Soap (1977–1981)

The soap-operish antics of two families: the Campbells and the Tates.

Creator:

Susan Harris

Stars:

Rod Roddy, Katherine Helmond, Richard Mulligan

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Rod Roddy	...	Announcer (84 episodes, 1977-1981)
Katherine Helmond	...	Jessica Tate (82 episodes, 1977-1981)
Richard Mulligan	...	Burt Campbell (82 episodes, 1977-1981)
Cathryn Damon	...	Mary Campbell (80 episodes, 1977-1981)
Ted Wass	...	Danny Dallas (74 episodes, 1977-1981)
Billy Crystal	...	Jodie Dallas (73 episodes, 1977-1981)
Robert Mandan	...	Chester Tate (73 episodes, 1977-1981)
Jennifer Salt	...	Eunice Tate (64 episodes, 1977-1981)
Jimmy Baio	...	Billy Tate (62 episodes, 1977-1981)
Diana Canova	...	Corinne Tate-Flotsky (59 episodes, 1977-1980)
Arthur Peterson	...	The Major (57 episodes, 1977-1981)
Jay Johnson	...	Bob Campbell (57 episodes, 1977-1981)
Robert Guillaume	...	Benson DuBois (49 episodes, 1977-1980)
Donnelly Rhodes	...	Dutch Leitner (35 episodes, 1978-1981)

Storyline

Parody of television soap-operas--the show's humor relies on exaggerating soap-operas' characteristic plot implausibility and melodrama to ridiculous extremes, then adds a fair bit of the truly bizarre, including some remarkable characters.

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Plot Keywords:

soap opera | cult tv | brother sister relationship | brother brother relationship | cult tv | 

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Taglines:

The Groundbreaking Comedy Series!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bolle di sapone

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (93 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Father Flotsky was added as an in-joke to a character created by Lenny Bruce in a classic routine.

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Quotes

[on trying to establish alibi's for Peter's murder]
Chief Tinkler: Where were you between midnight and 7am?
Chuck: I was with Bob here.
Bob: Yes he was I can vouch for him.
Chief Tinkler: O.K. I can cross you off my list... wait a minute suspect number ten.
Bob: And eleven?
Chief Tinkler: And eleven.

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Crazy Credits

Original network broadcasts opened with an on-screen content warning. This was one of the first TV programs to include such a warning, though such disclaimers are now commonplace.

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: So... Good Talk (2005)

User Reviews

Timeless hilarity!

Truthfully, i was too young to remember this show when it originally aired back in the late 70's. I do remember a lot of controversy about it, and that some stations chose to air it late rather than during primetime, because they thought it too racy.

A few years ago, I managed to catch this show on Comedy Central, and I have to admit that it is quite possibly the finest sitcom ever created. The characters were not the bland, shallow, unimaginitive figures you see on tv today. There was Jodie, the homosexual that was always unsure of his own sexuality; Chuck, the shy ventriloquist that always carried around his dummy Bob, whom Chuck thought was real, and there was NOTHING he wouldn't say; Burt, the delusional construction worker who had frequent encounters with the paranormal; Danny, the dimwit son of Burt that was mixed up in the mafia and later became a deputy sheriff; Chester, the wall street financier who slept with every woman in town except his own wife; and on and on. The cast (which includes billy crystal) was perfect...everyone played their roles so believably that you truly feel like you are watching a real dysfunctional family.

The writing and jokes were also timeless...This show was designed to take a direct pot shot at the absurdity of modern soap operas, and it hit it's mark perfectly. Most of the plotlines were like something out of a supermarket tabloid which always added to the hilarity of the show. Burt being abducted by aliens, burt thinking he can make himself invisible by snapping his fingers, jessica being captured by central american freedom fighters, jodie's baby being possessed by satan, etc...

Even 20+ years later, this show will not disappoint. While it may be tame by today's standards, it was clearly a pioneer that paved the way for a lot of today's programming.