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The Dying Royalty of Free TV Shows

For free TV show fans, soap operas had been, are and will always be on top of their list as the pinnacle of television drama. The concrete proof is that soap operas all over the world are among the highest-rated, if not the highest-rated, among all the other shows in all the other genres.

In the U.S. and UK, they also hold the record as being the longest-running TV shows in history, beating all shows in all categories, including lavishly-produced one-shot TV specials and others.

Of late, the "telenovela" produced in Latin America and exported all over the globe, is the current holder of the most-watched television program in the world with over 2 billion avid viewers.

What's A Soap Opera?

Soap operas started as radio drama serials with soap makers as their main sponsors. These are presented as serials or a continuing long narrative story, usually aired during weekdays aimed at female listeners, mostly housewives.

Later, it was only a matter of time that this popular radio drama format got transplanted on TV, this time with visuals. The move earned the soap opera more fans.

What makes a soap opera different from the other drama formats is its open-ended narrative. Each episode ends with some kind of a cliffhanger, promising that the story continues in another episode.

The other distinction that soap operas are famous for is the presence of ALL kinds of storytelling devices borrowed from ancient times to the present - chance meetings, coincidences, last-minute rescues, sudden revelations, surprising change of minds, and "deus ex machine" endings. All of these devices are, of course, hated and reviled by other writers, mostly the so-called 'literary' writers.

However, this open plot narrative and continuity devices have seeped into mainstream primetime drama series like Hill Street Blues all the way to Friends and The West Wing. They all feature ensemble cast and intertwined multiple storylines.

Recent hits include Lost, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. Their appeal seems not just centered on the melodrama but also on the occasional humor in the stories.

Recession And Decline

In their heydays, soap operas used to lord it over the ratings and held it in record number of years, unsurpassed even up to now. Guiding Light, a radio drama in 1937 and transferred to television in 1952, holds the distinction of being the longest running soap ever.

Still going on after more than 45 years are General Hospital and As The World Turns. In 1986, Eastenders (UK) became the highest-rated soap opera episode ever with more than 30 million viewers out of 54 million TV sets.

However, the economic recession took its toll on everything, including soap operas. The downward trend had already begun in early 2000 and continued unabated till today.

One by one, they all fell down. NBC cancelled Passions in 2007, and announced Days of Our Lives might not last in 2009. Guiding Light, the longest running show in TV history got cancelled after barely making only a million and a half viewers everyday.

The other endangered shows include All My Children, General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, The Bold and The Beautiful and As the World Turns.

The main culprit is the dismally low number of viewers. Added to the misfortune was the 2008 economic recession. Most of their advertising monies come from the automotive industry, one of the hardest hit in the current economic downturn.

Other causes helped in the decline of soap opera viewers, the biggest of which is competition - the Internet, cable, the movies, other portable entertainment devices, etc.

Also, in contrast to all the past years up to today, there seems to be a continuing trend in the dwindling of the number of stay-at-home audiences (mostly women) which is the main market for soap operas.

The fans of free TV shows are now wringing their hands in true soap operatic fashion, watching and worried about their favorite soap operas, and reading the usual credit end-line tag: "What happens next? Who's going to save them all? Tune in tomorrow!"

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Found a Pigeon with a broken wing... what to do? Will it die?

As I left the house tonight, there was a Pigeon on my back porch. (5 steps up) I came back home 3 hours later and it was and still is there on my porch. My husband scurried it off the porch to get into the house with our baby, then it jumped down the 5 steps and walked into our driveway. A minute or two later, it hopped back up the 5 steps and is now on the porch again. I gave it small dish of water, a small dish of croutons and made it a nest in a shallow box made of a bunch of soft dryer lint. It is not taking the food or water, and it is sitting outside of the nest. It looks like it's wing is broken, will it die? I don't know what I can do for it. It is elevated off the ground on the porch so hopefully now animals will get it tonight. If it is still there in the morning, what should I do? Will a humane society come to take him? I am in the Detroit Michigan area. Any helpful suggestions would be great. Thanks!

Croutons don't grow on trees. I'm sure the bird has no idea what they are.

If I were you, I would bring it indoors. A pet carrier or large cardboard box (open) with a light colored sheet over the top will work fine.

Be gentle when catching or handling the bird, and go slowly. Pigeons are gentle. They can't hurt you.

Give it water in a heavy coffee mug - at least 2" of water. Make sure the bird has light to see and splash your (clean) fingers in the water so it knows what it is.

You may have appropriate food already, or it can be found cheaply at any grocery store. In a pinch you can use, bird seed for small birds (millet, canary seed, oats), cracked corn, split green peas (uncooked), plain bagged popcorn - unpopped, non-microwavable.

If the pigeon has a band on it's leg it's a lost racing pigeon. The owner can be traced by the band number. If it has no band, it's a feral (wild) pigeon.

If it's a feral, you could get the wing set by an avian vet, and keep it if you wish. The wing may heal fine, depending on the injury and how long it's been broken. There is always a chance that it will be a permanent injury.

Not sure about the humane society or wildlife rehabbers. If it's a feral (not banded), it may be euthanized.

Even if it is banded, it's been my experience that racing pigeon owners have no use for injured birds and many will cull (kill) those birds.

Best of luck to you and the bird!

Oxcart: the 'real' band behind a tribute band
Several times a year, the band members join forces with other local musicians to create the Pink Floyd tribute band Pigs on the Wing.

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