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US Soaps
Classic Night Time Drama
TV shows that pretended not to be soaps (but actually were)
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<blockquote data-quote="Willie Oleson" data-source="post: 410339" data-attributes="member: 8"><p>There are lots of descriptions, genres, styles etc that are being used much more loosely than, say, 30 years ago.</p><p>I guess, from a 21st century zeitgeisty point of view, most of the titles mentioned in your video could be considered soap opera simply because of the open-style narrative and (melo)dramatic topics.</p><p>I haven't seen many series from that list but The Affair, Six Feet Under and The Good Wife didn't even <em>feel </em>soapy to me.</p><p></p><p>The one that would fit the thread's description perfectly is YELLOWSTONE. Not because of how it's marketed or tagged or whatever, the struggle is in the narrative itself.</p><p>I think it wants to be Breaking Bad On The Prairie but somehow never really wants to take it that far. In fact, after I've finised season 3 (and never watched any more of it) I felt we were back to square one, almost as if everything that had happened didn't mean anything. Which is a very soap opera thing to do because soaps don't change unless they're forced to change it (e.g. death or budgetary reasons).</p><p></p><p>I remember from the first episodes that ex-employees were killed off because they "knew too much". About what? What was so sinister about the Dutton ranch?</p><p>I think the concept was dropped rather quickly because we were supposed to root for the Duttons, which means that they were no longer committed to its initial gritty premise. All the bad stuff came from outside villains, as it usually happens in soaps.</p><p>But they made sure that the episodes didn't <em>look</em> like soaps - and the result (imo) is that it doesn't satisfy in either genre. It's one of the most frustrating series I've ever watched, and I don't mean frustrating in an "interesting, thinking-outside-the-box" kind of way.</p><p></p><p>Which makes it all the more remarkable that TNT DALLAS managed to do <em>both</em>. That was a prime time soap opera from grown-ups, and I guess I could place TYRANT (the "Dallas of the Middle-East") in the same category.</p><p></p><p>Oh btw, those clips from SCANDAL look pretty cool, how would you rate the entire series?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Willie Oleson, post: 410339, member: 8"] There are lots of descriptions, genres, styles etc that are being used much more loosely than, say, 30 years ago. I guess, from a 21st century zeitgeisty point of view, most of the titles mentioned in your video could be considered soap opera simply because of the open-style narrative and (melo)dramatic topics. I haven't seen many series from that list but The Affair, Six Feet Under and The Good Wife didn't even [I]feel [/I]soapy to me. The one that would fit the thread's description perfectly is YELLOWSTONE. Not because of how it's marketed or tagged or whatever, the struggle is in the narrative itself. I think it wants to be Breaking Bad On The Prairie but somehow never really wants to take it that far. In fact, after I've finised season 3 (and never watched any more of it) I felt we were back to square one, almost as if everything that had happened didn't mean anything. Which is a very soap opera thing to do because soaps don't change unless they're forced to change it (e.g. death or budgetary reasons). I remember from the first episodes that ex-employees were killed off because they "knew too much". About what? What was so sinister about the Dutton ranch? I think the concept was dropped rather quickly because we were supposed to root for the Duttons, which means that they were no longer committed to its initial gritty premise. All the bad stuff came from outside villains, as it usually happens in soaps. But they made sure that the episodes didn't [I]look[/I] like soaps - and the result (imo) is that it doesn't satisfy in either genre. It's one of the most frustrating series I've ever watched, and I don't mean frustrating in an "interesting, thinking-outside-the-box" kind of way. Which makes it all the more remarkable that TNT DALLAS managed to do [I]both[/I]. That was a prime time soap opera from grown-ups, and I guess I could place TYRANT (the "Dallas of the Middle-East") in the same category. Oh btw, those clips from SCANDAL look pretty cool, how would you rate the entire series? [/QUOTE]
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Classic Night Time Drama
TV shows that pretended not to be soaps (but actually were)
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