Hello lemmings,

I am not exactly a fan of soap dramas, however through regular visits at my moms place i end up watching these shows (specifically the german shows “Alles was zählt” and “Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten”).

Until this year, the drama was worth it because Doctor Who aired inmediately after and i think Donna Noble, Martha Jones, Clara Oswalt etc. are much more entertaining.

Over time i’ve noticed that the plots have become much more dramatic. Schemes have become much more schemey, crimes have been commited and became more crimey and the drama has become seemingly constantly more dramatic.

Now my question is: Am i mistaken with my impression? Is there a name for this drama creep? Does this also happen to other long-running soap dramas where you live?

  • 🇰 🔵 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️
    link
    fedilink
    English
    3
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    I saw an episode of Young and the Restless or One Life to Live (they’re all so similar and I am not a fan personally) a while back after I thought that show ended when I was a kid. It was pretty much exactly what I remembered. Hell, for all I know the episode I watched most recently was set only 2 days after the last one I saw with my mom when I was 10.

    They’ve always been over the top and batshit crazy.

    • @[email protected]OP
      link
      fedilink
      1
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      In GZSZ the plot really turned bonkers, especially over the years.

      Here are a few bullet points:

      • Introduced gay guy
      • Introduced guy that turns out to be bi
      • Introduce girl so guy can learn he’s bi
      • Have him learn he’s bi through practical experimentation
      • Make him decide for one of them
      • Ignore previous events until plot-convenient

      Another arc that happened over the span of 1 to 2 years:

      • Introduce bad guy for established woman
      • Make woman fall for bad guy
      • Oh oh! Bad guy is cop!
      • OH OH! BAD GUY IS ABUSIVE!
      • Continue abuse until breakup
      • Introduce dad for woman
      • OOOOOH OOOOH! DAD IS ACTUALLY STALKER!
      • Bad somehow redeems himself
      • Bad guy ends up throwing dad in river, woman and other dudes are witness
      • Nobody tells police
      • Dad returns a few episodes later
      • Bad guy loses job as cop because turns out police doesn’t like coverups (unrealistic af)
      • Bad guy now becomes dollar store punisher because somewhere in between all of this gang is introduced
      • Bad guy stops gang
      • OOOOOOOH NOOOOOOOOOO! THERE’S A CHARACTER WHO DIED AND THE CHARACTER ISN’T DEAD AFTER ALL! WE LEARN THAT THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF DOLLAR STORE MISTER RABBIT KILLING EXTRAS! CHARACTER GOT A CRYPTO WALLET AND MISTER RABBIT WANTS IT BACK!
      • BAD GUY IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY WITH A MULTI-EPISODE TACTICAL ESPIONAGE AND HACKING ARC!