From "Ma Perkins" and "One Man's Family" in the 1930s to "All My Children" in the 1980s, the soap opera has capture the imagination of millions of American men and women of all ages. In Speaking of Soap Operas, Robert Allen undertakes a reexaminati

The soap opera, one of U.S. television's longest-running and most influential formats, is on the brink. Declining ratings have been attributed to an increasing number of women working outside the home and to an intensifying competition for viewers' attention from cable and the Internet. Yet, soaps' influence has expanded, with serial narratives becoming commonplace on most prime time TV programs. The Survival of Soap Opera investigates the causes of their dwindling popularity, describes their impact on TV and new media culture, and gleans lessons from their complex history for twenty-first-century media industries. The book contains contributions from established soap scholars such as Robert C. Allen, Louise Spence, Nancy Baym, and Horace Newcomb, along with essays and interviews by emerging scholars, fans and Web site moderators, and soap opera producers, writers, and actors from ABC's General Hospital, CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, and other shows. This diverse group of voices seeks to intervene in the discussion about the fate of soap operas at a critical juncture, and speaks to longtime soap viewers, television studies scholars, and media professionals alike.

To Be Continued... explores the world's most popular form of television drama; the soap opera. From Denver to Delhi, Moscow to Manchester, audiences eagerly await the next episode of As the World Turns, The Rich Also Weep or Eastenders. But the popularity of soap operas in Britain and the US pales in comparison to the role that they play in media cultures in other parts of the world. To Be Continued... investigates both the cultural specificity of television soap operas and their reception in other cultures, covering soap production and soap watching in the U.S., Asia, Europe, Australia and Latin America. The contributors consider the nature of soap as a media text, the history of the serial narrative as a form, and the role of the soap opera in the development of feminist media criticism. To Be Continued... presents the first scholarly examination of soap opera as global media phenomenon.

A dispute of the simplistic illusion of soap fans as bored housewives or losers.

Soap operas and telenovelas are watched by millions of people around the world every day. As cultural, social, and economic phenomena, examining them will further our understanding of the role of global media content in the digital age. Moreover, as these programs continue to be exported and transformed at regional levels, and through digitalization, it is more important than ever to analyze where the genre has been, where it is now, and where it is going. This collection brings together original scholarship from an international and trans-disciplinary perspective. Chapters address timely issues, theories, and debates that are inextricably linked to soap operas and telenovelas as global industries, as sites for new audiences, and as hybrid cultural products within the digital landscape. Bringing depth and originality to the subject area, each chapter demonstrates the richness of these genres and their long-term significance as the televisual landscape evolves and becomes increasingly reliant on technological and creative innovations.

Dallas, one of the great internationally-screened soap operas, offers us first and foremost entertainment. But what is it about Dallas that makes that entertainment so successful, and how exactly is its entertainment constructed?

When her arch nemesis Marcy Blanchard, the new head writer for The Yearning Tide is found dead, soap opera actress Alexis Peterson becomes the prime suspect and must play the role of a lifetime to clear her name. Original.

Do you see yourself as an artist? Colin Egglesfield never thought an artistic career path was realistic. He always made room for creativity, but it was never his life's focus. But then a chance encounter with an acting class, before committing to medical school, made Colin realize that an artistic career was possible. The path wasn't easy. Breaking into Hollywood can be quite a challenge. On top of that, he was diagnosed with cancer, not once, but twice. In "Agile Artist," Colin shares lessons he learned from his struggles to make a career in Hollywood, finding courage and support through personal health battles and tragedies. Along the way, he shares the riveting story of his ground-zero experience on 9/11 as well as his social impact projects in Chicago. This is the story of Colin's journey into creative discovery and his attempts to connect with a more authentic version of himself to become an Agile Artist. Colin emphasizes his belief that we are all artists in some form or another, even if we haven't connected with that part of ourselves. In 'Agile Artist, ' he shares his rich life stores and provides plenty of inventive strategies to help you break through to your creative, true self. Beyond this powerful book Colin invites you to join his artist community, where together, we can all support, motivate and share who we are to create not only better lives but a better world.