Soap Operas....Love 'Em or Hate 'Em??

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
Location
USA
I hate them, never could get into watching soap operas. Was reminded of that at the gym the other day, the TV in the locker room had a soap opera on, and even a few minutes was hard to take. :sick:

Before I started going to school, my mother used to love to watch her soaps. That wasn't too far after my father bought us our very first black and white TV. I can't blame her for taking interest in them, being home all day, and I don't know how many other things were on to watch back then.

I remember her watching "The Guiding Light", "The Secret Storm" and "As The World Turns"...those were the main three. How about you, ever watch them in the past, or watch the new ones now??
 

Almost 40 years ago when our 2 boys were toddlers the only soapie I ever watched was DOOL.....
wasn't fanatical about watching it every day though......but as Pappy said,
you could miss many days/weeks and still follow what was happening.:confused:
I reckon if it was on now I'd still be able to catch up.....couldn't think of anything more boring
now though......:zz:

 

I have never watched soap operas, and in fact, rarely watched anything on tv regularly. My parents didn't even have a television until I was 13, so I didn't watch any of the kids programs, I had long since outgrown those before we got the tv.
My folks both worked all day, so they didn't turn on the tv until after dinner at night, and then they liked things like Ed Sullivan and Lawrence Welk; so I didn't watch those either.
My whole world revolved around my horse, and i was out riding every day after school, or in my bedroom reading a book on days when the weather wasn't suitable for riding my horse.
I did watch some of the westerns on tv, but nothing that I really cared about whether I missed it or not. Maybe Bonanza, that was one of my favorites.
But I just never watched any daytime tv, soap operas, game shows, or whatever else there was. I still prefer a good book.
 
Back in the day I watched General Hospital, All my Children, Dark Shadows, Dallas, Dynasty. I don't watch them anymore, but I sure loved Desperate Housewives!
 
I've tried watching them. They stink. A story line drags on forever. There's nothing realistic about them.
But I did get hooked BIG TIME on a British soap opera called EastEnders. It's the opposite of the lousy American soaps.
EastEnders is fast paced, has great acting, has many story lines going on at one time and is realistic in my point of view.
 
Well i have a confession to make, i watch Bold & the Beautiful, completely sucked in by it even if the writers need sacking, the storylines of late are shocking, but i still watch it, the glamour has gone there used to be beautiful gowns on all the ladies and it was all about fashion , nowadays it's all about the young ones and their love life:hair:
 
When my children were very small and on the recommendation of a friend I watched ANOTHER WORLD for a couple years. Once the kids were in school and I was either working or out and about, haven't seen one in many decades. Daytime TV as a whole has zero appeal to me and if I'm having a sick day, I watch something like Dateline or 20/20 that I've taped on DVR. Love those reality news shows.
 
Hi Katy, My mother was a daily watcher of soaps 50 years ago. She was so hung up on them that the rest of life might as well been the fiction. My mother would neglect our home and us, and when she wasn't watching soaps, she was on the phone to her girlfriends discussing the day's episode. So, I have never watched them, nor did I have the time to waste. :trolls:
 
The only soap program I watch is Coronation Street. I find the writing is not as good it used to
be years ago but I still watch. I guess it has become a habit.
I have never watched East Enders but I think it is on one of our channels so maybe I'll give it a try.
 
The music is great. The singing obnoxious. OH, just noticed it's SOAP Operas not opera. Well, hate them even more and the music sucks, too. No, Mary Hartman, Mary Harman was a wonderful parody and there was another called As the Stomach Turns. HA. I remember my mom listening to them on the radio when I was a little guy.
 
SNL The Californians. Hilarious!

s-THE-CALIFORNIANS-SNL-STEVE-MARTIN-large.jpg
 
I've never watched them. However I can see the value of them.

I think they are good for (mostly) women as it gives them a break and rest from daily housework.
 
I don't think I've ever seen a soap opera...not sure. I do know that I am hooked on certain series, Justified, Elementary, Game of Thrones, Orphan Black...I don't think any of those qualify as soaps though.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I hate them, never could get into watching soap operas. Was reminded of that at the gym the other day, the TV in the locker room had a soap opera on, and even a few minutes was hard to take. :sick:

Before I started going to school, my mother used to love to watch her soaps. That wasn't too far after my father bought us our very first black and white TV. I can't blame her for taking interest in them, being home all day, and I don't know how many other things were on to watch back then.

I remember her watching "The Guiding Light", "The Secret Storm" and "As The World Turns"...those were the main three. How about you, ever watch them in the past, or watch the new ones now??
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In the US I found the soaps mediocre, inferior entertainment and avoided them, with the daytime ones being the worst. I come to the UK and get hooked on theirs. The difference is they are broader and more entertaining. Plus I find the accents and general look of them more interesting. But I'm seeing them through an American's eyes too.

The acting, writing and directing are in general also mediocre due to the intense shooting schedules but they do manage to tackle social issues and often deftly handle comedy especially Coronation Street.

A clip with two of my favorite soap actors on Eastenders:

 
I couldn't help but overhearing some women gossiping at work one day and had a great laugh when I discovered they were discussing the latest soap. Hilarious.
 
That Guy said:
I couldn't help but overhearing some women gossiping at work one day and had a great laugh when I discovered they were discussing the latest soap. Hilarious.
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Avid soap watchers get so caught up in them they feel like the characters are real and they often live vicariously through them. Classic is the soap baddie who gets accosted on the street when they're recognized.

Some people forget the little detail that they're acting.
 
Part of the genius of Dark Shadows was that it premiered on the first day of school-vacation, in June 1966. I've had it queued-up on hulu and YouTube, rewatching it in-sequence when I can. What an amazing show. The plot-stream drags occasionally, but there's enough drama happening in the periphery to keep the mysteries flowing logically.
 
I DID watch Dark Shadows but was not a fan of the regular "soaps." My mother never watched them either. In college, a lot of gals, and some guys, scheduled their classes around their "stories." Once, while between jobs, I thought I would find out for myself why they were so popular so I forced myself to watch one for a whole week. That was it - never went back. I guess I didn't have any time for EXTRA drama in my life - had a hard time getting through my own - not that it was news worthy. :) To this day, I rarely put on TV during the day.

We DO follow a number of the evening episodic shows but no soaps.
 

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