and all the cast and crews working hard to support them. It's not about playing favorites at this point, it's about saving the genre as a whole. THE BIGGER PICTURE IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT HERE. There are MANY things you can do to support all the soaps. Do your part and together we have a real chance at preserving an American institution.
Become a SWAN (Stand With Agnes Nixon): Facebook Group | Twitter: @SWANS4NIXON
Fill out a cable coupon to show demand for a dedicated soap cable network
Call the GH comment line and write to the executive producer and head writer about your favorite characters and what you would like to see on your screen. Let your voices be heard.
Friday, January 13, 2012
A Fan's Story: What "One Life To Live" Meant To Me
It was on a cold Sunday morning in November 28 years ago when my kind, bubbly and beautiful mom left me to pass on to "Another World". I was 11 and simply didn't get it. Couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I would never see my mother again. Only a week later, I missed her terribly. She was MY "Guiding Light", my moral compass, my everything. I had MANY idols growing up, but SHE was my ULTIMATE idol. Ever since I could remember, I wanted to be just like my mom. And now she was gone.... Who would get me through the daily agony of not having her in my life. That "WHO" came by way of the soap genre. Soaps became my daily companion. I welcomed them with open arms.
When my mother came to the United States at the age of 12, she could not speak A WORD OF ENGLISH. Guess who taught her? Yep, you guessed it, SOAPS!!! She watched Search For Tomorrow, Dark Shadows and Guiding Light, but it was General Hospital that made her a bona fide soap fan. One of my favorite memories with my mother was sitting on our green shaggy 70s-style rug on a cold November afternoon and watching Luke and Laura tie the knot as Helena Cassadine (a.k.a. the incomparable Elizabeth Taylor) cursed the star-crossed lovers from afar. I remember being amazed that Liz was even on GH, but my mom said "Honey, she's a GH fan!!! EVERYONE is a GH fan". Well, maybe not everyone was, but I think she wanted to believe that people could at least appreciate the amazing stories that soaps produced on a daily basis. My mom was crushed when Genie Francis departed the show in 1981 and was so happy to hear she would return in late 1983. She died two weeks before Francis returned and Luke and Laura were finally reunited. When Luke and Laura embraced in the gardens of the mayor's mansion and sealed their reunion with a kiss, I cried. A lot. Not just because they were finally together again, but because I knew my mom would've been sitting right next to me, hugging me and squealing like a lovelorn teenager if she were still alive.
Fast forward 10 years to another cold afternoon. I sat and watched as the beautiful Megan, Viki's daughter, died of lupus on One Life To Live. I LOVED MEGAN!!! For many reasons I will not go into here, I loved that character. In fact, she was probably my favorite character ever on OLTL. But her death, THAT storyline has been the most important soap storyline in my life. You see, it was lupus that snuffed out my mother's light on this Earth. It was lupus that ended a beautiful and vibrant 30 year old woman's life. It was LUPUS that stole my mother from me. As I watched Megan die of lupus, I literally relived the agony of losing my mom ALL OVER AGAIN. I was pissed that my favorite character was gone. I was livid that my favorite soap couple of the time, Megan and Jake, were being cruelly separated. But MOSTLY I was pissed because this television show was making me cry like a little baby, forcing me to relive something I had not dealt with for 10 years!!! And then the scenes after Megan's death when Viki locks herself with Megan in the hospital room aired, and I just sat there in silence. Not crying, not angry, just numb. It was then that I realized death is just the national end to life, that life goes on EVEN after we lose the ones we love. It took watching Viki grieving for her daughter for me to FINALLY grieve for my mother and accept that I was lucky to have had her in my life, even if only for 11 short years. From that day on I truly UNDERSTOOD the importance of soaps in our lives. They're our family, our friends, our educators, our psychologists, our doctors, OURSELVES! They maybe crazy and fantastical at times, but they are a reflection of society. The good, the bad, the ugly and THE BEST OF US.
I will FOREVER be grateful to Agnes Nixon and the cast and crew of One Life To Live for being my spiritual healers when I didn't even know I needed healing. For those who believe soap don't matter, all I can say to that is THEY DO MATTER. They matter to me. They mattered to my mother. They matter to thousands of other viewers. If you don't believe me, that's just tough cookies. But my story is just one of MANY stories out there. Every soap fan has one of their own. I hope others begin to share theirs so that, collectively, our stories make for ONE HELL OF A SOAP OPERA. We only have ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Let's make saving the soap genre part of OUR lives' journey.
When my mother came to the United States at the age of 12, she could not speak A WORD OF ENGLISH. Guess who taught her? Yep, you guessed it, SOAPS!!! She watched Search For Tomorrow, Dark Shadows and Guiding Light, but it was General Hospital that made her a bona fide soap fan. One of my favorite memories with my mother was sitting on our green shaggy 70s-style rug on a cold November afternoon and watching Luke and Laura tie the knot as Helena Cassadine (a.k.a. the incomparable Elizabeth Taylor) cursed the star-crossed lovers from afar. I remember being amazed that Liz was even on GH, but my mom said "Honey, she's a GH fan!!! EVERYONE is a GH fan". Well, maybe not everyone was, but I think she wanted to believe that people could at least appreciate the amazing stories that soaps produced on a daily basis. My mom was crushed when Genie Francis departed the show in 1981 and was so happy to hear she would return in late 1983. She died two weeks before Francis returned and Luke and Laura were finally reunited. When Luke and Laura embraced in the gardens of the mayor's mansion and sealed their reunion with a kiss, I cried. A lot. Not just because they were finally together again, but because I knew my mom would've been sitting right next to me, hugging me and squealing like a lovelorn teenager if she were still alive.
 |
| Credit: ABC video |
Fast forward 10 years to another cold afternoon. I sat and watched as the beautiful Megan, Viki's daughter, died of lupus on One Life To Live. I LOVED MEGAN!!! For many reasons I will not go into here, I loved that character. In fact, she was probably my favorite character ever on OLTL. But her death, THAT storyline has been the most important soap storyline in my life. You see, it was lupus that snuffed out my mother's light on this Earth. It was lupus that ended a beautiful and vibrant 30 year old woman's life. It was LUPUS that stole my mother from me. As I watched Megan die of lupus, I literally relived the agony of losing my mom ALL OVER AGAIN. I was pissed that my favorite character was gone. I was livid that my favorite soap couple of the time, Megan and Jake, were being cruelly separated. But MOSTLY I was pissed because this television show was making me cry like a little baby, forcing me to relive something I had not dealt with for 10 years!!! And then the scenes after Megan's death when Viki locks herself with Megan in the hospital room aired, and I just sat there in silence. Not crying, not angry, just numb. It was then that I realized death is just the national end to life, that life goes on EVEN after we lose the ones we love. It took watching Viki grieving for her daughter for me to FINALLY grieve for my mother and accept that I was lucky to have had her in my life, even if only for 11 short years. From that day on I truly UNDERSTOOD the importance of soaps in our lives. They're our family, our friends, our educators, our psychologists, our doctors, OURSELVES! They maybe crazy and fantastical at times, but they are a reflection of society. The good, the bad, the ugly and THE BEST OF US.
I will FOREVER be grateful to Agnes Nixon and the cast and crew of One Life To Live for being my spiritual healers when I didn't even know I needed healing. For those who believe soap don't matter, all I can say to that is THEY DO MATTER. They matter to me. They mattered to my mother. They matter to thousands of other viewers. If you don't believe me, that's just tough cookies. But my story is just one of MANY stories out there. Every soap fan has one of their own. I hope others begin to share theirs so that, collectively, our stories make for ONE HELL OF A SOAP OPERA. We only have ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Let's make saving the soap genre part of OUR lives' journey.
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