By Patrick Erwin I want to observe Valentine's Day by discussing some of my favorite soap couples. I know soaps are famous for their "supercouples," those pairs that keep coming back to each other through sleet, snow, and psychotic ex-spouses. Most shows have had these grand couples: Luke and Laura, Bo and Hope, Josh and Reva, and so on. But … [Read more...]
Guiding Light Today: A Few Flickers of Light?
January 23, 2008 by 9 Comments
By Patrick Erwin You may remember the last time I wrote about Guiding Light, I shared my opinion that the show was "operating at diminished capacity." Those were harsh words for a show that used to be must-see-TV for me. Now, I don't know that GL is out of intensive care just yet, but there're a few additions to the show that I think are … [Read more...]
Rape Stories: Days of Our Lives Shows That “No” Really Means “No” This Time
January 17, 2008 by 6 Comments
By Patrick Erwin For all its onscreen and offscreen turmoil, Days of Our Lives seems to have a few stories working for it right now. One of them is Chelsea and Stephanie and the sorority girls dealing with the aftermath of the campus rapist, Ford, who raped Stephanie and Cordy and threatened Chelsea. Initially, the story didn't seem too … [Read more...]
From Hank to Luke and Noah: A Personal Journey
January 7, 2008 by 13 Comments
By Patrick Erwin Most soap operas are a unique combination of realism and complete fantasy. But every once in a while, there are characters or storylines that transcend the fictional wall, and spill over into real life -- one's own real life -- in a very powerful way. … [Read more...]
Happy New Year! Thinking Soap Fans Pick B&W of 2007
December 31, 2007 by Leave a Comment
Happy New Year, mes chers! Marlena toasts you with a glass of champagne, wishing only soaps that are good this year. Speaking of, so many of my Thinking Fans sent in their own Best and Worst picks for 2007, there's barely room to post them all! I love the intelligence of them and appreciate how discerning all of you are when writing about a … [Read more...]
Patrick’s Hope: Soaps, Scrooge, and Christmas Miracles
December 22, 2007 by 1 Comment
By Patrick Erwin I admit it -- I'm feeling an awful lot like Ebenezer Scrooge this year. Even Saint Nick himself knows that soap fans have certainly had a lot of reasons to say "Bah humbug!" … [Read more...]
Marlena Vs. The Scabs: Solidarity Forever!
December 13, 2007 by 14 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix I am 100% behind the Writers Guild and their strike. I come from a union family -- my late grand-aunts spent just about every Sunday of the 1930s-60s freezing their tushs off in Union Square participating in rallies and demonstrations supporting organized labor, honoring the working man. Solidarity forever! … [Read more...]
Can Guiding Light and As The World Turns Survive The Big Change?
October 18, 2007 by Leave a Comment
By Marlena De Lacroix There's nothing soap fans hate more than change. Whether a show's longtime leading teen is recast with a skinnier actress or the show suddenly changes dramatic style with the entrance of a new headwriter, viewers freak out because what they have always prized about daytime drama is its continuity and constancy. Now, in … [Read more...]
