NationStates Jolt Archive


Soap Opera ANGST!!!

Tactical Grace
12-12-2004, 16:34
I have been largely free from the shackles of television for 1 1/2 years. Believe me, it is a liberating feeling. Or it would be, if the time previously spent watching TV did not end up turning into time spent online.

Anyway, I just happened to catch a few minutes of some random soaps in the hall TV room a few minutes ago. And you know what? The characters spend their entire day walking from one argument to another, always fighting with the same people. So much bitterness, misery and angst. If my life was anything like that, I'd say fuck you and move to another city as soon as possible. I mean, it is so unnatural. I really do not see how that melodramatic bullshit is daily entertainment to so many people.
Bimin III
12-12-2004, 16:40
Because it's funny how stupid they are. I watch General Hospital just to laugh at them.
JuNii
12-12-2004, 16:44
for some, they recieve a great pride knowing that life could be worse...

For others, it's the melodrama that they do watch...

and for a few... they want to know if Jack will ever find out that Amanda's been cheating on him... or if Barbara will recover from her amnesia in time to finish that cure for cancer... :eek:
Superpower07
12-12-2004, 16:53
Soap operas are so dumb; I hate the mellowdramaticness of everything on them

Plus, the plot twists are the most unplausible things I've ever seen
Santa Barbara
12-12-2004, 17:20
And yet soap opera seems a familiar style to me... maybe, reading some RP threads on this site...
The Tribes Of Longton
12-12-2004, 17:22
Soaps shall be present for evermore for 3 reasons:

1. You only need to pay peanuts because all of the writers and actors are monkeys

2. Plots need not be complex or, for that matter, plausible, for this is the charm of the soap opera

3. You can re-use plots over and over again, just changing the characters.

See?
Stroudiztan
12-12-2004, 17:24
At least with wrestling, you're expecting them to fight. Steel cage matches beat love affairs with the tennis club leader any day.
JuNii
12-12-2004, 17:24
Soaps shall be present for evermore for 3 reasons:


[QUOTE=The Tribes Of Longton]1. You only need to pay peanuts because all of the writers and actors are monkeysI thought it was bananas...


2. Plots need not be complex or, for that matter, plausible, for this is the charm of the soap operathey got Plots??? :eek:


3. You can re-use plots over and over again, just changing the characters.LOL - that is if they remember that they have other characters.
Incertonia
12-12-2004, 17:26
I have been largely free from the shackles of television for 1 1/2 years. Believe me, it is a liberating feeling. Or it would be, if the time previously spent watching TV did not end up turning into time spent online.

Anyway, I just happened to catch a few minutes of some random soaps in the hall TV room a few minutes ago. And you know what? The characters spend their entire day walking from one argument to another, always fighting with the same people. So much bitterness, misery and angst. If my life was anything like that, I'd say fuck you and move to another city as soon as possible. I mean, it is so unnatural. I really do not see how that melodramatic bullshit is daily entertainment to so many people.They make up for it by largely being fantastic looking and extraordinarily rich. Sopa operas don't do much in a very convincing way, but they do poor and ugly exceedingly badly.
The Tribes Of Longton
12-12-2004, 17:26
Ohh, ooh, I forgot one:

4. Throw in a bitch fight every 15 minutes, just so that you can attract male audiences as well as female
Sdaeriji
12-12-2004, 17:26
I have no idea why people spend their entire afternoons watching soaps. Personally, I just watch Star Trek.
Tactical Grace
12-12-2004, 17:28
I don't know, the characters in Eastenders and Emmerdale have all that angst, and still have to wallow in their own filth.
Superpower07
12-12-2004, 17:29
LOL - that is if they remember that they have other characters.
*puts on soap opera-y narrarator voice* But in a twist of plot so unplausible, character X does Y to Z, as character A attemtps to play them both into a love affair so that they can be doomed to lose the inheritence!
The Tribes Of Longton
12-12-2004, 17:32
*puts on soap opera-y narrarator voice* But in a twist of plot so unplausible, character X does Y to Z, as character A attemtps to play them both into a love affair so that they can be doomed to lose the inheritence!
bam bam baaaaaaaaaamm! (you know, that funny trumpet noise used to add drama)
JuNii
12-12-2004, 17:33
*puts on soap opera-y narrarator voice* But in a twist of plot so unplausible, character X does Y to Z, as character A attemtps to play them both into a love affair so that they can be doomed to lose the inheritence!But just when the inheritence is about to be lost... character Q (who was decaptated 5 years ago) reappears from an overseas mission... his death, 5 years ago, was apparently only a nightmare that his mistress had.

hey, think we can become soap opera writers... I mean this sounds more interesting than what's currently out there.
Incertonia
12-12-2004, 17:37
But just when the inheritence is about to be lost... character Q (who was decaptated 5 years ago) reappears from an overseas mission... his death, 5 years ago, was apparently only a nightmare that his mistress had.

hey, think we can become soap opera writers... I mean this sounds more interesting than what's currently out there.
And if you really want to get edgy, you can throw in a demon-possession or a vampire--or maybe just a song by the Smiths. :D
Conceptualists
12-12-2004, 17:39
The annoying thing about soaps is that they are everywhere. For example, on Mondays in Britain it is possible to watch three and a half hours of soaps.

5:35 - 6:00: Neighbours [BBC1]
6:00 - 6:30: Home and Away [Five]
6:30 - 7:00: Family Affairs [Five]/Hollyoaks [Channel 4]
7:00 - 7:30: Emmerdale [Granada]
7:30 - 8:00: Coronation Street [Granada]
8:00 - 8:30: East Enders [BBC1]
8:30 - 9:00: Coronation Street [Granada] (Yes, again. Not even a repeat!)

And this is just on Terrestrial. I'm Sure that your soap experience can be prolonged if you have Sky

eg.

2:00 - 3:00: Bergerac (does this count as a soap?)[UK Gold]
3:00 - 4:00: The Bill [UK Gold]
4:00 - 5:00: Holby City [UK Gold]
5:00 - 6:00: Casualty [UK Gold] (You'd have to prioritise, all of casualty or do you watch neighbours?)
Kryogenerica
13-12-2004, 00:35
Up until about 2 years ago, I proudly boasted that I had never watched a single episode of any soap. Then, while I was obtaining my Youth Work qualifications, I had to watch an episode of (da-da-daaaaann! (that was evil bad-guy music, btw) ) Neighbors to asses the communication skills of the characters and how they interacted. :sniper: Oh yeah - that's a realistic depiction of human relationships! They wait for each other to finish what they're saying when they're arguing ffs! :rolleyes:

Urgh!

My sister is totally addicted to some freaked out show called "Passions". Unfortunately, I have seen bits of it when I drop in to visit. Man, the scriptwriters on that show have... interesting... drugs and lots of them! :p
New Kanteletar
13-12-2004, 00:44
And if you really want to get edgy, you can throw in a demon-possession or a vampire--or maybe just a song by the Smiths. :D
A pox on whoever would use a Smiths song in such a foul manner :mad: .
Caitalonia
13-12-2004, 01:17
Come on, soap operas aren't meant to be realistic! I'll freely admit to being a fan of The Bold And The Beautiful because it's unintentionally hillarious: it's certainly funnier than most of what passes for "comedy" on TV at the moment.


At least with wrestling, you're expecting them to fight. Steel cage matches beat love affairs with the tennis club leader any day. Wrestling is soap opera for men: there are more similarities between the two than you might think!
Tuesday Heights
13-12-2004, 02:18
I really do not see how that melodramatic bullshit is daily entertainment to so many people.

IIRC, you're from England, TG, which means you haven't seen real soap melodrama until you've watched All My Children in America. ;)