“There is much work to be done to win back the mainstream audience and right now the network can’t afford to care about Kish fans bailing.” That is TV Guide magazine’s Michael Logan endorsing ABC’s decision to ignore One Life To Live‘s fans who don’t want to see the gay Kish romance end, because this is an issue of ratings decline, and the network cannot risk the “mainstream audience,” whatever that is, being offended by two fags kissing on screen.
ChrisM
Wow, what an asshole. What is the “work” that needs to be done to “win back” the mainstream audience? Kill off the gay characters and show them in hell? Or maybe create a prom for the other characters that “Kish” isn’t invited to?
terrwill
“because this is an issue of ratings decline” Nice to know that TV Guide has writers who are so in touch with the pulse of the Soap Operas viewers. Sorry its not the “ratings decline”, its the viewers decline……what is the average age soap opera viewers??? 80something????
It’s not a risk of “offending them” its more like them having a stroke seeing two mens kissing…….. : p
D'oh, The Magnificent
When I first saw this, I looked up the ratings. ABC and the show are lying. Their ratings were already in decline. The issue is that soaps are a dying genre in America. Trying to place blame on one element or another is misleading at best, and will only hasten the decline at worse. More importantly, trying to blame gay story lines is bigoted since the ratings evidence indicate that in fact it is not the audience- it is ABC that wants to have a problem with this.
PADude
@D’oh, The Magnificent: Utterly agreed. Soap operas…I haven’t heard anybody talk about them around the water cooler for ages. Nobody cares.
terrwill
@PADude: Funny, the only thing I have heard talked about regarding the soaps is the Gay charachters!!! Talk about cutting off your freakin nose to spite the face……
alan brickman
what a bigoted excuse!!!the soaps without gay characters are also losing ratings….
Bob
Gays are thrown under the bus again!!!! When will the LGBT community realize that we have the numbers and money to fight this bigotry? No more peaceful pleading for our rights! We need to be militant both physically and with our dollars! If we need to boycott ABC and their sponsors, let’s do it! I will now!
Kyle24
I’m gay and I watch OLTL (since the 80s). I’m glad Kish is gone. They swallowed the show at the expense of other characters that are more interesting to me.
afrolito
I watch OLTL, and the “Kish” storyline has always bored me to death. Neither character is even remotely believable, and their acting is laughable. Good riddance.
I don’t think it’s fair to blame them for the ratings decline though, since soap ratings are down across the board. It’s a dying genre.
Chitown Kev
Yeah, I haven’t really tuned into OLTL since (I’m dating myself) since the Vicki Buchanan was becoming Niki Smith and Victoria Carpenter and had Dorian in a dungeon. (although I did tune back in for a minute when they brought Victor Lord back
Chitown Kev
@Kyle24:
If you are a fan from the 80’s then you will LOVE this (can’t believe they found this)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jijxNJ0B5eQ
Jasun
@Kyle24:
Ditto. They lost me when the mayoral race that was prehyped as a classic “Viki vs. Dorian” rivalry turned into a plotpoint to prop Kish, with the ladies themselves used as nothing but supporting characters. In the meantime, while Brett Claywell did a pretty good job performance-wise, Scott Evans (ironically the real life gay one) bugged me. Not only is he a one-note actor, but he character was a complete sap.
I started watching OLTL in 1987 when I was just 6 y/o and sorry, but I don’t like “agenda viewers”. Those viewers who only watch for a certain character or couple IMO are fickle and should be the least catered to. It’s great and fine if people liked Kish, but ever since they announced the departure of Kish, I’ve been reading things from people saying that they were the reason they started watching…or that they will stop once they’re gone. Okay, bye. Don’t wait. Leave now. The show wasn’t called One Kish to Live.
In my 23 years of viewing, I’ve seen the departures of tons of characters I liked…many of whom were killed off. The exits for my favorites like Megan and Nash were about a thousand times more devastating than Kyle and Oliver getting a baby and riding off into the Chuck Cunningham sunset.
Soaps should be the last place for anyone starved for gay characters on TV to check. It would make more sense to buy the QAF boxset. That’ll give you everything Kish was, and more.
D'oh, The Magnificent
Incidentally, while not universally true, the gays of soaps on Europe often involve a) better writing and b) acting. This definitely not universally true. There’s some real crap there too, but there is, unlike the US, some real stand outs. I believe that’s the real problem with soaps in the US.
D'oh, The Magnificent
Also, the Euro gay sex scenes in soaps are better in some cases too (check out the video below):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZs-Y4P__m4&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fwDeD9-5X8&feature=player_embedded
Handsome Homebody
How about a KISH spin-off soap?! What a crock this is… I’ve been watching their storyline on YouTube, where some guy takes the time to cut out all the “unneccesary” straight stuff! rofl
Kyle412
@Chitown Kev:
Thanks Kev. I was nice to see Tina, Jenny and even Ed Hall in those clips. The problem with so many soaps today is that they are in such a hurry attract younger viewers that they are alienating the older audience who has been with the show through thick and thin.
Chitown Kev
@Kyle412:
Yeah, and we’re talking about the OLD Tina, Andrea Evans and not that horrible one that replaced her.
Chitown Kev
@Kyle412:
Now not that I should be telling my age but I’m old enough to remember my Mom talking about these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXM5INvrl-s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0h8iUdoMQY
Enjoy!
David C.
Michael Logan is a faggot
ewe
Soap operas suck anyway and if the people who are watching do not know that the set is full of gay men… well then fuck them too. Please. Who gives a shit?