Soap Operas on DVD

[DisneyBoy]

Now, as much as we all hate to admit it, those trashy soaps we all sat down and watched with Mom as kids did have some amount of entertainment value. I mean, what five-year old could forget when the sweet therapist Marlena from "Days of our Lives" was possessed by the devil? Or when Ryan took off his clothes to keep Vicky alive with his body heat when they were trapped in a cave on "Another World"? Or when "Sunset Beach" went "Titanic"?

Sure, you may be laughing, but deep down inside, there's no denying that if Staged Wrestling Championships and Reality TV shows have found their way to the DVD market successfully, Soaps shouldn't be far behind.

But how would a company go about releasing sets? With five episodes every week, year in and year out, it wouldn't make financial sense to provide consumers with every episode, especially since they'd end up going into comas if they attempted marathons. On the other hand, editing a year's worth of stories would take far too much time. Finally, if there's going to be an abridged season set of the show out every year, why watch it every day?

Well, that last one is kind of a moot point, since shows like Sex and the City have been on DVD consistantly. In any case, do you think Networks will find a way to cash in on the DVD season set craze in terms of Soaps, or will fans just have to keep hoping for reruns on cable networks, or sharing VHS tapes with one another?

Discuss

[FredNash]

The only soap opera I enjoy is the Sopranos, and it's on dvd already

[The Penguin]

I don't see this as a very likely thing. The large amount of programming for just one show would seem to make it pretty tough. Taking "Days of Our Lives" as an example, the show has been on the air since the 60s so there is no real way to put the entire thing out there. I could see something like the current "Salem Serial Killer" story maybe being put out there, but even that would go from September 2003 until a time that is not yet determined. Soaps are just too long for the format.

If any soaps came out on DVD I would look for it to be ones that have ended already like "Another World" or even "Port Charles." It would still be tough to do imo, but it would be slightly more doable when new ones aren't coming anymore.

I voted I can't publically admit to enjoying a Soaps. Wait a sec... damn.

[Lord Dalek]

The only soap I care about is Dark Shadows, and thats been on dvd for a while.

[Tobias]

The only reasonable way to release soaps to DVD is to do clip compilations. Using General Hospital (The only soap I watch) as an example:

-The adventures of Luke & Laura - Edits together their key moments from their first, ahem, 'date' to their marriage, to the birth of Lucky to Jonathan Jackson's first appearance, to their divorce and reconcilation. Just stop right before Genie Francis's exit so the set could have a happy ending.

-An evening with Quartermaines - The key moments from PC's oddest clan. Just make sure you throw in all the Thanksgiving shows showing how the Q's always, ALWAYS, wind up losing the turkey in some bizarre fashion.

-The Nurse's Ball - This would be a short set because they stopped doing this an annual event. Throw in all the musical numbers (Roy, Edward, A.J. and Mac performing 'It's in his kiss', Luke and Felicia doing 'Good Ol' Rock & Roll', etc) and this might just be the best set of the series.

I don't know how they'd go about this for the other soaps, but I'd definately buy a Passions 'Tabitha and Timmy' compilation.

[sterfish]

I agree that the only way soaps will make it to DVD is through compilations. In fact, there is one out on DVD now called "Daytime's Greatest Weddings" (featuring the best weddings of the ABC soaps). I think it would be smart to release compilations of popular storylines. An example would be the "Who Killed Michael Cambias?" storyline on All My Children (which is how I got back into watching soaps) or the Days of Our Lives serial killer storyline, just to give recent ones. Also, if they wanted to they could feasibly release Best of Year compilations for shorter soaps (like Passions, Port Charles, The City).

[DisneyBoy]

Since my mother and grandmother were addicted to Another World, I grew up with it as well, and actually came to enjoy it. Since it's fans were so peeved when it was cancelled for the (dare I say it) vomit-inducing Passions, I think NBC could really make some moolah if they abridged the history of the show into three DVD volumes. I'd like to think that could be done...