It's time to start worrying about One Life to Live
In 2009, the television industry closed shop on Guiding Light. In 2010, CBS will pull the plug on As the World Turns. Is it time to start worrying about One Life to Live, too? I'm afraid so. Over the holidays, One Life to Live posted horrible Nielsen numbers, the lowest ever in fact. There are other reasons to be concerned about One Life to Live. All My Children was the New York soap opera that ABC decided to move to Hollywood. It was also the show that was transitioned to HD. One Life was not only left behind in New York -- in AMC's old studio space -- but the plans for it to begin broadcasting in high-def was delayed. ...It doesn't take a Rhodes scholar to see that One Life to Live is vulnerable and the network is not doing much to alter that impression.
Why is One Life to Live doing so poorly? Well, the industry is changing and that's evident across the board. But the problems with One Life to Live are not the time slot or the position between All My Children and General Hospital on the schedule. The concerns for One Life are based on the current storylines.
Head writer Ron Carvalati has been churning up a crock of bad soap for nearly a year. He's squandered good love stories -- Rex and Gigi, Blair and Todd -- in favor of triangles. He's killed off characters like Jared and Nash. He's gone overboard on gay themed stories, including the same sex marriage epidemic, Oliver's coming out of the closet, and Dorian's mayoral campaign using lesbianism to get votes. I'm all for diversity in soaps, but the gay themes have been out of balance with the other plot lines. And don't write me that I'm anti-gay, because I'm not. It just needs to be a part of the show, not big chunks of it.
Add to that the return of evil Mitch, who does nothing for me, reverting Charlie to a drunk, and giving Erika Slezak a backseat with nothing to do, and you have trouble in Llanview City.
So, here's my advice to ABC Daytime Chief Brian Frons, force Carvalati to come up with a direction or hire a new head scribe. It's time to win back your viewers with an injection of new storytelling. It may be too late, but you have to try and save this show now.

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