Soaps have transformed; just ask Francis
Soap operas keep transforming. There are no more tinkling teacups, no prolonged parlor chats, fewer empty moments.
But to look at the bigger changes, ponder Laura of “General Hospital,” as the show nears its 60th anniversary (April 1) and launches a multi-day celebration (April 3) — a week after “The Young and the Restless: (see separate story) has its 50th anniversary.
As a teen-ager, she was a date-rape victim … who then fell in love with her rapist. They married – drawing record ratings – and became the top couple in the soap world.
And now? “I love who she is,” Genie Francis (shown here in a previous anniversary), who plays her, told the Television Critics Association. “She was such a victim as a young woman. To see it flip around and have her be … this powerful woman who is the mayor. She doesn’t take crap from anyone.” Read more…