Deep Soap: A Momentous Occasion

By Sara A. Bibel
Fancast.com

Best.Daytime.Programming.Ever
I feel a little ridiculous to writing about television on this inspirational inaugural day. This is a soap opera preemption I can believe in. Yet the day certainly had its soapy aspects. There was a flubbed line, thanks to Chief Justice Roberts bungling the presidential oath. Fortunately our new commander-in-chief kept going like a daytime actor doing his best to avoid a second take. There was a shocking, tragic plot twist as Senator Ted Kennedy became ill at the luncheon. When I watched President Obama and the First Lady walking down Pennsylvania Avenue arm-in-arm, I thought, “Now there’s a true supercouple.” There they were, gorgeous, powerful, obviously in love, enjoying a huge moment they overcame numerous obstacles to achieve. I am so in awe that I won’t even complain too much if his press conferences interrupt my soaps.

President Obama spoke about our nation’s history and problems. Surprisingly, the soaps have had some refreshingly topical moments of late, too. On Monday’s episode of The Young & The Restless , Neil Winters eagerly anticipated watching Obama’s inauguration. It was a nice moment not only because it anchored Genoa City in the real world but because of the numerous similarities between Obama and Neil. Neil gets ragged on by many fans for putting up with so much crap from Victor and the rest of the Newman family. I’ve lost count of how many times the the executive with the Stanford MBA has been appointed CEO of Newman only to step aside as soon as Victor decides to reinstate himself or one of his considerably less educated children. Neil never acts like his degree entitles him to a great job, the way Adam does — although Harvard MBAs tend to be more obnoxious than their West Coast counterparts. This is partially a writing problem. But Kristoff St. John subtly portrays Neil as a man who is all too aware that as an African-American he must work twice as hard as everybody else, and will never be given the benefit of the doubt. When Obama was criticized during the campaign for not getting angry and rarely going on the offensive, I thought of Neil. Maybe it’s no coincidence that now that he’s seen someone like him become the most powerful person in America (suck it up, Victor) Neil finally told Victor that he’d find another job if he’s relegated to second fiddle again.

The recession is also working its way into daytime scripts. There have been numerous lines about our lousy economy. Given the cutbacks in daytime, the writers are tapping into their personal experiences. I especially liked the scene on Monday’s General Hospital in which Coleman told Johnny that not only could he not afford to her him, but he had to lay off his bartender because nobody was buying drinks anymore. Most soap characters are so wealthy that, short of revealing that the Forresters invested with Bernie Madoff, the recession won’t seriously impact them. But I’d like to see storylines about the middle class characters attempting to stay afloat. In an era where throngs of downsized Americans suddenly find themselves at home in the daytime, they should be able to turn on the TV and find a few characters who can empathize with them.

Ten Items or Less

Am I the only one who is offended by the way All My Children’s so-called good guy Jake Martin talks to his ex-girlfriend Amanda? He constantly calls her a variety of names on the shore-slut continuum. While she’s no saint, and has been through her share of men, it is not funny. Call her a schemer, or greedy, or manipulative. All of those are accurate, without denigrating her sexual behavior. It’s not as though Jake’s decided to save himself for his wedding night. If Jake were a villain like David or Adam it wouldn’t bother me. But he’s supposed to be a noble doctor who volunteered for Doctors Without Borders. One would hope that, as someone who treats women patients, he’d know better than to judge women by their sexual history. Their dynamic makes Jake come across like a sexist pig.

Someone at 24 is a soap fan. Not only is the Tony-returns-from-the-dead storyline straight out of daytime, so is half the cast. Tony is played by Y&R veteran Carlos Bernard. GH’s Sebastian Roche appeared in the November movie — and could be back. Mark Derwin (Guiding Light’s original Mallet, OLTL’s Ben Davidson) plays the Secretary of State. Best of all is Annie Wersching, who played the producer of Sam’s talk show on General Hospital, as FBI agent Renee Walker. Finally, Jack Bauer has a potential love interest that actually has chemistry with Kiefer Sutherland. I’m sure that 24 appreciates actors who can get the job done in one take. But this is way too many to be a coincidence. A 24 producer and GH headwriter Bob Guza came up with storylines for each other’s shows for an Entertainment Weekly article. I think the soap fascination stuck.