Inspired by a discussion here a few years ago about a fan who used a reel-to-reel audiotape to record the soaps I want to know your stories of what you did to watch specific episodes of soaps, back before streaming, DVRs, and even VCRs.

For me it was May 8, 1984.  I had saved $120.00 to buy a Sony Watchman in order to sneak it into school and watch Roman save Marlena at the concert hall before Stefano blew it up.  Unfortunately, that same day the USSR decided to announce that they were going to boycott the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.  I remember hiding in my school's library conference room at noon ready to watch Liz Chandler and Al Jarreau sing their hearts out when my brilliant plan was spoiled by the Russians.  But, much like the Brady brothers, I persisted and eventually got to see Larry Welch announce his engagement to Hope

Edited January 19, 20232 yr by j swift

Early 1970s.  I was a teenager but was not allowed to watch TV after school.  My father and stepmother worked all day, so I was home alone after school.  Every morning before she left for work, my stepmother took the knobs off the television and hid them, so that I couldn't access the TV when I got home.  No problem.  I went into my father's workroom every day and took his pliers - and brought them to the kitchen to turn on the TV and change the channel, so I could see my soaps. And then I carefully put the pliers back when I was done.  I did that for years. I don't think they ever found out.

Edited January 19, 20232 yr by janea4old

I got in trouble with my dad and couldn't watch tv or anything and I still snuck and watched my soaps lol. My dad did find out but he wasn't all that mad lol 

Love this thread idea! 😂

Spring of 2001: I was a freshman in college, and DAYS was airing Greta's coronation-turned-massacre. I had an Intro to Politics seminar that ran from, like, 1:40-3:10, and DAYS aired at 3 pm, meaning I'd miss the immediate fallout of the cliffhanger for class and probably wouldn't be back at my dorm and watching the show until 3:20. Unable to face this horrifying prospect, I e-mailed my professor that night to let him know that I had a doctor's appointment at 3:30, so I'd have to leave class a few minutes early in order to make it. At 2:55, I legit just got up, waved to the prof (this was a seminar of maybe 15 students), and waltzed out of there... and right back to my dorm, where I claimed the TV just in time to catch the beginning of the episode.

10 minutes ago, Michael said:

waltzed out of there... and right back to my dorm, where I claimed the TV just in time to catch the beginning of the episode.

Dorm soap consumption was a premium experience.  I still smile thinking about 15 guys and I screaming at the top of our lungs as Terry Brock sang Amazing Grace in a fugue state, dressed in her wedding gown, walking down Main Street in Laurelton on GH

In 1987 there was a big family wedding out of town the day Lily was finding out Iva was her mother and Craig and Betsy plane crashed. I told my mother I wasn't going to the wedding because I had to watch my ATWT. To which my mom said I was too young to stay alone all day and overnight by myself. I finally convinced my mother to let me stay. I was a loyal ATWT fan.

In 1991 I skipped a class to watch Nina shoot David on YR.

Edited January 20, 20232 yr by Soapsuds

15 hours ago, j swift said:

Dorm soap consumption was a premium experience.  I still smile thinking about 15 guys and I screaming at the top of our lungs as Terry Brock sang Amazing Grace in a fugue state, dressed in her wedding gown, walking down Main Street in Laurelton on GH

Ha! The dorms were how I began watching AMC -- a girl who lived on my floor was an avid AMC viewer, and it was on at the same time as DAYS in Oregon (3 pm), so we agreed that we'd watch together and switch back and forth throughout the hour (unless it was an epic episode of one or the other) since there was only the one TV in our dorm's common room. She's still a good friend 20 years later and will be at my wedding this fall, mostly thanks to soaps!

Edited January 20, 20232 yr by Michael

I was raised in a home by my mother who was very strict on all of us. I was the black sheep of the family, so she was all over my ass. We get along great now, as I acknowledge the fact that being a single mother is a very difficult task. 

So, when it came to watching television, we were allowed to watch a certain number of shows a day according to our report cards. It went down like this:

A's/B's: 5 television shows per day

1 or more C's: 3 television shows per day

1 D : 1 television show per day

1F: 0 television shows until the next quarter (or period) to see what our grades were

Yep. Sweet little me go an F. At that time, I loved Kim Zimmer. I thought she was the most talented actress I'd ever seen at that ime. I LOVED Michelle Forbes too. I really wanted to see Solita shove Reva off that ropey bridge. Bitch was always stickin' her nose where it didn't belong. So, while my mom was watching Guiding Light in the kitchen with the volume turned up, I would secretly turn on the television downstairs in the family room with the volume off. 😄😉 Sure, the volume from upstairs in the kitchen was quite the challenge, but I could still sort of tell what was being said.

Bitch still didn't kill Reva which blackened my heart even more. And then came along Annie Dutton a decade or so later. Believe it or not, Annie and I have been best friends ever since. But yeah, at that time, I did that for 9 weeks or something. I had to be really careful too because of the picture frames which would show the television reflection from upstairs. God, I was so sneaky. 

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. This is my confession.

Edited January 24, 20232 yr by Noel

I used the old standby of faking being sick. Which never worked with my mom. We had a VCR my mom would record her ABC soaps on. But i had gotten into Days. AW, GL and ATWT. I kept apprised through the soap mags which were an inexpensive wonderful resource. And my meager allowance could afford. Luckly my mom got me a VCR for my 15th birthday.

Edited January 20, 20232 yr by victoria foxton

On school breaks I'd watch the CBS game show block and if my parents weren't near the TV I'd leave the TV on to sneak watch the rest of the CBS soaps. Sometimes it worked and other times I got caught. When they weren't home I got away w/ soap watching of course

Not related to soap watching, but I learned to use the microfilm readers at the public library for the purpose of reading old newspaper soap columns.

Edited January 21, 20232 yr by kalbir

My grandparents were CBS loyalists and my grandma would record the lineup for me and deliver it to me, which is how I kept up with those soaps. I didn't realize any other soaps existed until I discovered Knots Landing and Falcon Crest on SOAPnet and that is what got me into the genre overall. The CBS soaps aren't even soaps, they're "our stories" and are just a thing in many Black households. Once I realized what the genre was, I got two VCRs and would use one to record NBC and one to record CBS (taking over duties from my grandma) and then I would use SOAPnet to watch the ABC soaps.

I was having lunch with two of my best friends. They exclaimed in unison, "$100!?" when I told them how much I paid for my ticket to the Daytime Emmys. I balk at the notion of paying that much for theatre tickets in 2023, but for whatever reason, that just didn't seem like a lot of money to me as a huge soap fan in 1999.

My equally enthusiastic soap fan friend and I took the Greyhound from Maryland to Manhattan and stayed in the crappiest hotel room I have ever had the misfortune of lying my head. I don't even remember how we found the place. I'm sure the decision was motivated by price and location, but we obviously didn't see pictures because there is no way we would have ever booked the room. The carpet was dingy, there was only one full bed with cheap old linens, and the bathroom was in the hall. The place probably had bedbugs.

We managed to clean up nicely and avoid getting athlete's foot in the hall bathroom. We had an amazing time at the Emmys, meeting several soap stars, and best of all, Susan Lucci won! A true highlight of my life. The next morning, I bought copies of The New York Post and The New York Daily News as she was on the cover of both.

Totally worth the $100 ticket and awful hotel stay.