vetsoapfan

My memory is good about stuff that captivated and interested me, no matter how long ago it was. Ask me about some of the tedious subjects I studied in high school...forget it. All that data is gone with the wind.😁 (To be honest, I'm glad that I retained more soap trivia in my head than facts about trigonometry or chemistry or any of the stuff we were force-fed in Moral & Religious Instruction 🙄). Soaps turned out to be much more relevant to my life! One teacher of religion argued with me about my answer to, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" Paul Simon hit the nail on the head when he sang about all the crap we learned in high school. A friend remarked to me the other day that his young niece is watching DVDs of Little House on the Prairie which she got for Christmas. He said he was aghast to realize how sick and vicious some of the stories on the show really were. It's true, but soaps were second-to-none when it came to inducing trauma in viewers! OMG, too funny; funny because it was so appropriate. Bagpipes have long been used to commemorate funerals and other somber occasions, and heaven knows, TGL was being slaughtered at the time. Good for O'Roarke. (Writing out Justin was an bad move in the first place, but bringing him back later with a recast actor only reinforced the error.)

I always made sure to audiotape or videotape my favorite shows at home, because there was too much competition for control of the television sets at school. It's always so disarming when actors interact with young actors, and their innate affection for kids shines through. When Jacquie Courtney returned to AW in 1984, the show did almost nothing of interest with the character (a shockingly stupid blunder on TPTB's part), but she had some scenes with the adorable child who played Alice's grandson Kevin, and she really sparkled in those scenes. She had also shone a decade before when acting with young Cathy Greene, who played Sally as a little girl. JC clearly enjoyed interacting with children. When did you get your first VCR, so you could videotape the soaps at home? I used audiotape recorders before the advent of Betamax and VHS, set up with timers in different rooms at home, so I could at least listen to the dialogue of my shows at night. It was like listening to radio plays and was quite satisfying, but as soon as Betamax appeared on the market, I bought one...even though it cost a fortune. Ron Becker had intended to rape Chris, but found Peggy in the Fosters' apartment instead. When Chris returned home, Peggy was huddled on the floor, shaking and in a state of shock. Chris quickly figured out what had happened. The show's use of flashbacks to Chris' own assault and obsessive showering was very effective. Bill Bell later made the comment that you don't duplicate a prior story unless you're doing it on purpose for impact. This defintely had the intended impact. Lisa Brown was indeed a unique talent, and Nola was her better role. This was the responsibility of producer Gail Kobe ("Story on soaps is more important than the characters!") and newbie writer Pamela Long ("My first mission was to get rid of all the dead wood in the cast."), and IMHO they crippled the show. Peter Simon said that Tom O'Rourke was the last of the "old guard" whom Kobe and Long fired, and when he left the building on his last day, he went ranting and raving down the hall. Like with Stefano DiMera on DAYS, ATWT went back to the well too many times with James Stenbeck and it ultimately ruined the character. The world before spoilers was a boon to the soaps; being taken by surprise was a highlight of viewing. When Mary Matthews died suddenly on AW in 1975, we had no advance warning, and were not used to seeing matriarchs of core families being killed off. The abject shock of the event elevated the impact to the nth degree. The same was true on Little House on the Prairie, when Mary Ingalls' baby died in a fire at the school for the blind. We had no notice, the plot was sick and grisly, and left a mark (I'm sure) on all the people who endured it.

Vintage soaps that took their time and played all the emotional beats of their stories always ended up being more emotionally gratifying than the modern ones. Today's shows are more apt to rush through everything at lightning speed, based on the idea that modern audiences have the attention spans of gnats. That's hilarious, and it's so true how invested viewers were in "their stories" back then. The likes of Rachel Davis, Dorian Lord and Lorie Brooks made me scream at my TV. Nothing on soaps has engendered a strong reaction from me since BJ's heart transplant on GH in 1994. Genuinely nice guys always have a certain edge.

I naively took for granted that soaps could and would always be this good, because I had only witnessed them offering high quality since I first started tuning in. Little did I know how suddenly and how far they would later fall. My sentiment, exactly. Yes, I was saddened to see AW spinning out of control and down the drain after 1975. My anger was particularly pointed, because I knew it had been gratuitously decimated, and it didn't need to be. Chris was raped in 1973 by George Curtis, who was played by Tony Geary. Peggy was the one raped by Ron Becker, on June 16, 1976. Upon finding her baby sister had also been assaulted, Chris had memory flashbacks of compulsively showering after her own assault, to wash the stain off. It was heartbreaking. That was the first time I ever heard the word "bitch" uttered on a soap. As the scene faded to black, a split second before dissolving into the commercial, Leslie screamed, "BITCH!" at Lorie. I always wondered if placing the curse word at the last possible moment was a safeguard the show made in case they had to cut it out before broadcast.

That entire scene stayed burned in my memory for decades. I was thrilled when it was discovered to exist, and started making its rounds through the internet. When it was first broadcast, I was cheering for Alice as she chased Rachel down the stairs and throwing copper pots at her. Go Alice!!! They had electric chemistry in their scenes together, like Jacquie Courtney and George Reinholt exhibited.

To me, Ronn Moss always came across as quite wooden. Drake Hogestyn may not have been the single greatest actor of all time, but he was warm and personable, and had charisma to carry him through. There are some performers who just have a certain "je ne sais quoi," which endears them to the audience regardless of their actual acting talents. RM came across as an empty shell (IMHO), whereas DH had a likeable guy-next-door charm.

I probably saw more of the soaps than I did of real life, I'm embarrassed to admit, LOL. I was very shy as a child, and found great fascination and comfort in books, vintage movies, music and soaps. I'd include the 1970s in the golden era of soaps. I think that's when they really blossomed into topical, complex adult drama. Personally, I'd include Henry Slesar's The Edge of Night and Harding Lemay's Another World (among others) as the best-written serials of the decade. Looking back on it, viewers were truly spoiled in those years. The majority of soaps were very well written most of the time. (And when the quality did dip in the 1970s, changes were made very quickly.) A moment that shaped the course of the show for years to come. Did you see the first sexual assault story on Y&R, centered on Chris Brooks? I found that even more harrowing than Peggy's experience. Trish Stewart's performances blew me away. There were so many astonishing moments in that storyline. Another one of my favorites is when Leslie finally figured out the depths of her sister's twisted manipulation and betrayal. She confronted Lorie in the mental hospital and they really had it out. Knowing the jig was up, Lorie just dug the knife in a little deeper by saying, "No one is ever going to believe you about this, Les. They all know...you are SICK!" The scar seemed to move around a bit from time to time, LOL, but the scenes of the fire were terrifying. It was sheer melodrama, but Pat Falken Smith's writing and Patty Weaver's performance made this storyline must-see TV. I tell you, 1976 was my favorite year of DAYS. Wesley Eure's clingy, almost translucent and form-fitting pajama bottoms left so little to the imagination.🫣 As I got older, I started to appreciate the smaller, sweet moments between characters, but when I was a kid, the "actiony" stuff stood out for me more, too. I think that's normal.👍

That era of TGL was golden. And the actors played that memorable episode to the hit. There were so many beats left to play in that story; so many emotional chords left to hit. Discarding Justin Marler so quickly was a terribly bad decision. The audience still resents losing Ellen Parker's beloved Maureen. If the rumor is true, that we lost her to make room in the budget to pay for Justin Deas, it's all the more egregious. We finally had a warm and sympathetic character to replace Bert as the Bauer matriarch, and instead we got a hammy and loud-mouthed buzzard inflicted upon us. No, thank you. JWS reaffirmed that he was more than just a pretty face in that storyline, and the "Helloooooo, Barbara!" moment became iconic. In its heyday, ATWT gave us some great stuff!

The all-too-brief Calhoun/Nancy Curlee tenure proved conclusively that TGL could be repaired with the right people in charge. Sadly, the show had been so badly butchered for so long, I think former fans had just become too burned out and were hesitant to give it yet another chance. There comes a point when viewers finally give up, and their emotional attachment to a series evaporates. A less-than-skilled actor always ends up looking even worse when the material he's asked to play is weak. I know we are stuck with Bradley Bell, all things considered, but he should have been replaced decades ago. IMHO, B&B did not showcase Bill Bell's best work, either, but Bradley's writing is subpar.

The Billy Douglas/AIDS quilt saga was beautifully done. It will forever boggle my mind how Michael Malone produced some fine material during his first tenure on the show (after a rocky start), but bombed so badly during his second stint. TGL gutted such a huge number of its core cast members in 1983 and 1984, it just did not feel like "my show" anymore. The return of Maureen Garrett and Michael Zaslow was a much-needed relief and shot in the arm. Familiar characters with a history in Springfield, played by wonderful actors, were so welcome. If only TPTB could have gotten Mart Hulswit back as Ed Bauer. Ronn Moss showing acting skill was a miracle in itself, LOL!

I know. It's so frustrating when you are totally invested in watching vintage soap storylines, and then the videos just dry up and stop before the stories reach the conclusion. ARGH!

God yes. ITA 100%. That hug just popped into my head since you mentioned the Bob/Susan affair. After bitter animosity between Susan and Kim for decades (over both Dan Stewart and Bob), why the hell would Kim hug her? Even Ellen Stewart held a grudge against Susan and snarked at Susan until leaving Oakdale. Part of the reason the greats were so...great!

Doug Marland was one of those rare writers who studied the past of his shows extensively, and wove it into present-day stories to strengthen the impact. Pat Falken Smith, Claire Labine and Agnes Nixon were also great at this when they took over the writing reigns of soaps, whereas the likes of Hogan Sheffer and Pam Long failed big time.) It was so effective. I get the sense that many writers just don't bother to delve into their shows' deep histories at all, which leads to glaring continuity, characterization and plot blunders. The two stories you mentioned were excellent. (But how stupid was it of ATWT to have Kim hugging Susan, of all people, in the soap's final episode? Susan? REALLY?)

Ahh, yet another gem by the legendary Henry Slesar, who thrilled viewers of TEON for many years with a succession of masterful stories. The dumbest move TPTB ever made was firing Slesar in 1983 and replacing him with the mediocre Lee Sheldon. The plummeting quality of the writing was instantaneous. The list of gems HS gave us on TEON, however, was impressive.

I haven't had access to Emmerdale since about 2011, but I did enjoy the series way back when, with the Sugden family having a presence in the village. I was happy to have seen Annie Sugden's final appearance on the show in 2009, when the last of her three children passed away. I preferred the quieter, character-based slice-of-life quality of the early years over the melodrama which seemed to take over later on. I can't believe they kept killing off (or otherwise discarding) so many Sugdens. I know I'd have trouble watching the show nowadays, since I have always loathed the Dingles. I'm now curious to know how many of "my characters," the ones whom I liked when I watched the show, are still around. I'll have to check it out. I think the last storyline I got to see was Jackson Walsh's death.

That was one of my incentives for creating this thread. Since so many of my favorite storylines were broadcast long before episodes started being preserved, I was wondering if there were any "more recent" stories from the last 40 years or so, which would be more likely to survive and be worth taking a look at now (according to other fans). I still semi-keep up with today's soaps, but haven't watched any of them daily for a few decades. I figured my fellow SONers might surprise me.🙃 Yes, the scenes between Jill and Katherine after Phillip's death were quite memorable. That conflict was so well set up, it helped carry the show for YEARS to come. Kudos to Bill Bell for understanding that absorbing, long-arc storylines keep viewers glued to the edge of their seats year after year. Pat Falken Smith's return to DAYS could have jump-started a return to the halcyon period of yore in Salem. During her brief comeback, she implemented savvy storyline and character decisions which noticeably perked up the dreary show. It's a shame that she was axed so quickly, after only six months. DAYS has not had a truly great head writer in 44 years. (Yes, some have been slightly better than others, but many/most have been atrocious.) I've always maintained that 1976, when PFS was the head writer and Bill Bell was the story consultant, was the show's best-written year.

I agree. While he's not the single worst soap opera scribe in history, his show only works at all when he has dialogue writers who can work wonders with the drivel they are given.

Yes, that period ended up being TGL's last hurrah. I don't think Bradley's contribution to the show has ever been highly praised by critics or fans.

Character-driven soaps, grounded in the realm of reality, are what I like best too. That's why the 1950s-1970s were the halcyon years of the genre for me (and why I find many radio soaps so satisfying). I understand the difficulty in severing decades-long emotional attachments. With several vets on ATWT and a few tattered remnants of the Bauer family remaining on TGL, I forced myself to monitor those soaps until the bitter end, even though I had not enjoyed them in a few decades before they were put out of their misery. I'm almost relieved that I don't have access to Emmerdale any more. I'd be tempted to watch, even it its current incarnation annoyed me, LOL. I was interested/pleased TPTB introduced a new blood Sugden into the mix, but was aghast when I heard they turned him into a killer. Idiots. Writing a could-be-important character into an irredeemable corner like that boggles the mind.

Being a longtime fan of Emmerdale, what would you say are its best stories during your tenure as a viewer? And when was the last year it was consistently good?

I never saw this story, although Susan Flannery always elevated any scene or plot in which she appeared. Her absence is a real loss for the show. That's a good point: occasionally, I see well-done scenes or moments here and there, but as a whole, so many modern soap storylines fall flat and peter out.

In my seven decades of soap watching, one refrain has remained constant among newer viewers: they wish they had been around to see legendary storylines that their friends and family have raved about; storylines that had aired before these newer audience members became acquainted with daytime dramas. I was lucky to have witnessed, first-hand, some of the best material the genre has offered throughout my lifetime. --Meta Bauer's murder trial, THE GUIDING LIGHT --The Alice/Steve/Rachel triangle, ANOTHER WORLD --The Mickey/Laura/Bill/Mike's paternity saga, DAYS OF OUR LIVES --The Jonah Lockwood/Keith Whitney reign of terror, THE EDGE OF NIGHT --Victoria Lord's murder trial/Karen Wolek's breakdown on the witness stand, ONE LIFE TO LIVE --Chris Brooks' rape, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS --The Leslie/Brad/Lorie saga, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS --The Liz/Dan/Susan/later Kim story, AS THE WORLD TURNS --The Julie/Doug/Addie tragedy, DAYS OF OUR LIVES --BJ's Heart, GENERAL HOSPITAL (IMHO, the last time daytime gave us a real masterpiece) I am curious, however, for people who are "newer" viewers, who began watching in the 1980s, 1900s, 2000s, what do you consider the best of the best; the most riveting material soaps have offered? What are the masterpiece moments you have personally seen?

This is interesting. I live in Canada and get Crave. I wonder if the BH 90210 episodes will be the original, uncut versions with all the music intact. I doubt it, but I'll probably check it out.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but Ellen Dolan was my least-favorite Margo on ATWT. I found her cold and brittle, and could never warm up to her. That being said, even I would admit she was a better recast than some of the actors chosen as NuConnor, nuPaul, NuDusty, NuMeg, NuCraig, etc. Bringing this back to Y&R, I'll always consider PB as NuJack. Victoria Mallory was a beautiful woman with the voice of an angel, but her version of Leslie Brooks lacked the deep, emotional core that Janice Lynde had displayed in the role. Lynn Topping and David Hasselhoff ended up being perfectly adequate as Chris Brooks and Snapper Foster, but original actors Trish Stewart and William Gray Espy exuded magnetic star appeal in those parts, and couldn't be successfully replaced IMO. Forget Wings Hauser as NuGreg, Patricia Everly as NuPeggy and Dennis Cole as NuLance too.😬

Yes, I figured you were joking. I've seen your posts enough to know that you are far too erudite to advocate for RH playing a descendent of the show's original founding family. My response was tongue-in-cheek flippancy. (To be fair, however, even the thought of Howarth joining the already-decimated show does make me cringe.) I watched ATWT for its last 47 years, and the dreadful miscasting in its final stretch was a nightmare. Scott Holroyd was gold to RH's cheese.