Sunday, February 12, 2017

Today in Soap Opera History (February 12)

1968: Dark Shadows' Victoria arrived in the year 1795.
1986: Days of our Lives' Bo had a Britta flashback.
1993: General Hospital's Dominique fainted before her wedding.
1998: Port Charles' Serena bit Rex.
"All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne BrontĂ« in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1965: On Another World, Pat Matthews (Susan Trustman) was found not guilty of murdering Tom Baxter (Nicholas Pryor) by reason of temporary insanity.

1968: On Dark Shadows, in the wake of a seance gone awry, Victoria Winters awoke in the year 1795, a time where each of the Collins ancestors resembled a present-day member of the Collins family, though the names and relationships had changed. A despondent Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) told Ben about Josette's death and questioned how he could face eternity without her. He vowed to end Angelique's curse -- that everyone Barnabas loved would die -- by admitting to his father Joshua and mother Naomi what he had become and letting them decide his fate. Going to Jeremiah's grave, Barnabas told his brother's spirit that he forgave him for marrying Josette and bemoaned their deaths. Cousin Millicent saw Barnabas in the cemetery and mistakenly thought he was back from England. Millicent told a shocked Joshua and Naomi that she wanted Barnabas to kill Lt. Nathan Forbes in a duel, finally admitting that Nathan deceived her about his marital status. As the episode ended, Joshua told Naomi that Abigail would represent the Collins family and testify against the imprisoned Vicky at her witchcraft trial. Naomi promised a fight.



1968: The Carol Burnett Show debuted its soap opera parody segment, "As the Stomach Turns." Burnett played a woman with a number of shocking secrets, the reveals of which were frequently drowned out by the melodramatic music. Her long-lost son, who was really her amnesiac friend Victoria's child, reappeared with his fiancĂ©e in tow, a newly-widowed and highly suspicious older woman. Finally, Burnett's elderly, presumed-dead husband made a stunning reappearance—from the basement, where he had spent years working on a hit song…and promptly dropped dead. Martha Raye and Betty Grable guest-starred in the episode.

1973: On The Doctors, Carolee Simpson (Carolee Campbell) was overjoyed to be reunited with baby Stephanie.



1985: On Another World, Carl Hutchins (Charles Keating) secretly watched Mac and Rachel Cory on a closed-circuit TV.



1986: On Days of our Lives, Bo (Peter Reckell) saw Hope (Kristian Alfonson) and Patch (Stephen Nichols) sitting on a bed together, and flashed back to catching Patch in bed with Britta.

1987: On Another World, Mac and Rachel Cory renewed their vows on their wedding anniversary. Meanwhile, Jamie Frame (Laurence Lau) met Lisa Grady in person, after having seen her in his dreams the previous two weeks. He immediately kissed her so she slapped him.



1993: One Life to Live aired a Valentine's Day episode, dedicated to the lovers of Llanview, which was punctuated with love poems, read on Luna's radio program by guest host Wanda Wolek (Marilyn Chris). First, Luna (Susan Batten) and Max (James DePaiva) arranged to meet at a mountain inn for a romantic getaway, but they each ended up at the wrong inn, separated from each other by a huge snowstorm. Meanwhile, Tina's love life took a turn for the worse as she found herself torn between the two men she loves, Cord and Cain. Cord, who had reappeared after his long absence, declared his love for Tina, while Cain insisted that she inform him of their engagement. Jason, Lee Ann, and Marty also formed a love triangle in a twisted scheme: Marty helped Jason stage a romantic scenario that would give Lee Ann the impression that Jason was cheating on her: in spite of his love for her, he deliberately set out to break her heart on Valentine's Day. Finally, fate and magic helped Max and Luna find each other in the tumultuous storm, and they ultimately united for a passionate evening together.

1993: On General Hospital, Dominique (Shell Danielson) fainted again right before she was to walk down the aisle to marry Scott (Kin Shriner).



1996: On All My Children, Trevor Dillon (James Kiberd) was devastated over Laurel's death.



1998: On Port Charles, Serena (Carly Schroeder) bit Rex (Wayne Northrop) after he told her living with him instead of her father was the best thing that ever happened to her.



2004: On As the World Turns, Rosanna (Cady McClain) had to give up her beloved daughter Cabot because she illegally adopted the child. Barbara (Colleen Zenk) threw a party to celebrate her new business success. Chris was cleared of charges by the police and resumed his affair with Alison, much to Susan's chagrin. A frustrated Alison demanded that her mother leave her and Chris alone.

2004: On One Life to Live, David Vickers (Tuc Watkins) and Dorian Lord (Robin Strasser) stopped River (Matthew Twining) and Adriana's (Melissa Fumero) wedding.

2008: Actor David Groh died at age 68. He played Joe Gerard in Rhoda (Rhoda's husband) between stints as Simon Ventnor on Love is a Many Splendored Thing and D.L. Brock on General Hospital.

2009: On All My Children, Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel) and Reese Williams (Tamara Braun) prepared to walk down the aisle.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Brioni Farrell (ex-Lila, Capitol; ex-Martha, General Hospital) - 77
Cliff De Young (ex-John, The Young and the Restless; ex-Alden, The Secret Storm; ex-George, Melrose Place) - 72
Lillian Lehman (ex-Lena, Sunset Beach) - 70
Robin Thomas (ex-Mark, Another World; ex-Matt, As the World Turns) - 68
Michael McDonald (Guest Star, The Young and the Restless) - 65
Christine Elise (ex-Emily, Beverly Hills, 90210) - 52
Lisa Brenner (ex-Maggie, Another World; ex-Allison, All My Children; ex-Jenny, Undressed) - 43
Jesse Spencer (ex-Bill, Neighbours) - 38
Christina Ricci (ex-Maggie, Pan Am) - 37
Sarah Lancaster (ex-Liz, Undressed) - 37

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to submit a soap history entry for this date or a future date, email [email protected].Today in Soap Opera History (February 2)

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