What's the best way to end a SOAP Episode?

[Planet Soap]

I like fade to black (with background score still playing) then show credit, Law & Order "Created by Dick Wolf" style. Case & point: Y&R It was nice and dramatic.

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Maybe my favorite: Fade into show logo is another good way, a la Days of Our Lives spinning hourglass closer 1990s.

Freeze frames, beat, then show credits on the frozen frame are cool. Dynasty and Dallas in particular.

Edited February 14, 2022 by ironlion

[Faulkner]

I liked Y&R’s fade to black and producer credits too. 
 

I loved GH’s end credits from the ‘90s:

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And GL’s end credits with the still shots of the cast in alphabetical order. I was also disappointed when they skipped those credits and just had the GL logo. It was also so weird when they ended with Kim Zimmer instead of Michael Zaslow.

 

[Planet Soap]

GH still image was lovely, plus the sax music was very nineties!

Edited February 14, 2022 by ironlion

[Khan]

Kurt McKinney's still shot: "I swear to you, I don't know where I left my shirt!".

[Faulkner]

LOL. He was gorgeous, but I hated Matt so much.

That slowed-down version of the theme makes me verklempt.

[DemetriKane]

It's Y&R for me, i love freeze frames for big moments like Val chasing after her baby on Knots Landing.

[Spoon]

Also, B&B introduced a vocal version performed by Dionne Warrick over scenic beauty shots.

https://youtu.be/4k3HEWljWuk

 

[MichaelGL]

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This is how you end a Christmas episode for a soap. Having the characters pose for a family photo while  looking directly in the camera. Perhaps one of the many things that endeared me to Pine Valley and Agnes Nixons creations. Then the credits begin to roll with Christmas carolers singing in the background.  

[LondonScribe]

Since Eastenders was mentioned…

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It’s a feature of all the British soaps. Most shows, in fact. A beat of feature that takes the show into the credits.

 

Hollyoaks is slightly different as it neatly always has a post-credit scene.

Edited February 21, 2022 by LondonScribe

[Faulkner]

I like that the UK primetime soaps have pretty much maintained their themes (sometimes with different arrangements and visuals) as their series evolved. The U.S. shows always wanted to repackage themselves, which so often reeked of desperation. 

[LondonScribe]

Indeed. The only thing that has remained consistent about our soaps are their themes.

The only soap that has kept the exact same theme and arrangement is 22 year old daytime soap, Doctors.

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[victoria foxton]

 

  

[LondonScribe]

It wasn’t bad. But Brits don’t take all that well to change, so that theme only lasted a year. I remember that period very well.