Davtime Serial Drama

Thickening the Plot

by Brian Rose

“Though their plots are mostly about keeping secrets, soap operas derive their principal strength fm the fact that they conceal so little.”

A number of analyses of soap operas (1, p. 21; 2, p. 7; 4, p. 8) have concluded that the genre flourishes because of its ability to meet the needs and express the prevailing attitudes of its audiences. However, the continued success and popu- larity of daytime serials cannot be completely accounted for by looking only at psychological and sociological factors. Ralph Stedman, whose book The Serials is the definitive examination of soap operas on radio and TV, feels that the du- rability of daytime drama is due to the nature of its form. His examination of a variety of serials over the last forty years led Stedman to conclude that “there is only one characteristic that is common to every successful daytime serial-a set of characters in a continuing narrative” (5, p. 489).

Stedman’s observation is worthy of elaboration. Much has been written on the types of characters who populate afternoon dramas (see, for instance, 4), and there have been numerous descriptions, most of them sarcastic, of serial plots. But there has been no serious discussion of how these plots operate, what makes them effective, and in what ways their formal design can shape both audience expectations and responses. Careful attention to the particular narrative struc- ture of soap operas can tell us much about how these dramas promote a sense of involvement in their viewers.

Unlike m s t narratives, soap operas never really end.

Daytime serials usually begin their first broadcast at the mid-point of a crisis, and from that point on they rarely provide any concrete sense of resolu- tion. The competing plot lines on any given program, each developing at a dif-

Brian Rose is an Assistant Professor in the Department of TV and Radio at Brooklyn College.

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ferent speed, prevent the action from ever coming to a stop. The completion of one part of a story is generally lost in the shuffle of the remaining, ongoing plot lines.

The apparent randomness of a serial’s action may appear deliberately con- fusing. Two compelling plot lines of Monday and Tuesday’s shows may not be continued until Friday; characters appear on one episode and then vanish for weeks; the climax of a story can take a month to occur and then suddenly never be mentioned again. But this mixture of various plots and disparate elements is responsible for much of the soap opera’s unique appeal,

According to Stedman, the soap opera “benefits from a cumulative factor. With each episode watched, the viewer invests more deeply in the undertaking” (5, p. 49). For those who watch the programs over extended periods of time, continuing characters can become, in Stedman’s words, “as real as neighbors,” with the viewer’s identification with the characters deepening in intensity (1; 3, pp. 151-161; 7).

This cumulative factor also serves to build a sense of the characters’ histori- city. A viewer with a good memory can keep alive the rich legacy of previous actions and characters, allowing it to reverberate in a serial’s present. Even though the show may not directly mention the specific events of its own past, keen observers can make connections suggesting some of the deeper meanings of family life and character destiny. For example, on a recent episode of “Ryan’s Hope,” a secondary heroine was imprisoned in a dark cellar by her half-crazed husband; several seasons earlier she had also been locked away by another man bent on possessing her. Only long-term viewers could make the connection and thus reach a conclusion about the hapless vulnerability of the heroine and the demonstrated dangers of misplaced trust.

Obviously there is only so much of a serial’s past that current viewers can legitimately be expected to remember. But by building upon the past, the genre offers the long-term viewer the opportunity to recognize its echoes in the nuances of the present.

The structure of the indiddual +odes of a soap opera promotes interest through juxtaposition.

Rather than disrupting the flow of action, the divisions created by com- mercials permit serials to concentrate on small dramatic scenes that can be ar- ranged in a variety of distinctive patterns. Sometimes the final structure of a program may resemble a half-completed mosaic, with each act designed to stand alone; at other times, the entire episode may be constructed like a well- planned battle, with every sequence violently juxtaposed against the next. One of the most common methods of organization involves the careful alternation of different stories in different Scenes to suggest thematic connections. For ex- ample, on a recent episode of “The Young and the Restless,” various types of secret passions, involving different couplings of characters, were portrayed and then systematically contrasted during the course of the program.

An interesting use of structural patterns occurs on the program “Ryan’s Hope.” The program frequently arranges its five “acts” in an almost musical

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Daytime Serial Drama 1 Thickening the Plot

fashion, with some shows building to a fiery crescendo at the close, and others ending with a delicate reprise of the thematic chords of each preceding scene.

This structure promotes involvement by leaving some of the plot assembly to the viewer. The division of the serial into small, distinct units, which can be continuously foregrounded and juxtaposed, encourages the daytime audience to take an active part in assembling the narrative, especially since so many of the segments can stretch for periods of months or years. With up to a dozen differ- ent stories unravelling simultaneously, it often is the task of the viewer to make the connections between sections and to organize the action into a meaningful pattern.

Rather than progressing linearly from an unanswered question to its ultimate solution, soap operas reveal most of their information from the uey beginning.

Soap operas provide their audiences little opportunity for detection. Plot turns are rarely kept secret; an almost omniscient perspective is offered to the audience, encouraging an unusual form of involvement. Since the central ele- ments of the plot are openly revealed, the momentum of a serial depends not on action, but on the observation of character reaction. The narrative portrays characters coming to terms emotionally with information already known to the viewers.

But while soap operas seldom conceal information from their audiences, they do keep a great deal hidden from the characters. Secrets are the driving force behind the plots. They comprise an endless topic for speculation and also serve as an important device for bringing together various plot lines. Soap op- eras revolve around the fact that everyone has something to hide or is trying to uncover the secrets of another. Characters are therefore constantly interacting as the ramifications of their secrets are made apparent.

Plots depend on discovery as well as on secrets, and it is inevitable that the truth come out. The revelation of truth, however, is a complicated procedure that sometimes occurs over a period of years. Unlocking someone’s past may in- volve the participation of a half dozen characters and often proves hazardou- the longer a secret has been kept, the more dire its consequences often are.

Nonetheless, the quest for finding out what others may have hidden is one of the genre’s main concerns. This pursuit of knowledge does not serve to supply suspense, but to provide narrative momentum through the process of discovery. The exchange of information fuels the story-by knowing what has happened, the audience can become involved in the method of seeing things unfold.

Part of the pleasure in watching this unfolding comes from the different paths characters pursue in hiding or detecting secrets. Some characters protect their secrets with such fortitude that when they are finally exposed they almost cease to exist-their principal function as a person with a shady past no longer has meaning. Some characters hide things so frequently that their secretiveness becomes a joke; others are utterly incapable of keeping anything to themselves.

Once a secret is revealed, personal relationships are either rearranged or drastically redefined. Unlikely alliances, violent hostilities, and other surprising

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outcomes frequently result. A February 1978 episode of “Ryan’s Hope” pro- vides a demonstration of the powerful effects of uncovering information. Delia Ryan had previously tricked her husband into marriage, but now an old lover, Dr. Roger Coleridge, has discovered her plot and demands that she tell the truth. Roger insists that Delia “see” the error of her ways and start “looking” for a new direction. Delia at first begs for his understanding, then tries to bribe him with sexual favors, and finally reaches for him in desperation. As anticipated by Roger’s use of visual metaphors, she falls from her bed, hits her head, and be- comes a victim of hysterical blindness. It is a high but not uncommon price to pay for furtiveness in the soap opera world.

Other types of dramatic explosions can occur when a secret is revealed, such as blackmail or full-scale confessions. But usually, revelation brings people to- gether in surprising ways. A conspiracy between the detector and the detected may form to keep things hidden. Characters often become romantically in- volved by recognizing the importance of shared confidences, and together may build an entire relationship based upon the knowledge that has connected them. Thus the act of declaring secrets is often a confession of love. Revelation of one person’s problem is generally followed by some other type of concealment, and the cycle goes on.

Thus by permitting their audience the chance to observe patterns of human behavior and to chronicle the growth of characters over years of development, soap operas enable viewers to concentrate on the ways people come to terms with experience. Though their plots are mostly about keeping secrets, soap op- eras derive their principal strength from the fact that they conceal so little.

REFERENCES

1. Herzog, Herta. “Daytime Serials.” In Paul F. Lazarsfeld and Frank Stanton (Eds.) Rudw Re-

2. LaGuardia, Robert. The Wonderful World of TV Soap Operas. New York: Ballantine Books,

3. McQuail, Denis (Ed.) The Sociology of Mass Communication. Baltimore, Md.: Penguin, 1972. 4. Soares, Manuella. The Soup Opera Book. New York: Harmony Books, 1978. 5. Stedman, Ralph. The SetiotS. Norman, Ok.: 1977. 6. Wakefield, Dan. All Her Children. New York: Avon Books, 1976. 7. Wilder, Frances Farmer. Radio’s Daytime Serial. New York: Columbia Broadcasting System,

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