RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
12-08-09 | 12:24 PM
#1
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RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091208/...he_world_turns
Chris
CBS cancels another daytime drama
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
6 mins ago
NEW YORK – CBS canceled "As the World Turns" on Tuesday, putting the company that coined the phrase "soap operas" out of the business of making daytime dramas for the first time in 76 years.
"As the World Turns" has been on the air since 1956 and televised its 13,661st episode Tuesday. Its last episode will be next September, the network said.
It's the second daytime drama CBS has canceled in a year, after "Guiding Light." Both shows were produced by a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, the company for which the term "soap operas" was created because it used the shows to hawk products like Ivory soap and Duz laundry detergent.
Daytime dramas have been fading as a genre for years with more women joining the work force and the increased number of channels offering alternatives like news, talk, reality and game shows. In tough economic times, paying casts, producers and writers proved prohibitive to networks when there were cheaper alternatives.
The cancellation will leave CBS with only two daytime dramas: "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and Beautiful."
Through the years, actors Marisa Tomei, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey and James Earl Jones have appeared on "As the World Turns." The show follows families in the Illinois town of Oakdale.
"It's a hell of a Christmas present," said actress Eileen Fulton, who will mark 50 years playing the character Lisa Grimaldi on the show. Her character has been through nine marriages and Fulton was hoping for a 10th before the signoff.
"I'm just very sad," she said. "I'm sad for all of the people who work out there in Brooklyn (where the show is filmed). We're a family. I hate to be split up. It's like a divorce."
Brian Cahill, senior vice president and managing director of the P&G subsidiary TeleNext Media Inc., said the company is actively seeking a new outlet to carry the show.
TeleNext said the same thing about "Guiding Light," which went off the air in September, but has been unable to find a new home. Keeping the show alive online has been discussed, but that's an alternative where cost may prove prohibitive.
Procter & Gamble first began producing soap operas in 1933 with the radio show "Ma Perkins," and has made a total of 20 such programs in its history.
___
CBS is a division of CBS Corp.
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
6 mins ago
NEW YORK – CBS canceled "As the World Turns" on Tuesday, putting the company that coined the phrase "soap operas" out of the business of making daytime dramas for the first time in 76 years.
"As the World Turns" has been on the air since 1956 and televised its 13,661st episode Tuesday. Its last episode will be next September, the network said.
It's the second daytime drama CBS has canceled in a year, after "Guiding Light." Both shows were produced by a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, the company for which the term "soap operas" was created because it used the shows to hawk products like Ivory soap and Duz laundry detergent.
Daytime dramas have been fading as a genre for years with more women joining the work force and the increased number of channels offering alternatives like news, talk, reality and game shows. In tough economic times, paying casts, producers and writers proved prohibitive to networks when there were cheaper alternatives.
The cancellation will leave CBS with only two daytime dramas: "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and Beautiful."
Through the years, actors Marisa Tomei, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey and James Earl Jones have appeared on "As the World Turns." The show follows families in the Illinois town of Oakdale.
"It's a hell of a Christmas present," said actress Eileen Fulton, who will mark 50 years playing the character Lisa Grimaldi on the show. Her character has been through nine marriages and Fulton was hoping for a 10th before the signoff.
"I'm just very sad," she said. "I'm sad for all of the people who work out there in Brooklyn (where the show is filmed). We're a family. I hate to be split up. It's like a divorce."
Brian Cahill, senior vice president and managing director of the P&G subsidiary TeleNext Media Inc., said the company is actively seeking a new outlet to carry the show.
TeleNext said the same thing about "Guiding Light," which went off the air in September, but has been unable to find a new home. Keeping the show alive online has been discussed, but that's an alternative where cost may prove prohibitive.
Procter & Gamble first began producing soap operas in 1933 with the radio show "Ma Perkins," and has made a total of 20 such programs in its history.
___
CBS is a division of CBS Corp.
12-08-09 | 12:29 PM
#3
Thread Starter
Guest
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
It looks like these are the only surviving soap operas:
CBS: The Young and the Restless & The Bold and the Beautiful
NBC: Days of our Lives
ABC: All My Children, One Life to Live & General Hospital
Chris
CBS: The Young and the Restless & The Bold and the Beautiful
NBC: Days of our Lives
ABC: All My Children, One Life to Live & General Hospital
Chris
12-08-09 | 12:33 PM
#4
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
I think my mother has watched this longer that I've been alive. 
1956 - 2010
12-08-09 | 12:55 PM
#6
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
Ditto here. My mom didn't watch The Guiding Light, but I know she has been watching "As The World Turns" for as long as it's been on the air. I didn't even realize that the show had actors with 50+ years on the show. That's quite a gig.
12-08-09 | 01:02 PM
#7
DVD Talk Legend
12-08-09 | 01:22 PM
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
Too bad, I thought ATWT was okay but not the best. I think ABC is going to start thinking about cancelling One Life to Live so General Hospital can be moved up into an earlier timeslot right after the Bold and Beautiful and Days of Our Lives.
12-08-09 | 02:24 PM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
I used to watch All My Children for years. The last time I caught the show, it had changed. Hope they last many more years though.
12-08-09 | 03:21 PM
#13
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
I actually watch 'The Young and the Restless' from time to time and it's light years beyond what I saw from 'As the World Turns' or 'Guiding Light.'
12-08-09 | 03:41 PM
#16
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
I'll probably pick up the complete boxset when it's released. I didn't want to buy the individual seasons, and then miss having the nice complete series packaging later.
12-08-09 | 03:52 PM
#17
Thread Starter
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12-08-09 | 03:53 PM
#18
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
12-08-09 | 04:22 PM
#19
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12-08-09 | 04:24 PM
#20
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
I know you're joking about that, but I would love to have some sort of streamlined version of some of the storylines from ATWT.
Last edited by Palaver; 12-08-09 at 04:28 PM.
12-08-09 | 04:46 PM
#21
DVD Talk Legend
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
12-08-09 | 05:13 PM
#22
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
Consider this: Eileen Fulton is now 76 and has portrayed Lisa Hughes on ATWT for 50 years. As she gets older and slips into senility, will she be able to separate her real life from the life of Lisa Hughes?
12-08-09 | 07:08 PM
#23
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From: Pleasantville - in black & white ;P
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!
I used to spend my summers at my great grandma's farm when I was young. She never had cable, just the 3 or 4 channels. I remember every day being tuned in to watch ATWT and GL. Sad to see both will be gone. I would occasionally flip channels and see them on and catch up with the characters.
10 marriages
10 marriages
12-08-09 | 07:49 PM
#25
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: RIP: CBS's As the World Turns!