Soap Opera Fan Loyalty 101

It's never been easy being a die hard soap opera fan.  Let me take that back.  There was a short time, in the late 70s/early 80s to be precise, when it was very popular to admit to being a soap fan, but only if you watched General Hospital.  Do the names Luke and Laura ring a bell?  This super couple is definitely a part of pop culture history. 

But those fly-by-night fans quickly disappeared and what was left behind were the old reliables. the people who think of their shows as a part of their every day journey.  The fans that can recite a years worth of soap opera storylines in one sitting.  It's amazing how great our memories work when we explain a storyline from 10 years ago to a spouse or a friend who, in their love and support of what we enjoy, simply asked a question about why a character on the show was behaving a certain way. 

Oh well-meaning loved one, don't you know there is never a simple answer when it comes to soap operas?  When contemplating asking a soap opera fan any type of question about their loyalty to a show, be prepared to receive a very long and detailed answer in return.  Because we truly, truly love our shows, the stories and the characters and will want to make you love them, too.  If only it was that simple.

I understand soap operas aren't for everyone, just like sports, theatre, country music and other forms of entertainment do not appeal to everyone.  We take our shows seriously, even when we know people can't come back from the dead and that for most of us, we do not have an evil twin lurking in the shadows trying to take over our lives.  Ludicrous at times, yes, but we tolerate the imperfections because we care about the characters and above all else, we care about the actors who play the characters. 

And yes, we do know that there is a difference between the actors and the characters.  Ok, I will admit there are some fans out there who don't get that (a very funny episode of Friends comes to mind).  But the real, true to life soap fan would never confuse a character and the actor. 

There is something very special about soap fans.  We are by far the most loyal of TV audiences anywhere.  How else can you explain the longevity these shows have been on?  Forty plus years for 5 out of the 6 remaining on the air - over 40 years!!!  What other shows on TV have that kind of staying power?  Five days a week, year round new episodes. These shows don't repeat during the summer or during the holidays.  So if once in awhile they throw out some out of the ordinary storyline about a devious character injured in a car accident who wakes up with amnesia and is suddenly redeemed and becomes a respected citizen of a fictional town in Pennsylvania, well, call me entertained.  Because I know this character's unknown twin was really the victim in the car accident and the devious character is still lurking around, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself at the annual Crystal Ball where all the characters will be unsuspectedly gathered. 

And in the end, the cruelest irony of all is the fact that the very age of two of these soap operas, All My Children, 41 years old, and One Life to Live, 43 years old, have entered the demographic age of viewers that ABC no longer cares about entertaining.  So, at the ripe old age of 47, my 40+ years of loyalty to a network that provided me with my favorite genre of entertainment now has no use for me.