Soap Opera cliches

[akh_cat Joined: Sep 20th, 2021 Topics: 16 Posts: 138 View Predictions]

#1204675919

Some of these soap opera cliches have gotten out of hand over the past 30 years such as long lost children (half of the time the dates don’t add up), DNA test switcheroo (I wish that one would die), baby switches (I’m so over that one), and amnesia (this one in particular is played out). Some of these outdated cliches have won a few performers Emmys or got a performer a nomination (some well deserved, some not so much).  I wish today’s soap writers would come up with some original material that doesn’t involve these cliches and if they do use the long lost child one at least make it make sense (Douglas Marland and Bill Bell were good at making this one make sense). What ever happened to social issues and good old family drama and feuds and cat fights and the romance?

 

What is your take on these cliches?

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[Sean Phillips Joined: Apr 4th, 2017 Topics: 3 Posts: 522 View Predictions]

#1204675954

Oh don’t forget multiple personality disorders and repressed memories. Both of these are now considered HIGHLY medically dubious and the way they’ve been displayed on soaps is less nuanced than that movie Sybil…

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[akh_cat Joined: Sep 20th, 2021 Topics: 16 Posts: 138 View Predictions]

#1204676734

Sean_Phillips wrote:

Oh don’t forget multiple personality disorders and repressed memories. Both of these are now considered HIGHLY medically dubious and the way they’ve been displayed on soaps is less nuanced than that movie Sybil…

 

I agree with you 100% multiple personalities disorder has been used quite frankly with Luke on GH, Abigail on Days, Beth on GL, Connie on GH, and Jessica on OLTL. The whole repressed memories thing is so old if I was a soap writer I’d stick to the history of the show and social issues.

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[FreemanGriffin Joined: Feb 19th, 2012 Topics: 62 Posts: 4962 View Predictions]

#1204676850

Any career that in the real world takes years and years of training can be obtained on soaps in just a matter of weeks!

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[syrus80 Joined: Nov 11th, 2010 Topics: 31 Posts: 505 View Predictions]

#1204678196

A new character must be related to someone else in town. This has lead to retcons that should not have happened.

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[Sean Phillips Joined: Apr 4th, 2017 Topics: 3 Posts: 522 View Predictions]

#1204678397

^^^Yeah that’s kinda a perversion of a key Douglas Marland rule.  It’s one thing if it’s something a character did before they were onscreen (character gives child up for adoption at 16, crimes committed in past and now that past is catching up to them) but when it disrupts established continuity and the way characters acted that we saw with our own eyes it feels like a slap in the face.

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[Boidiva02 Joined: May 24th, 2011 Topics: 14 Posts: 246 View Predictions]

#1204701699

I see these as less cliches and more staples of the genre. But I think the biggest offender among soaps is “back from the dead” Honestly even if you see a body they still come back from the dead often!

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