THE TKTV NEWSLETTER
Season 3, Episode 9 aired February 28, 2000

CONTENTS
1. Intro
2. Letters from the viewing audience
3. Don't miss
4. TV Trivia
5. Favorite Quotes of the Week
6. A totally unrelated link

1. Intro

Who here watches daytime soaps? Raise your hands. Be honest.

When I was growing up, my baby-sitter was this wonderful Irish woman named Mrs. Cronin who lived across the street. She had bowls of candy on every surface of her house, and was mortified whenever something happened in the neighborhood and she wasn't out on her front porch (she called it her "piazza") to see it. She also religiously watched two daytime soap operas: "All My Children" and "General Hospital." Of course, I watched them with her, just as I constantly grazed from her bowls of peppermints and butterscotch. I was too young to completely understand what was going on, and because my mother worked at Children's Hospital in Boston, I couldn't even completely keep track of the two different dramas' names, but I remember to this day the underhanded tricks Palmer Cortlandt used to break up Nina and her true love Cliff.

As I grew up, moved away, and no longer spent time with Mrs. Cronin, I forgot about soap operas. Then one day at summer camp, I was in a small town in Maine doing my laundry, when a bunch of other girls started crowding around an issue of "Soap Opera Digest." They were oohing and aahing over Hope's beautiful wedding dress and her idyllic marriage to Bo. And that's how I became hooked on "Days of Our Lives." After graduating from college, I discovered Days's companion on NBC, "Another World," and gave the baby NBC soap "Sunset Beach" a try when it premiered a few years ago. A close friend of mine advised me that if I could put up with "Days of Our Lives" and its painful slow-moving story lines, then I should definitely try "General Hospital." After becoming fully hooked on GH, I HAD to watch its spin-off, "Port Charles," and since ABC shows two other soaps between PC and GH, I now also watch "All My Children" and occasionally "One Life to Live."

Soaps are an amazing medium. Yes, the acting isn't always top-notch, the writing is often predictable, and the production value is low, but there's a lot to surprise you too. First of all, think about how long some of these shows have been on the air. A few current daytime soaps started on radio and then moved to television. Many of them began in black and white. Some of them still have original cast members from over 35 years ago. These families and characters have been acting out their dramas five days a week for decades.

Soaps have historically been the first shows on television to address some highly controversial issues, such as homosexuality, abortion, plastic surgery, and incest. Daytime soaps produce five hours of film a week, compared to prime-time dramas which only produce one and get to show reruns for half the year. Daytime soaps continue to air in the summer when other shows take three months off.

Soaps have also produced some of the most famous actors that you see in movies and on primetime television today. Meg Ryan was on "As the World Turns" in the early eighties. Alec Baldwin was on "The Doctors," nearly missing co-starring with Kathleen Turner, and then on "Knots Landing" a few years later. Anne Heche was well known for her roles as twins, Vicky and Marley, on "Another World." Sarah Michelle Gellar, now slaying vampires on the WB, used to play the famous Erica Kane's daughter on "All My Children." Kate Mulgrew, now a captain of a starship on UPN, spent a number of years on "Ryan's Hope."

It keeps happening every day. I was watching "NYPD Blue" last week, and on the same day they introduced their new detective, played by Henry Simmons, they also had Amy Carlson guest starring. Both actors used to star in "Another World" on NBC, Simmons as a lawyer (he's much more convincing as a detective) and Carlson, actually, as a detective. (Ironically, on "NYPD Blue," Carlson played a cop who was having an affair with her partner, while on "Another World," Carlson played a cop who was having an affair with her partner.)

"Another World," having been cancelled a little under a year ago, is spitting actors all over the place. Kim Rhodes, whom you'll see guest starring on upcoming episodes of both "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Stark Raving Mad," was a fabulous villainess on the show. Judi Evans Luciano and Alice Barrett Mitchell, co-stars on AW, will also be co-starring in Fox's TV movie about the Jon Benet Ramsey murder. You can catch Brian Krause as the adorable Leo on "Charmed," but just a few years ago he was Matt Cory of the core-family on AW.

Watching daytime dramas is almost like getting a preview of future great actors. It's like when you go to see a play or a musical that's still being worked on. You get a sneak peek at the show, and then ten months from now, when it's a big hit, you can say that you saw it way back when. Last night I watched that strange William Gibson episode of "The X-Files" with the sexy virtual murderer played by Krista Allen. I remember when Allen was brand new to television and filling some big shoes on "Days of Our Lives" as Billy, formerly played by Lisa Rinna who went on to vamp on "Melrose Place." I remember Tracy Middendorf, who showed up on "Angel," "Ally McBeal" AND "The X-Files" this season, as a teen on "Days of Our Lives" playing a young Carrie Brady. Kimberly McCullough, who more or less grew up on "General Hospital" playing Robin Scorpio, can now be seen as Eli's girlfriend Jennifer on "Once and Again." The list goes on and on.

So don't just dismiss daytime dramas as those silly soaps. They are an important part of the entertainment hierarchy. Without soaps there would never have been Luke and Laura. Susan Lucci wouldn't have been nominated for a best actress Emmy 19 years in a row without winning. Josh Ryan Evans, best known for his role as the child lawyer who cries on "Ally McBeal," wouldn't currently be playing a living doll owned by a witch. Give soaps a try. You might not know what you're missing.

P.S. Why does no one else go to the bathroom on "Ally McBeal?" There's an office full of secretaries and paralegals, and yet none of them ever use the bathroom.

P.P.S. Ian Gomez is so wasted on "Norm." Why doesn't "Felicity" just give him a full-time job as the fabulous Javier?

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2. Letters from the viewing audience

From Tony:
As for as Sunday's episode of X-Cops, I enjoyed it. A scene with the Werewolf/Freddy Cruger/Wasp man would have been a cool visual effect. What's with the LA County Sheriffs Department? All night they were running from crime scene to crime scene. Is this the new community policing concept, foot patrols with limited access to cruisers? Obviously, I missed The Sopranos for the Cops - X-Files fusion. I'm not regretting it either. The New Jersey Mob family has become nothing but late night soap opera without the Tide commercials. Once again Hollywood has managed to create a lot of hype over nothing. Take a ride along the 1, 9 subway and notice the cars are plastered with nothing but Soprano's posters. Do it often enough and you can cancell your HBO subscription.

From Jena:
In response to your intro about February sweeps, I was disappointed that you didn't mention Kellie Martin's departure on ER. I thought it was done quite well, with the February 17th episode being one of the most powerful episodes I have seen in a long time. I may be a little biased since I was never a huge fan of Kellie's character but I thought it was a good job by all.

(Note from TK: Ah yes, two newsletters ago I mentioned looking forward to it, but I never talked about it after it happened. I absolutely agree. "ER" took what could have been a total non-event (since I don't think anyone really warmed up to Kellie Martin), and made it something suspenseful and touching at the same time.)

Letters from the viewing audience are always welcome. Please email any opinions, questions, comments, or random thoughts to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of "letters." Letters may be edited for length or content.

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3. Don't miss

February sweeps in high gear... For details and lots more fun TV to look forward to, see
http://www.tktv.net/index.html?/upcoming.html

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4. TV Trivia

Last week's question was: how many actors have played the role of Griffin Holbrook on "Party of Five" and what are their names?

First prize goes to Jenoy! Congratulations!

Honorable mentions (sorry, without prizes, but keep trying!) go to Shannon W. and Lindsay.

The correct answer was two. James "Jimmy" Marsden and Jeremy London.

This week's question is: what is the name of the family dog on "Judging Amy?"

Don't forget, this trivia quiz is sponsored by myTVshop, where you can get all your favorite TV merchandise.
http://www.mytvshop.com

Send answers to TK at tk@tktv.net with the subject of tvtrivia.

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5. Favorite Quotes of the Week

From Third Watch
Yokas: "Is there anything more depressing than searching basements and garbage cans for missing kids?"
Bosco: "Yeah. Finding one."

From Ladies Man
Donna: "Jimmy Stiles is dead. Yep, very dead. Jimmy left the bulding. Jimmy's watching the grass grow... from the wrong side. Yeah, Jimmy's as dead as that game-show craze is gonna be in a year."

From Ally McBeal
Hammond Dearing: "An apology gets you out."
Ally: "Great. I am deeply sorry that you're such an ass."

From ER
Dr. Carter: "I lied to Lucy's mother today. I told her it wasn't painful to have an eight-inch knife shoved into your gut."

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6. A totally unrelated link

Marry Tom Arnold

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A gentleman is one who knows how to play the accordion... and doesn't.