Soap is an American sitcom that originally runs on ABC from September 13, 1977 to April 20, 1981. The show was created as a nighttime parody of daytime sinetrons, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to soap operas, the event's story is presented in serial format and includes elements of melodramatic plot such as alien abduction, demon possession, murder, and kidnapping. In 2007 it was listed as one of the Time magazines of "100 Best TV Shows of All Time - TIME ", and in 2010, Tates and Campbells ranked 17th in TV Guide List ' from "Top Family TV".
The show was created, written, and produced sequentially by Susan Harris, and also sequentially produced by Paul Junger Witt (Harris's future husband) and Tony Thomas. Each returning season is preceded by a 90-minute retrospective from the previous season. Two of these retrospectives were available on VHS in 1994, but were not included in the DVD collection.
The show aired 85 episodes over four seasons. Eight of these (including the last four) aired as a one-hour episode during the initial process at ABC. This one hour episode is then divided into two, generating 93 half-hour episodes for syndication. Like most sitcoms today, Soap is recorded rather than filmed, but this coincidentally aids further emulation of the soap opera format during the day, as most video production is also recorded.
All episodes are currently available in the 1 DVD area in four separate box sets. There is a set of season 1 boxes in the 2 DVD area. The series has been reactivated in syndication on both local and cable channels.
The show stars Katherine Helmond and Cathryn Damon as siblings/mothers of their own families. The players also included three former sinetron actors. Robert Mandan (Chester Tate) previously appeared on Search for Tomorrow as a prominent person for Mary Stuart, and Donnelly Rhodes (Dutch Leitner) has played Katherine Chancellor's first husband in The Young and the Restless . Arthur Peterson, Jr. ("The Major") serves as Rev. John Ruthledge in the radio version of Guiding Light .
Video Soap (TV series)
Plot
Soaps is set in the fictional city of Dunn River, Connecticut.
In the opening sequence of the first installment, the announcer says "This is the story of two sisters - Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell". The Tates live in a rich neighborhood (the broadcaster calls it an environment known as "Kaya"). Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and her husband, Chester (Robert Mandan), are hardly a model of loyalty, as their love affaires result in several family accidents, including the murder of her half-brother Mary's (Cathryn Damon), Peter Campbell (Robert Urich). Although everyone tells Jessica about Chester's ongoing affairs, she does not trust them until she sees her chivalry with her own eyes. At lunch with Mary, Jessica sees Chester huddling with her secretary, Claire (Kathryn Reynolds). Heartbroken, Jessica cries in her sister's arms. On the next occasion, it became clear that Jess always knew at a certain level about Chester's affairs but never let herself process the information.
The rich Tate family hired a sarcastic waiter/cook named Benson (Robert Guillaume). Benson obviously hates Chester, but has a weak spot for their son, Billy (Jimmy Baio). He also hangs out with Tates' daughters, Corinne (Diana Canova) as well as their mother, Jessica; but did not talk to the other daughter, Eunice (Jennifer Salt), though that later changed. Benson became a popular character and in 1979 left Tates' hired to work for Jessica's cousin, Governor Gene Gatling, on a spin-off series, Benson , where her last name, DuBois, was revealed. Tates had to hire a new cook/cook named Saunders (Roscoe Lee Browne), whose attitude was similar to Benson, but had a more formal personality.
Mary's family, Campbell, the working class, and when the series begins, his son Danny Dallas (Ted Wass), his first marriage product with Johnny Dallas, is a junior gangster-in-training. Danny was told to kill his stepfather, Burt Campbell (Richard Mulligan), Mary's current husband, who, Danny was told, killed his father Johnny, who was also a mobster. It is later revealed that Danny's father was killed by Burt to defend himself. Danny refused to kill Burt and escape from Mob in various disguises. It finally ends when Elaine Lefkowitz (played by Dinah Manoff in one of her earliest roles), the spoiled child of Mob Boss (played by Sorrell Booke), falls in love with Danny and stops her father, who then tells Danny that she will have to marry Elaine or she will kill her. In the fourth season, it was revealed that Chester was Danny's true father, the product of a secret relationship between him and Mary before his marriage to Jessica. Another Mary's son, Jodie (Billy Crystal, in the initial role), is gay, has secret ties with famous professional football quarterbacks, and contemplates sex-change operations.
The first season ends with Jessica convicted for the murder of Peter Campbell. The announcer concludes the season by announcing that Jessica is innocent, and that one of five characters - Burt, Chester, Jodie, Benson, or Corinne - kills Peter Campbell. Chester later acknowledged Peter's murder and was sent to prison. She was soon released after a temporary defensive defense while successful, due to medical conditions in her brain.
Another story line is the daughter adopted by Jessica, Corinne who is dating Pastor Tim Flotsky (Sal Viscuso), who eventually leaves the priesthood, with the two finally marrying and having children possessed by Satan; Chester was jailed for Peter's murder, escaped with his roommate, the Netherlands, and suffered amnesia after a failed operation; The other daughter of Jessica, Eunice, sleeps with a married congressman, and then falls in love with the Dutch; Mary's stepson Chuck (Jay Johnson), a ventriloquist whose enmity is expressed through his alter ego, a clever doll named Bob; Jessica's love affair with several men, including Donahue, a private detective hired to find the alleged Chester dead, his psychiatrist, and a Latin American revolutionary known as "El Puerco" ("The Pig"; his friends simply called him "El" ); Billy Tate's confession by a sect called "Sunni" (a parody of the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, called "Moonies" by his critics), and then his affair with his schoolteacher who became obscure; Danny and his romantic trials with the daughter of a mafia (Elaine, who was murdered in a failed abduction), black woman (Polly), prostitute (Gwen), and second wife of Chester (Annie); and Burt's confinement to a mental institution, his alien abduction replaced by an alien over-looking on Earth, and blackmailed by Mob after becoming a sheriff from their small town.
In early March 1977, ABC filtered out the first two episodes of Soap for executives from 195 affiliate stations, many of whom were immediately shocked by the emphasis of the show on sex and infidelity. Two of the affiliates, both in the main market, personally told ABC that the show was "vulgar" and the subject matter was not suitable for television.
In June 1977, an autumn preview of Newsweek written by Harry F. Waters highlighted the event while misrepresenting some of its basic plot elements and offering exaggerated reports about its sexual content. Despite not seeing the pilot, Waters called the show a "sex joke" and claimed (incorrectly) that the show included a scene of a Catholic priest seduced in confession. Waters also stated:
Soap promises to be the most controversial network series next season, an event so saturated with sex that can substitute violence as Video Enemy PTA no. 1.
Whether Waters' errors and deliberate or accidental misrepresentations are unknown.
Within days of the Newsweek report, a number of local and national religious organizations began to quickly mobilize against Soap , despite the fact that they also did not see the pilot. Among these are the National Council of Churches, the Church of Christ of Unity, the United Methodist Church, the National Council of Catholic Bishops, and the Commission on the Christian Life of the Southern Baptist Convention, the latter so far to escape from 2,500 people. shares of ABC "because the board does not approve of programs related to the misuse of human sexuality, violence and irregularities".
The Roman Catholic Church, headed by the archdiocese of Los Angeles, also condemned the event and called on all American families to boycott it by saying "ABC should be told that American Catholics and all Americans will not sit and watch the network have opened seasons in Catholicism and morality. [Soap ] is probably one of the most effective arguments for government censorship of unfinished TVs. "In August, the Southern California Rabi Council represented three branches of Judaism, joining a Catholic protest saying that the event not yet held "to reach new lows".
Dr. Everett Parker of the United Church of Christ called "Soap " a low-life program, "and complained that the show would go live when children could watch it. (ABC had scheduled it on Tuesday after Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley , two of the most popular family television shows aired at the time.)
These religious groups held letter-writing campaigns designed to put pressure on event sponsors not to advertise on the network. Although some religious groups ask their members to watch the show first, and then inform ABC of their feelings about it, others start working hard to make ABC cancel the show before it is played. An ABC vice president was shocked to learn that his 11-year-old son was asked by a parochial school teacher to write a letter of protest to ABC to take his show off the air. In the end, 32,000 people wrote to ABC, all but nine of them opposed it.
In addition to religious protests, Soap also faces major pre-broadcast criticism from the International Association of Gay Athletes and the Gay National Union, both of whom are concerned about how gay Jodie Dallas and his professional soccer lover will be portrayed.
To eliminate advertiser concerns, some of which have already started canceling program sponsors, ABC reluctantly lowered the price for commercial time from $ 75,000 per spot to $ 40,000 per spot. When Soap aired on September 13, 1977, 18 of ABC's 195 affiliates refused to broadcast the program with others choosing to broadcast it after 11 pm. In the second week in the air, two other affiliates went out, bringing the boycott to 20 stations.
Maps Soap (TV series)
"The Soap Memo"
Apart from external protests, Soap is also subject to heavy internal revisions of the ABC Broadcast Standard & amp; The practice department, which monitors the program content. Writer/creator Susan Harris has developed a storyline for soap in the form of a "Bible show" that searches all the main characters, stories and events for five seasons. Standard & amp; The executive practice (commonly referred to as "censorship") reviews this vast Bible as well as a script for a two-part pilot and issues a long memo for Harris voicing their concerns about the various storylines and characters. In addition to the widely reported sexual material in the media, the censors are also concerned about the religious, political, and ethnic content of the event.
"The Soap Memo" was leaked to the press before the show aired and printed in its entirety on the Los Angeles Times on June 27, 1977. Among their records were:
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- "Please remove [line] '... whore', 'Polish prostitute,'" get your clothes out, '' it does not grow back, '' transsexual, '' God, 'is it sick? ' "
- "Replace [words] 'fruit,' 'whore,' 'tinker bell.'"
- "The CIA or other government organizations will not be involved in General Nu's smuggling operations." (This character and plot, dealing with Vietnamese opium smugglers who became involved in the Tate family through Jessica's long lost son, was eventually removed from the bible of the show.)
- "To treat Jodie as a gay character, his portrayal should always be dealt with without 'limp' action"
- "The colloquy between Peter and Jessica... associated with cunnilingus/fellatio is clearly unacceptable"
- "The relationship between Jodie and football players must be dealt with in such a way that the explicit or intimate aspect of homosexuality is completely avoided."
- "Father Flotsky's stance on liberalization of the Mass should be treated equally, not offend, for example, Oreo substitution for traditional wafers is unacceptable."
"The Soap Memo" also contains a note that is then ignored by the manufacturer including:
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- "Please rename Burt Campbell to avoid contact with Campbell Soup Co."
- "Corinne's infidelity with Jesuit priests, subsequent pregnancies as a result, and exorcisms later on, are all unacceptable."
- "Please direct Claire to throw hot coffee in some parts of Chester's anatomy apart from her crotch." (Susan Harris then responded to this note: "so we do not - we poured it on the lap . ")
"The Soap Memo" is a rare general view into the behind-the-scenes process on the main network and copies of documents often found posted on the company's television production bulletin board and in the studio set as a gathering point against the censorship. In addition, the specific details in the memo further fueled the growing debate over controversial content from Soap.
Initial and critical views
Soap was aired on Tuesday, September 13, 1977 at 9:30 pm. The event was preceded by a disclaimer that the show "is part of an ongoing character comedy" that includes adult themes and that "audience wisdom" is suggested. Disclaimers of both are displayed on the screen and read by Rod Roddy's Soap broadcaster. It will remain throughout the first season before it is dropped.
Much of Soap's controversy, amongst liberals and conservatives, ironically helped sell the series to the general public. Fueled by six months of pre-show protests (as well as solid lead-in from hit shows Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Three Companies ), the first episode sweeps its time slot with a 25.6 rating and 39% share (39% of the national audience). Although ABC received hundreds of phone calls after the premiere, the network executives described initial public reactions as "lighthearted" with more calls supporting the show than the protests. A poll at the University of Richmond found that 74% of viewers found Soap inoffensive, 26% considered it offensive, and half of those offended said they plan to watch it next week.
The preliminary review - somewhat obscured by controversy - is mixed, with negative reviews predicted to focus on event obscene content. The Los Angeles Times called the show a "gross joke" that "without skill or style or subtlety." The sex joke is delivered by a shovel, like dirt. " The so-called "performances" are "forced and derived", "tasteless" and "predictable and ridiculous" while admitting that sex is "no more embarrassing than daytime sook, no more outspoken than Three's Company. "
Time magazine praised "talented players" and chose Jimmy Baio and Billy Crystal as "sharp young comedians," but felt the show suffered "nastiness" and "lack of affection."
On a more positive side, the
Harry Waters' research 1977 Newsweek proved a conservative reaction when the following year, PTA Nasional declared Soap one of the "ten worst" shows on television. Apart from this designation, Soap was ranked # 13 for the 1977-78 season and went on to get a positive critical review and high ranking for the rest of the four years running.
Next season and cancellation
Although the uproar of Soap subsided shortly after its premiere, the program remained somewhat controversial, often generating additional criticism for homosexual, racial and ethnic minority depictions that are relatively honest, mentally ill as well as their treatment of other taboo topics such as class social, marital infidelity, impotence, incest, sexual harassment, rape, student-teacher sexual intercourse, kidnapping, organized crime, and new-age cults. Most of the critics focus on the gay character Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal) openly. Soap is one of the earliest prime American time series to include openly gay characters that are a major part of the series. Social conservatives oppose the character on the basis of religion, while some gay rights activists are also upset with Jodie's character, arguing that certain story developments reinforce negative stereotypes, eg. her desire to perform sex change operations, or represent a desire to alter or minimize her sexual orientation.
Before the start of the second season, ABC held a 90-minute retrospective clip called "Who Killed Peter?" where Burt Campbell visited Jessica Tate in jail as she waited for her murder trial verdict. Both discuss each individual character and their possible motives for killing Burt Peter's son using flashbacks to illustrate a particular storyline. This event is designed to remind viewers of what happened in Season 1 to prepare them for the upcoming season.
At the start of season three, another 90 minute retrospective aired where Jessica bid farewell to Benson, using a flashback clip to try to explain why she should stay. The event also serves to help launch the Benson spin-off , which premiered at the start of the 1979-80 television season.
A third 90-minute retrospective titled "Jessica's Wonderful Life" premiered at the beginning of Season 4. Jessica, who recently died at the hospital, finds herself in heaven speaking to an angel (played by Bea Arthur). Jessica explains through a flashback clip why she is not ready to die and must return to earth to help her family.
Although Susan Harris had planned for the five seasons of Soap, the program was suddenly canceled by ABC after her fourth season. Therefore, the last hour episode, originally aired on April 20, 1981, did not serve as the final series and ended up with some unfinished cliffhangers. It involves Chester suicide preparing to kill Danny and Annie (son and wife) after capturing them in bed together, a hypnotized Jodie with the belief that he is a 90 year old Jewish man, Burt prepares to enter the ambush which is governed by his political enemies, and Jessica will be executed by a Communist firing squad. Vlasic Foods withdrew their sponsorship of the program as soon as this episode aired and ABC announced that the program had not been taken for the fifth season planned. The official reason given by the network is its declining rank. However, according to the Broadcast Communications Museum, Soap ended with the suspicion that the denial of the advertising agency might have caused ABC to cancel it at that time "because its controversial content negatively affects its relationship with sponsors.
A 1983 episode of Benson mentions Jessica's disappearance, noting the Tate family is trying to get her to be declared legally dead. In the episode, Jessica appears as an apparition that only Benson can see or hear and reveal to her that she is not dead, but in a coma somewhere in South America. No other incidents from the last episode of Soap are mentioned.
Legacy
Since its annulment, Soap's reputation has grown and is often regarded as one of the best shows in television history. A lot of praise has been given to the "extraordinary players" of the players "as is rarely seen in serious dramatic performances".
In the 1982 post-series analysis of The Village Voice published just as the series first entered syndication, TV critic Tom Carson praised the ensemble that "the players fit the best TV series ever." Carson went on to note that Soap "blatantly came out meant to be a slur on the values ​​of the middle class, and finally as their strange celebration."
In 2007, the Time magazine, which initially highlighted the event, named it one of the 100 Best Events of All Time. The Museum of Broadcast Communications says that Soap is "arguably one of the most creative endeavors by television networks before or after".
In 2010, The Huffington Post called Soap an "eternal comedy" and concluded: "Rarely a show comes along with the unique sound and vision of the first episode".
Awards and nominations
Soap was nominated for a total of 17 Emmy Awards including:
- Extraordinary Comedy Series - nominated: 1978, 1980, 1981
- Best Actor in Comedy Series (Richard Mulligan) - win: 1980, nominated: 1981
- Best Actress in Comedy Series (Cathryn Damon) - win: 1980, nominated: 1978, 1981
- Best Actress in Comedy Series (Katherine Helmond) - nominated: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
- Extraordinary Supporting Actor in Comedy Series (Robert Guillaume) - win: 1979
- Directing Positions in Comedy Series (Jay Sandrich) - nominated: 1978, 1979
- Great Art Direction in Comedy Series - Won: 1978
- Extraordinary Achievement in Video Ribbon Editing in Comedy Series - Nominated: 1978
At the 1981 Golden Globe Awards, Katherine Helmond won Best Appearance by an Actress in a TV Series - Musical/Comedy. In the same year, the program was also nominated for Best TV Series - Musical/Comedy.
Director Jay Sandrich was nominated for Leading Achievement in the Comedy Series at the DGA Awards in 1978 and 1979.
DVD release
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all four Season Soap on DVD in Region 1. Season 1 has been released on DVD in Region 2 in Norway (such as
Some episodes on this DVD collection are edited or replaced with a syndicated version, abbreviated for 2 to 3 minutes. Season 1 also missing the disclaimer at the beginning of the show.
In addition, the DVD eliminated three clips of a retrospective clip event for 90 minutes, aired prior to each season beginning to remind the audience of what happened in the story during the previous season. Retrospective of season 1 "Who Kills Peter Campbell?" and season 3 retrospective "Jessica's Wonderful Life" was released on VHS in the 1990s.
On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired rights to various television series from Sony Pictures' library including Soap . They then re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on September 2, 2014.
On June 2, 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the Soap: Full Series on DVD in Region 1.
See also
- List of episodes Soap
- Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976)
- Benson (1979)
- Life and Time from Eddie Roberts (1980)
References
External links
- Television Encyclopedia
- Soap on IMDb
- Extended audio interview with Jay Johnson on Soap
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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