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<blockquote data-quote="Willie Oleson" data-source="post: 128170" data-attributes="member: 8">A continuing drama that doesn&#039;t really need a fixed ending. Every now and then a storyline requires a pay-off/conclusion, but it should be possible to continue the series within the parameters of that particular soap.Ideally, the storyline-conclusion morphs into another storyline - and more drama (sometimes with new characters).Sometimes a soap revives/revamps itself with a (previously) unrelated, out of the blue event, e.g. Falcon Crest S6 and Knots Landing S8. These storylines are being told backwards until they &quot;meet&quot; the present, and then it moves forwards.The premise of the classic soap is rather nondescript: the loves and lives of town&#039;s folk, family members etc with the focus on adult/scandalous storylines.I guess the current soaps need a stronger theme to attract viewers, but strong themes also come with more parameters.I&#039;m not sure how the genre-hybrids fit into the soap category. A continuing horror, supernatural or SF story can be experienced as &quot;soap&quot; but I usually feel that the drama is being overshadowed by the impossible e.g. witchcraft, dragons, super powers etc.A soap doesn&#039;t have to be believable, as long as it&#039;s not impossible.And yet the first two seasons of The Walking Dead had some excellent drama (until they killed off the show&#039;s most intriguing nemesis, what were they thinking??) so it can be very confusing sometimes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Willie Oleson, post: 128170, member: 8"] A continuing drama that doesn't really need a fixed ending. Every now and then a storyline requires a pay-off/conclusion, but it should be possible to continue the series within the parameters of that particular soap. Ideally, the storyline-conclusion morphs into another storyline - and more drama (sometimes with new characters). Sometimes a soap revives/revamps itself with a (previously) unrelated, out of the blue event, e.g. Falcon Crest S6 and Knots Landing S8. These storylines are being told backwards until they "meet" the present, and then it moves forwards. The premise of the classic soap is rather nondescript: the loves and lives of town's folk, family members etc with the focus on adult/scandalous storylines. I guess the current soaps need a stronger theme to attract viewers, but strong themes also come with more parameters. I'm not sure how the genre-hybrids fit into the soap category. A continuing horror, supernatural or SF story can be experienced as "soap" but I usually feel that the drama is being overshadowed by the impossible e.g. witchcraft, dragons, super powers etc. A soap doesn't have to be believable, as long as it's not impossible. And yet the first two seasons of The Walking Dead had some excellent drama (until they killed off the show's most intriguing nemesis, what were they thinking??) so it can be very confusing sometimes. [/QUOTE]

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