ABC's Story of Soaps

[Mysterious Benefactor]

TVLine Items: ABC's Story of Soaps
(Check out the 2nd item.)

I wonder if DS will be a part of this special. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

'The Story of Soaps'

Tuesday we shall see if DS is a part of the show...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT
May 19, 2020
JoAnna Garcia Is a Sweet Magnolia, The Story of Soaps,
Voice Winner Revealed and More

"On TV this Tuesday: ..., ABC chronicles the history of soap operas"

9:00PM ABC

The Story of Soaps This two-hour special delves into the phenomenon of soap operas and includes commentary from stars Genie Francis (General Hospital), Erika Slezak (One Life to Live), Maurice Benard (GH), Deidre Hall (Days of Our Lives), Eileen Davidson (Young and the Restless), John McCook (Bold and the Beautiful) and many more.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I wonder if DS will be a part of this special. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see...

Considering that this special is on ABC, DS was an ABC soap, DS was ABC's highest rated soap for a good portion of the time it was on, and DS is credited with giving ABC a competitive daytime lineup, it would be a huge slap in the face to DS if it isn't a part of the special...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, this answers the question:

Worth Watching: A History of Soaps

The Story of Soaps (9/8c, ABC): This brisk history of the too-easily-derided genre of romantic melodrama has a long reach, from the pre-TV era of radio serials to newfangled podcasts, echoing the ever-evolving nature of the storytelling medium itself. Celebs including Bryan Cranston (who got his start on Loving and One Life to Live in the 1980s) and Alec Baldwin — whose unforgettable run on Knots Landing he insists he enjoyed (we surely did) — weigh in to give the soaps the respect they deserve, and superstars of daytime including Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak and Genie Francis also take center stage. Women pioneers Irna Phillips and Agnes Nixon get their due, ditto the era of prime-time soap blockbusters (Dallas, Dynasty). The O.J. Simpson trial, MTV's The Real World and Bravo's Real Housewives franchise get credit for upstaging the daytime-drama world with "reality" that's stranger than fiction, helping prompt a decline as the landscape dwindles to a mere four soaps currently airing in daytime. (After Thursday, General Hospital joins CBS's soaps by going into rerun mode during the outbreak.) This two-hour special ends with by smartly pointing out that just about every successful drama in prime time today is in effect a soap opera in disguise. (But why almost nothing on Dark Shadows?)

Matt Roush is a DS fan so it doesn't surprise me that he asks that question...

[Uncle Roger]

In a way, I'm not surprised. The topic may well have been too broad for the time allowed. Some things were going to be glossed over or left out entirely. And, when I saw that TLATKLS wasn't promoting her appearance on the show, I had a feeling that the DS representation was going to be minimal.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Well, if KLS did do any sort of interview, none of it made it into the show. And actually, given the major slant the show took on soaps, I'm surprised DS was a part of it at all because for the most part DS was pure fantasy and never focused on ripped from the headlines storytelling and especially not on sex. The only bits regarding DS were fleeting clips of the B&W version of the opening credit, the hand grabbing Willie by the throat, and Liz opening the drawing room window in Ep #1. But as barely appearing as that might seem, many long-running and extremely popular daytime soaps didn't even get any representation in the show. (Though part of the reason for that may be that nothing from those shows even exists anymore because the master tapes were wiped. We're very lucky that ABC preserved DS because they wanted to release it into syndication through WorldVision.) Plus, daytime soaps were but a fraction of the types of shows that received coverage...

[Uncle Roger]

Oops, my bad. What I meant to say that if KLS had done an interview, she would have promoted it relentlessly. To my knowledge, she didn't do an interview.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

What I meant to say that if KLS had done an interview, she would have promoted it relentlessly.

That's for sure! 

Something that is interesting is that new interview clips of her friend Susan Sullivan were included. And what is even more interesting about that is that she didn't talk about Another World or Falcon Crest, both of which she was on for multiple years. In fact, those two shows were barely touched upon, even less than DS...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

"The two-hour Story of Soaps special failed to spark huge viewership with a 0.3 rating and two million total viewers."

See, if they'd only featured DS more prominently.    Well, at least we would have enjoyed it more...

Time	| Show	| Adults 18-49 rating	| Total Viewers (millions)
======	|=======================	|=============	|===============
9 p.m.	| The Voice – F (NBC)	| 0.9	| 7.43
	| FBI - R  (CBS)	| 0.5	| 5.62
	| 24 Hours to Hell and Back – R (Fox)	| 0.5	| 1.96
	| The Story of Soaps (ABC)	| 0.3	| 2.02
	| DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (CW)	| 0.2	| 803,000
-----------	|-----------------------------------------	|-----------------------	|---------------------------
10 p.m.	| FBI: Most Wanted - R (CBS)	| 0.5	| 4.48

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Why Did Soaps Story Snub Santa Barbara? And More TV Qs
(Check out #10.)

I agree with everything they've said about the show as a whole. It wasn't really what I was expecting.

And I did notice that there were no clips from Santa Barbara - but I didn't notice that it wasn't listed in anyone's credits...

[Mysterious Benefactor]

What Did The ABC Documentary ‘The Story Of Soaps’ Leave Out?

DS is referenced...