I started watching it back in the late 70's - early 80's. One of the three members of the hot teen love triangle was Kevin Bacon. I got to meet the other one, John Wesley Shipp, a few years ago. He's a sweetie, and a total lefty.

The actress who played Nola died a few years ago. JWS paid her a lovely tribute.

I think my favorite character from that era was Reva Shayne. She was sassy, independent, and didn't give a crap what anyone thought of her.

My sister watched General Hospital or sometimes "Days of Our Lives"...

I find it bizarre that day time soaps have all but "died" out while these so-called "Reality TV" shows are so popular. But, whatever.

Restless while on breaks, The only reality show I watch is The Amazing Race. as I like to see the cultures of the countries they visit.

It's like they aged in real time with the watcher.

My mom watched them. Left for college, returning for holidays "oh there is the same actor, 5 years older!"

The Secret Storm, though, seemed more dark and sinister.

While I was in Kindergarten.

although it dropped to one once I started working, and then none.

"The Young and the Restless" from its inception until I started working, and then "General Hospital" until my kids were in high school and I went to work in home health, then none.

Hospital.

It came on in the afternoon where I lived and I could watch it after school.

In high school General Hospital, Luke and Larura era.
Pinnacle of my watching ended with Mary Hartman Mary Hartman.

I loved Carol Burnett's "As the Stomach Churns" and "Mama's Family"--the first spoofed soap operas, and the second wasn't really one, but the episodes sort of connected their story like one.

stories got too weird even for me. It was too difficult keeping up with multiple names for each actor as the story shifted through time periods or the characters time-traveled.

Would rush home from school to see Barnabus Collins!

We'd all rush home after school to catch the latest on Barnabus Collins, Quentin and Angelique!

full disclosure, I worked as an art restorer out of my home for twenty three years (1977-2000), and I used to have the soaps on for background noise:
Another World
Ryans Hope
All My Children

"Guiding light", "young and restless"

So they were in the background of my life.

Watched it when I was laid off from the mill in the 80’s. Back when we could only get 3 channels lol

My favorite was probably General Hospital during the 80s. I also watched All My Children, One Life toLive Ryan's Hope, Santa Barbara and Days of Our Lives. They were all on and off over the years. I stuck with GH and All My Children the longest.
I watched Days primarily due to Drake Hogestyn, and I actually got to meet him in person once. He was a sweet and handsome guy. May he RIP. I stopped watching Days long prior to his death because I didn't care for Marlena, and didn’t like they reunited his ch aracter with her romantically.

I have not watched any soaps since they ABC canceled All My Children. I basically had lost interest in all the rest even before that. Too many cast and storyline changes I didn't like.

After it was canceled we watched Santa Barbara. Mom was a Days of Our Lives fan when I was very small so I just stuck with the NBC soaps.

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Was over them by the time I was 23.

Closest thing to a soap opera I ever watched.

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I started watching it when I was 12 years old back in the 60s. Then All My Children and One Life to Live came along and I watched them too. Of course, I was still watching GH during the Luke & Laura glory years in the 80s; everybody was back then. When I decided to stop sitting in front of the TV for three hours every afternoon, I narrowed it down to All My Children. Then I switched careers and started working in the day and never watched any soaps again.

It's funny. Whenever I would catch a minute or two of a soap I didn't watch, I would think all the actors were lousy, but on my soaps, I thought all the actors were good! I guess we really do see what we want to see.

in front of the TV so my Mom could watch As The World Turns. That was the big one. My Mom and my Grandmother would call each other and talk about it after every show. There was one more that evades me now but ATWT was the big one. If it was still on I would probably still watch it. Odd little shows that felt like family after so long.

Primarily because of Dr. Noah Drake (Rick Springfield)!

The Guiding Light.

Amused by Ericka Kane. And whenever I see a commercial for Kelly and Michael show I remember them from AMC days and how they met there and are still married !

😜

I watched "Edge of Night" with my grandmother. Black and white, and the sets were minimal. Many years later, my mother and I would watch "Dark Shadows", both of us sighing over Quentin. After that, my school/work schedule didn't leave much time for daytime viewing; but I remember college roommates who scheduled classes so they could follow their favorite story lines.


.

Those soap operas were balm to the problems in the real world. We'd slip out of our own and into theirs. Relaxation from every day strife.

Guiding Light.

Ugly Betty was basically a soap.

but we are talking 40+ years ago! lol At that time, though, I was pretty addicted!

This was pre-VCR days and when school started up again, I'd use a cassette recorder that was plugged into a lamp-timer that would record the audio. When I returned home from school, a small group of us would listen to the "radio show" of what happened in Pine Valley.

we would literally schedule our classes around our favorites as much as we could and gather in folk's rooms with our lunch to watch together in the dorms! (at that time there weren't that many tv's in rooms, and even fewer computers!)

I think either my sister or late Mother might have watched that. It was canceled but one of the last of the "batch" to be canceled.

When I see actors that were famous for various SOAPS- reported to have died, I often recognize their pictures. Even though I never watched, I can't help but think how many did watch them over the years, since these were daily. SOAP stars really earned their money given how many episodes they would shoot in a typical year, compared to movies or even night time series.

I became a fan of Jean Marsh.

as the wicked Stefano Demera (SP?).

We used to come home every day, do our homework one the kitchen table and always trying to be done by 3:50 p.m., because it came on at 4:00.

Most everyone at my school was on board the 'Luke and Laura' train, so General Hospital was a big thing at that time. We watched it all through that arc.