Shocking Deaths and Surprises

[titan1978]

I thought Abby was a great character that deserved better than she got.  

[j swift]

The Andre reveal got me hooked on Days in 1983.  The show had gone a long way to make Tony more palatable than how he was introduced.  The relationship with Anna really turned both characters in to more sympathetic citizens.  It is the oldest soap tale in the universe that love can transform an evil character.  It was never more true than Anna (who drugged little Carrie to spy on Roman) and Tony (who forced Liz to sleep with him).  Show them in love and friends with Calliope and Eugene and I was a fan.

 

Then you get three shocking reveals in a row.  Renee is murdered at the engagement part!  The audience saw that the killer had Roman's face!  Then, when the Roman mask was removed it appeared to be Tony!

 

It turned out to be Andre which explained everything (kind of).  But, I recall all weekend, talking to friends, making up possible explanations, trying to predict the Monday episode.  That's what kept me coming back to Days.

[Roman]

Anna/Tony/Renee. the very first triangle I saw and still one of the best ( I loved them both but I was Team Anna).

[Gray Bunny]

Anyone know of a YouTube clip to find ATWT's Shannon's shrunken head moment? Just outta curiosity 

[YRfan23]

I struggled with this one for a bit, but I have to say, on Passions I remember my young stuff being stunned that they actually went ahead and revealed Ethan wasn't a Crane at his and Theresa's engagement party....the show had barely been on 2 years, but I was already use to the fake fantasies/nightmares where they would reveal the secret and it usually took up a whole episode.....and they did that for the last 6 months before it seemed, so I was shocked they went ahead and outed him as a Bennett, for real...
 

I guess I can say it also shocked me that about 5 months later when The Double wedding almost took place, Ivy actually went ahead and stopped Ethan and Theresa from marrying, thanks to Gwen and Rebecca framing her for sending Ivy's letter to the tabloid....I thought for sure something would foil the plan, but it didn't happen...

 

[vetsoapfan]

After decades of soap viewing, I have ended up somewhat jaded and nothing surprises me anymore. back in the day, however, long before the internet and media spoilers, certain events on daytime made viewers' heads spin.

 

In 1950 on TGL, Meta Bauer's vulnerable young son was tragically killed, thanks to his harsh and homophobic father who had forced Chuckie into boxing as a way to toughen the child up. Radio listeners were shocked and aghast.

 

In 1961 on TEON, heroine Sarah Lane Karr was killed in a traffic accident while saving the life of her daughter Laurie Ann, surprising and infuriating the audience..

 

Possibly the death that took me by surprise the most was in 1975 on AW, when matriarch Mary Matthews died suddenly while vacationing in St. Croix. It was very rare to kill off the matriarch of a soap, particularly a popular one who had been there from the beginning. A few months later, magazines published accounts of why the headwriter had decided to kill her off, but when Mary died, there had been no warning and no reason to even consider that the character would die. I was stunned. I probably sobbed more over this death than any other on daytime TV.

 

The last death on soaps that surprised me and had me scratching my head was the death of Maureen Bauer on TGL, just because writing her off like that was such a STOOPID move. Without Charita/Bert Bauer's anchoring presence, the show desperately needed a warm-hearted, beloved matriarch to offer love, solace and good advice to the citizens of Springfield, and to keep the light burning bright in the Bauer kitchen. Ellen Dolan was too aloof in her interpretation of the role, but Ellen Parker was perfect as the nurturing, generous, supportive mother figure. TPTB really underestimated the actress' and the character's importance in viewers' hearts and on the show's canvas. I would still say that this was the blow that definitely crippled the show and started its downhill spiral. To think that we lost yet another Bauer (and the family's matriarch, no less)  to make room for Buzz Cooper. Vomit.

 

After that, nothing could really shock me again. Various storyline decisions on the soaps have made me cringe thanks to their stupidity, but nothing shocks me anymore. I've accepted that TIIC don't how what they are doing.

 

 

[carolineg]

 

Lol!  I remember it was a Friday cliffhanger for Clink Boom and I was sure Lily would survive somehow.  It was a long weekend.   I had no idea that Lilly Melgar was leaving/fired (I can't remember which).  I was shocked!  on Monday when it was revealed she was really dead.  I also remember even at 10 being like "ugh we are never going to hear the end of this from Sonny" lol.  Little did I know......

[Gray Bunny]

Say what you will about the storyline, but B&B's March 2015 "You're Myron. You're my brother" reveal was pretty epic, especially in this day and age of leaks, spoilers, social media, etc. 

[Faulkner]

B&B has been great at “surprises,” but more work is going into concealing spoilers than into the actual storytelling.

[Soaplovers]

The last time I was literally surprised was when Shannon on ATWT was revealed as alive.  It was doing the school year and my mom told me that the friday cliffhanger had to be seen to be believed.  The way the show threw a red herring in about how Duncan's current wife Jessica was at a peaceful protest.. and then as the show ends, Duncan gets a call about his wife being at the police station. .and we are led to believe it's Jessica (because sometimes protests can get out of hand). 

 

When you see Duncan's expression, you're wondering why he's surprised until the camera pans for 30 seconds on a disheveled Shannon and then the show ended for the weekend.  My mom said my mouth dropped at that cliffhanger because it was unexpected and the way the script writer wrote the episode was genius.  It is a shame that the follow up didn't live up to the cliffhanger.

 

The most recent surprise  was Sheila Carter coming back last summer.. and I think the show hinted that all the past events over the last decade were by a copy-cat (which would make sense).

[jam6242]

I was also shocked by Mary Matthews’ death on Another World.

 

On Days, the deaths of Dickie Martin and David Martin shocked me.  Also, Addie Williams’ death (run down by a vehicle), mainly because she had been miraculously saved from dying of leukemia only six months before.

 

Also, Dave Bachman’s sudden death on How to Survive a Marriage.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Bill Bell could be quite sadistic to his characters, LOL. After Susan Martin's first son died so horribly, she was desperate to have another child, but she only conceived again after being "raped" (long story) by Eric Peters. Although the thought of carrying a child conceived through sexual assault was a nightmare, Tom Horton advised Susan that because of serious medical issues, the "rape baby" would probably be the last one she could ever bear. Talk about a sick storyline!

 

And having Addie Horton Williams die AFTER she had successfully battled leukemia was just MEAN. The audience called for Bell's head over that plot, LOL. The magazines of the day were awash with furious fan mail.

[jam6242]

Addie was supposed to die from leukemia when Hope was born but Patricia Barry had leaked the news to a friend in the press, who of course reported it, causing an audience uproar (I knew nothing about that at the time).  The Hayes said in their book that Bell was furious, and that’s why Addie didn’t get a death scene when she was killed.  We just heard the screeching of the tires off screen.

 

I believe poor Susan was given uterine cancer as the medical issue.  Kind of funny that Susan was the good girl, yet had babies after quick trysts with a near stranger, and a total stranger!

[amybrickwallace]

I'm surprised that Doug/Addie seemed to be so popular, given the Hayes' popularity both on-screen and off - not to mention that Doug threw over his true love for her own mother!! Too bad none of this is available to watch online. I just hope the whole story wasn't as squicky as it sounds.

[SoapDope]

Yes, Bell could be sadistic....LOL. On Y&R Chris Brooks saved herself for marriage to Snapper only to be raped by George Curtis. He got off and put the blame on her telling her she asked for it. He also had Jennifer Brooks survive breast cancer only to have her die from a heart condition. There was also the Leslie/Brad/Lorie triangle that resulted in Leslie's mental break down and Lorie profiting from it with her tell all book. 

 

I wish we could see all of this classic Days and Y&R online.