Faulkner

Former CNN anchor Aaron Brown has died at 76–I remember his 9/11 coverage like it was yesterday:

@Taoboi @Gray Bunny

Greg Gumbel has died.

Oh interesting—which shows would you replace them with? And what would be your No. 3? GH? DAYS? Y&R?

What Claude asked me: What role does historical significance and longevity play in your appreciation of soap operas? How do you weigh the impact of iconic characters and memorable storylines versus consistent quality over time? What role does innovation in storytelling format play in your appreciation of soap operas? Do you give extra consideration to shows that maintained high ratings throughout their run versus those that had more niche appeal? How do you factor in a show's ability to retain its core identity while adapting to changing times? What would shift? The ranking sort of surprised me as well. But I do find myself drawn to watching YouTube episodes of the soaps in roughly that order, now that I think about it. I would have ranked AW higher and maybe have swapped OLTL and GH in terms of my general enjoyment. Y&R was my favorite, but I’ve lost a lot of my appreciation for it over the years, and I rarely revisit old episodes.

LOL… I did a top 10 based on a Q&A with Claude and this is what I got… Y&R, how far you’ve fallen. RankItem 1 Guiding Light (June 30, 1952–September 18, 2009) 2 As the World Turns (April 2, 1956–September 17, 2010) 3 All My Children (January 5, 1970–September 23, 2011) 4 The Edge of Night (December 1, 1975–December 28, 1984; previously on CBS April 2, 1956–November 28, 1975) 5 General Hospital (April 1, 1963–present) 6 One Life to Live (July 15, 1968–January 13, 2012) 7 Days of Our Lives (November 8, 1965–September 9, 2022) 8 The Young and the Restless (March 26, 1973–present) 9 Search for Tomorrow (March 29, 1982–December 26, 1986; previously on CBS 1951–1982) 10 Another World (May 5, 1964–June 25, 1999)

The sad thing: It actually was decades ago. As we head toward 2025, it’ll have been almost 20 years since LML put that fatal bullet into Bill Bell’s creation.

Thank so much! Happy holidays to you and all the SON crew.

The Bell soaps make me irrationally angry at how bad they are. Maybe because I used to love Y&R so much and know how much better it could be… B&B is just garbage.