The Story of Soaps (ABC)

[UYI]

Airs Tuesday, May 19th at 8 PM Eastern on ABC.

It looks like this was planned prior to COVID-19, but with everyone home right now, and all the soap reruns going on (especially with Y&R, which is going back as far as 25-30 years ago with their "classic" episodes!), and the online reunions former ATWT/GL PR department member Alan Locher has been doing recently with former cast members of those shows, it's all the more appropriate today! It sounds like this will be really fun to watch. 🙂

 

Here's an article about it from People:

https://people.com/tv/story-of-soaps-first-look/

And for those fans of As the World Turns and Guiding Light missing their Oakdale and Springfield families, here's Alan Locher's YouTube page. There are still some fun reunions being planned, along with the ones that have already happened:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNPcdsYALLUzTH1Hf8EoPwQ/videos

Edited April 23, 2020 by UYI

[Gigi43]

I'm looking forward to it, even though I'm already prepared to yell OLTL discrimination. I'm definitely up for some classic soap scenes/memory lane. Funny that ABC is doing it when they think 2018 GH is classic enough right now and CBS is going back decades. 

Edited April 25, 2020 by Gigi43

[UYI]

1 hour ago, Gigi43 said:

I'm looking forward to it, even though I'm already prepared to yell OLTL discrimination. I'm definitely up for some classic soap scenes/memory lane. Funny that ABC is doing it when they think 2018 GH is classic enough right now and CBS is going back decades. 

I feel your pain! 😉

I think the main reason GH isn't showing truly "classic" episodes right now is because of how cheap Frank Valentini is when it comes to the show's budget/avoiding having to pay some sort of royalties to actors who are no longer on the show, something Y&R doesn't have to worry about as much with how many people from 25-30 years ago are still on the show. (Which makes me wonder what B&B's excuse is for showing more recent episodes, too--they may have lost some of their veterans, but enough not to show episodes as old as Y&R is pulling out of the vault? I don't think so.) 

Not to mention that B&B's MASSIVE international audience has ALLOWED them to spend money the other three soaps left, for the most part, simply don't have anymore--that's why their first "theme" week of reruns between 2013-2017 are in FUCKING MONTE CARLO! That's UNHEARD of on the other soaps; it was unheard of 10-15 years ago when we still had GL, ATWT, OLTL, AMC and Passions. I would think showing episodes as far back as their premiere date in 1987 would be easier for them than ANY other soap. *shrug* 

(Side note for those of you who don't know: Y&R and B&B finally aired their most recent episodes on Thursday, after a few weeks of a four day a week schedule, plus a "classic" episode on Friday to stretch things out; starting this coming week, they will both special "theme" weeks of old episodes for the foreseeable future; GH is on the same schedule now, although they still have some new episodes left.)

Once GH finally airs its most recent episode, though, his hand might finally be forced. They'll have to show SOMETHING, and I somehow don't think episodes from a year-two years ago is going to be enough once that happens. (Just kidding, he'll probably extend it to three or four years ago. CLASSIC! *eyeroll*)

Meanwhile, DAYS' batshit insane, eight months in advance taping schedule suddenly looks like the smartest plan of all! Who would've EVER thought that even two months ago? 😄 

Edited April 25, 2020 by UYI

[MsTree]

On 4/24/2020 at 7:56 PM, UYI said:

Y&R and B&B finally aired their most recent episodes on Thursday

...so that means we're left with Flo being knocked out, and wondering if Wyatt actually saw Penny & Sally dragging her across the floor?

 

On 4/24/2020 at 7:56 PM, UYI said:

Meanwhile, DAYS' batshit insane, eight months in advance taping schedule suddenly looks like the smartest plan of all! Who would've EVER thought that even two months ago?

Apparently there was a method to their madness! 👍

[Snow Apple]

I haven’t watched Y&R in decades when I stumbled upon it while staying at home. I was surprised that Nickki and Victor were still there and stunned how young they look. LOL. I didn’t know it was reruns.

 I used to know most of the soaps so I’ll probably watch.

[Gigi43]

Oh no doubt Frank is cheap AF but I would think someone at the network would think, gee, everyone is at home maybe air the biggest soap episode of all time and throw on L&L's wedding once. With the right promotion it could attract an audience. 

 

Who does everyone want to see on the Soap special? I want ABC to put on Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak and Genie Francis equally. People promoted Lucci would be on but it would be absolutely insane to not put on Genie though God knows they hate paying her so it could be asking a lot. Erika shouldn't be left out, obviously. Maybe it's because Robin Strasser is a twitter addict but even though I loved Dorian I'm not clamoring to hear from her. Selfishly, Kassie DePiva is on my list but I don't expect her to make the cut. Darnell Williams and Debi Morgan also make my list of who I'd like to see and they have a place in soap history. David Canary was, imo, the best male in daytime for his ability to juggle Adam/Stuart as long as he did, it's a shame he's not around to be a part. Judith Light is someone else I hope to see, she's had a long career post-OLTL and Karen on the stand is pretty well known, it was before my time but I've seen it. They showed clips from non-ABC shows but I wonder if they'll reach out to any of the stars of the other soaps? I lean towards they won't unless it's a soap off the air or the prime time shows that aren't competition (I spotted a clip from Empire.) Michael Easton will probably get a segment dedicated to his 83 ABC characters.   

 

Snoop Dogg's gross Gale King rant still leaves a bad taste in my mouth or I'd say let him give a history lesson of OLTL.

 

I say make things real interesting and get Lucci and Sarah Michelle Gellar in the same room and slap fight it out. Andy Cohen's gonna be on, he could moderate. 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Gigi43

[UYI]

9 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I haven’t watched Y&R in decades when I stumbled upon it while staying at home. I was surprised that Nickki and Victor were still there and stunned how young they look. LOL. I didn’t know it was reruns.

 I used to know most of the soaps so I’ll probably watch.

Only Fridays have been reruns up to this past week; starting this week it's all reruns. To keep things interesting, they will be doing special "theme" weeks, with this week on Y&R focused on Katherine Chancellor (played of course by the late Jeanne Cooper, who died in 2013).

I should actually clarify something in one of my previous posts: I had said before that Y&R was going as far back as 25-30 years ago with their "classic" episodes; the first rerun was of Victor & Nikki's wedding, which was in 1984--36 years ago! I'd like to think that means they will start showing some episodes from the 70's as well (back when the main families were the Brooks and the Fosters, rather than the Abbotts and the Newmans), but I don't think that will happen. Oh well. 😢 

Edited April 27, 2020 by UYI

[UYI]

1 hour ago, Gigi43 said:

Who does everyone want to see on the Soap special? 

 

 

Well, of course, I want James DePaiva and Fiona Hutchison in there somewhere, but as I said the other day on the OLTL forum, Fiona hasn't been active on social media since 2012, so that's a pipe dream. Sigh, I miss her so much. 😢 

If Kassie were somehow featured, though, I'd like to think Jim may be there, too, especially given he started on OLTL six years before she did. I certainly think he's a dark horse candidate, as is John Loprieno. They could talk about Eterna, for Pete's sake! Daytime's only underground city!

(I was born in 1989, the same week that story ended, so I hold a little bit of pride about that, haha.)

Andrea Evans should be there, Kin Shriner, Michael E. Knight, Cady McClain...the ABC people really are much easier to predict, aren't they? 

I could also see the Fab Four of 80's GH--Tristan Rogers, Emma Samms, Finola Hughes, and Ian Buchanan--making an appearance, too (Emma's less likely, though, being a full time UK resident). Ditto Kimberly McCullough, along with Jack & Kristina Wagner (albeit not together; they divorced in 2006). And of course I'd LOVE to see Jane Elliot again! 🙂 

Edited April 27, 2020 by UYI

[chitowngirl]

You know Kelly and Mark will be in it.

[Ohwell]

"As the World Turns" used to be one of my favorite soaps back in the day.  I used to jokingly call it "As the Shit Flies."

[UYI]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

You know Kelly and Mark will be in it.

OMG! Completely forgot about them. For sure they'll be there.

I have to say, I'm kind of underwhelmed by Y&R's Katherine Chancellor-themed week now that I know the airdates for these shows. The first one from today originally aired on March 1st, 1990, which is very cool (especially since that was the day after my first birthday!), but the other episodes are from either 2004 or 2009. Not quite as "classic" in comparison. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 4/24/2020 at 10:56 PM, UYI said:

I think the main reason GH isn't showing truly "classic" episodes right now is because of how cheap Frank Valentini is when it comes to the show's budget/avoiding having to pay some sort of royalties to actors who are no longer on the show,

He is cheap as fuck. What I think is he doesn't want viewers to see how much he also SUCKS if he and ABC let the real classic episodes air; because the "classic" ones he's airing now? Also have actors/characters no longer on the show, so he has to pay them, right? And since 99% of the characters, if not actors from the truly great years are dead, money shouldn't be an issue.

But he's a petty, miserly, cheap, passive-aggressive ARSEHOLE. And I really don't expect to see any of the great actors that made soaps so great. The ones that are still alive, that is. They'll probably trot out Maurice-stutterbarking-marblemouth-Bernard and Laura Wright as the LEADING and GREAT characters that made GH. If Genie is there, or even Anthony, I'll be surprised. Even though, like it, hate it, loathe it, it was Luke and Laura and the Ice Princess story that saved GH.

[UYI]

42 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

If Genie is there, or even Anthony, I'll be surprised. Even though, like it, hate it, loathe it, it was Luke and Laura and the Ice Princess story that saved GH.

Along with the Alan/Monica/Rick/Lesley quad. 🙂 

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 minutes ago, UYI said:

Along with the Alan/Monica/Rick/Lesley quad. 🙂 

 

But their quad didn't make the cover pages of so many magazines! Or even Time, like Luke and Laura did! Or when Genie returned.

[UYI]

25 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

But their quad didn't make the cover pages of so many magazines! Or even Time, like Luke and Laura did! Or when Genie returned.

That's fair! I just know I've seen it said in some circles that their quad was part of what caused the original uptick in ratings (since the show was on the verge of cancellation in 1977 when Gloria Monty took over as Executive Producer from Tom Donovan), along with Laura/Scotty/Bobbie, although Luke/Laura certainly cemented it and brought GH into the stratosphere. 🙂

Did Luke & Laura appear on the cover of Time? I know they were on the cover of Newsweek (and People with Liz Taylor), and Doug & Julie from DAYS were on the cover of Time in 1976. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 minutes ago, UYI said:

Did Luke & Laura appear on the cover of Time? I know they were on the cover of Newsweek (and People with Liz Taylor), and Doug & Julie from DAYS were on the cover of Time in 1976. 

I thought they were also on the cover of Time. Just Genie and Anthony; and on Newsweek with Liz. It was on one of those specials I watched years ago. I could be wrong. But I do remember that it was Genie and Anthony being bombarded and being on all the covers.

[UYI]

Here are the two big non-soap related/non-TV related (since I found some TV Guide covers, too) magazine covers I found for Luke & Laura: Newsweek and People (with Liz Taylor). I also thought they had a Time cover, too, but a google search turned up nothing; the only soap cover I found for Time was the Doug & Julie one from 1976. (Edited because the original Newsweek cover I found was so big the top got cut off; the replacement isn't as high quality, but oh well.)

 

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by UYI

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 minutes ago, UYI said:

Here are the two big non-soap related/non-TV related (since I found some TV Guide covers, too) magazine covers I found for Luke & Laura: Newsweek and People (with Liz Taylor). I also thought they had a Time cover, too, but a google search turned up nothing; the only soap cover I found for Time was the Doug & Julie one from 1976. (Edited because the original Newsweek cover I found was so big the top got cut off.)

 

 

Thanks. I could have sworn that there was a Time cover also with just Genie and Tony. I remember thinking: "Wow!" that they were chosen/were considered worthy, because you know back then, soaps were looked down upon with several eye rolls.

But I know of no other soap, that played the reunion of Luke and Laura back-to-back and to have the local news talk about it and also replay the reunion. I remember, because I was pissed I was going to miss it, as I was away camping during a school trip. But they re-aired it the day I got back--that Friday.

Of course I was a fan.

[Gigi43]

If Geary's hair is in the state it was the last time he popped up I don't need that kind of negativity in my life. Not in these times, not in any times.

 

Otherwise, yeah... it would make sense to have him on. 

 

I too completely forgot about Kelly and Mark. I'm surprised ABC didn't put them in the promo.

[UYI]

Erika Slezak has been confirmed as one of the interviewees! 🙂 

[Gigi43]

50 minutes ago, UYI said:

Erika Slezak has been confirmed as one of the interviewees! 🙂 

 

OMG yes!!!! I miss her!

[Gigi43]

Fellow soap fans! There's an event going on called Daytime Cares for first responders going on tonight at 8 on Youtube, on the Locher room channel. You can search Daytime Cares and if you have a google account set a reminder for when it goes live. 

 

https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/565082/soap-stars-honor-uplift-fans-daytime-cares-a-live-event/

 

Here's a list of who will be there from the link:

Quote

 

Soap opera actors scheduled appear and/or perform include Bold and the Beautiful’s Heather Tom (Katie), Days of our Lives’ Lamon Archey (Eli), Kassie DePaiva (Eve), Crystal Chappell (Carly), Linsey Godfrey (Sarah), Stacy Haiduk (Kristen), Bill Hayes (Doug), Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie), Kyle Lowder (Rex), Eric Martsolf (Brady), James Reynolds (Abe), Melissa Reeves (Jennifer) and Paul Telfer (Xander), General Hospital’s Maurice Benard (Sonny), Ian Buchanan (Duke), William DeVry (Julian), Chad Duell (Michael), Finola Hughes (Anna), Michael E. Knight (Martin), Katelyn MacMullen (Willow), Sofia Mattsson (Sasha), Wes Ramsey (Peter), Emme Rylan (Lulu), Cynthia Watros (Nina), Maura West (Ava) and Josh Swickard (Chase), Guiding Light’s Robert Newman (Josh) and Kim Zimmer (Reva), One Life to Live’s James DePaiva (Max) and Andrea Evans (Tina) and Young and the Restless’ Michelle Stafford (Phyllis), Scott Reeves (Ryan) and Jordi Vilasuso (Rey).

The special will be live-streamed on The Locher Room YouTube Channel and on Facebook, hosted by General Hospital’s Laura Wright (Carly) and The Locher Room host Alan Locher and presented in partnership with Daytime Cares, a Daytime TV Community spearheaded by Arianne Zucker and Shawn Christian (Days of our Lives’ Daniel). StreamYard is sponsoring the event.

 

 

[UYI]

I can't edit my original post anymore, so:

This special will now air at 9 PM Eastern this Tuesday (May 19th), as an ESPN special called "After the Dance" (following the conclusion of The Last Dance docuseries on Michael Jordan) has now been slotted for 8 PM instead. 

Edited May 15, 2020 by UYI

[Sew Sumi]

My guide still has it on at its original time and channel. ESPN is showing a baseball game in the eastern time zone time slot.

[UYI]

Here's the article about the time change:

https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2020/05/the-story-of-soaps-timeslot-change-after-the-dance-espn-michael-jordan-special

[Sew Sumi]

Okay, it's still on ABC. My guide is showing TBA in the 8:00 slot.

Thanks for the heads up!

[GHScorpiosRule]

Can we post while it's airing or have to wait until show ends?

[GHScorpiosRule]

SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So many memories so far!

And STFU, Andy Cohen.Why is HE even on?

They bettah show Robin and Stone! I want to hear from Kimberly McCullough and Michael Sutton!

Carol Burnett!!!!!!

Alec Baldwin is actually...humble.

Don't care to see the recent shootings or recent soaps. I want the HISTORY!

Really? Genie Francis is only credited with being on General Hospital? She was also on Days and All My Children!

[BuckeyeLou]

4 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So many memories so far!

And STFU, Andy Cohen.Why is HE even on?

They bettah show Robin and Stone! I want to hear from Kimberly McCullough and Michael Sutton!

Carol Burnett!!!!!!

Alec Baldwin is actually...humble.

Don't care to see the recent shootings or recent soaps. I want the HISTORY!

Really? Genie Francis is only credited with being on General Hospital? She was also on Days and All My Children!

Loved the Carol Burnett story about receiving the telegram 🙂  And one of the most emotional storylines I ever watched was Robin & Stone.   

[wonderwoman]

i’ll have a lot more to say later. but, for now:  not one actor from a procter&gamble soap was interviewed — NOT ONE! 

Edited May 20, 2020 by wonderwoman

[Gigi43]

They went in on L&L more than I thought they would.

 

When they talked about shop the soaps, I immediately thought of the batshit "Todd Manning Doll" which of course they didn't touch.

 

Erika Slezak hasn't been given time in a while.  

 

Maurice is cracking me up with his deluded "soap fans they love the show NO MATTER WHAT!" Excuse me? Come around these parts! Twitter is clamoring for Angie and Jesse. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

This is vastly disappointing so far.

I don't give any figgedity fucks about OJ

But, Dallas!

I laughed my ass off and bitter at the same time, how far soaps have fallen when it comes to social issues.

Did they just cobble this up? Or did a lot not want to be a part of this?

[GHScorpiosRule]

Seriously? The Kartrashians and the shitty reality shows? 🤬

[Snow Apple]

Now they're talking about reality shows. Yawn.

With so much history, this would be better as a documentary series instead of a one time thing. Where are the stories of all the supercouples? Aging the kids up? Stories that have gone down in soap history?

The only major story they talked about for more than 30 seconds was Luke and Laura. 

[BuckeyeLou]

How is Mary Crosby getting so much screen-time? I don't really associate her with the Daytime Soaps.  Susan Lucci, obviously, gets a lot of screen time, but there are so many other people from soap history they should have on.

[Gigi43]

Lucci got a special look back in the cancellations but not Slezak who is also a part of the show. 

 

I knew my OLTL would get the shaft but that disrespect? GTFO. It was like only AMC fans complained to ABC. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

How is Mary Crosby getting so much screen-time? I don't really associate her with the Daytime Soaps.  Susan Lucci, obviously, gets a lot of screen time, but there are so many other people from soap history they should have on.

Well, they're also covering prime time soaps, and she was famous for being the one who shot J.R. on Dallas.

Too much time on shitty reality/politics/news cycle!

Why didn't they get the good show runners from years past that are still around? Like, oh, I don't know, Sri Rao? Wendy Riche? Altman is/was such a HACK; Phelps also SUCKED. GAH.

Edited May 20, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[Snow Apple]

Kristian Alfonso was on but not a peep about Days of Our Lives, especially the 80's heyday? Or how it's still on air?

Edited May 20, 2020 by Snow Apple

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, Snow Apple said:

Kristin Alfonso was on but not a peep about Days of Our Lives, especially the 80's heyday? Or how it's still on air?

And Deirdre Hall. But none of the men. NO Jesse and Angie! Kimberly McCullough tweeted about this stupid ass show, and like an igit, I thought that meant she would talk about Robin and Stone! Finola Hughes wasn't even ON the show when this happened! Anna was thought to be "dead", along with Robert.

[BuckeyeLou]

I've watched "Days" for years, so I was glad we got some brief clips of Marlena&John & Marlena's 'possession", and some Bo & Hope, but Days was known for its super-couples...what about Patch&Kayla?  The end was sort of a "downer" as to the fate of Daytime soaps. 

[Irlandesa]

I forgot about this show and was going to watch On Demand but reading this thread is making me realize perhaps my worst fears came true--the focus would not really give much credit to the true history of soaps and/or be ABC + current soap focused.

 

[UYI]

It's late, so here's a Cliff Notes version of my thoughts:

1. Not enough old clips! I loved seeing the old news clips and fan interviews, but not enough clips of the soaps themselves! WTF? (And some of those clips looked like they were straight from YouTube videos tbh, which is lame.)

2. I noticed they left out how Erica's abortion story on AMC was eventually retconned in 2005 with the introduction of Josh...I mean, yeah, I'd want to forget that happened, too, but it DID happen, undoing daytime's first legal abortion (the "unabortion" story, as AMC fans called it). Bullshit. (And they killed Josh off four years later, anyway!)

3. I'm glad they went into more detail about Laura's rape on GH/the revisit in 1998. THAT right there shows the evolution in how L&L's story is perceived today; even 10-15 years ago most specials would gloss it over/barely go into any real detail about it at all.

4. As a die hard OLTL fan, I actually thought the show got less of the shaft than I expected it to, especially with Erika Slezak's interview being fairly prominently featured throughout the special (she looked FANTASTIC, BTW--daytime is simply not the same without her and Susan Lucci, that's for sure). But yes, there should have been more from her about OLTL's cancellation (and OLTL debuted two years before AMC, and had several social issue stories, too--Carla passing for white, anyone?).

5. I understood why the OJ trial was included, given how much it impacted the future of soaps--but at the same time, there were soaps that DID recover once it was over, and plenty of them had some of their best years AFTER OJ (hello, late 90's GH!). And while I wish there was less about reality TV, I understood where that conversation came from, too. 

6. Did anyone else notice that short of former soap star/possible future felon Lori Loughlin during her Edge of Night days? AWKWARD! 😄

Honestly, there is simply too much history to be covered in two hours. They should just get Ken Burns to do a documentary series on the history of soaps the way he did on country music last year. I'm sure he'd do it justice! 🙂

P.S.: @Irlandesa: There are two online OLTL reunions coming up if you're interested! I posted about them in the OLTL forum earlier. 🙂

 

Also:

Of course they would leave out the brief revival of OLTL and AMC in 2013 on Hulu. That would have reflected VERY badly on ABC. Really, they were just ahead of their time--streaming TV was not yet the behemoth in 2013 that it is today in 2020. I think they would have been MUCH more successful now. 🙂 

Edited May 20, 2020 by UYI

[UYI]

One more thing:

I actually really liked how discussion the story on The Real World with Pedro having AIDS led to the story for Robin & Stone on GH--it tied in with how soaps got so many of their stories from real life issues (while also alluding to influence that reality TV got from the soaps). My one big complaint there was that they left out Stone's death scene--not that I wanted to be reduced to tears by it yet AGAIN (and I am, every time), but still. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by UYI

[Steph J]

I strenuously object to the characterization of Erica Kane as either "love to hate" or a "villain."  She could be a bitch sometimes for sure, but that doesn't necessarily make her a villain (and those moments are always when I loved to love her the most, honestly).

Edited May 20, 2020 by Steph J

[bmoore4026]

32 minutes ago, UYI said:

Honestly, there is simply too much history to be covered in two hours. They should just get Ken Burns to do a documentary series on the history of soaps the way he did on country music last year. I'm sure he'd do it justice! 🙂

SECONDED!!!

[jewel21]

I wanted to see some faces and clips from "As The World Turns." 

I liked the Buffy clips at the end. That made me happy. 

[UYI]

Okay, yet another thing:

When Dallas was called the first primetime soap, my immediate reaction was to say this out loud: "Peyton Place says hello."

I know Dallas set off the primetime soap craze of the 80's, but you'd think that they would acknowledge Peyton Place, especially given that it was actually an ABC show! 

Edited May 20, 2020 by UYI

[bmoore4026]

Just now, jewel21 said:

I wanted to see some faces and clips from "As The World Turns."

I told my mother that.  Hardly a blip about As The World Turns.  That was must see viewing in our house during the 80s.  She was also rather annoyed that some shows like Dark Shadows and Search for Tomorrow weren't mentioned either.

I did love the emphasis that soaps were shows made for women by women.  I never considered that before.  Makes me appreciate them more (hey, that rhymed).  Women are more of a demographic than men yet show options are few and far between now.  I hate that so many soaps are gone.  Who cares for reality?  It annoyed me with the whole "reality shows are just like the soaps" angle.  It's fun do see fake fighting and opulence.  Real fighting and opulence makes me want to hurt the people who came up with Real Housewives.

And how the hell was Breaking Bad a soap opera?  And why was Jon Hamm on?  He wasn't in a soap opera!

[bannana]

On 4/28/2020 at 10:16 AM, UYI said:

Here are the two big non-soap related/non-TV related (since I found some TV Guide covers, too) magazine covers I found for Luke & Laura: Newsweek and People (with Liz Taylor). I also thought they had a Time cover, too, but a google search turned up nothing; the only soap cover I found for Time was the Doug & Julie one from 1976. (Edited because the original Newsweek cover I found was so big the top got cut off; the replacement isn't as high quality, but oh well.)

 

 

What is so amazing re the Time cover, is that SSH and Bill Hayes are still together IRL.

[MsTree]

Very disappointing! I realize this was broadcast on ABC, but if your doing a story about SOAPS, how about equal time for ALL of them?

This was just a heavy handed pat on the back for ABC soaps, with only a sprinkle of CBS & NBC dotted here & there. If not for a couple of quickie flashes of AW and the Doctors, there was hardly any mention of them at all.

And sure, Luke & Laura were a super couple, but how about Doug & Julie who were actually on the cover of the Time magazine? Not a peep about that either.

And as someone above pointed out, there was no mention of Peyton Place, which was the original nighttime soap.

Edited May 20, 2020 by MsTree