When I think about soap operas, I think about “Days of Our Lives”. My grandma couldn’t stop talking about it one Thanksgiving dinner, and as a kid I remember flipping through daytime TV in a vain attempt to find something remotely of interest, only to wind up on that horrible show. Unfortunately, I feel I’ve been seduced by the soap opera. Not the blatant daytime TV soap on Life, I’m talking about the soaps in disguise. It has manifested itself in new shows and relied upon violence and sex to get my young adult mind interested--I have succumbed to something I told myself I’d never like (not knowingly of course). “Mad Men” and “Spartacus”, shows that are on AMC and Starz respectively, have caught my attention. A couple of my friends recommended them to me once LOST finished. There’s no harm in watching shows that your friends recommended right? WRONG! I was hooked and it took a little while for both shows, but eventually they exhibited the quality I associate most with soaps: illegitimate pregnancy! I honestly don’t know where this association originated but I can tell you every soap opera has one, I can guarantee it! (Spoiler Alert!) In “Mad Men” it was Peggy Olson having Pete Campbell’s child and in “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”, it was Lucretia having Crixus’ child. I couldn’t believe it, I had been caught, hook line and sinker. And while I initially protested to the bastardization of these shows, I kept watching. I was stuck on a ventalator with a morphine drip awaiting helplessly for the culmination of these stories. It seemed ridiculous, but I was addicted, and now I wait eagerly for the coming seasons of both shows. Something I swore I’d never do as a child was watch soap operas. Despite this self-betrayal (that sounds like a common soap theme), I will continue to watch “Mad Men” and “Spartacus”, but one thing is for certain; I’m never watching “Days of Our Lives”!!
The first step is admitting you have a problem.
Jim Nelson
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