Members DramatistDreamer Posted May 21, 2019 Members Share Posted May 21, 2019 Lately as I watch classic soap episodes, whether an episode here or there, or a full-on binge, I've noticed some things. I guess, when I really think about it, they are kind of quirky. This makes me wonder whether I'm the only one who picks up on these things or do others? Also, is it just as a soap fan? For example: I've noticed that I really get invested in classic episodes that involve some storm, mainly a thunderstorm or when it's raining cats and dogs. I think this is because, as a kid, I'd watch episodes of As The World Turns and some of the best episodes during that time involved episodes where there were heavy rainstorms. I was watching the third season of The Good Fight and most of the episodes this season involved day after day of heavy rain! And I loved it! Please register in order to view this content The characters on TGF even remarked how bizarre the weather was that it should be raining day after day like that. Too bad they didn't have Scott Bryce reprise his role for some of those episodes, it would've really brought me back to the days of ATWT's Tad Channing murder or the episodes where James Stenbeck emerges from the dead! Another thing I've noticed is that when I watch a classic episode where very popular music is being used, most of the time, I get annoyed. I think, it's because, knowing what I know now about music rights, I can't help but think to myself "this is going to pose a problem down the road". Also, I think this might also go back to my days in the graduate dramatic writing program at university in NYC when professors often thought that the use of music in dramatic scenes of sequences could be lazy--a device that conjures ready emotion whenever the actual writing is lacking (i.e. fails to produce emotion). To a certain extent, I've begun to believe it myself (which is probably why, after a few seasons, Grey's Anatomy started to annoy the heck outta me!) There are probably more quirks but those are the two that stand out in my mind. Does anyone have any other soap related "quirks" that they feel like sharing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fevuh Posted May 22, 2019 Members Share Posted May 22, 2019 (edited) Well I don't know if it's a quirk or not - but people just walking into other people's houses unannounced and people just let them walk in. People in a (new given cheap sets)...but people live in hotels now...so that's a quirk to me. I don't know anyone that could even afford to live in a Super 8 or a Motel 6 for months on end...but on soaps they live in high-end hotels for years but can't afford rent in a house? They live in hotel rooms but never look in the "hole" to see who is on the other side? People on soaps open the door for everyone. Edited May 22, 2019 by Fevuh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Antoyne Posted May 23, 2019 Members Share Posted May 23, 2019 The hotel living on the soaps lately is killing me. Most of these characters are RICH and they can’t afford a mortgage and literally just live in a room with a bed and a bathroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fevuh Posted May 23, 2019 Members Share Posted May 23, 2019 It's been for years. Clearly some of the look of these rooms are Probably $150 or $200 a night or more. And these characters can pay that but not afford a $1500 or $2000 rental apartment for a month? Or $3000 or $4000 rental a month? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoria foxton Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 The ugly and tiny hotel rooms Kate and Eve live in are simply ghastly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members YRBB Posted May 23, 2019 Members Share Posted May 23, 2019 Oh man, I love when it rains/snows on soaps. I love me a good thunderstorm, I don't know why. Please register in order to view this content I thought I was the only one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gray Bunny Posted May 23, 2019 Members Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) I'm a sucker for a large, lush extravagant set. Even if they look a tad cardboardy, I love when they used to go all out with something large, expansive, and 2-story. Like GL's San Cristobel set when they had that huge ball in the summer of 1999, or even the Millennium club set when it first opened and the dance floor was set was 2-story. Fifth Street fires, Frank and his co-worker staking out watching Marion Crane, Josh & Reva's '99 wedding, the country club when they featured all the different hallways and rooms, the bar, the outdoor dining/fountain area, etc... I'm currently watching DAYS circa 1995 at the start of the Aremid storyline, and the Aremid house was so lush with a 2-story stair case, a private library/dining area, plus when Peter & Jenn got married, they had the huge ballroom for the wedding and reception, you saw the Lady in White peering outside from the second floor window ... as with their regular home sets back in the day (Horton house, Jenn's house, Marlena's penthouse, etc.) I liked how they showed multiple rooms and areas of the homes, from kitchens to formal dining rooms to backyards, etc. It made it feel more real, more extravagant than a starchy, cold single room that they have nowadays. Edited May 23, 2019 by Gray Bunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members juppiter Posted May 25, 2019 Members Share Posted May 25, 2019 When I was in high school, getting annoyed when there were harsh weather conditions, because I knew it meant the news would interrupt my soap and mess up my VHS recording with what would be outdated information by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vetsoapfan Posted May 26, 2019 Members Share Posted May 26, 2019 I loathe pointless, gratuitous news interruptions that break into the soaps, particularly when they just announce the same information ad nauseum, multiple times. The Watergate hearings in the 1970s, which ran all day, every day on ALL THREE NETWORKS drove me insane. I agree that the hearings were of historical value and should have been broadcast, but the initial decision to air them daily on every network was ridiculous. I was mollified and relieved when the executives in charge of daytime TV came to an agreement, and starting rotating the broadcasts (only ABC on Monday, then only CBS on Tuesday, and only NBC on Wednesday, etc.) At least we could watch our favorite shows two of of every three days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DramatistDreamer Posted May 26, 2019 Author Members Share Posted May 26, 2019 For every soap I've watched, I've come to expect that at least one prominent family has a cabin somewhere. Please register in order to view this content Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vetsoapfan Posted May 27, 2019 Members Share Posted May 27, 2019 (edited) You are NOT alone, my dear. One of my all-time favorite episodes of Dark Shadows is the one in which Barnabas is in the drawing room of the new house with Carolyn and Victoria, as a vicious storm rages outside. In an almost broken state, he tells the girls the story of Josette, and how she died on Widows' Hill so many years ago. Jonathan Frid was brilliant in that scene, shaking and stumbling over his words, and the writing was great too, but the roars of thunder and flashes of lightning made the entire episode much more effective than if it had been a sunny, quiet day. LOL, now I want to watch that episode again, and I would...if I knew what number it was! One of my quirks: during intensely poignant or important moments, if a show's theme song cues up in the background, I dissolve into tears. Automatically. before anything even happens on screen. One Christmas on TGL, Johnny gave Ed a gift for baby Michelle (it might have been a blanket). As soon as Ed opened the box, My Guiding Light swelled up in the background, and I instantly burst into tears, knowing that Johnny was going to mention something "Bauer" that would kill me. I was right. He explained that Bert had made the blanket (?) with her own hands and sent it to Johnny's parents many years before, but now it was time for it to be returned to Ed and his child. UGH! I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about and and humming the My Guiding Light theme in my head! Yes, yes, I am insane. I freely admit it. Edited May 27, 2019 by vetsoapfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crc Posted May 27, 2019 Members Share Posted May 27, 2019 Speaking of soap interruptions, it always annoys me how the local news would break into the show for just the slightest chance of a storm. With the CBS soaps, you used to be able to count on this rule of thumb: if more than half the show was pre-empted on the east coast, the episode would re-air the next day while they'd air a re-run on the west coast (if it was national news) or in the middle of the night (it it was local news. If less than half the show was pre-empted, you were out of luck. Nowadays they can pre-empt an entire episode and you'll have to go online to watch it because they'll continue with the next episode the next day. Also, you used to be able to tell which soaps were more important to the network or local station based on how long and how frequent they would interrupt. The local news would typically try to "get back to the show" if Y&R was on, but by the time Guiding Light came on, they would have no problem interrupting for long periods of time even if they were just repeating the same thing over and over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SamandWillowFan Posted May 27, 2019 Members Share Posted May 27, 2019 I always find it odd how characters on soaps go around slapping and punching other characters and are almost never arrested for assault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crc Posted May 28, 2019 Members Share Posted May 28, 2019 Nobody shuts doors or they don't make sure it is closed all the way, leaving a gap so someone can eavesdrop unnoticed. Knowing darn well theyre about to talk about something they dont want anyone else to hear. And they NEVER lock their doors. They even leave the front door to their home open like they're living in a barn. This sometimes happen in primetime and movies too, especially if it single camera and the camera person is following through the door. But that's usually not the case on soaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fevuh Posted May 28, 2019 Members Share Posted May 28, 2019 I don't even remember what bills were up for Vote in Congress - but I remember it wasn't that big of a deal. I'm DC...and I remember a few days where there was a filibuster going on and Dan Rather (we called him Dam Blather) and Bob Schiefer breaking in every other day. They covered people filibustering. A couple of days later - Bob's report from the steps of the Capitol were "A 'Yes' vote means they are FOR the bill. A 'No' vote means they are NOT for the Bill. And Representatives are casting "YES or NO" RIGHT Now. Even as we SPEAK, they are voting YES or NO." Back to you Dan. "OK Bob, thank you....are you saying they are voting RIGHT NOW? YES OR NO and this is happening RIGHT NOW?" Bob: "that's EXACTLY right Dan, they are VOTING right now. YES means they are FOR the Bill - NO means they are NOT for the Bill." I was like - this is 5:00 PM news material. Why are you breaking in? No one is tuning in to see what "YES" and "NO" means. We tuned to this channel to see our show. And NO one is going to turn on the TV to see you what YES and NO means. It's astounding! My GOD I learned something! YES means you're FOR the BILL! NO MEANS you're NOT! Thank you for educating me. Unreal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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