Back in the day, when the daytime drama premiered on radio and early television, many of the commercials were geared to the housewife, and sold a lot of soap. Since they were generally themed around strife and sadness, much like opera, the term “soap opera” is even today synonymous with the form, and the idea of the soap fan as a housewife who watches from behind an ironing board remains to this very day.
I remember Mom watching her “stories,” just as you remember yours doing the same. Her favorites were “Days of Our Lives,” “Somerset,” and “As the World Turns,” if I remember correctly. Grandma liked “Young and the Restless,” “Search for Tomorrow” and “The Secret Storm.”
But some interesting things began happening in the late fifties, and to a HUGE extent in the sixties and seventies. The audience for these dramas expanded in dramatic fashion. In 1957, CBS premiered “The Edge of Night,” which was television’s first (and to date only) daily crime drama. Yes, there were the time-honored themes of infidelity, heartbreak, evil twins and baby swapping, but the pulse of “Edge” was crime and punishment. Crusading crime fighting attorney Mike Karr (originally played by John Larkin) was the star of the show. The original concept was a daytime drama featuring the adventures of Perry Mason, but negotiations with Erle Stanley Gardner broke down, and Raymond Burr played the part on a weekly basis for many decades afterward. “The Edge of Night” is notable, however, because surveys indicated that it was enjoyed by more men than it was by women, which was still the case when it left the airwaves on a different network in 1984.
Then there was the vampire who chewed scenery even more than he did necks on “Dark Shadows.” Schoolchildren by the thousands dashed home every afternoon to witness the latest adventures of Barnabas Collins, his cousin Quentin the werewolf, and a supporting cast of witches, warlocks and even aliens.
In the 70s, the phenomenon was repeated yet again, when a young Romeo and Juliet named Luke and Laura garnered the spotlight on “General Hospital,” saving the decade-old program from cancellation. Anthony Geary and Genie Francis battled mobsters, mad scientists and even Elizabeth Taylor during their heyday.
Perhaps the biggest boon to the daytime drama industry was the VCR, also released in the late seventies. Now people who worked during the day could watch their soaps by night. And here is where the changes really took off. Need proof? Hit YouTube, type in the name of a classic soap opera, and you’ll find countless uploaded videos of clearly 2nd generation videotaped episodes from the late seventies. Enterprising fans have edited versions of their favorite storylines, excising the scenes that don’t advance their favorite stories.
The other frustrating myth that has been perpetuated through the years are that soap operas are low-budget, shoddy affairs, rife with untalented actors and pedestrian writers. This stereotype was perpetuated by some brilliant satire on the form by Carol Burnett, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and the admittedly hilarious sitcom of the 70s, “Soap.” But fans of these dramas (those that remain) know that this is far from the truth.
Granted, on “Dark Shadows,” which ran from 1966-1971, the tombstones wobble, the actors “go up” on their lines, props go woefully awry, and the whole thing looks like an amateur stock company on some days. But that was a different day. “Shadows” had until 4:30 every afternoon to wrap production in order to surrender their cameras to WABC’s news crews who needed them for that evening’s newscasts. There was no time for re-takes, and rehearsals were quick and dirty. Add to that the relatively new techonology of Chromakey, used to allow ghosts to emerge from portraits and some such, and you see that it is remarkable that “Dark Shadows” works more often than it doesn’t.
But today’s episodes of the surviving daytime dramas, “Days of Our Lives,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “General Hospital,” and “The Young and the Restless” rival anything that you would see in prime time. And these superb actors shoot over a hundred pages each and every day, making, in essence, two full-length motion pictures’ worth of material each and every week. No repeat season, no summers off … the show MUST go on.
Fans of these programs clutter message boards on a daily basis with the comings and goings of writers, directors and executive producers. Yes, Virginia, they DO know that this isn’t real life, and each have their favorites. “YAY! So-and-so is now head-writing for ‘Days!’ Remember what he did for GH?” They opine on the storylines that are working and those that are not. They are an impassioned bunch, and do not suffer creative fools gladly.
I have had the privilege of interviewing many of my favorite daytime actors over the years, and to a person, they are creative, generous and passionate people, who throw the love that they get from their fans right back to their admirers. My first were from “Shadows,” Lara Parker and Kathryn Leigh Scott, who visited my entertainment radio program several times over the years that I broadcast on WDUN. Finola Hughes, who still plays superspy turned private detective Anna Devane Lavery on “General Hospital” was my first guest on that program. And more recently, I had the pleasure of talking with Jeanne Cooper shortly before her death, and last week Eric Braeden, who continues to play Victor Newman 37 years past his debut. What makes Victor so amazing an achievement is, that at over 80, he is STILL driving the story.
Braeden is an outspoken man … some of his comments I frankly had to edit, because his passion sometimes gets the better of him. His new book, “I’ll Be Damned,” named after Victor’s catchphrase on the program, is a fascinating examination of the life of a proud German immigrant who has based his career on shedding light on misconceptions. Misconceptions of Hitler, misconceptions of the German people and their contributions to this country, misconceptions of whether or not this country NEEDS to achieve greatness again, or whether it’s ALWAYS been great. His career also displays his refusal to compromise his artistic integrity for ANYBODY.
Like his former castmate, Ms. Cooper, Braeden knows that we are out there. The “soap” fans who are NOT unemployed housewives behind the ironing board. Those of us who work full time hours and watch at night, or binge on weekends … captains of industry, corporals of small businesses alike … some Republicans, some Democrats … It makes me feel good to know that he knows we’re out there. And he won’t allow ANYBODY to send us something that isn’t the very best.
Enclosed with this blog is my full interview with this amazing man of 76 years. All of our conversation about “Young and the Restless” and the Atlanta Falcons had to be edited out of the radio piece, due to the constraints of time, but now you can enjoy the full product, as I did. I find Eric to be one of the most interesting actors I’ve ever had the privilege to interview, and would LOVE an opportunity to talk with him at length about these things about which he is so passionate. I hope that you enjoy it. And “be cool.”
