Because soaps air Monday through Friday, each day’s episode continuing the previous day’s story, the last episode of the week has always been the most suspense-filled one of all. But the soaps have generally taken “suspenseful Friday” and made it extra-riveting by leaving the viewers hanging: what will happen on the next episode?!? How many times have we soap fans yelled, “No!” as Friday’s final scene fades out? We have to tune in Monday to find out what’s going to happen. But this is part of how soaps have slowly gained loyal followings—which then turn into rabid fans like us here at LTAS and many of you out there.
So, soap fans, we asked some passionate soap fans and wonderful writers to write weekly run-downs of what happened on the soaps, focusing on Friday’s cliffhangers. Casey Hutichinson will be writing about “The Young and the Restless,” Sofia Bryan will be writing about, “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Robert Feldmann will be writing about “Days of Our Lives,” and Susan Illo-Adamou will be writing about “General Hospital.”). This, soap fans, is a place for you to express whatever it is you want to express about your soaps—to vent, to adore, to admonish, to suggest, etc. Tell the writers and producers and your fellow fans what you think!
We want to keep the writers on their toes. Joan Collins has written that “Dynasty’s” plots got weaker and weaker, the plots less and less compelling, particularly a lack of cliffhangers at the end of each episode, leading up to the show’s ultimate demise. And Ilene Kristen (Delia Ryan, Ryan’s Hope; Roxy Balsom, OLTL; Delia Ryan, General Hospital) told us at LTAS that what the soaps were missing these days was the classic cliffhanger Friday episode. I, your editor, Akbi Khan, remember being devastated when “The Golden Girls” was cancelled. But I remember Bea Arthur’s saying she wanted to leave the show and for it to end while it was still on top, which she did—no shameful fizzling out. As T.S. Eliot wrote: “This is the way the world end/Not with a bang but with a whimper.” And once we get our soaps back we have to keep the production staff always cognizant of this fact, never letting the shows—and therefore ratings—slip. We can’t get complacent, which will prevent TPTB from getting complacent!
We hope you enjoy this new addition to LTAS, fans. Enjoy, and as always, Stay Soapy!
Your Editor-In-Chief,
Akbi Khan
