ALL: Couple vs SUPER Couple?

[Planet Soap]

What elevates a soap couple to SUPER status? What attributes do they have that differentiates them from just a regular soap couple?

For example Why are Victor and Nikki a super couple but not Victor & Ashley? Why are ATWT's? Jack & Carly or Tom & Margot considered super couples but not Bob & Kim?

Likewise, are there any underrated couples you think should have received the super couple designation?

Edited January 13 by Planet Soap

[AMCOLTLLover]

Natalie and Trevor from all my children had such funny and amazingly written love story and were front burner for so long that they should’ve be called a super couple 

[janea4old]

In my personal opinion, Victor and Nikki are *not* a supercouple.   They're a famous business power couple and a society power couple, but they're not written as romantic equals. Victor tries to control Nikki and all people.

Bo and Hope were a romance supercouple.  They overcame odds to be together.   They worked to find one another when separated by circumstances.

Edited January 13 by janea4old

[titan1978]

It’s hard to define. In the 80’s and 90’s, a supercouple for the most part was subjected to a specific formula, which was mostly designed by Sheri Anderson when she worked under Pat Falken Smith at GH during Scotty/Laura/Luke through the Ice Princess. I do think Alice/Steve on Another World and Doug/Julie were prototype supercouples before the formula is set up though.

There is something larger than life about the romance. They have to overcome obstacles in order to finally be together, an element of danger/adventure/both, and a lavish wedding. It also almost always burns them for another romantic pairing that lasts, they are seen as a true love. Time invested in their story is a huge part.

In more modern storytelling a supercouple is more like Steve/Alice and Doug/Julie. I consider GH’s Robin/Patrick a modern supercouple, but not Carly/Jax for example.

 A character like Bobbie on GH was in many popular pairings, but none of them hit supercouple IMO. Jake maybe came closest. I think most couples on soaps, even popular ones are not supercouples. The term has become kind of a catch all.

Edited January 13 by titan1978

[Contessa Donatella]

The term was coined by mainstream media & first applied to Luke & Laura. (I sometimes think it was as much a part of the hype as it was the couple.) 

Immediately it was applied retroactively to 2 couples on 2 shows. On DAYS Doug & Julie. On ATWT Jeff & Penny. Later, of course, it came to be used with many couples.

In the 80s on DAYS the show was supercouple crazy with so many from Bo & Hope, including Roman & Marlena aka the cop & the doc, Shane & Kimberly, Patch & Kayla.

On Y&R Victor & Nikki. On AMC Jesse & Angie were the first black supercouple. I think often AW's Steve & Alice are left off of lists. And, fans disagree today about whether they still exist. To me the last supercouple was GH's Sonny & Brenda. I know that some GH fans include Scrubs.

[dragonflies]

IMO Super Couple isn't the same as it was in the 80s/90s/00s, there are few couples that fit the SC definition and by all standards are a SC.

 

To me it's popularity, rootability, longevity, couples who fight to stay together, to be together, persevere against outside forces etc

[Liberty City]

Super couple, in the social media era, is not "super couple" to me in the same way it was during the medium's highest points of time. It isn't two actors who shared one scene and are immediately deemed a "super couple". To me, they need presence in media, and presence within the medium for it to be possible/considered.

[Contessa Donatella]

You know Digest's second special print edition was I think named "Greatest Couples" so not Supercouples per se but maybe of interest to this topic. "Search for Tomorrow" had no couple listed. "Another World" only had Mac & Rachel. I don't have it in front of me right now but I remember those two things that I thought were odd. Edit: Okay, it's officially "Soaps' 50 Greatest Couples". And, I have it & can look up anything anyone is interested in.

Edited January 13 by Contessa Donatella
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[janea4old]

It can be read for free online at public library websites.
The list is here, and most of them are NOT supercouples:
https://kdl.overdrive.com/media/11191886
(click on the arrow on that page, to see the list of 50 couples)

Edited January 13 by janea4old

[kalbir]

To me supercouples were a 1980s trend and more often than not, supercouple storylines encompassed another 1980s trend, action/adventure.

Factoring in pop culture and soap press coverage, I'd say the big supercouples of the 1980s in date order were Luke/Laura, Bo/Hope, Cruz/Eden, Steve/Kayla.

[Contessa Donatella]

I love that overdrive function on public libraries. I read all of the OUTLANDER series that way.

Also, very funny about them NOT being supercouples. The editors of this mag are Mark McGarry & Carolyn Hinsey, so you can expect bias, at least that is my take. 

[j swift]

I feel like difference relies upon whether you are rooting for the couple, or the individual to find love.

Erica Kane was never in a supercouple, because we wanted her to find love and feel fulfilled.

Whereas, Bo & Hope went through many obstacles as partners.  The end goal was always for them to find a way back to being together.

Edited January 14 by j swift

[carolineg]

Wow!  Sonny/Brenda are pretty high on that SOD list.  SOD is obviously correct on that lol.  That list is odd though.  

Obvious bias aside, I would generally consider Sonny/Brenda the last supercouple and they were on the very tail end of that trend.  I think you can make a decent argument for Robin/Patrick, but Robin had more memorable pairings.

I just don't think soaps are built for supercouple pairings anymore.  Romance still happens on soaps, but it's no longer the hard fought super couple journey.  Couples say they are in love in a few months, get married, have a kid and divorce.  Look no further than Carly/Sonny being ranked so high.  They just get points for longevity and the fact they get paired when the writers have nothing else to do with them.

[P.J.]

I think there's a over-the-top quality to their romance and acknowledged focus on them by the show that pushes a couple into "super" couple status. In addition to the likeability/rootability factor. 

 

[Planet Soap]

There were a few that came after Sonny & Brenda. I would argue, the OG Lucky & Liz, Robin & Patrick, Jason & Sam, and most prominently Sonny & Carly were all super couples.

I would not consider Jason and Elizabeth a super couple. They were broken up most of the time. Maybe I need to go back and watch.

Its crazy that the entire show of was centered around the coupling of Sonny and Carly from about 2000-2013 which speaks to their power (and the writers obsession). Jason and Sam were the B super couple. 

In my opinion, a super couple's stories are deliberately centered on their romance, they get a significant amount of media, fan, and writer attention.

For example Luke & Laura were a super couple because a large part of their stories were centered around their relationship, and they receive significant media attention and popularity.

Luke and Tracy were not a super couple because they're two characters with individual stories that happen to be paired together. The relationship is not the focal point of their stories. Kevin and Laura on GH are another example.

Edited January 14 by Planet Soap