If you thought that the cancellation of the last of our beloved shows meant that P&G….sorry, Telenext, would never confound, anger or confuse you again…..
……well, it’s 2020, folks.
Apparently, P&G or related entities are making copyright claims on YouTube videos.
And so hours of our beloved shows – our last connections to these ignored and forgotten hours – are disappearing.
Deleted. During a freakin’ pandemic, when old memories might be the most comforting thing on the Web.
I understand that this is intellectual property, and there’s a legitimate claim to be made on this content.
But P&G/Telenext has all but let these archives die on the vine. They’ve shown zero interest in getting this content to us in any monetized way.
It’s not that the framework to do it doesn’t exist, since they managed to get the content playing in China not long after the ax fell.
No one would be happier than me if P&G ended up putting together an online archive, similar to what WatchTheDoctors is doing.
But despite a few smart and hardworking people behind the scenes, the company’s overall decisions regarding these shows has mostly confused or annoyed me, as well as other fans. So I’m not optimistic.
Hoping we learn more soon….before the last of our memories just slip completely away.
A | THOUSAND | OTHER | WORLDS 
It’s P&G, what else can you expect, but thanks for bringing it to light with this column.
I think many of the problems with the P&G soap division, later called Telenext, can be traced to the retirement of Ed Trach in 1992/93. He clearly loved the shows and guided the company expertly. All the successors lack him love and devotion to the genre and have consequently allowed it to go down the drain.
I’m sure if someone like Donna Love was here, she’d put up a good protest about their removal!
In the meantime, I’m glad I’ve saved various scenes and episodes to tape (later transferred to disc), so I can at least have some of my memories. In fact, this time of year, I typically watch the final episode of Texas and of Edge of Night since both went off the year just after Christmas in 1982 and 1984, respectively. I think I need to do that tonight!
Happy Holidays, James! Great to see your comment here.
I agree. Ed Trach was really key to the direction of those shows, in ways none of us in the cheap seats ever understood. I disliked Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin for several reasons (including her comments about Michael Zaslow) but I’ve belatedly recognized that even she was a net benefit to the shows – ATWT and GL ended not long after she left.
And Donna would certainly put up a fight to see her face on YouTube!
Bit of a tragedy, and a missed opportunity to make a little money or promote the company on the side.
Speaking of history, I made this compilation of opens for ‘Another World’ with their iconic 1987-1996 theme song.