a b c Ayers, Dennis (October 12, 2007). "Billy Crystal's place in gay pop culture history". AfterElton.com. Soap is an American sitcom television series that originally ran on ABC from September 13, 1977, until April 20, 1981. The show was created as a nighttime parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format, and featured melodramatic plotlines including alien abduction, demonic possession, extramarital affairs, murder, kidnapping, unknown diseases, amnesia, cults, organized crime warfare, a communist revolution and teacher-student relationships. In 2007, it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All- TIME", [2] and in 2010, the Tates and the Campbells ranked at number 17 in TV Guide 's list of "TV's Top Families". In a 1982 analysis in The Village Voice, published as the series was entering syndication, TV critic Tom Carson lauded the ensemble, saying that "the cast matches the best TV series rep troupes ever." Carson went on to note that Soap "patently started out intended as a lampoon of middle-class values, and ended up instead as a weirdly offbeat celebration of them". [24] In June 1977, a Newsweek preview of the fall season written by Harry F. Waters panned the show while characterizing some of its basic plot elements incorrectly and offering exaggerated reports of its sexual content. Despite having not seen the pilot, Waters called the show a "sex farce" and claimed (erroneously) that the show included a scene of a Catholic priest being seduced in a confessional. [5] Waters also stated:

On the more positive side, TV Guide gave the show a good review saying that there was "a heap of talent" in the cast and asking "Is it funny? Yes it is ... and I guess that constitutes redeeming social value". [22]DuBrow, Ric (September 10, 1991). " Golden Girls Creator Adds Shows". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 6, 2021. Dr. Everett Parker of the United Church of Christ called Soap "a low-life, salacious program" and complained that the show would be airing when children would be able to watch it. (ABC had scheduled it on Tuesdays after Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley, two of the most popular family television shows being broadcast at the time.) [10]

In 2007, Time, which initially panned the show, named it one of the "100 Best Shows of All- TIME". [2] The Museum of Broadcast Communications said that Soap is "arguably one of the most creative efforts by network television before or after". [5] At the 1981 Golden Globe Awards, Katherine Helmond won Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series – Musical/Comedy. That same year, the program was also nominated for Best TV Series – Musical/Comedy. In addition to the religious protest, Soap also faced substantial pre-broadcast criticism from the International Union of Gay Athletes [14] and the National Gay Task Force, [15] both of which were concerned about the way the gay character Jodie Dallas and his professional football player lover would be portrayed. The Roman Catholic Church, led by its Los Angeles Archdiocese, also condemned the show and asked all American families to boycott it, saying, "ABC should be told that American Catholics and all Americans are not going to sit by and watch the networks have open season on Catholicism and morality. [ Soap] is probably one of the most effective arguments for government censorship of TV that has yet come along." [9] In August, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, representing the three branches of Judaism, joined the Catholic protest, saying that the show, yet to be aired, "reached a new low".Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1989). Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows. New York: Prentice Hall Trade. pp.471–472. ISBN 978-0-1393-3250-0. At the beginning of each episode, off-camera announcer Rod Roddy gives a brief summary of the convoluted storyline and remarks, "Confused? You won't be, after this week's episode of ... Soap." At the end of each episode, he asks a series of life-or-death questions in a deliberately deadpan style—"Will Jessica discover Chester's affair? Will Benson discover Chester's affair? Will Benson care?" and concludes each episode with the trademark line, "These questions—and many others—will be answered in the next episode of ... Soap." The first season ends with Jessica convicted of the murder of Peter Campbell. The announcer concludes the season by announcing that Jessica is innocent, and that one of five characters—Burt, Chester, Jodie, Benson, or Corinne—killed Peter Campbell. Chester later confesses to Peter's murder and is sent to prison. He is soon released after a successful temporary insanity defense, due to a medical condition in his brain. The Soap Memo" was a rare public look into the behind-the-scenes process at a major network and copies of the document were often found posted on the bulletin boards of television production companies and on studio sets as a rallying point against censorship. In addition, the specific details in the memo further fueled the growing debate regarding the controversial content of Soap. Premiere and critical reception [ edit ] a b c Poniewozik, James (September 6, 2007). "The 100 Best TV Shows of All- TIME". Time. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007 . Retrieved March 4, 2010.

The Soap Memo" was leaked to the press before the show premiered and was printed in its entirety in the Los Angeles Times on June 27, 1977. Among the notes were: The relationship between Jodie and the football player should be handled in such a manner that explicit or intimate aspects of homosexuality are avoided entirely." The CIA or any other government organization is not to be involved in General Nu's smuggling operation." (This character and storyline, which dealt with a Vietnamese opium smuggler who becomes involved in the Tate family through Jessica's long-lost son, was eventually removed from the show bible.) Since its cancellation, Soap's reputation has grown and it is often considered one of the best shows in television history. [2] Much praise has been given to its "exceptionally rich cast" [23] of performers "such as was seldom seen on any serious dramatic show". [13]Aside from the external protests, Soap was also subject to heavy internal revisions from ABC's Broadcast Standards & Practices department, which monitors the content of programs. Writer-creator Susan Harris had developed a story arc for Soap in the form of a "show bible" which traced all the major characters, stories and events for five seasons. The Standards & Practices executives (commonly referred to as "censors") reviewed this extensive bible as well as the script for the two-part pilot and issued a long memo to Harris voicing their concerns about various storylines and characters. In addition to the sexual material that was widely reported in the press, the censors also took issue with the show's religious, political and ethnic content. [20] Sharbutt, Jay (July 18, 1977). "ABC Slipping on 'Soap' ". Ocala Star-Banner . Retrieved 11 October 2012. [ permanent dead link] The wealthy Tate family employs a sarcastic butler/cook named Benson ( Robert Guillaume). Benson clearly despises Chester, but has a soft spot for their son, Billy ( Jimmy Baio). He also gets along with the Tates' daughter Corinne ( Diana Canova) as well as their mother, Jessica; but doesn't speak to the other daughter, Eunice ( Jennifer Salt), although that later changed. Benson became a popular character and in 1979 left the Tates' employ to work for Jessica's cousin, Governor Gene Gatling, on the spin-off series Benson, wherein his last name, DuBois, was revealed. The Tates had to hire a new butler/cook named Saunders ( Roscoe Lee Browne), whose attitude is similar to that of Benson, but has a more formal personality. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all four seasons of Soap on DVD in Region 1. Season 1 has been released on DVD in Region 2 in Norway (as Forviklingar), Sweden (as Lödder), Spain (as Enredo) and the UK. All four seasons have been released in Australia (Region 4).

The colloquy between Peter and Jessica ... which relates to cunnilingus/ fellatio is obviously unacceptable"Soap DVD news: Announcement for Soap - The Complete Seasons 1 & 2". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015 . Retrieved 29 May 2015. Soap premiered on Tuesday, September 13, 1977, at 9:30 p.m. The episode was preceded by a disclaimer that the show "was part of a continuing character comedy" that included adult themes and that "viewer discretion" was advised. The disclaimer was both displayed on the screen and read by announcer Rod Roddy. It would remain throughout the first season before being dropped. Jay Sandrich, Director; Susan Harris, Writer and Producer (1978). The Best of Soap: Who Killed Peter?. ASIN 630308219X. O'Gara, Hugh (September 10, 1977). "KXON says 'No 'Soap to eastern South Dakota TV audiences" . Argus-Leader . Vol.92, no.253. Sioux Falls, SD. p.1 . Retrieved July 11, 2021.