The Story of Soap Operas (ABC special)

[ClassyCo]

I found this documentary online today. I watched over half of it before I got tangled up with other things I needed to do.

Has it been posted here before?

It doesn't talk about anything revolutionary. It doesn't tell us anything we don't already know, but it was a good way to kill 45 minutes today.

One error that stuck out to me was the interviewees insisting DALLAS was the first prime time soap opera, therefore "fulfilling a need nobody knew existed." As we know, PEYTON PLACE was the genre's first entry into prime time.

Has anyone else watched this documentary before?

 

[Daniel Avery]

I think this is the special (I hazard to call it a "documentary") Emelee mentions in a thread from August.

Andy Cohen had the gall to claim that he was responsible for the decline of soaps, that his trashy "Housewives of..." franchise is "the new daytime soap" or some such nonsense. Very ABC-centric (since ABC aired it), which is a disservice to the other networks and leaves the special feeling lopsided. I would take it all as fluffy entertainment but not any sort of authoritative piece to use as a source.

 

[ClassyCo]

Is this the special (I hazard to call it a "documentary") where Andy Cohen had the gall to claim that he was responsible for the decline of soaps, that his trashy "Housewives of..." franchise is "the new daytime soap" or some such nonsense? Very ABC-centric (since ABC aired it)? Yeah, if that's the one, then I would take it all as fluffy entertainment but not any sort of authoritative piece to use as a source.

Yes, I believe this is the one you're referring to. Cohen is definitely in it, building up reality TV as a cheaper, more inclusive form of daytime entertainment.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I edited my post since you posted this reply, but one thing that I should add is that at least ABC acknowledged the existence of their soaps.

 

[TaranofPrydain]

It's mostly about the daytime ones, and despite the fact that it was done by ABC, it never brings up Peyton place. The most curious moment is the inclusion of the death of Rosalind Shays on LA Law, a show not often referred to as a soap. Still, Carol Burnett's story of the telegraph she received involving All My Children is hilarious.