(Sadly, most episodes of Procter and Gamble-produced soaps only exist post-1978 prior to that, videotapes were routinely “wiped” as a cost-saving measure.)įinally: Today, thanks to digital technology, and the wealth of programming opportunities offered by free, over-the-air digital sub-channels like Retro, a cliffhanger exists for fans of classic soap operas. And, as each long-running series comes to a close, thousands of episodes and decades of storytelling history sit on a shelf gathering dust, awaiting rediscovery. Sadly, despite its content, the first and only 24/7 cable soap channel has not yet come back from the dead.Īlso: the networks are slowly killing off the art form, going from a high of 19 daytime dramas in 1970 to four in 2014 (despite the ratings renaissance the contracted genre is experiencing). ![]() The Edge of Night and Search for Tomorrow also got second lives on the USA Network cable channel in the late ‘80s, and rebroadcasts of NBC’s Another World and ABC’s Ryan’s Hope graced the airwaves of SoapNet, which faded to black at the end of last year. (So that really makes seven soaps I watched that summer before high school). A few have bucked this trend, notably the 1960s supernatural sudser Dark Shadows, which I first discovered in syndication on WNBC in 1982. Sadly, this was one of the few soaps I didn’t watch as a kid, so I’m not as over the moon as I might be if some of my old friends from Monticello, Springfield, Oakdale, Henderson and Bay City were coming back from beyond the cancellation grave.īut still, Retro’s announcement is significant for a number of reasons.įirst: daytime soap operas are almost never rerun, particularly on broadcast TV. No wonder my father used to go to bed early.Īll of this has been on my mind because Retro TV, “the original classic programming digital network,” announced this week that they’ll be airing the Emmy-winning 1963-82 NBC soap The Doctors beginning later this year. As I got older and began enduring epic battles with my mom over otherwise trivial matters, we’d call a truce every night to watch our time-shifted soaps. And, as with most things, she was proven wrong. Sister Dorothy, my teacher and tormentor, didn’t think this was a good idea, of course. By the time we got our first VCR in 1979 I was hooked like a playground crack head. When she went back to work in the late ‘70s, my job was to watch her “stories” after school and report on what happened. And yes, my obsessive (what else is new?) daytime drama habit was entirely the fault of my mother. When I tell people that, as a 13-year-old eighth grader, I watched five hours of soap operas every day, they look at me like I’m a survivor of child abuse. ![]() Here’s something I probably shouldn’t admit, but what the hell: in 1982 I was a regular viewer of six daytime soap operas: The Edge of Night, The Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Search for Tomorrow, Another World, and Texas (a daytime knock-off of Dallas.) ![]() UPDATE 12/28/15 – Updated info in italics
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