Thursday, September 29, 2011

Brave New Cyberworld

i am happy to report that All My Children and One Life to Live will become the first two television shows to move fully from TV to the internet. This of course brings up a lot of interesting questions. Is TV going to be completely replaced by Web-based programs? Will non-tech savvy soap fans be deprived of their soaps, or will they be dragged kicking and screaming into the computer age? Will computer screens ever be as inviting and familiar as the TV set?

Television doesn't just provide entertainment. Our whole way of life is changing. From how we get our news, to how we shop. We basically have to adapt or be left behind. it may seem to some an impossible task, but we've done it all before. Its a pattern we keep repeating successfully. Movie theaters, Radio, and television itself each altered the way we see the world and how we operate within it.

It may take a period of adjustment, but it will all be worth it. Technology has its draw backs, but I strongly believe society is always better off when new media comes along.

-Sean
@Seanfromvt

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

soap scum revisited

just a quick update on my May blog. Since then, The Globe, The Wall Street Journal and CNN iReport have all reported about angry soap fans and The Save Our Soaps movement. I have more hope now we will win this fight than ever before, but we have a lot of work to do. All My Children and One Life to Live are still on the chopping block for now. ABC is even blatantly promoting AMC's replacement, The Chew, during AMC. Go to www.thesoaprevolution.com for more information on the SOS cause and how you can help.

Sean
@seanfromvt

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Taxing question

i am so tired of the republican party sounding like raising taxing on the rich is evil. I think our little experiment called America will literally end if we insist on never raising taxes on anyone ever. I distinctly remember the Bush tax cuts specifically designed to end. Even Bush was fine with that. Since when did we decide it was immoral to make rich people pay their fair share? Taxes were raised under Reagan and Bush senior. What has changed? Oh wait, I know, an evil black Hawaiian became president. that's the only difference i can see.

I know some people will be upset with that, but how else do you explain it? The deficit/ Didn't we have one of those in the eighties, when taxes went up? Whatever the reason, we have only three options. Raise taxes on the rich, cut the budget, or both. If you only cut the budget, healthcare is most of the deficit. Can you honestly say Medicare is off the table? oh wait, the republican plan already gets rid of it, but at least rich people won't pay more taxes. Assuming they still exist after that.

Sean
@seanfromvt

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Soap Scum

I haven't blogged in a while, but this is an important issue to bring up here. ABC and Disney, in their infinite stupidity, are canceling All My Children and One Life is Live. AMC had lousy ratings but OLTL actually does reasonably well for daytime. I know many think soap operas are idiotic and cheesy, but they are the most character driven programs in TV history. An integral genre is nearly extinct now.

Four long running soaps will be gone in less than four years time, if ABC has its way. General Hospital and Days of our Lives could soon follow. That would leave exactly two soaps.

What is so bad about the death of the soap opera, you may be asking about now. There are two main reasons It is tragic. As tragic as the death of a beloved soap character like Stuart Chandler or Luna Moody.

The first reason is the loss of a great talent builder. Demi Moore, John Stamos, Judith Light, Rick Springfield, Sarah Michelle gellar, Morgan Freeman, Amanda Seyfried, Susan Sarandon, and many others, honed their acting skills on daytime dramas. Soap stars work several hours a day, five or more days a week, often with no retakes. That's quite an education for an actor, or even a writer, director, or camera person.

The other reason is the demise of TV fiction. I am serious here. Some reality shows are great, but every time a scripted show is replaced with a dirt cheap reality show, we inch closer to killing creativity and driving more writers to the unemployment line.

#saveoursoaps
Sean Clogston
Tweet me @seanfromvt