Imagine a sitcom filled with sexual innuendo, philandering couples and openly gay characters. Actually, it’s hard to imagine a sitcom today without those elements, but in 1977, they helped make “Soap” a controversial show even before it aired.
We may remember “Soap” today as the series that introduced many Americans to Billy Crystal and Robert Guillaume, but when it debuted in September 1977, all anyone could talk about was how far out on the edge it ventured.
Religious groups started a letter-writing campaign to quash the show before it aired, and 18 ABC affiliates refused to carry it.
When “Soap” finally arrived on Sept. 13, 1977, it carried the first “viewer discretion advised” warning in U.S. network history.
Despite – or perhaps because of – the controversies, “Soap” quickly became a hit and finished its first season as the No. 13-rated show of the year.
Created and written by Susan Harris, “Soap” was a send-up of daytime soap operas, which were in the middle of their golden era. Katherine Helmond and Cathryn Damon starred as married sisters whose families were beyond dysfunctional.
Easily the most popular character was the richer sister’s noncompliant butler, Benson (Guillaume). After two years on “Soap,” Benson got his own series, one of the few spinoffs to live longer than its parent show.
Crystal’s character, Jodie Dallas, was not the first gay character on television, but his role was the largest to that date.
“Soap” began not just with good ratings but with strong reviews and awards attention. None of those lasted long. The stories became increasingly silly, and “Soap” was done after four seasons.
The complete series is available in a new issue being released June 2 by Mill Creek entertainment. The 90 episodes come on eight discs in a package that lists for $44.98
‘SOAP’
Ran: 1977-81 on ABC
Starred: Cathryn Damon, Katherine Helmond, Richard Mulligan, Billy Crystal, Robert Guillaume
Binge commitment: Four seasons; 90 half-hour episodes.
Watch it: DVD
NETFLIX’S NEWEST
On June 5, Netflix releases its latest original series, “Sense8,” a sci-fi thriller from the Wachowski siblings of “The Matrix” fame and “Babylon 5” creator J. Michael Straczynski.
The synopsis: Eight people around the world have a simultaneous vision and find themselves linked mentally: They can see, feel, hear and talk to each other as if they are in the same place. As they try to make sense of what happened to them, they are – naturally – hunted by a shadowy organization.
The 12 episodes of “Sense8,” which will be released all at once, were shot in nine different cities around the world.
NEW AND NOTABLE
On disc: “Justified,” Season 6, Blu-ray and DVD; “Parks & Recreation,” complete series and Season 7, DVD; “Pretty Little Liars,” Season 5, DVD; “Rizzoli & Isles,” Season 5, DVD; “The Wire,” complete series, Blu-ray; “The L Word,” complete series, DVD; “Trailer Park Boys,” Season 9, DVD; “Miss Marple,” volume 3, Blu-ray and DVD; “Bonanza,” Season 8, DVD; “Turbo Fast,” Season 1, DVD.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7724 or mhewitt@ocregister.com or @WatcherofTV on Twitter or The Watcher on Facebook.
