Jump to content

Confessions - What I did for soaps


Recommended Posts

  • Members

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

sony watchman tv

Edited by j swift
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 11
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

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 by janea4old
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Love this thread idea! 

Please register in order to view this content

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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 by Soapsuds
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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 by Michael
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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. 

Please register in order to view this content

 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 by Noel
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 by victoria foxton
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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

Please register in order to view this content

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 by kalbir
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Leslie and her family are from Chicago? Anita's background also includes being a former Chi-Town native? Might they connect this and go somewhere with it?
    • Honestly who's to say Leslie even birthed Eva, I mean she's a liar, I wouldn't believe a word she says about Eva being Ted's(or hers)
    •   1. 11/1/83 cast/set list:  

      Please register in order to view this content

          The "11/2/83" video you posted of Ruth Buzzi's scenes includes Roman and Hope in them, meaning the video you posted is actually 11/1/83, since Roman and Hope aren't in 11/2/83.   2. The video you posted of "11/2/83" has scenes with Roman and Hope. As you can see from my cast/set list, Roman and Hope are not in the 11/2/83 episode (see above note):   4573...11/2/83: Cast: Mickey, Julie, Doug, Maggie, Neil, Don, Marie, Alex, Liz, Andre as Tony, Gwen, Chris, Eugene, Sandy, Letitia, Charlene, Mrs. Whiting, Wanda/Guard, Dave, Delia, Saleslady # 1, Saleslady # 2, Figure in Dark, Raven/animal, Cats/animals, Birds/animals.   2.  11/3/83 :My video collection starts with 11/4/83. so I don't have the 11/1/83 or 11/3/83 video, but in addition to the cast/set list for 11/3/83, here is also the parking clearance call sheet for that day, showing Ruth was not only in the cast/set list but did work that day:     They even had hired the animal trainer and all the animals for the day, so It's sort of a certainty that her scenes were not cut that day, or it would have been a big waste of the budget. 3. As for 11/7/83, I just fast-forwarded through that whole episode myself. Letitia is in it from start to finish. It's her big final episode where she is killed. She starts the episode saying "Eugene, are you there?" In the next act, Marlena shows up and meets Letitia's lion. Later in the episode, Letitia is killed by "Eugene" (the Salem Slasher in a Eugene mask).   So, as we can see from your own post, the 11/2/83 date you have listed on that video is incorrect, since Hope and Roman are in that video but not in the 11/2/83 episode.It seems the dates you have on all your early November 1983 episodes are incorrect.   When you post videos and suggest that my data is incorrect, do you not first compare who is in the scenes and see if that matches who is in the episode? You didn't do that with the "11/2/83" episode, which based on Roman and Hope being in it means that is actually 11/1/83. Best to do something like that first before suggesting my data and research is incorrect.
    • Within the Dupree family, I predict Vernon/Anita will be conflicted about what to do about Bill and his role in the whole Ted/Silk Press Sheila situation... especially since Bill knows where the particular bone about Martin is buried. Dani, Chelsea, and Naomi's reactions to what Bill possibly did isn't hard to guess.. but Hayley's reactions will be interesting to hear.  Especially given her recent pregnancy scare.. she might not be so much on Bill's side, or she'll totally surprise us and be totally on Bill's side.   Either way, I think Martin's secret will be the main focus in May sweeps.. with the fall out of the Eva secret playing out in the background... while the Joey/Vanessa/Doug thing continues to boil/develop.
    • Hotel was The Love Boat on land but a little soapier. I will forever maintain that Hotel was a time slot hit. I don't believe that 1983/84 Hotel was a better show than Knots Landing.
    • The Golden Girls key episodes by ratings September 14, 1985: The Engagement (series premiere), rating 25.0, #1 Season highs February 22, 1986: Adult Education, rating 25.2 October 4, 1986: Ladies of the Evening, rating 27.3 November 8, 1986: Isn't it Romantic, rating 27.3 February 6, 1988: My Brother, My Father; rating 24.6 November 26, 1988: Sophia's Wedding (Part 2), rating 24.3, #1 September 23, 1989: Sick and Tired (Part 1) (season 5 premiere), rating 23.5 January 12, 1991: Sisters of the Bride, rating 19.3 May 9, 1992: One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest (series finale), rating 18.9 Season lows October 19, 1985: The Triangle, rating 18.6 May 16, 1987: Empty Nests (season 2 finale), rating 17.8 February 20, 1988: And Ma Makes Three, rating 18.0 April 29, 1989: Rites of Spring, rating 18.7 April 28, 1990: All Bets are Off, rating 15.8 February 16, 1991: Older and Wiser, rating 11.6 October 26, 1991: Mother Load, rating 10.9 Ten highest-rated episodes October 4, 1986: Ladies of the Evening, rating 27.3 November 8, 1986: Isn't it Romantic, rating 27.3 January 3, 1987: The Sisters, rating 27.0 November 22, 1986: Family Affair, rating 26.8 January 10, 1987: The Stan Who Came to Dinner, rating 26.6 January 24, 1987: Before and After, rating 26.4 February 28, 1987: Whose Face is This, Anyway?; rating 25.8 September 27, 1986: End of the Curse (season 2 premiere), rating 25.6 November 15, 1986: Big Daddy's Little Lady, rating 25.3 February 22, 1986: Adult Education, rating 25.2 Ten lowest-rated episodes October 26, 1991: Mother Load, rating 10.9 September 28, 1991: The Case of the Libertine Belle, rating 10.9 October 19, 1991: Where's Charlie?, rating 11.0 February 15, 1992: Ebbtide VI: The Wrath of Stan, rating 11.3 February 16, 1991: Older and Wiser, rating 11.6 December 14, 1991: The Pope's Ring, rating 11.7 April 25, 1992: Home Again, Rose (Part 1); rating 12.3 October 5, 1991: Beauty and the Beast, rating 12.7 November 2, 1991: Dateline: Miami, rating 12.7 December 7, 1991: From Here to the Pharmacy, rating 12.8
    • The timing is strange, though. How far in advance would they normally be on location? The Achille Lauro hijacking was on October 7, 1985. Nancy had arrived in Egypt in the storyline by October 18. But the character of Hawk, Chris' Native American friend from Arizona, had already appeared onscreen by September and brought a letter telling Chris to be in Egypt by October 25th.  Why did they already have the link to Arizona before the reason to cancel the shoot in Egypt?  The dust and the jar it came in were from Egypt though. Nancy bought it there and sent it to Mac as a gift before she came back to the states and followed Chris to Arizona.
    • Actually that is not what happened. Nor is the timing right for it to have been. We learned from a WOST interview with Pete Lemay  in 2006, which can be found on YT, that it was Fred Silverman's idea to do the 90 minute show. I don't know how much you know about him but he had these amazing successes as head of daytime at both ABC & at CBS. Then he came to NBC where basically everything he touched turned NOT TO GOLD but to shite. Some of the most expensive shows ever produced up to that time were huge flops. Although even he, like a broken clock, could be right on occasion. However, as we know, he was not right about the 90 minute show. As a matter of fact, afterward,  NBC programmers, who worked FOR him, were asked why they did it & they were quoted as saying it was because they couldn't think of anything else to try. It was a stupid idea from a man who had reached the point where he was throwing anything at the wall to see if it would stick.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy