In 1982 PBS aired an eight-part series, MEDIA PROBES, that examined the role and impact of mass communications. The series was designed in a slick magazine format that entertained and informed viewers about photography, soap operas, TV news, language, politics, design, sound and the future.On April 28, 1982, ALL MY CHILDREN's Ruth Warrick hosted a look at the creative and productive processes of soap scenes and the unusual relationships that develop between viewers and their soaps.
The process begins in a barren rehearsal hal at 7 a.m. as ALL MY CHILDREN director Larry Auerbach leads Susan Lucci and Michael Minor through the scenes they'll be playing that day. Also examined are the unique relationship that exists between some 35 million viewers and their soaps. At a theme park in Memphis, documentary footage catches the passion when GENERAL HOSPITAL's Doug Sheehan plays a love scene with a fan. And soap writer Harding 'Pete' Lemay (ANOTHER WORLD, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, GUIDING LIGHT) talks about the rigors of writing for the soaps.
Warrick notes that soaps are in the same tradition as the serial writing of Charles Dickens.
Watch the "Soap Operas" episode below:
What was it like to work on the set of GENERAL HOSPITAL more than 30 years ago? In this "Backstage Exclusive," from the "complete 1981 update" of "Daytime TV's Greatest Stories No. 2: Everything You Want to Know About GENERAL HOSPITAL," we follow several cast members from their morning good-bye kisses to their evening extra-curriculars. Is a day in the life of a GH star really all that different in 2012?