Biting the Hand that Feeds Them?
It's been a war for at least a decade, a place where writers and fans find themselves the most divided, couples. Yeah there can be a really odd storyline or a really annoying character, but nothing gets on fans nerves more than couples being trashed, used, and abused. Although the actual romance went out of at least ninety if not one hundred percent of the couples on soaps today, fans and writers are both aware the power a popular couple can have on their soap. You get fans invested on a pair at put that pair front and center you can go far. Even when most of the supercouples of old are just running on fumes, fans will still line up. So why are writers now taking advantage of their most precious resource? An even better question, why are some writers practically defiant when fans complain and they just trudge along, doing what they want? We have so many examples of soaps having huge drops in ratings when signature couples are torn apart and yet, writers still continue to do it, with no thought as to whether or not they can risk it. They instead, if pressed, blame fans for not being able to keep an open mind. Nothing like burying your head in the sand guys. But to be fair, let's examine whether or not they have a point.
As you all know, I'm all for fans being heard when it comes to their favorite couples. I always have respect for the highly mobilized and dedicated Internet couple fans. I have ardently supported fans All My Children's Bianca and Maggie. I have felt the pain of fans of As the World Turn's Jack and Carly. I have understood the frustration of fans of Days of Our Lives' John and Marlena and Bo and Hope. Whether I've actually been a fan of these couples personally usually has little to do with it. I know from personal experience what it is like to see your favorite couple torn apart either by stupid writers, actors' demands, or an unexpected casting decision. In fact with the exception of one couple, none of my all time favorite couples, the ones I loved with a passion are together on screen or off. So I know this pain, I've seen it happen and I've suffered it time and time and time again myself.
I'm reminded of what happens to widows when they remarry. Many times when someone unexpectedly or even expectedly loses a spouse, friends and family, and maybe even the widow never expect to recover. But when the widow does, sometimes it is at a pace others are not comfortable with, and maybe even the widow feels guilty. Doesn't matter if the widow is young, old, a parent, was previously married for fifty years or fifty minutes, invariably, someone in that widow's inner circle isn't prepared. This is exactly how fans of couples feel when, for whatever reason, their couple has been torn apart and writers dare to have characters move on.
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