Daytime soap operas don't get all the love that they used to, and as fan viewership has fallen off in recent years, many long-running programs have unfortunately been canceled...much to the dismay of the remaining (and very passionate) fans! Once show that fell victim to this a bit over a year ago was
As the World Turns, which CBS had run since 1956. Could a DVD release be in the offing, however, for this dearly beloved Procter and Gamble-sponsored production? Now, thanks to a tip-off tweet (since deleted) from @soapwikijohn, we've learned of a
Daytime Confidential post at Zap2it.com, which we'll let speak for itself in these quoted passages which describe a full-page advertisement they found in an upcoming (10/25) issue of
Soap Opera Weekly magazine (please visit the original post at the provided link to read their entire write-up):
According to the ad, 20 classic episodes of [As The] World Turns will be offered on four DVDs for just $19.95. Disc 1 is "Great Weddings," Disc 2 is "Secrets and Scandals," Disc 3 is "Oakdale Through The Years" and Disc 4 is "Villains and Vixens."
This sounds like a great way to release DVDs of a show that ran daily for over 54 years, since there's no good way to put out "season sets" (imagine how huge a package that would be for a soap opera that aired every day, all year long!). This way, fans who stuck with it all along can get their favorite episodes throughout the show's run, and even if you're one of those fans who stopped watching years (or decades) ago, chances are that the set contains both episodes you remember and love, plus great episodes you missed in recent years and wouldn't mind seeing. Unfortunately the post doesn't show an actual scan of the ad, so we can't pass that along to you right now. The write-up does provide a website and toll-free number to use to order the 4-DVD set, but the website (www.soapclassics.com) isn't active yet, and calling the # (1-800-998-5199) I was told that information about the item isn't available at this time, and to call back at the end of next week (presumably when the magazine issue is definitely on stands).
The write-up at Zap2It speaks as if Procter and Gamble themselves is releasing this DVD package, and we're sure that their co-operation is involved at some level. However, we've learned that the DVDs are actually being produced through Broadway Video, who our readers will know for their involvement with
Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock and
The Kids in the Hall. We've reached out to them for additional information about this release of
As The World Turns, and we'll be trying to find out if any additional soaps are also in-the-works for similar DVD releases. We'll also try to learn if this will only be available via the direct-sale methods described in the ad, or if it will be sold at retailers, too. Stay tuned!
UPDATE: In the time it took us to write up the above, the folks at Zap2It's Daily Confidential column have deleted their post at the link provided above, and replaced it
with this new post "confirming" the DVD release, and saying that the direct-sale web site mentioned above is supposed to go live tonight.
