# When Did 9 Chickweed Lane Become a Soap Opera Comic **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837 "2005-03-16T17:17:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/1 "2005-03-16T17:17:41Z")
and why is so compelling? Actually, I think I know when it became a soap opera - when Edda and Amos kissed. What I don’t know is the why it’s so compelling part - I’m looking forward to each day’s new installment to see who sees whom with whom, etc. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/2 "2005-03-16T17:25:54Z")
Me too! ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/3 "2005-03-16T17:31:07Z")
Me three ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/4 "2005-03-16T17:38:48Z")
Tell me about it. Like, oh my god. Seriously, I’m even more addicted than I was before. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/5 "2005-03-16T17:39:36Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > What I don’t know is the why it’s so compelling part. Great-looking, talented artists with fantastically high IQs are having awesome sex with multiple partners in the middle of the greatest city in the world. I like it because it reflects my actual life. [Link](http://www.comics.com/comics/chickweed/). ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/6 "2005-03-16T17:39:53Z")
Yep, it has become way more interesting, not that it wasn’t a lot of fun before. Looking at _9CWL_ and Brooke McEldowney’s other strip, _Pibgorn_, it’s pretty obvious that the artist is preoccupied with sexually aggressive women. ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/7 "2005-03-16T20:34:48Z")
When I first saw Monday, March 15th’s strip I thought it was Edda’s roommate and his boyfriend kissing and then thought “Whoa! Someone’s knickers are bound to get into a twist over this!” Then, when I saw Tuesday’s I thought it was the same two characters.(It obviously wasn’t - or, at least it’s obvious now that I’ve had the chance to see the two strips one after the other, thanks to the link provided above.) Long story short - this strip is getting too confusing. ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/8 "2005-03-16T20:37:30Z")
And, of course, just a second after hitting submit reply I noticed that I mis-identified Monday as the 15th - it was the 14th. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/9 "2005-04-11T15:18:58Z")
Great stars!!!..was that _Burkhardt_ Edda was dating in the Sunday, 4/11 strip…? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/10 "2005-04-11T16:20:48Z")
I can’t tell. The guys (except the roommate) are kind of drawn alike and I’m starting to have trouble keeping them apart. Is Burkhardt the same guy who recently made a play for the hot foreign piano playing girl who has a crush on Amos? I’m so confused . . . ---
**Author:** ![mcms\_cricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@mcms\_cricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcms_cricket)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/11 "2005-04-11T19:24:15Z")
From what I can tell ( I love this strip)- That was NOT Burkhardt in the Sunday strip. Edda knows that he is “in love” with her friend (according to her friend - neither the friend, nor Edda realize that he’s a major skirt chaser - though I think Eddda suspects it ) and isn’t the kind of person to go out on a date with him behind her friend’s back. Burkhardt IS friends with the piano player that’s going after Amos - he hasn’t really made a play for her, though - she knows what he’s really like (telling one girl how much he loves her, while looking over her shoulder for the next girl). Some of the strips that (I think) make this clearer: March 14 - Burkhardt and Edda’s friend - he’s telling her how much he loves her… and then asking about Edda. April 4-7 - Burkhardt talking to the pianist-whos-going-after-Amos here’s where you really get the picture that though he’s dating Edda’s friend (and prounouncing claims of undying love), he’s interested in Edda - the pianist totally knows what he’s about - but she’s not that much better. I think she’s going after Amos purely for the challenge. Today’s strip (4/11) shows Burkhardt starting to chase Edda - and Edda know’s he’s a jerk. I knew someone, some day was going to post something about the sudden turn this strip has taken from the joke-a-day format to serial story format. I like the change, but it sure is sudden. I can’t believe I just wrote all this about a comic strip. I really do have a life… ---
**Author:** ![DogMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@DogMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogMom)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/12 "2005-04-11T19:28:58Z")
Can I ask what the heck was up with 4/8 and 4/9? What was that all about? what was it supposed to represent? Were we looking at a scene through some sort of “image distortion” like a glass of water, or what? I sorta got that 4/9 was…the cat? Looking at…something? But what was 4/8 all about? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/13 "2005-04-11T19:40:44Z")
> [@mcms\_cricket](#): > > Edda…isn’t the kind of person to go out on a date with him behind her friend’s back. I agree completely…but it sure as hell LOOKED like Burkhardt. Same hair, same style of dress as when he was conversing with the hot Hungarian (?) pianist last week. Maybe she wasn’t considering it a “date?” Maybe he asked her out for coffee to discuss her taking over as his accompanist? **DogMom** : I have no idea what the hell those strips were about, but I sure wish Brooke would cut it the hell out with the one-offs. I feel like I’m missing a whole day of the Story. ---
**Author:** ![mcms\_cricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@mcms\_cricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcms_cricket)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/14 "2005-04-11T19:54:35Z")
I had to squint and look at the strip for a while, but I think that what it was supposed to be was a play on those pictures that are taken from under water looking up - or vice versa - as though the comic strip pane was sort of window that you could reach out and touch - and your hand would go through to the other side. Or something like that… **Ukulele Ike** You may be right. I agree, it DID look like Burkhardt, but I just can’t imagine that it was - there would have been some sort of discussion about it beforehand and I don’t get the impression that their (Edda and Burkhardt) paths have crossed much yet (though Burkhardt is trying to change that, by the looks of today’s strip). Considering the amount of setup that Brooke is putting into place (we know Burkhardt is dating Janice, we know he’s telling her how much he loves her, we know she’s buying it, we know that he’s a bit slimy, we know that he’s got his eye on Edda, etc., etc., ) I don’t think he’d just slip Burkhardt in like that. On the other hand, lots of serial-comic-strip Sunday strips are one-offs that are unrelated to the current story arc. Maybe that’s the case here - which would mean that it IS Burkhardt but has nothing to do with what’s going on Monday through Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![mcms\_cricket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@mcms\_cricket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcms_cricket)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/15 "2005-04-12T13:17:07Z")
Well, it looks like today’s strip definitely cleared that up. Edda really ripped Burkhardt a new one… ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/16 "2005-04-12T15:23:40Z")
What’s that thing in Burkhardt’s hand, in the last panel? Is he supposed to be a _bassoonist?_ I thought he played the violin. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/17 "2005-04-12T15:26:23Z")
> [@DogMom](#): > > Can I ask what the heck was up with 4/8 and 4/9? What was that all about? what was it supposed to represent? Were we looking at a scene through some sort of “image distortion” like a glass of water, or what? > I sorta got that 4/9 was…the cat? Looking at…something? > But what was 4/8 all about? They’re both through the same glass vase; Edda is dancing and Solange is watching her. Beyond that, the joke is in the perspective; from the cat’s close-up and low-down perspective, the vase covers Edda’s whole body. From Edda’s far-away and high-up perspective, the vase barely covers the cat. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/18 "2005-04-12T22:56:30Z")
Regarding the Friday and Saturday strips from last week: McEldowney often just gives us something pretty to look at (and interesting to decipher mentally). I’m not sure why he does that, but I suspect that it’s to stretch out a plot that is one or two strips shy of a week. Sometimes I wonder if he has a briefcase full of these studies, and he pulls some out once in a while for filler. BTW, did anyone besides me notice how much Edda looked like Juliette this morning (final frame)? ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/19 "2005-04-12T23:32:37Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > They’re both through the same glass vase; Edda is dancing and Solange is watching her. Beyond that, the joke is in the perspective; from the cat’s close-up and low-down perspective, the vase covers Edda’s whole body. From Edda’s far-away and high-up perspective, the vase barely covers the cat. (I thought it looked like an old-fashioned ink bottle). But, to expand on my previous comments regarding this strip becoming too confusing…is there a scorecard available to tell the players apart? The official website doesn’t seem to have been updated since Edda left high school.(As far as identifying the characters, that is.) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837/20 "2005-04-13T00:34:24Z")
> [@williamweigand](#): > > (I thought it looked like an old-fashioned ink bottle). Filled halfway with clear ink, no doubt. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-9-chickweed-lane-become-a-soap-opera-comic/294837.md?page=2)