So doesn’t the show, the cast, the crew, all peripherals involved and most of all the fans deserve a better send off than its sorry treatment the past two weeks by the network, by the affiliates and by the soap press who gleefully leaked every minute detail of an ending that should have been left as one last shocking revelation?

Rhetorical question obviously.

Granted, seven months have gone by since the last day of shooting. No more set visits, no more secrets to keep to serve the producers, no more teasing with future scoops and news to maintain dwindling subscribers interested in buying their books. They’ve all been sitting on information for so long I suppose I do understand the urge to stop dusting off the cobwebs and just put it out there. Doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do.

On a normal basis endless spoilers don’t, as they say, spoil anything for me. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a member of the spoiler whore club, however if information floated my way it never bothered me to know things in advance. Half the time they were red herrings anyways, simple manipulations by management and press to further a need, dangle a carrot, create anticipation. No problem.

And yes, for the most part the magazines have always supported PORT CHARLES, at least as well as their ah, genre allowed. Carolyn Hinsey, the queen herself, even picked PORT CHARLES to win that daytime Emmy it was robbed of.

This week however all I can say is that for TVGuide, Soaps In Depth, Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly, the grand doyens of all things soap, to shamelessly print every detail of PORT CHARLES’ end, replete with actor’s interviews that were clearly not meant to give away anything in advance, in a slimy game of one upmanship to see who can break a story or interview first is disgraceful.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the internet has made it virtually impossible to keep anything under wraps and with all this information floating around the temptation is just too great. But the final, final end down to the last shot of the last moment no one really knew for sure until the above mentioned publications made a decision, conscious or not, to release any and all information with little or no consideration for the viewers who are still invested, lest either one of them is bested by the others. Competitive capitalism at its finest.

And the grand result of all this rivalry and posturing - exactly what have the magazines accomplished except to further promote themselves. Has TVGuide managed, with not only its details of the ending but a review of it no less, to convince whatever remaining viewers the network affiliates haven’t screwed over that PORT CHARLES’ final days are a great waste of time? Here’s what happens, it sucks (sorry, only week left to have a little fun), it’s not satisfying, don’t bother.

I sincerely hope not.

Sure Soaps In Depth and Soap Opera Digest are running glitzy farewell pieces in their latest issues designed to give the fans one last look at the ensemble, past and present, before they all head off to other opportunities. But it doesn’t excuse or change the point of my musing – respect for the fans, the customers who buy the magazines and respect for the story and what the production tried to achieve. Can the argument be made that it’s these very same fans whose hunger for such advance notices drive the machine - absolutely.

But it begs the age old question – what came first the chicken or the egg? Is it supply or demand? Give the masses what they crave but know when to draw the line.

The line was crossed this time, for once the editors should have known better and allowed PORT CHARLES’ end, such that it is, to play out with all the surprise and excitement it could muster. And to those of you who say the job of a journalist is to report the news wherever and whenever, I say, the rules of conventional journalism don’t apply here. No editor sat on vital information that could impact world affairs, its entertainment reporting, giving away the ending to a movie or television show is simply irresponsible and arrogant.

In tandem with ABC, whose affiliates were obviously salivating at the chance to stick Millionaire in its place Sept. 15th, all this pretty much guarantees PORT CHARLES goes down with a whimper instead of a bang. Not to mention not one word anywhere from mighty ABC itself in the form of a promo, a nod to an audience that invested years in this show and money be damned. I daresay they could have rustled up enough money to edit together a decent 30 second promo to run this week and next as a tribute to the show and its audience – a combination that is unlike anything daytime has ever seen and I imagine ever will again. Correct me if I’m wrong but did ABC have any other Emmy nominated daytime dramas this year? Ah, didn’t think so. At the very least an honourable send off would have selfishly served the alphabet network well – one million counted fans and who knows how many uncounted ones happily tuning in to other ABC daytime dramas is nothing to sneeze at. They may already but why take the chance of alienating even a small portion. For a network on the run seems to me they need all the viewers they can hold on to. Well as the saying goes, stupid is as stupid does.

Bottom line, it’s despicable that this show got fucked from every angle and isn’t being allowed to die with any shred of dignity or respect. Six years on the air, groundbreaking characters and stories that affected people’s lives in myriads of ways, actually making a difference – a piece of entertainment that made a difference and ABC is just ignoring it as it fades away, hoping no one even knows its still on.

The grand experiment is over. The true economics of today’s entertainment killed it. Money.

Let’s not allow money to win – get a VCR if you have to, do whatever you can to show your support, ignore what you know and watch to the very last minute, the very last second, offering a rousing round of applause, standing alone in your living rooms, for a remarkable show, the crew that brought it to you each day and an amazingly dedicated and talented group of actors that gave its all.

In an indulgent bit of musing, I’d like to quote the late George Plimpton, who did exactly what he wanted, when he wanted and somehow managed to experience everything he possible could out of life. “There are people who would perhaps call me a dilettante because it looks as though I’m having too much fun. I have never been convinced there’s anything inherently wrong in having fun.”

While quoting George Plimpton might certainly seem blasphemous to the literati who follow his Paris Review (which is fine since none of them are reading this anyways) and as unlikely as it probably is, his epitaph makes for a very fitting postscript to PORT CHARLES’ appeal. At its core PORT CHARLES was one huge pile of fun. And there is nothing inherently wrong in that. None of the cement filled shoes that sunk this show can change that.

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As part of a special farewell feature to PORT CHARLES I invite you all to write in with your favorite episodes, favorite moments, favorite storylines, favorite memories, favorite cast encounters…whatever moved you that you’d like to share with your fellow PC fans. If you’d like to say goodbye with me, here’s your chance to make your voice heard.

...until we muse again Port Charles Fans









*** Please note the views expressed here are those of the author and not the site.