For many people who hold down 9 – 5 jobs and can’t figure out how to program a VCR the world of daytime might as well be another planet. To this group it’s a world filled with over-dramatized sob stories, twisted relationships, freakish characters coming and going and the occasional titillating seduction scene. 

To those of us who have allowed the soap phenomenon to become a part of our pop culture it’s a parallel universe.  A world we’ve made part of our reality, part of our lives. To us it’s about people and passions, fantasy storytelling that entertains and moves us on one level or another.

Obviously it is no secret that I am a huge fan of and believer in PORT CHARLES. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t act the scolding mother half the time in my musings always trying to nudge it to become better and better, to live up to its full potential as presented to us. PORT CHARLES wanted to stake its claim and set itself apart from the rest of daytime with its supernatural bent and shock value. And it has. It challenges the industry in ways it hasn’t been challenged since DARK SHADOWS caused such a sensation all those years ago. It takes tremendous risks, has changed, and continues to change our perception of what daytime should look and feel like. As with all things in life and art, it works for some, not for others. As with all things in life and art a threshold is reached that some can cross over and some can’t.

Are we so saturated with vampires and the like that we’re losing that sense of wonder (I wonder) this show created?  Just as an addict develops a tolerance and needs larger and larger doses to achieve the same effect have we developed a tolerance to the “amazing” events PORT CHARLES has thrown us? Jadedness is a constant enemy for soap loyalists. With technology and media bombarding our senses day and night with lightning fast sound bites soap operas found themselves left behind in the dust with slow and plodding story build ups that took forever to resolve. 

Since so many of us seem to have the attention span of a gnat these days, the resulting boredom set in faster than ever before.

The arc format was designed to lift us out of that inevitable boredom by creating a new experience every 13 weeks.  But has the novelty worn off? PORT CHARLES has set its bar on said novelty entertainment that proved unique and exciting most of the time. The format was primed to take full advantage of the arousal level, uncertainty and thrill of a new relationship, new plot twist, interesting and unusual story lines, and actors who can keep up with the break neck pace. So why does it work for some and not for others?

PORT CHARLES is a fantasy world that makes ordinary soap life seem dull and unsatisfying, on the surface anyways.  But perhaps the balance has swung too hard in one direction these days. Ordinary people dealing with extraordinary situations have always been the mainstay of the soap formula. Extraordinary people dealing with extraordinary situations are the difference here. There is very little ordinary anything in PORT CHARLES, which is exactly the point.

Ever hear the saying “when you get something it’s new and exciting”, “when you have something you take it for granted and it’s boring”. So follows the arcs. They’re all about “getting something” and not balancing it with “now you have it, do something with it”. The arcs may successfully feed our constant craving for diversion and excitement to keep the boredom at bay, but like most soaps they’re plagued with inconsistencies. When the cravings wear off PORT CHARLES must get back to its core characters, grounded storylines, history and romance.

The constant quest for novelty and excitement means PORT CHARLES is missing out on its own wonderful world and the characters that inhabit it. It’s a mistake to assume the drama is only stimulating if it’s new. Balance the successful boredom busting quick pace of the show with familiarity and humor instead of tricks all the time.  Balance the interesting and amazingly creative supernatural slants with compelling stories of the human condition that can be built upon for a strong future.

And get back to romance, the reason most of us watch soaps for in the first place. 

While SURRENDER has certainly had its share of ups and downs, I challenge anyone who watched this week’s episodes to disagree that this little show delivers huge payoffs more often than not. It has an energy, drive and focus unlike anything else on daytime. It can be as boring and flat as the next soap and can turn around and surprise the hell out of you the very next day. All of which inspires and stimulates heated and passionate debate from defenders and detractors alike.

In my book that’s what it’s all about.

Because if no one was talking, groaning, lusting, offering their views on what to change, what to keep, which couple has heat, which couple doesn’t, which actor is sexier or edgier, whether they’ve had enough of vampires or not…but watching, always watching…then what would be the point of it – period.  Boredom and apathy has not driven away viewer ship. It can’t. PORT CHARLES is too smart, too dynamic, too riveting, too filled with talented actors willing to commit 100% to the sometimes questionable fantasy and too mesmerizing for us to turn away.