ALL: How long have you been watching soaps?

[DevotedToAMC]

Let's get a discussion going on how long we have watched each of our soaps. I'll start:

AMC: Since March/1991 (so 16 1/2 years)

GH: From 1993-1997 and parts of it from 2002 to present

OLTL: Same as GH

The rest I just catch in glimpses...the ratings in my signature for the soaps I don't watch reflect what I read at the forums

[winterguy125]

Not totally sure, but I am going with 18 years. Started on Y&R and shortly after started B&B and about 10 or so years ago started on ATWT. Plus I had about a year of GH watching in there also in the 90's.

[Graciecat]

My viewing record is going to seem realy wimpy compared to most of the others, but here goes.

I always caught glimpses of GH and AMC growing up, but I think the first time I really followed what was going on was in 1997, when I was seven. Being in school, I never got to watch either of them all that much, but I would say that I've been following them for the last ten years.

I took up DOOL in the summer of 2003 and always peek in from time to time, but my viewing of that soap is patchier than the others.

[PhoenixRising05]

Over 20 years. I started young and I'm still going strong

[JackPeyton]

from the day i came home from the hospital, in oct 1987, i have been watching NBC Daytime. I only remeber the end of AW, Sunset Beach, & Passions. Days i remeber going back to when Bo was with Carly. When i got in the 5th grade i started to record Days.

I bought a soap magazine in 1999 and read about Liz & Lucky on GH and added it to my tape as well.

From GH i got into PC. OLTL & AMC soon fallowed, prob around 2001. Im not exactly sure but i know that Greens and Leo were starting to be paired up when i started AMC. OLTL... idk. thats shows always been so borring. i cant even pinpoint something to when i started. I think that a car went over a bridge and it involved Jessica and maybe Lindsay. Idk tho...

Y&R i started watching when Brit, Mac, Billy, JT, etc came on and took over the show. Again, i dont know the year. Prob about 2001/02. B&B soon came after that. GL got me hooked from a promo with that sexy DC as Bill Lewis. I remeber when i started GL was when marah stripped down and was yelling at Tony about something. I think maybe she was raped or cheated on him. ATWT i really dont know. it always was boring to me like OLTL.

[AmandainNC28655]

I am 32 years old now and I've watched the soaps since I was 10. The very first two I ever watched were Days of our Lives and Guiding Light. In 1987, I began watching All My Children and have pretty much watched it since. My grandparents were fans of Y&R and got me watching it religiously in 1995. My late grandmother and I used to have conversations about the show, when I would call her while I was in college. She would always ask me how my classes were going and then her next comment was, "Did you see what so and so did on Y&R today,"...lol...man I miss my grandmother I didn't have the heart to tell her that I used to flip between Y&R and Port Charles. Before Y&R I watched Loving and then The City.

I also watched Another World and Santa Barbara for a while. Even though it was more into the late 80's and early 90's before I started watching both of those. I never could get into Sunset Beach like my college roommate did, so thank goodness my suite mate in college watched ABC, because my roommate watched NBC and CBS and so did hers.

The only other 2 shows that I tuned into religiously to watch were As The World Turns and General Hospital. I've watched each of those shows back in the 80's and 90's and even today. ATWT and AMC are the only ones I DVR. I watch GH when I am off from work and it is mainly for background noise while cleaning the house or doing laundry.

[Shawn]

I've been watching Days of Our Lives for 21 years, since I was 4 and my mother had it on during the day. I got a crush on Christie Clark when I first saw her, and was hooked.

I watched OLTL for a few years during the Natalie/Jessica twin reveal.

I've been watching ATWT on and off for about 6 years, mostly because of Maura West (Jennifer Ferrin too when she was on)

[Greg's GL]

I've been watching GL since around 1978 - around the time that Roger raped his wife Holly. Other than that, I keep up with Y&R through my sister and a friend of mine. Then there's ATWT that I watch now and again, but never really connected with that story.

My earliest memory is of "Edge of Night" when the opening had that cliff or something. My late Mother Dear liked that soap, but that opening scared me!

[YRBB]

Y&R: Mid-1998 to Mid-2002, 2006-2007

B&B: On and off from 1994 episodes (is that when Taylor was with Omar etc? LOVED that s/l!) to 2000 episodes. 2001-God knows how long?

DOOL: The Possessed Storyline, The Secret Room Storyline, 2002-2003 (the Stalker Storyline)

OLTL: August 2007-???

I have caught glimpses of GENERAL HOSPITAL, ALL MY CHILDREN, PASSIONS, AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT but that's not viewing.

[dragonflies]

AMC since 1999 thanks to Josh Duhamel

GH, OLTL and Days since the mid 80's.

ATWT since 2002

I started watching soaps when I was like 8 years old LOL

[JtSmarts]

GL 1989-1991, 1995-2002 (on and off) 2003-2007 (not watching anymore)

First memories of Another World from 1990-1991 watched regularly from 1996-1999

First memories of Days from the possession era (1994 ish) started watching regularly 1996-present

Passions 1999-NBC Cancellation

All My Children since 2005/2006

OLTL since this year

ATWT 1999 just to see AW characters

Y&R on and off (mostly off) since 2005

[Khan]

AMC: 1982-93; 1995-98 (returned for Lorraine Broderick, left again after "Psychic Mateo" storyline kicked into high gear); 2000 (for Bianca's coming-out); 2001 (watched briefly to see Jean Passanante's work); 2003 (briefly, for Richard Culliton); 2004 (for the Babe/Bianca baby switch); 2006; 2007

ANOTHER WORLD: 1984-85; 1990-99 (off-and-on, but watched more often after Doug Marland's death affected ATWT)

ATWT: 1982-96 (stopped shortly after the advent of Black & Stern); 1997-2007 (less often after 2001)

B&B: 1991 (But I've been tuning in off-and-on since Patrick Mulcahey joined the writing staff.)

CAPITOL: 1982-87 (alternated between this one and RYAN'S HOPE)

DAYS: 1983-93; 1999 (returned for Lorraine Broderick's brief stint as HW); 2002-03; 2006-07 (returned awhile for Hogan Sheffer)

EDGE OF NIGHT: 1982-84

GH: 1982-91 (off-and-on, but less often once I discovered SANTA BARBARA); 1992; 1993-96 (for Claire Labine and a little bit of Guza's first run); 1997 (for the Tiger Key debacle); 1999; 2001 (until McTavish's arrival); 2002-03; 2006

GENERATIONS: 1989-91

GL: 1982-96 (left after Megan McTavish destroyed Quint/Nola); 1997-1999 (returned for B&E, left at San Cristobel); 2000-01; 2002-03; 2004 (briefly, at the start of Kreizman); 2005; 2006; 2007

LOVING: 1983-91 (stopped when my local affiliate dropped the show from their lineup)

OLTL: 1982-91; 1993 (for Marty Saybrooke's rape trial...I think, lol); 1995 (for the Viki/Niki/Jean/Princess/Tommy/Tori/Victor saga); 1996-98 (off-and-on, but watched most of Pam Long's run as HW); 1999; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2003 (tail end of Broderick & Whitesell/beginning of Malone & Griffith's second reign); 2004; 2006; 2007

RYAN'S HOPE: 1983-89

SANTA BARBARA: 1987-93 (often split this one w/ GH and GL - but, SB was so...up-and-down, that I only watched this one at spurts)

SEARCH FOR TOMORROW: 1982-86 (for most of the NBC run)

Y&R: 1982-2002 (off-and-on); 2006-07 (off-and-on, watched for LML...until I knew better, lol)

[KevC1980]

Days: I started in 87..and have remained loyal since then...

[TC]

Since the womb! I ws born in 1968 and will be hmmm hmmm next year.

And I think I am the oldest person here since _____ _____ left. If only I had watched as diligently as he did.

I remember fragments of many shows like ATWT, OLTL, Dark Shadows, Search, Edge of Night was a big favourite when I was a kid; it was "okay" to be a boy and watch Edge because it was a "cop" soap. AW was the big show we had to shut up for. I understood why when I eventually shut my big mouth. I couldn't tear my eyes and ears away from it.

Especially when John Randolph killed his wife Olive's lover. It was probably only a day or two, but thinking back it felt like a week, with really creepy music and lots of screaming and yelling.

[EricMontreal22]

I started AMC when I was 10 or so and it was I believe Winter break of 1991? Natalie was just coming out of the Well (maybe that was Fall) and I half watched that then what really grabbed my attention was when Helga brought Angelique out of the attic...

I started watching Loving by the next Fall (when they had the AMC/Carter Jones crossover storyline) and stayed with it till City ended in 1997 (*cry*)

Sorta watched OLTL around then too more so with Billy Douglas story--stuck with it pretty fiathfully till '96 then off and on till now (though I've watched pretty regularly, even with all the crap, for the past 5 years)

ATWT and Y&R off and on since the mid 90s but never too regularly--but keep up and was a fairly loyal Sunset B viewer (and TRIED Passions for a good year or so- God I had a lot of time and patience back then)