This Friday, the longest-running scripted program in broadcasting history comes to an end.
posted by Joe Beese on Sep 16, 2009 - 59 comments

Vietnamese maid finds Taiwanese employer is her long-lost dad
posted by Artw on Jan 22, 2008 - 23 comments

John Darwin disappeared while canoeing of the coast of North Yorkshire in 2002. He was presumed dead, until he walked into a police station on Saturday with no memory of where he has been for 5 and a half years. [more inside]
posted by roofus on Dec 3, 2007 - 38 comments

Musekeweya ("new dawn") is a phenomenally popular radio drama broadcast out of Kigali, Rwanda. The soap, funded by Dutch NGO La Benevolencija, follows the story of two star-crossed lovers who come from opposing villages involved in an increasingly violent struggle. Thought Rwandan law makes it difficult to discuss the genocide in the media, the show aims to open a dialog using the fictional villages of Bumanzi and Muhumuro as a proxy for Hutus and Tutsis. A soap opera may seem like an unlikely vehicle to tackle a topic of such national importance, but it's actually not uncommon. And, certainly, Rwanda is a country that knows all too well about the power of radio
posted by meta_eli on Jul 8, 2007 - 8 comments

What is a ZARF? Well, at first it was a Turkish coffee cup holder made of precious or filigreed metal. Then it became the name for the cardboard java jacket that keeps you from burning your delicate little fingers at Coffee Bean. And now? Thanks to the dedicated folks at All My Children, Zarf has become daytime television's favorite overacted transvestite/accused murderer... a character written in a way that even confuses the fans who name their teddy bears after him. Uhh... her.
posted by miss lynnster on Jan 31, 2007 - 20 comments

Mike Patton is not God.
posted by StopMakingSense on Sep 17, 2006 - 42 comments

The Spot is back. The mid-nineties experiment in creating an online soap returns, telling the story of some new housemates via webdiaries, photographs and videos. You can see the original site via The Wayback Machine. I'm suddenly overtaken by a nostalgic glow.
posted by feelinglistless on May 16, 2004 - 13 comments

Timmy leaves his Princess. Josh Ryan Evans, the actor who played Timmy on my favorite soap opera (Passions) died Monday evening from a heart condition.

What's creepy is that the exact same day on the show, his character died.

The producers are editing out anything to do with Timmy, although I really hope that there's a legitimate memorial on the show for the character. He's been the soul of the series, and he simply can't be replaced.

Of course, I expect Tabitha to go full on evil now...
posted by Pinwiz on Aug 6, 2002 - 55 comments

When I was a newspaper-slinger back as a youngster, I became acquainted with that odd funnypages subgenre-the soap opera comic strip(i.e. Winnie Winkle,Rex Morgan, M.D. and the pinnacle of the genre Gasoline Alley). Moving at the brisk pace of 4 panels a day, these entertainments must have seemed quaint even in their early radio days infancy, yet they gained devoted followings and Dr. Rex and Skeezix and the Gang are actually still active. While the strips are published on the web, I'm surprised that there hasn't been a whole-hog revival of the genre. Heck, Brenda Starr could be truly funky hip modern woman if the right person retooled her a bit and I imagine many web community administrators could relate to Mary Worth at times.
posted by jonmc on Apr 28, 2002 - 25 comments