ANNIVERSARY FLASHBACKS

This week marks the anniversaries of General Hospital and The Doctors (April 1, 1963), and As the World Turns and The Edge of Night (April 2, 1956).

To celebrate, I'm putting my multimedia tribute, Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments, on sale at 50% off on Amazon and BN.com in the hope that all soap fans will be able to experience this love letter to daytime from the actors, writers, producers, directors and fans who made it happen.

I will also spend the week offering excerpts from the book.

Today, we have a quote from Sam Ford, co-editor of The Survival of the Soap Opera, talking about how Luke and Noah's relationship changed not just the face of daytime, but fandom, as well:

Just as soap operas at their height drive discussion amongst characters throughout the canvas about "what's happening," the actions of characters drive soap opera fan discussion as well. As this story played out, fan communities that often did not talk about politically and morally charged issues found their discussion of Luke's story soon spilling over to conversations about larger issues surrounding homosexuality and the struggles of coming out in the U.S. While occasionally conversations grew a little contentious, many fan discussions presented a wide range of opinions, stories, lived experiences, and debates among fans with a wide spectrum of opinions. Meanwhile, "on the other side of town," new communities began to discover As the World Turns through the Luke Snyder coming out storyline, as online LGBTQ communities began discussing and debating the show, energizing an audience and a movement behind Luke's character that breathed new life and relevance into Oakdale (even if the show ultimately seemed to struggle with what to do with that "surplus audience," which was not the target 18-49 female audience advertisers were looking for).

Read more about Luke and Noah, Carly and Jack and the rest of your beloved Oakdale community in Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments enhanced ebook!