DAYTIME SOAPS MATURING IN ROMANTIC WAY
By Jan DeKnock
Chicago Tribune
July 13, 1986
The summer of '86 is a time of real transition for daytime soap operas.
On the way out are the spy sagas, treasure hunts and sci-fi escapades that have dominated most of the shows for the last several years.
On the way back in are old-fashioned stories about romance--and this time, the lovers are not just the young kids.
"Every summer we're usually bombarded with teenage storylines," says Nancy M. Reichardt, a syndicated columnist who has been observing the soap opera scene for nearly a decade. "This year . . . while there's some of that happening, there aren't really a lot of front-burner teen storylines.
"Last year, for example," she says, "everything--and I do mean everything--on DAYS OF OUR LIVES was Bo and Hope, Bo and Hope. Personally, I don't mind a teenage storyline, but DAYS just carried it to extremes. I mean, here Hope is supposed to be just barely out of high school, and suddenly she's married, she's running a private detective agency, she's running around looking for Russian spies.
