DC #499: The Craziest Things We've Done to Watch Soaps

Soaps before Jesus! I hope you repented, Mel.

Great fun podcast...this was hilarious!

I know caught Pink Eye on purpose so I could watch Luke & Laura get married......LOL

What a great podcast again !

Paula

When I was twelve (1980)  I befriended this girl in grade school because she literally lived right next door to the school. I was able to have lunch at her house and watch Y&R every day. I also dropped out of summer school because I couldn't stand the thought of missing Y&R. That was probably in 1983, a year before we finally got a VCR.

The only thing I did to watch my soaps was rearrange my college class schedule (3 times) so that I'd be able to watch Y&R at 12:30.

I arranged college classes around Y&R and jobs around GL. I've watched a few of them in stores when needed. I went to visit my boyfriend at the time he was in college and put him off during GL. He wasn't happy about it, but he got more studying done at that hour.

omg, i thought i was the only one to fake sick to see my favorite storylines. 
i did that a lot with days in the late-90s.

Wow!  Just another great podcast!  Is there another soap podcast this crazy?? 

Loved this podcast! Thanks for the true confessions. You all had me ROFL. 

Aside from scheduling my college classes around soaps, I faked being sick in 8th grade (1983, pre-VCR) to see Bo and Hope's romantic adventure in New Orleans. I missed Home Ec, and that's probably why to this day I can't cook or sew, lol!

In high school, after we got a VCR, my grades weren't great so my parents "grounded" me by not letting me record Days. The fatal flaw in their plan was that I left for school after they left for work in the mornings and arrived home before they did in the afternoons. I'd set the VCR timer after they left and cancel the recording every day before they got home (in those days there was a big "T" on the VCR screen when the VCR was set to record something). I'd take the tapes w/ me to babysitting jobs on weekends. Those poor kids went to bed SO early when I babysat them, just so I could watch my soaps, lol!

Jamey's Knots Landing story reminded me that while in college, my parents didn't allow me to have a TV in my room (something about being "addicted" to TV... whatever). so I: A; bought a radio from Radio Shack that could pick up TV band audio on it and B. used to hang out in the dorm lounge from about 9:15 p.m. on Thursday nights just to stake my claim on the TV when Knots came on.

ETA: Forgot to mention that the day Jake's shooter (Paulina) was revealed on AW, my mom had to go to the mall for something. I made up some lame excuse on why I had to go to Sears and stood in the appliance section for an hour watching to see whodunit.

i was at my worst point of obsession with GH when i was in highschool.  The week leading up to Elizabeths attack, I skipped out on the last class every day and snuck home, so that i wouldn't miss any of the show.  did the same thing on the week of lucky's "death".

never got caught though.

This was a great topic.....very entertaining

See this is why soaps are so bad now they need producers/ writers who can relate to this kind of soap love.Nodody whoever hid in a dufflel bag or missed a funeral to watch their stories would think Chuck Pratt or Ellen Wheeler belonged in soaps.

Awesome podcast guys!
I don't think I've ever done anything so crazy to see my soaps, but I do have a story.
I'm disabled and was supposed to go on the regular school bus with the other kids to swimming class at a nearby school but my parent's want a special [wheelchair] bus to take me. When neithier side would bend, I got tto go home early and watch my stories! I was in pure soapy heaven! It all came crashing down around me though when a teacher asked me what I did when I went home and being a fatelly honest kid, I said "Whatch my soaps." All the sudden swimming was mandatory! Goodbye blissful afternoons! I *hated* my school so much...
By the way J. Bernard, I don't blame you, I would've played sick too!

Well I've done the whole playing sick thing to watch my stories. Another thing is I remember when I was in high school and we had sattellite tv. I remember discovering that we could get a CBS station from Canada. I believe Canada is a day or two ahead of us in airing soaps. So I would get up at 5 am just to watch my Y&R and be a day or two ahead of everyone I know. I'd be dead tired during school but at least I got to see my Phyllis act a hot mess!

Lol, I live in Canada and I watch ahead of time sometimes too, but everytime I do I feel like I'm getting away eith something.

Well, I can't top the duffel bag story. I skipped school more than a few times to watch a soap! But the craziest thing that I can claim is making sure that the VCR was set before I would leave for the hospital when I was in labor w/my first child.

BTW, J. Bernard I was a kid too and remembered being shocked when Adam Drake was murdered. It's strange to think back to the days when the one and only time you could see a soap was when it aired "live." There were no internet spoilers. What soap mags there were only reported on stories weeks or months after they had aired. Of course there was  no Soap Net, much less a way to record  a soap. VCRs were not common until I was in college. But I'm not that old....really I'm not!

Katjoy 26-LOL    You win!  That is the greatest thing ever! 

Happy New Year to all of you.  What a fantastic podcast.  You had me laughing out loud, and as soon as it was over, I listened to it again.  You guys are just terrific!!!  Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your delightful podcasts.