American Soap Operas

American Soap Operas

Soaps that are still running:

•The Young and the Restless•The Bold and the Beautiful•General Hospital•Days of our lives•One Life to Live

The Young and The Restless:THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS has been the number one daytime drama for more than 20 consecutive years. It revolves around the rivalries, romances, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional Midwestern metropolis, Genoa City. The lives and loves of a wide variety of characters mingle through the generations, dominated by the Newman, Abbott, Chancellor, Baldwin and Winters families

The Bold and The Beautiful:Set in Los Angeles, California, the show centres upon the Forrester family and their fashion house business Forrester Creations. The program features an ensemble cast, headed by its longest-serving actors Susan Flannery as Stephanie Forrester, John McCook as Eric Forrester, Katherine Kelly Lang as Brooke Logan, Ronn Moss as Ridge Forrester also known as the core four. The Bold and the Beautiful is also a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera The Young and the Restless, as several characters from each of the two shows have crossed over to the other since the early 1990s, and its title derived from Y&R.

General Hospital:Murder, mob wars, and mansions? It's all in a day's work for the residents of Port Charles, New York. With such notable characters as Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), there's never a dull moment -- especially when you add to the mix their longtime revolving love affairs with the ladies of the not-so-sleepy upstate hamlet [such as Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo) and Carly Benson (Laura Wright)]. Guess it's true: bad boys truly are irresistible, huh?

The unpredictable and sensational underworld of Port Charles is balanced with dysfunctional family dynamics. From the not-so-law-abiding Corinthos family, to the quarreling (but lovable) Quartermaines, to the historic Spencer clan (yes, those Spencers!), family drama remains the focal point of this town.

Over the years, the show has told unforgettable stories focusing on socially relevant issues, including the love story between HIV-positive Robin Scorpio and Stone Cates, and Maxie Jones's poignant heart transplant. In fact, General Hospital has worked alongside (and been praised by) numerous national organizations in order to elevate public awareness of important health and social issues including HIV/AIDS, depression and bipolar disorder, breast cancer, organ donation, and a host of others.

Days of Our Lives:

Days of Our Lives centers on the trials and tribulations of the Brady and Horton families, with secondary families such as the Kiriakis, Roberts, Black, Carver, Johnson, and the evil DiMera clans. Days has harvested a multitude of radical storylines throughout the years, which include serial killings, baby swappings, demonic possessions, "Who's the Daddy?" storylines, and amnesia. The show is notably famous for its brainwashing tactics as well, courtesy of the DiMera family. Characters commonly come back from the dead on this show repeatedly, such as Roman Brady, Dr. Marlena Evans Black, Hope Brady Williams, Steve Johnson, Jack Devereaux, and Stefano DiMera.

One Life to Live:

Despite being the home of jealousy, betrayal, and the occasional baby-swapping, Llanview, Pennsylvania is where the Buchanan, Lord, and Cramer families struggle to retain the strong ties that have united them (and kept us entertained!) for over 40 years. And from racial prejudice to gang violence to homophobia, this Emmy-winning show has seen it all.

One Life to Live has always been known for focusing on cultural and socioeconomic differences between its core characters. And with the outrageously wealthy (and dysfunctional) Buchanans, the dedicated cops and struggling twenty-somethings of Angel Square, the independent femme fatales of the Cramer family, the strong-minded teens at Llanview High School, the publishing Lords, and the fiercely loyal, working-class Evans family, that's a tradition that most certainly continues today.

Dallas:When did it air?: April 2nd 1978Where is it set?: Dallas, Texas, USANames of the main characters: •JR Ewing•Sue Ellen Ewing•Ellie Ewing Farlow•Jock Ewing•Ray Krebbs•Cliff Barnes•Pamela Ewing•Rebecca Barnes Wentworth•Willard ‘Digger’ Barnes•Donna Culver Krebbs

The saga of the wealthy Ewing family - patriarch Jock Ewing, who started Ewing Oil, the family corporation; Miss Ellie, his wife who properly managed Southfork Ranch, the family home; and their three sons - J.R., the ruthless CEO of Ewing Oil, married to former Miss Texas Sue Ellen Shepard; Bobby, the nice guy, who married Pamela Barnes, daughter of the Ewing's chief business rival; and Gary, considered an outcast by his father, who eventually moved to California with his wife Valene.

Main Storylines: Season Two cliffhanger: To cap off a season where J.R. has angered nearly everyone in the state of Texas, someone comes into his office late at night and shoots him twice.

Season Six cliffhanger: Just like in season two, J.R. was crossing people left and right. And just like in season two, a mysterious figure broke into his office at Ewing Oil at night. Someone is sitting in his office chair with their back to the potential assassin, who fires three shots at this person. The person slumps out of the chair and falls on the floor, and the audience sees that Bobby Ewing has been shot.

Season Nine cliffhanger: Pam, on her way home from the doctor's office after finding out she can finally conceive a baby, crashes into the fuel tank of a semi-truck, engulfing her car in a fiery explosion.Season Thirteen cliffhanger: After finally losing Ewing Oil

to Cliff Barnes, control of Southfork to Bobby, and being abandoned by his wife and children, a drunk and despondent J.R. begins walking around the ranch alone with a loaded gun wishing he had never been born. A gunshot is later fired in J.R.'s bedroom as Bobby returns to Southfork, and he rushes up to J.R.'s room and gasps, saying "Oh, my God!" as the series ends.

DYNASTY:When did it air?: 1981Where is it set?: Denver, Colorado, USANames of the main Characters:•Blake Carrington•Krystle Grant Jennings Carrington•Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan•Fallon Carrington Colby•Steven Daniels Carrington•Adam Alexander Carrington•Amanda Carrington•Jeffery Broderick Colby•Claudia Barrows Blaisdel Carrington

The saga of a wealthy Denver family in the oil business: Blake Carrington, the patriarch; Krystle, his former secretary and wife; his children: Adam, lost in childhood after a kidnapping; Fallon, pampered and spoiled; Steven, openly gay; and Amanda, hidden from him by his ex-wife, the conniving Alexis. Most of the show features the conflict between 2 large corporations, Blake's Denver Carrington and Alexis' ColbyCo.

Main Storylines: Season 1: As Dynasty begins on

January 12, 1981, powerful oil tycoon Blake Carrington (Forsythe) is about to marry the younger Krystle Jennings (Linda Evans), his former secretary.

Season 2: In the first episode of the second season, titled "Enter Alexis", the mysterious witness removes her sunglasses to reveal British actress Joan Collins as a new arrival to the series.

Season 3: Undoubtedly the most famous Dynasty cliffhanger is the so-called "Moldavian massacre" during the May 1985 season finale. Amanda and Michael's royal wedding is interrupted by terrorists in a military coup of Moldavia, riddling the chapel with bullets and leaving all of the major characters lying seemingly lifeless.

Season 7: As the seventh season begins in September 1986, Blake stops short of killing Alexis, Claudia has died in the fire, and Amanda is rescued by a returning Michael Culhane.

Season 8: Jeff and Fallon return for Dynasty's eighth season, their marriage now falling apart again. Matthew, returned from the dead but troubled by headaches, holds the Carringtons hostage in hopes that Krystle will run away with him. Steven ends the siege by reluctantly stabbing his old friend to death. Sean begins to manipulate and destroy the Carringtons from the inside, with he and Dex fighting to the death in the March 30, 1988 season finale. Blake comes home to find Krystle missing and their bedroom in shambles.

Similarities:After looking through the synopsis’s of the American Soap operas, I see some correlations between them. One being that the story lines are based around the lives of the wealthy. In Dallas – the wealthy family own the biggest oil companies in Texas, in Dynasty – the wealthy family again own the biggest oil company in Denver.All soaps portray storylines that are not always real-life. There are always numerous stories overlapping and when one story finishes, another that was only in the background at first, pushes its way forward to continue the program.

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