| Open Letter to OLTL's Executive Producer | |
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In a recent article in Soap Opera Weekly magazine, OLTL's Executive Producer, Gary Tomlin, responded to a question on what he hears fans saying about the show. Here's an excerpt of what Mr. Tomlin said: "We do focus reports, which tend to be more representative of the regular fans than the Internet [fans], because you get a real cross section of a lot of people."
Although I have come to very much respect Gary Tomlin and most of his opinions, and to the degree of what he has accomplished on the show so far, I do have to totally disagree with this recent statement. I believe the folks on the Internet are just as much of a "regular" fan, as those who are not.
-My question to you, Mr. Tomlin, is what do you define as a "regular" fan?
Here's my definition:
Fans come from all walks of life, unique cultures and various surroundings. Some fans are strictly ABCer's, meaning they enjoy the full daytime line-up, while others may switch the channel and watch other soaps from CBS and NBC. Then there are those who only watch One Life to Live. Fans consist of the very young to the very old. Fans are people of various professions, including computer engineers, writers, real estate agents, waitresses, military personnel, housekeepers, blue collar workers, white collar workers, college students and stay-at-home moms. Just to name a few. There are fans who live in big fancy mansions and others in quant little trailers. There are fans living in small rural towns and those living in gigantic metropolises. But no matter how different fans lives may be, one thing is for sure; they are all "regular" fans of the show!
There are fans who want nothing to do with the Internet, and then there are those who can't live a day without it. And out of those Internet fans come folks from AOL, MSN, .coms, .edus, .nets, .govs, and so forth. There are fans posting in forums all over the Net on a daily basis, while others just enjoy the occasional chat. There are newsletter and mailing list subscribers, plus those who subscribe to print magazines, or pick them up at the local grocery store. But they are all still just "regular" fans!
There are those fans who are die-hard Todd and Tea fans, and others who can't wait until they get a "TnB" reunion. Fans consist of "Ben-Bashers," "Rappadork-Haters," and who could forget those who loved calling Will, "Swill." Then on the other side of the coin, we have "Derwin Lovers," "Ty-Girls" and "Roger Fanatics." But they are all still "regular" fans!
Fans are Anglo-Saxon, Canadian, British, Asian, Africa-American, Native-American, French, Hispanic, Korean, Islamic, Russian, German, etc. They are Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, and more. But they are still "regular" fans!
There are fans who become fan club presidents, or members of these clubs, fans who create Web sites, fans who attend celebrity events, and others who can only dream about meeting their favorites someday. But they are all still "regular" fans!
So as you see, Mr. Tomlin, it doesn't matter what cookie-cutter you try to use, you still end up with a just a "regular" fan on your plate!
Lastly, I also believe no fan wants to be classified as just a "regular" fan anyway, as they are all truly very unique, as you can see!
© Katherine Thurston, September 20, 2001
