Guiding Light - MESSAGE BOARDS

Is it just me or is anyone else frustrated at the way there is no romance in our stories anymore? I can't think of one happy couple on daytime right now. I don't just mean GL either. Every soap seems determined to keep all of the key couples apart. I watch my soaps for the romance. I know there is not a lot of happy ever after in real life so I want my soap people to be happy. I know that TPTB think that happy couples are boring couples but we don't even get one day of anyone being together and loving before somebody or something breaks them apart. If I wanted to be miserable I could just dwell on things at work or financial problems, I don't need my storylines to do it for me. This is just my opinion but I really think it has a lot to do with why the ratings are sliding all across the board. Misery does not attract viewers. I will hold on for awhile but if no one gets together (Carly-Jack, Reva-Josh,etc.) eventually I will give up. There are plenty of creative ways to keep us hooked on our favorite couples when they unite together to fight problems like:in-laws, x-wives or x-girlfriends/boyfriends, debt, unruly children, addictions, etc. Anyone agree?

[quote]Quote LuluJones: [quote]Quote PelphreyPosse: Is it just me or is anyone else frustrated at the way there is no romance in our stories anymore? I can't think of one happy couple on daytime right now. I don't just mean GL either. Every soap seems determined to keep all of the key couples apart. I watch my soaps for the romance. I know there is not a lot of happy ever after in real life so I want my soap people to be happy. I know that TPTB think that happy couples are boring couples but we don't even get one day of anyone being together and loving before somebody or something breaks them apart. If I wanted to be miserable I could just dwell on things at work or financial problems, I don't need my storylines to do it for me. This is just my opinion but I really think it has a lot to do with why the ratings are sliding all across the board. Misery does not attract viewers. I will hold on for awhile but if no one gets together (Carly-Jack, Reva-Josh,etc.) eventually I will give up. There are plenty of creative ways to keep us hooked on our favorite couples when they unite together to fight problems like:in-laws, x-wives or x-girlfriends/boyfriends, debt, unruly children, addictions, etc. Anyone agree?[/quote]

I totally agree with you on this one.I`m sad enough in my own life and like it when the soaps are fun to watch and not have to fast forward.[/quote

You guys are right!! I stopped watching ATWT when Jack and
Carly separated. What we need is entertainment!!! We don't
want to be depressed What we need is Love and Fun don't you agree ?

Heck my life depresses me that is why I watch to get away from that kind of stuff for a little bit but its not working when I go to stuff worse then my life! Get out of the dumps writers before my dr. orders me to stop watching.

Remember the good storylines when Roger Thorpe was on the show. The Bauers were the main family. Bert Bauer had two sons, Ed and Mike. Ed Bauer was always fighting with Roger. Roger was a real villain. The show wasn't depressing, just really good!! Even later episodes, the ones with Billy, HB, Josh and Reva were really good. Vanessa and Billy were great together. The relationships between the characters were really well thought out back then.
The whole presentation of the show is different now. The opening is weird, the editing is annoying and the characters are just not as engaging. (Billy is still great) The writers should view some of the older episodes, it may help.

What a great post! I think we all agree that the older storylines were much better. Wonder why they don't GET that? More family conflict, more romance, less repeating the same old tired plots, and ratings would pick up. It's so simple so why do they persist in the way they are going now?

Yes I know exactly what you mean. It seems that the more romance in the show the more drama. Look at Jammy, as soon as they were happy Tammy died. And there seem to be many more couples like them (not exactly *obviously*). There seems to be no more romance left in the show.
There is Cassie and Josh whom they are trying to make happy but personallyt I see no love between the two of them...
Mallet and Dinah seem to be the happiest couple on GL...
I would like to see al least one couple that lived their whole life together. That couple was going to be Jeva but look what happened. I would like to see at least one couple that get married but do NOT get divorced. I want more romance in this show too.

You're right about Cassie and Josh, no chemistry. Billy loves Reva but she is wasting her time with Jeffrey, again no chemistry. A love story for Lizzie would be good. She needs someone that will bring out the best in her.

I watched with my mom when I was a kid too. I remember Roger and Ed fighting over Holly. I think she was married to Ed but cheating with Roger. I remember being scared when I watched the scenes with Roger in them, he was intense.
It was a true soap opera then, always something interesting going on.

I think the writers now have a problem with having a couple being happy. They see a happy couple as boring. But they dont have to be, they can be kept busy with work and family. I agree the writing about 20 years ago was excellant. Boy if the writers could just get a little bit of that from them huh? These writers cant seem to have to many things going at once. They seem to consentrant on s/l at once. I would rather they keep almost everyone busy. Well not everyone but you know what I mean. It gets boring to us too. I wonder if there is anywhere the writers take suggestions or feedback or anything like that? Or even cudos. Really if you think of how many people actually watch the show we really dont have that many people complaining about the Luke/Noah s/l. It seems like some feedback from viewers would be good for the writers. Not all the time but bits and pieces. I would love to volunteer.

I agree with all of the posts as well. Gus and Harley was one of the couples I loved to see happy and now they are being ripped apart. I understand the writers need to come up with s/l's to keep viewers, but the main reason people watch soaps is for the love and romance (IMO).

oh...i know what you mean. i was really hoping for a good romance between cyrus and marina...and the writers were on the right track but then now the writers had to go and break them up. there are like no happy couples on any cbs soaps anymore. carly and jack make sense... but jack and katie suck. brooke and ridge make sense...but ridge and ashley don't. nick and sharon make sense...but jack and sharon...eww i don't see it. reva and josh...omg this whole cassie/josh thing makes me sick. you're right all the soaps need to at least make some couples relatively happy and allow them to be together for more than a minute. i know that there is alot of divorce in the world but there are also people that spend there whole lives together. but in soaps there is nothing but a marriage/divorce cycle that just like never stops!!!!