The Golden Years

[juniorz1]

The death of Darlene Conley got me thinking about the golden years of B&B and all soaps for that matter. Of the soaps you watch, what do you consider the GOLDEN YEARS of your soap? Feel free to mention any resurges it may have had after. For me:

DAYS- I've watched since 1981 (I was only 2!) but to me, the best years were from 1983-1987. Stefano's first run, Liz/Neil/Marie, Bo & Hope's courtship, Roman's Death, the Salem Slasher, Tony & Anna, Eugene & Calliope, I could go on and on. DAYS was truly a soap worth watching. Things kind of dulled down in 87 with the loss of Marlena, Hope & Bo particularly causing things to slow down. I think the show got good again in '93, though I didn't like much of the posession story in 94-95. I will say that 95-98 were truly a rebirth period and I think the show is experiencing another renaissance right now.

B&B- I watched off and on since 91. IMO, the best years were 92-97, with another resurgance in 99. The Brooke & BeLief storyline where Brooke ended up with 51% of Forrester stock was genius & IMO when KKL came into her own as a bitter, empowered Brooke Logan. Also, Kimberlin Brown brought her Sheila Carter over from Y&R which was can't miss TV. LOVED her battles with Stephanie. I will say that 99-01 was also OUTSTANDING, again largely because of KKL's performance as well as Susan Flannery's during the Brooke/Thorne relationship. Since 01, B&B has been pretty much dull to me, save for a few short-term stories.

Y&R- I've watched Y&R since '92, though I did check it out on occasion before then. In St Louis, Y&R comes on at 4PM (to this day) so it was easy to pick up after school every day. I felt genuinely rewarded for my viewership and always entertained (even Christine helping out the Old Folks home, which would have SUCKED on any other soap, I found engaging on Y&R). Without a doubt, I'd say Y&R's best years were from '92-'99. I still watched and found it particularly enjoyable from '99-'02, but after that, there were periods of extreme dullness IMO. Too much focus on characters who weren't truly a part of the Y&R fabric (hi Mikey, Gloria, Kevin, Lily, Daniel, Damon, et all). I thought it got really good again when LML took over in the beginning of the year, but the last 1/2 of '06 was uneven at best. I'm enjoying '07 so far and here's to hoping they get back in step.

I'll do some more later, but those are the 3 current soaps I have the longest history with.

[Adam]

For All My Children I think the golden age was 1990-1995..... the show was a critical and ratings success.

[KLN]

DAYS: 1994 - 1997

[darraholic]

DAYS- JER 2nd run.

[juniorz1]

Danny, surely you jest!

[KMan101]

JER's *second* run? Um. No.

DAYS: 1983 - 1987 (If i were born then to watch); 1994 - 1997; 2002; 2006 +

PASSIONS: 1999 - 2001

And yes, I included Passions.

I'll do the rest later.

[DruRocks]

The Young & the Restless:

1973-1998

[darraholic]

Melaswen Island= Greatest Daytime Storyline Ever. It was magical and breath taking

[All My Shadows]

These are my thoughts about AMC. Please know that this is all based entirely on research, clips, episodes I've watched online, etc. Lord knows I'd give anything just to be able to spend a week during these certain eras...

All My Children

1. 1970-1985: This was pretty much Agnes all the way through, save for the final two years. This gave us the foundation of the series. It established SO MUCH, and most of those things established were constant threads in the show until McT began hacking them off the last couple of years. This was AMC's greatest period. It was the #1 soap on ABC from 1974-1979 and was the #1 soap of all networks for 1978-1979. Without a doubt, if I had to choose ANY PERIOD OF ANY SOAP to be able to see AT ALL, it would be, NO DOUBT AT ALL, this 15 year span.

2. 1989-1995: I'm not as schooled on this period as I am of 1970-1985, but all I know is that somehow McTavish brought the show back to prominence. It was sort of the hallmark of modern soap opera, I think. I do have vague memories of this period of AMC, but nothing to really base an opinion on. Whenever I do think of early 90s soap opera, my thoughts usually head straight to AMC.

[Mason]

DAYS: 1993-1999

Silver Ages: 1983-1987; 2002-early 2003; 2006-present

GL: 1979-1986

Silver Ages: 1989-1993; 1997-1999; 2002; mid 2004-mid 2005

ATWT: 1985-1993

Silver Age: 1998-2002

PASSIONS: 1999-2001

Silver Age: 2004-mid 2005

PC: 2000-2001

Silver Age: 1997-1998

[PhoenixRising05]

Days: 1983-1990, 1992-1998, 2002, 2006-present

Passions: 1999-2001, 2004-mid 2005

The rest I can't think about right now but those instantly come to mind.

[RionPassions]

Days: 1993-97; 2003-2004

Passions: 1999-2002; 2004-present

[dtchicago]

One Life to Live:

1979-1983: Karen Wolek, Viki & Clint, Dorian Lord, The Buchanans, etc.

1992-1995: Marty's rape, Viki's Multiple Personalities, Todd & Blair, Luna Moody, the AIDS quilt, etc.

[dtchicago]

One Life to Live:

1979-1984: Karen Wolek, Viki & Clint, Dorian Lord, The Buchanans, etc.

1992-1995: Megan's death, Marty's rape, Viki's Multiple Personalities, Todd & Blair, Luna Moody, the AIDS quilt, etc.

[DrewH]

Days of our Lives

-1993-1997 HANDS DOWN!

DAYS was the most talked about soap. We had Buried Alive, Austin/Carrie/Sami/Lucas Part 1, The Affair, Possession, Kristen Blake, Banks Siblings, Secret Room, Vivian/Victor/Kate... The list goes on and on of nothing but greatness.