By Denise Mann
For legions of lifetime ABC daytime fans (myself included), tomorrow marks the end of an era. ABC’s One Life to Live officially ends its 43 year run on Jan, 13, 2012. On September 23rd, 2011, ABC also said goodbye to All My Children. Other networks, too, have cancelled long-running daytime dramas, and many say the writing is on the wall for those that remain.
What, you may ask, does the end of the soap opera genre have to do with plastic surgery practice or Plastic Surgery Practice?
For starters, soap opera viewers – who Nielsen estimates are now aged 55 and older – are in the same age range of many of your prospective plastic surgery patients. (This means many may be in mourning and or have more free time in the afternoon).
Daytime dramas and all of their far-fetched storytelling also gave rise to a host of glamourous and seemingly ageless vixens, villains, heroines, divas and dare we forget, all of the damsels in distress. Ask any fan who has tuned into one of these dramas after a long hiatus and they will tell you that the actresses and actors still look the same.
Why don’t soap stars age? The answer plastic surgery – really good plastic surgery (at least in most cases). Many of these actors have been on the same show in the same role for eons, so they really do serve as their own before-and-afters or N =1.
Although soaps have been a daytime staple since the 1950s the major networks have moved away from them because they are no longer money makers (I disagree, but that’s just me and thousands of other vociferous soap fans who are mobilizing on the internet and elsewhere as I write this). Instead, we will be seeing more reality-based shows as well as talk shows that focus on health, wellness and food.
The new hosts and reality “stars” don’t look anything like the daytime royalty of yore. How can one compare Jersey Shore’s Snooki to Susan Lucci’s Iconic Erica Kane? It is night and day.
Will the changing paradigm of daytime television programming change our ideals of beauty? Will this trickle down to plastic and cosmetic surgeons and other anti-aging doctors? TV and the media do shape societies ideas of beauty and alert viewers to the possibilities. Soaps have been good for plastic surgery, although the reality shows such as Keeping up with Kardashians, The Real Housewives of just about anywhere USA, and Jersey Shore have also done their fair share to thrust cosmetic surgery into the spotlight ( for better and for worse.)
Will the Daytime Revolution affect plastic surgeons? The jury is out, but it is something to Chew on. (Puns intended).
