It always was their official abbreviation. I was never sure if it stood for "Soa Popera Weekly" or "Soapo Pera Weekly."

That was a great post Jay, I find your point of view very interesting (and agreeable). And I admit to doing a bit of a silent cheer when you referred to the soap mags as "parasites". I've enjoyed great interviews and featurey stories they've done over the years, but I've been turned off by some of the behind the scenes goings on I've read about and in some cases I think the only thing separating some of the staff members from your stereotypical kooky soap fans is the paycheck.

The worst spoiler moment I've ever experienced was watching Tammy hold on by a thread on GL and at the commercial break an ad for SID plugging their article on Tammy's shocking death. WOW.

I think the magazine died partly because of self-loathing. Whether a substantial or non-substantial portion of people working there in reality felt contempt for soaps or were just embarrassed for watching them, it really doesn't matter, but it was one of the reasons it ultimately crashed.

Then I tried OLTL. The week before Easter in either 2000 or 2001, the issue of SOW that was on the racks at the grocery store gave up some essential plot point about a train wreck involving Bo and Nora and Will Rappaport as they were taking Will to Statesville Prison. It happened to be the same week the Elian Gonzalez story was coming to a head. I knew what was going to happen on OLTL, so I tuned in Fox News and CNN to see the latest Elian developments. I like not knowing.

Believe me, SPW did you a favor there...

That was a great post Jay, I find your point of view very interesting (and agreeable). And I admit to doing a bit of a silent cheer when you referred to the soap mags as "parasites".

Thanks.

I think the magazine died partly because of self-loathing. Whether a substantial or non-substantial portion of people working there in reality felt contempt for soaps or were just embarrassed for watching them, it really doesn't matter, but it was one of the reasons it ultimately crashed.

Does SOW no longer exist? I didn't realize.

Believe me, SPW did you a favor there...

Well, they certainly gave me back an hour a day for four or five years.

Edited June 13, 201015 yr by Jay

You didn't miss a whole lot on OLTL in those 4-5 years. What you did miss you can find on Youtube.

I guess I see detailed spoilers as a preventative measure. I can't think of much of anything on soaps in the last 15 years that I wish I hadn't been spoiled about. What I enjoyed I enjoyed with spoilers and what I hated, I was very happy to know what was going to happen in advance. Imagine not having any idea that my favorite character on GL, Nadine Cooper, was going to be bludgeoned to death by a bad drag queen. I at least kept with the show, thanks to advance knowledge. A few years before that, I was so annoyed when Maureen suddenly died that I could barely sit through the show for months and months on end.

I think if spoilers hadn't become more detailed soaps would have even lower ratings than they do now.

I think if spoilers hadn't become more detailed soaps would have even lower ratings than they do now.

Isn't that something. To me, they mean I don't have to watch the show. I can't imagine anything more maddening than trying to sit through such plot-heavy material as a soap opera when I know what's going to happen. I'd rather do anything else I need or want to do.

Isn't that something. To me, they mean I don't have to watch the show. I can't imagine anything more maddening than trying to sit through such plot-heavy material as a soap opera when I know what's going to happen. I'd rather do anything else I need or want to do.

For me, plot-heavy material sucks whether you know spoilers or not. If the material is character-based, then it still works, even if you know what's going to happen. I think that's one of the reasons there's such an interest online in old soap clips, even though people already know most of what is to be.

For me, plot-heavy material sucks whether you know spoilers or not. If the material is character-based, then it still works, even if you know what's going to happen. I think that's one of the reasons there's such an interest online in old soap clips, even though people already know most of what is to be.

I don't mind them with ATWT right now. I think of them as little promotional vehicles that remind me which days to watch. This week, zap2it mentions Reid will be on on Thursday. So I know enough to be sure to watch that day. But I check out enough of each episode on cbs.com to know whether they're going to be on on other days. zap2it very frequently fails to mention whether Luke, Reid, or Noah is going to be on.

I don't want to watch one extra minute watching ATWT otherwise, except perhaps for Bob and Kim. And John, when and if he returns. Also, I loved the idea someone put forth about all the Snyders coming home when Emma has a heart attack. That I would watch. Douglas Marland just should not have died. That's what the problem is.

N.B. They finally added Eric Sheffer Stevens to the ATWT cast list on zap2it. But they didn't bother to alphabetize it, and just stuck it at the end. http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/as-the-world-turns/EP00000412

Edited June 13, 201015 yr by Jay

Also, I loved the idea someone put forth about all the Snyders coming home when Emma has a heart attack. That I would watch.

Really? Oh, thank you!

I've said this many times before, but I almost always knew what would happen next in any given storyline on any given show. Not because I was clairvoyant, lol, but b/c to me, the hallmark of good storytelling is that you understand characters' histories and motivations thoroughly enough to almost predict how they would respond to circumstances. As far as soaps are concerned, therefore, the question is not what will happen next, but when it will happen, and what will be explored in the meantime.

Random memory, did anyone else used to think that Mimi's signature looked like "Mimi Lord"?

Mimi, who? Mimi Leahey?

I meant Mimi Torchin, she used to sign her little "Letter From the Editor" on one of the first pages. I had serious OLTL Lord saga on the brain back then and it always tricked my eye.

But SO not mad at you for having that script on hand.