Luke and Laura UnRevised Message Board: Re: Check your local listing for the Soap Documentary. Airs here at 9:00

Until recently, I was a soap follower going back to the days of radio in the 50's. I loved these continuing dramas, and I still do. I have literally seen hundreds of romantic couples on them, but none were like LnL. You could try to analyze just why they struck such a chord with the audience, but it all comes down to chemistry because the story varied from good to no-so-good over the years. I often wondered if they would have had the same appeal if there was no visual. In other words, would they have been as popular if they were a radio couple? I don't think so. I think part of their appeal was seeing them together. There were many days when one or the other was on without the other. On those days, the energy was just not there. There was something combustible about the two of them on screen together. Any comments on this?

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You’re absolutely correct about them not getting into the essence of LnL, but they didn’t have time. I was glad they were given as much time as they did. It wasn’t supposed to be just about LnL, but the history of soaps and haw things have changed.

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I don't think they addressed the essence of LnL, though. It was their chemistry. Yes, the story was intriguing. But it didn't matter how outlandish the story was. It was Tony and Genie together. They were magical. Neither of them has been able to generate that with other actors or actresses, so it was the characters themselves being played by those two actors.

So much of soaps has to do with the casting of a role and the understanding of character by the talent and the writers. It's lighting in a bottle when it happens, and it doesn't happen very often.

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I just watched and they had Genie and flashbacks and I think they did a good job so addressing the rape, it’s glossing over and eventual confrontation of the issues.
Would have been nice to see Tony.

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I'm hoping that they use the opportunity to reveal how different it was years ago when the network supported the genre and delivered some really wonderful drama. I keep thinking of the days when the stars of these shows were on talk shows and magazine covers, newspapers and live meet and greets. There was glamour at Tony awards and charity events. The actors were beloved for the characters they created. The stories were meaningful and relevant. Tuning in daily for a visit to Port Charles or Pine Valley or Llanview was like going home. It is so sad that so much of that is now gone. They try to replicate it with continuing stories that last a season or two, but it is a mere shadow of what was when you followed generations of characters living in almost real time. So sad for the genre and for all of us who are really left without this wonderful entertainment.

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