We all know many of those big, iconic soap moments. The lucky ones got to see them when they aired, and the buildup. Now thanks to YouTube we can view many of them (before they get pulled down), but it’s often not the same as watching it build daily for months, or even years. Sometimes you see those big moments and they are kind of lackluster without the anticipation.

What is your favorite big soap moment that you saw the whole story as it was airing?

What is a big soap moment you saw years later on YouTube or somewhere else that was still able to thrill?

What was a big soap moment that you saw after it aired and were kind of meh about, one that didn’t hold up?

My favorite when it was airing has to be clink/boom. I didn’t know anything was coming until the slow motion started, I was deeply invested in Brenda/Sonny as a teenager, and it was a really great way to keep that separation going.

Favorite from YouTube has to be Beverlee McKinsey’s Alexandra Spaulding confronting Roger Thorpe at the Towers. It was so great I spent months watching as much of the Curlee era as I could find. I didn’t really watch GL and those few years have become some of my favorite soap.

One that didn’t hold up was Hello, Barbara on ATWT. I think you just had to be there. And it’s not like Marland couldn’t grab me, I also saw the Douglas Cummins reveal after the fact and it was gripping and very creepy.

Great topic, @titan1978! I talked about it a a week-and-a-half ago, but watching the reveal that Lucy Coe wasn't actually a spinster in context was surprisingly eye-opening. As an individual scene, it's iconic and fun to watch, which is probably why it remains popular all these years later. It helps that Lucy's technically the only one in the scene, so it can be watched on its own. In the context of Laurelton and the episode it aired in 1986, though, the scene is another attempt at teasing, even when it's fairly obvious who Lucy is meeting.

3 hours ago, titan1978 said:

What is your favorite big soap moment that you saw the whole story as it was airing?

The reveal when Iris admits to Mac that she was “The Chief” of Bennett Publishing that was trying to take over Cory Publishing. What made this all the more shocking was Douglass Watson’s real life death a few weeks later. The AW writers played it as Mac having a heart attack because of Iris’ betrayal. The father and daughter never reconciled before Mac’s death.

41 minutes ago, Franko said:

Great topic, @titan1978! I talked about it a a week-and-a-half ago, but watching the reveal that Lucy Coe wasn't actually a spinster in context was surprisingly eye-opening. As an individual scene, it's iconic and fun to watch, which is probably why it remains popular all these years later

You almost don’t need the whole story for that one, but I think knowing Lucy makes it stand out more in hindsight!

I was looking on eBay for a couple of those soap mags that listed the best stories or best moments from soaps, and I remembered back then how I wish I could have seen things like Heather Webber/Diana Taylor and the original LSD moment, or Hello, Barbara, or the Loving Murders. Now I have! The one that I haven’t seen yet that I know exists fully in the vault is the accident with Katherine and Philllip Chancellor. My dream would be Carla Grey’s reveal on OLTL, or Laura killing David Hamilton.

3 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

You almost don’t need the whole story for that one, but I think knowing Lucy makes it stand out more in hindsight!

I was looking on eBay for a couple of those soap mags that listed the best stories or best moments from soaps, and I remembered back then how I wish I could have seen things like Heather Webber/Diana Taylor and the original LSD moment, or Hello, Barbara, or the Loving Murders. Now I have! The one that I haven’t seen yet that I know exists fully in the vault is the accident with Katherine and Philllip Chancellor. My dream would be Carla Grey’s reveal on OLTL, or Laura killing David Hamilton.

I keep holding out hope for Alan & Monica's wedding in 1978.

9 minutes ago, watson71 said:

The AW writers played it as Mac having a heart attack because of Iris’ betrayal. The father and daughter never reconciled before Mac’s death.

That must have been powerful for longtime fans. You have the history of the issues between them from Beverlee McKinsey’s era, and then also the reality of his death and missing Douglass Watson.

I know probably everyone thinks the cliched answer is Karen Wolek testifying on the witness stand on OLTL and revealing to everyone she was a prostitute--and it is an AMAZING scene--but there's another big moment during that trial that beats it by a hair.

The trial was about the murder of Marco Dane (Gerald Anthony). So we all saw the dead body. But this is a soap opera, right?

The reveal they did here was absolutely brilliant. They just showed the courtroom, they weren't really focusing on anyone in particular, when a man walks in and simply takes a seat.

My sister and I were watching this together. We looked at each other, because the guy looked familiar but we couldn't place him.

See, Marco Dane had a beard and dressed kind of like a punk. This guy was clean-shaven and was wearing a suit.

Little by little, it dawned on us who it was, even though he was just sitting in the courtroom as if he was an anonymous spectator.

We started screaming at the TV and each other, "It's Gerald Anthony, it's Gerald Anthony!"

Of course, at THIS point, they explained this was Marco's twin, Mario Dane, and for quite some time the audience accepted it--until there was ANOTHER great iconic scene. Karen had been raped by her brother-in-law Brad Vernon, "Mario" figured it out, and he harangued Karen until she admitted it. Then she--and the audience--realizes he's not Mario, he's actually MARCO.

The thing that's so great about all of this is you could NEVER get away with these kinds of reveals today because of the internet.

From beginning to end, what a great storyline. Sigh. Miss those days a lot.