I am one of the people that switched from Comcast to DirecTV when Passions moved. Of course, I was never really thrilled that the show was being moved to an exclusive provider but it was the next best thing since otherwise it probably would've remained cancelled. I was, however, mad when it got cut to only four and then eventually three episodes a week. I felt DirecTV was cheating fans. A fun perk with the DirecTV move was Passions Live where Eric Martsolf (Ethan) hosted a talk show where fans could talk to the actors/actresses from the show. It was pretty revolutionary. Another cool option was the chance to play Passions Trivia during the show. I guess what really
stumps me is that Passions was the number one rated program on The 101. I had heard about the lawsuit that took place upon the cancellation (I didn't get involved in it) but I never knew that some were accusing the Passions crew of knowing their time on DirecTV would be limited, where did you hear that? I personally believe that everyone involved with Passions was completely blindsided by the cancellation. It's apparent because after the cancellation was announced JER penned several insults for characters to criticize both NBC and DirecTV execs for cancelling the show. I do believe, however, that DirecTV knew it wouldn't be keeping Passions for the long term. They've got a track record of proving they can't commit to shows for too long. For example, they saved another show I love called Damages but only made a two season commitment. I think it's their way of getting subscribers. After Passions ended my business with DirecTV ended as well. It's way too expensive and I always had trouble with the satellite. I'll never join DirecTV again. But, even though I'm angry about how they handled the situation, I am thankful they at least allowed us to have Passions for a little bit longer. It allowed for some pretty bizzare and entertaining storylines to take place. Plus, really it made Passions even more historic. Once NBC cancelled it many soap fans who had hated the show celebrated and were glad that the youngest "wannabe" soap of the lot was gone but then suddenly it pulls the ultimate soapy move and comes back from the dead--something As the World Turns and Guiding Light couldn't do. All My Children and One Life to Live managed to come back briefly but not as long as Passions. So, yeah, I hate DirecTV for lying but I'm glad we had the opportunity to wrap things up properly.
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Rytman
10 years ago
Where did I hear it? It was either a soap magazine or website. I'm not sure seeing as it's been over 7 years now. I think the majority of the anger was directed at Direct T.V. and not Passions, though.
Even before the whole switch to Direct T.V., I heard nothing good about the service. I.E. the cost, picture quality and trouble with reception, the fact you have to pay extra if you want certain local channels in your area, etc. No thanks.
BTW, how long into Passions run on D.T. did they cut it down from 4 episodes a week to 3? Did they even announce it, or did you just find out one day? Along those same lines, when Passions first started there did you know it was going to air 4 days a week instead of the normal 5 all along, or did you just find out when you started watching again?
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rodcenray
10 years ago
It was announced from the beginning that new episodes would air Monday-Thursday (showing the same episode twice a day) with the week replay during the weekend (which was actually pretty cool if you happened to miss an episode during the week). If memory serves me right, they cut the episodes to Monday-Wednesday around December so about three months in. They informed fans the week before so it was very surprising and frustrating. I think they ended up announcing that they weren't going to renew the show that same month. So, it all happened fairly fast. The cast and crew wrapped up their filming in March of 2008 and the final episode aired in August.
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