Like everything else under the sun, soaps (pardon me, “daytime dramas”) just aint what they use to be. Nowadays they are simply generic timeslot fillers. The networks could run test patterns during the afternoon and nobody would notice. But I remember soaps used to be junky, lowbrow fun. I’m just curious whom among the cafe society will 'fess up to having ever watched a soap regularly, and what they remember about their favorite shows.
I was a “One Life to Live” junkie. I started watching it back in high school, when the main couples were Viki & Clint, and Tina & Cord. I picked up on the storylines a few months before Viki had her out of body experience and went to Heaven. Tina was presumed dead after having gone over a waterfall on a raft, then showed up at her “widowed” husband Cord’s wedding to Kate. (the character Kate was played by the actress who later played Kimberly on “Melrose Place”.) I continued watching the show off & on through the wild west storyline, but finally gave up on it when they got into the Eterna nonsense. It was just too stupid at that point.
I began watching OLTL again when troubled teen Billy Douglas (played by Ryan Philllipe no less) came out as gay. I was a big fan of Marty Saybrooke, the ferocious wild child who was raped by Todd Manning and had an ongoing fued with him for several years (for once, the victim did not fall in love with her rapist in the end - they despised each other for years afterward.)
A few months ago, I had time off during the week and tuned into the show for the first time in years. I was dismayed to see how bland the show had become, not terrifically awful, not surprisingly good - just humdrum MOR. Alas.
So what soaps did you watch, and what was going on with your favorite characters when you tuned in?
Shamefully, I still watch General Hospital…tape it and usually can see the whole show in less than 20 minutes by fast-forwarding the r e a l l y bad parts. The plots are the same, over and over. I don’t think there has been a staircase made that does not cause a pregnant woman to go tumbling down it. Soaps are mindless trashy novels on screen - and sometimes all I want to do is watch a trashy novel unfold in front of me. I am not, however, suicidal if I forget to tape it, or don’t get around to seeing a few episodes.
Gee…talking about this makes me feel cheap and dirty. Anybody want to buy me a drink?
I watched General Hospital when Demi Moore was on it.
Texas, during its final year.
Another World … some long story about Cass and Cecile (she was after him and he wasn’t interested, and then suddenly he was) and some deaf woman who’d shot her abusive husband.
Santa Barbara … can’t remember any big storyline. Tawny Kitaen was on it.
The Young and the Restless … Cricket’s rape trial.
All My Children … with Kim Delaney, and the actress who went on to play Eden on Santa Barbara.
I watched the abc trifecta - All My Kids, OLTL, and GH on and off for a few years while in college in the early 80s.
How many times did Luke and Laura save the world? And those wacky Quartermains.
I also remember Demi Moore. Wasn’t she a reporter or some such?
And John Stamos as Blackie.
Perhaps the highpoint of my soap watching was in law school during a summer session when we convinced our Admin law prof to let us bring in a TV because Thad was going to blow up Jessie (Kim Delaney) on a jetski that day. He allowed us to have the TV on one end of his desk at the front of the hall with the volume off. At one point, apparently all eyes were on the TV, prompting him to ask, “Is it happening now?” In perhaps my most memorable contribution throughout law school I informed him, “No. It’s a cat food commercial.” After which - for some reason - he turned off the set. Of course, given the pace of soaps, she didn’t get all blowed up for another week or 2.
When I was about 8-10 years old I was forced to watch Days of our Lives every day during the original Bo and Hope romance. This was because I stayed with my grandmother everyday and that was the one show she NEVER missed.
It’s been years and years since I even remembered this nugget from my childhood. In retrospect, it might explain a lot.
I watched Guiding Light in my School years, my Mom was into that soap, I still watch when I can, even through my time in the Navy and working a full time job. I loved Reva Shayne, and her family especially Roxie, I liked the Lewis clan. I loved to watch Alan & Alexandra Spaulding and Roger Thorpe, and all the evil they were up to.
I watched a bunch of different soaps off and on for years. Had college roomates who got me hooked. (And I still contend that for entertainment value they were at least as good as what is on prime time TV). My fave was always GUIDING LIGHT, especially during the time period that Michelle Forbes was on. Anyone else remember this? I was cured of the soaps when my daughter started to walk. No more TV.
Growing up, my mother got me stuck on Days of Our Lives and Another World. I watched Another World on and off until I moved away from home and then I watched it regularly from then until it was taken off of the air. I keep up with Days of Our Lives even though I don’t watch it regularly.
When I was young, my mom watched (from time to time) As the World Turns and Guiding Light. I vaugely remember some of that. Never got too into it.
Years later, though, my roommate in college watched the ABC three - and I didn’t have class between noon and 2… so I got hooked on One Life to Live.
For a good 5 or so years. I watched the finding of the Lord heir, the Todd/Blair romance…more of the Todd/Blair romance, the halfassed and eventually aborted attempt to bring lower middle class people back to Llanview, and the Irish terrorists. Which made no sense whatsoever…but yes, there were Irish terrorists. And their plot included an attack on a nowhere town in Pennsylvania.
During a wedding rehearsal dinner.
Sadly, it wasn’t until a good two or three months after the end of Irish terrorists (the above was merely the beginning) that I stopped watching because it was getting too stupid.
I grew up watching GH. I can’t remember a single time in my life when I haven’t watched it, and now I can’t seem to stop. If I’m home during the day at 2 o’clock, it’s on my TV.
And now I recently acquired the soap channel, and god help me, i"ll be able to stay caught up with the episodes I miss when I’m at school.
And if that wasn’t enough, I’m also a shameless spoilerwhore and check the spoiler boards on a daily basis. Because I just have to know what’s going to happen…
But hey! Thing sare getting interesting now! Sonny is losing it again! It’s fun when Sonny goes in-fucking-sane.
I can recall watching Guiding Light way back when Ben and Eve were on. Right before Eve went blind. I thought she was cute.
I also watched Roger Thorpe fall to his death in a jungle. I always thought he was one of the better soap opera villians. Roger Zaslow was perfect in this role. He was also the first “red shirt” to get whacked in the original Star Trek for which Dr. McCoy said (also for the first time), “He’s dead, Jim”.
My roommate got me to watch a couple of episodes of GH. I stopped watching when I could recognize the characters and the plots started to make sense. I guess I’m not a soap opera kinda-of-guy.
I seem to be “in recovery” from soaps just now, but I certailny have been known to follow “Coronation Street” and the now-defunct “Brookside”. OH Brooksdie was great fun, when ever things got a bit too muddled, they had convenient explosions, fires , or outbreaks of plague for goodness sake. Oh and gangsters with guns and so on, all in this tediously quiet looking suburban estate.
Oops - almost forgot - how could I “Prisoner Cell Block H” - heheh - quite wonderful!
I’ve watched Days of our Lives since the 1980’s. Mostly because I’ve never tried to stop watching it. It’s pretty nasty now, with all those murders (but I’m delighted Cassie is getting killed today. I’ve never like her).
I also watch Passions sometimes cause it’s on after Days, and it is so weird. Wednesday I caught the great scene with Alister Crane kissing Beth (“Alister is Charlie”…SAY WHA?).
I watched Days of our Lives for a while, then stopped, then started again, and then stopped again. The first period included the Patch and Kayla relationship from just after they met and the second included the John/Roman/Marlena thing.
I also watched The Guiding Light from the Alan-Michael divorces Harley and hooks up with Blake period to the Bridget gets pregnant and gives her baby to Nadine period.
Back when I was a kid in the early 70s, I watched Dark Shadows. Though I watched it regularly during summer vacation, I could never get into the recent reruns on the Sci-Fi channel (one reason was I’d forget to tune in). I can remember in fifth grade, I lived in a small town, where fifth and sixth grade was combined in one room and taught by the same teacher. During the afternoon recess, I would often play on the merry-go-round, knowing I would get nauseated. I’d then complain to the teacher that I felt sick and get sent home in time to catch the show.
A couple of years ago, I got into a Columbian “novella,” Betty la Fea. (Translation: “Betty the Ugly One.”) Having two years of high school Spanish and living near Mexico, I could just pick up enough conversation to understand what was basically happening. The title and occasional commercials I’d catch while channel surfing were what caught my interest at first. But I soon became addicted to it. I missed about the first third of the series when it was originally run on Galavision. When I realized it was being re-run on another Spanish network last year, I found it was already to the point where I had started watching it before, so I passed on it the second time around.
There was a sequel to the show, called Eco Moda, which I liked but didn’t do too well. It seemed that the show was just starting to come together when the network pulled the plug on it.
I’ve watched several over the years but have mostly stuck with CBS. I soooooo miss Capitol still after all these years.
I am not ashamed to say I adore As the World Turns. Lilly and Holden are a contant, from stupid teens to Senior couple. (Personaly I believe her to be a damn fool long ago giving up Damien, a man who worshipped the ground she walked on for a farm boy!)
Lisa Mitchell, I think she still beats out Erica Cane as the most married woman on soaps, is always amusing.
Rose, the day you met Paul in the airport, I yelled at the screen,“RUN! He’s a Stenbeck” I’m still yelling.
Bring back Duncan MacKechnie!!! (YOWZA)
I could be wrong here, but I believe ATWT has cranked out more Academy Award nominees then any other soap? Marissa Tomei, Meg Ryan, and Julianna Moore among them.
BTW, is that Chris Kozacheck or Roman Brady? I’m confused…
